Did The Winner Win?
Authentic classroom controversies appear regularly in
the classroom that uses design and can enliven learning.
MOVIE 1 focuses on the student who became the controversial
winning designer of a parachute that was the slowest
in his class. Chris made a triangular chute with a frame
and weights attached to each of the triangle's vertices.
Unlike a more traditional parachute design, his chute's
strings did not come together to a common point to hold
a load. Does a design with a frame holding separate
strings count as a real parachute?
Gradually giving students control of their learning
is a year-long, often-stated goal for tech ed teacher
Ed Goldman. Notice how he handles the class discussion
when the controversy arises during the follow-up lesson
to the final parachute drop. How does Ed take himself
out and insert himself into the controversy? How does
he make students shareholders in the discussion? What
broader messages about creativity in design does Ed
make during this teachable moment?
You can listen to Chris, the controversial winner of
his class' parachute drop, as he talks about his design
process in the Reasoning
Behind a Winning Design interview.
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