Earth Science/Engineering Design 1 (9th Grade)
Mr. William Burgess
Engineering Career Project
The goal of this project was to research information about a engineering career and present a summary of several aspects of that job. Some details that were required included but were not limited to:
- Job description and duties
- Day to day tasks
- Required education and experience
- Places to work at
- Work conditions
- Salaries for starting, mid-level, and senior positions
This project was our first formal presentation, and the only solo one of the year. When we first heard about this project, it was from the sophomores, who told us that this project was a really hard one and that most people got 60s or 70s. That was scary. I set my goals low; get at least an 80, stay calm when presenting, and don’t stress too much about it. When we were given the rubric, the requirements did not look too hard by themselves; there were just a lot of them. As I began work, I realized that it would take more time than I expected, especially because I spent a lot on design and layout. Ultimately, I got it done, and while I fumbled at the beginning of the presentation, I got into the rhythm later. Looking back, there was a lot I could have done better. I could have dedicated an hour or two just to double check the project against the rubric one last time, and possibly found the several things I had missed. I could have practiced my presentation more. I could have decided on a website to use beforehand and not waste a few days trying to decide. Notice, all of this issues come down to time management, which is the fundamental problem that I need to fix before my next assignment.
But this project was a good start to the year; besides, I got a grade that was better than I had aimed for. But next time, it will be better.
Tidal Energy Presentation
My 9 teammates and I were assigned to research tidal energy and complete a slideshow and present it to the other half of the class. Within 45 minutes, we had finished this:
The State of Water Project (Grade Level)
This project was the biggest we had ever done at the time, incorporating all for of our subjects at the time: Science, Math, Spanish, and History. The goal was to research the availability, condition, and methods of water, in both NC (Science and History) and a foreign Latin-American country (Spanish). We were to find and record data about all the information we evaluated (Math) then present it all in a trade show within a month.
This was the poster my team created to present our the information we found.
The formatting on the poster was a success; it looks much better than the original template that we were given.
This project was a lot of work; much more than any of the projects I had ever done. It was a test of our ability to plan and to really work with a team, as well as to manage our personal time to get our tasks completed.
Kindergarten STEM Expo (Grade Level)
The goal of this Grade Level Project was to teach kindergartners about a Grand Challenge of Engineering. We were to develop and execute an experiment for the children, and have them record data for it. Then, we were to create a storybook on the same topic.
From the beginning, the whole project seemed less scary then the first grade level project. During the span of a month we worked, I did not feel the nerve-racking pressure I felt the first time. Our planning was fairly organized, also much better than the first. We made progress on schedule, especially our code, which I started on the project launch day and finished on the day it was expected to be finished.
If we got a chance to change what we did at Brentwood, I think we would have found better primary material to give to the kids to make their boat. We used Playdough, but when it got wet it was rather gross and slimy. We didn’t have the time to find, not to mention purchase, another material when we figured out it was less than ideal.
I, personally, loved working on the code for our group. I enjoy when a program works perfectly, and after a month and a 1000 lines of code, all was worth it. And because I handled the programming side of the project, my teammates could focus on other things.
