Move And Shake: A Hands On Activity Connecting Engineering

One of the main goals of Project STEP (Science and Technology Enhancement Program) is to design, develop, and implement hands-on activities and technology-driven inquiry-based projects, which relate to the students’ community issues, as vehicles to authentically teach science, mathematics, engineering and technology skills. The Movers and Shakers Lesson Plan was a three-part activity that helped students connect engineering principles to the design of buildings that resist earthquake damage. This paper describes the objectives of the lesson and how the activities related to those objectives. Preand post-assessments were completed to measure the impact of the lesson on students learning. Overall, seventh grade students showed a significant improvement in their scores when tested on the specific concepts of plate tectonics. The use of a grading rubric to assess the students’ projects showed that students mastered the concepts taught. Students were also surveyed about their perceptions of the lesson and its impact on their learning and attitudes towards science. 71% said the lesson increased their interest in engineering, 86% said they learned “a lot” from the lesson and 72% reported some increase in their confidence about being able to learn math and science. Reflections of the engineering students responsible for implementing the activity are also discussed.