El puente est quebrado no llamaremos a los
El puente está quebrado, no llamaremos a los Nule – The bridge is broken, we won´t call the Nule family
Goals This unit is designed as a multidisciplinary approach towards developing student problem solving skills. It aims to combine the areas of english, physics, biology, technology, economics and politics. This unit is based on solving a problem by developing a technological element integrating variables like: type of technology, materials, design, costs of production and maintenance while taking into account the 21 st century necessity of environmental awareness.
Individual Goals • Biology: The student will develop the ability of measuring variables related to environmental issues when a technology is developed. • Economics: The student will understand how organizational decisions are made based upon expected future revenues and costs as well as societal expectations. • Politics: The student will understand how public-private relations are formed in order to develop solutions for societal needs. • Physics: The student will apply the laws of classical mechanics to the construction of a technological device. • English: The student will successfully use the English language in order to present conclusions and answer questions about the development of the project • Technology: The student will successfully use EBSCO database and MS Office Tools in the development of the project
Themes & Topics • Biology: – Hominid evolution – Development of tools – Development of language – Establishment of communities and societies – Agriculture – Population index – Pollution – Ecosystem depletion – Sustainability
Themes & Topics • Economics Stakeholders Revenue predictions Cost predictions Total costs, average costs, marginal revenues – Cost planning – Optimization – – • Politics – Public-Private Partnerships – Public biddings – Corruption
Themes & Topics • Physics – – – • Statics Stress in materials Design Forces Equilibrium English – Oral presentation skills – Specific Vocabulary for each discipline – Research paper outlining drafting and revision • Technology – UBSCO Database – Document production in Word – Graphs and tables in Excel
Performance Task - Bridge The bridge will have to be functional and able to withstand a static force of 800 Newtons. The bridge will have to serve its purpose while optimizing possible profits for both company as well as society. Moreover the bridge will have to be considered aesthetic by members of the society. The materials used cannot produce pollution and the construction must respect microecosystems and minimize its impact on the ecosystem. - Public Bidding Document The public bidding document will have to contain: - The technical design as well as the argumentation for that particular design An overview of how the forces will interact with and in the bridge Revenue and Cost accounts that justify the use of materials and tools Justify how characteristics of the design solve societal needs Register and measurement of communities in the ecosystem Analysis of environmental impact of materials used - Oral Defense The proposal will have to be orally defended in front of an audience that consists of members of the community.
Guidelines for the performance task • Biology: Evaluate how human activities impact directly or indirectly in endogenous flora and fauna. You must consider richness and diversity indexes in order to design a proper analysis. • Economics: Analyze how external factors affected economic decisions made by economic actors as well as taking into account cost-benefit analyses. • Politics: Developing a proposal that solves a (technological) problem for society while taking into account the needs of that same society. • Physics: Design the bridge based on the necessity and understand explain how the stress affects the materials used and how the design of the bridge helps to accomplish its task. • English: Write and present the final offer with appropriate grammar, spelling, punctuation, complex structure and specialized vocabulary and be able to orally respond to any question related to it content. • Technology: Appropiate use of the tools provided by Ms. Office in the production of documents, and correct use of databases and references.
Outline of the Public Bidding Document Overview of the problem Technological design and force diagrams Cost-Benefit Analysis J Environmental analysis Justification regarding the needs of society Summary of the offer References
Important Dates • September 12 th: First Environmental Analysis • September 24 th: First Investigation Results regarding types of bridges and how forces interact in them • October 1 st: Presentation of example case • October 15 th: First Investigation Results regarding wants and needs of society • October 29 th: First Technological Design including an overview of costs • November 12 h: Environmental impact analysis of the design • November 19 th: First draft public bidding document • December 3 rd: Presentation of the bridge and the public document
- Slides: 10