Xia Lu's Portfolio
Return to:ETAP 623 FALL 2015 - Byrne & Zhang section 8550 || Mini-Course: How do planes fly?
My Topic/Purpose
Welcome to this mini-course on the issues about how planes can fly. While going through this course, you will learn what the Bernoulli principle is and how it works on an airplane. While teaching students to apply the Bernoulli’s principle to explain the interesting phenomena in our daily life, I hope to arouse the students’ interest in science.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to:
--- conduct the warm-up activities and make generalizations;
--- describe how many forces a plane will bear in the air: lift, thrust, drag, and weight;
--- understand what the Bernoulli principle is and how it works on an airplane;
--- apply Bernoulli’s principle to explain similar phenomena in our daily life.
Needs Assessment
Instructional Problem
In current school system, students usually learn knowledge in a passive way. They learn what teachers teach them in class. They may know how to memory, describe, or even calculate with the new knowledge. But only if they can connect and apply the knowledge into their real-life, it can be said they have a truly understanding. The connection and application require a positive attitude towards learning.
Everyone knows an airplane can fly in the air. But people seldom ask why and how, let along make efforts for answers. Our innate curiosity can easily become dulled by the familiarity of daily routine. Even though curiosity is a key trait needed for success. This mini course not only teaches students how airplanes can fly, but also teach them to find curious phenomenon in their daily life and apply new knowledge into similar situations.
What is to be Learned
Students in this mini-course will learn what Bernoulli’s principle is and how it works on a flying airplane. They will be able to apply Bernoulli’s principle to explain other similar situations, such as gliding parachute. Also they will learn to explain their observations and findings in their own words, form predictions and hypotheses, and share ideas with each other.
The Learners
The learners in this mini-course are students in grade 5-6 who are just becoming acquainted with the physics’ concept of force. Also anyone who is interested in exploring the reason why an airplane can stay in the sky can be potential learners.
Instructional Context
This mini-course would be conducted online. In order to successfully complete this course, students must have access to a computer with internet connection. They can study at their own convenience, at home or in a classroom. Students will be expected to read information, conduct the activities, form reasoned arguments, and find similar situations to apply the new knowledge.
Exploring the Problem and Solution
Through conducting activities, students will explore the forces an airplane will take in the sky and figure out which force makes the airplane up and how it generates. They will be given texts, photographs, and videos that will help them build a foundation of understanding about how airplanes fly.
Goals The goal of this mini-course is to help student understand the role of Bernoulli’s principle on a flying airplane and encourage them to apply the principle into other similar situations.
Analysis of the Learner and Context
Analysis of Learners:
The course will be used to teach grade 5-6 students about how airplanes can fly. The students should have a basic concept of force and the ability of navigating around the internet. Also anyone who is interested in why an airplane can stay in the sky can be potential learners.
Analysis of Learning Context:
Learning should be placed in the learning context in which new information could be connected to something the students have already known. In this mini-course, students will be asked about their prior experience with airplanes. Have they ever seen airplanes passing by in the air? Have they ever taken a plane before? Those prior experiences will help students understand the forces that an airplane will take in the air. Between the prior experience and the Bernoulli principle, the mini-course provides several activities to help students construct their own understanding.
Task Analysis
Unit One What forces will a plane take in the air?
1. The students will demonstrate interest in the lesson;
2. The students will respond to questions demonstrating their own entry point of understanding;
Unit Two What is the Bernoulli’s principle?
1. The students will conduct activities and make generalizations;
2. The students will share ideas and record observations;
3. The students will find the similarity between a flying airplane and a paper being blown on the top of it;
Unit 3 How does the Bernoulli’s principle work on a plane?
1. The students will use Bernoulli’s principle to explain previous observations and findings;
2. The students will provide reasonable explanations to similar events or phenomena.
Curriculum Map
File:Minicourse map of XiaLu.doc
References and Resources
The 5E Model of Instruction from http://www.wisd.org/users/0001/docs/GVC/5E%20Model.pdf