In this article, a group of high school students was given a task from a scientist, Kristine Hoffmann. She needed help with an experiment she was conducting with Blue-spotted salamanders and unisexual salamanders. These salamanders both live in small pools of water that are only present for part of the year, but very little research had been done looking at these species of salamanders. Hoffmann attempted catching the salamanders to study them using minnow traps at the bottom of the pools, but that posed a risk for the safety of the salamanders since they need air every 4-8 hours to survive. So, she looked towards the students for help in designing a salamander trap.
The research question:
Do Blue-spotted salamanders and unisexual salamanders favor the same types of breeding habitats?
The engineering problem:
Traps must be:
- Easy to transport
- Cheap to construct
- Sit at the bottom of the pool
- Allow salamanders to breathe
- Use mesh
Students collaborated in small groups to come up with the best design. Each group designed their traps based on the above criteria: trying to make their traps portable and cheap and without sacrificing the lives of salamanders. When they had a design plan, they constructed their traps using the actual material in their design. Finally, they recorded a video that described their group process and thoughts they had throughout the process.
The winning group, who's design was modified and used in the final experiment, used a tomato cage wrapped in netting, and their final video can be viewed below.
My thoughts on the article:
When I read this article, I was inspired.
I thought, "What a great idea for a science lesson!"
- Students got to work with a real-life scientist and solve a problem that is relevant to today.
- Then, they got to see their designs used in an actual experiment!
I think the hardest part about implementing this idea would be finding a scientist that would cooperate with you, along with finding the money to order supplies.
An obvious alternative would be to pose a hypothetical problem, however, I feel that real-life experiences are much more impactful on children, and I would advise against this tactic.
If you try and try and you can't find a scientist anywhere, my next suggestion is to find a problem around your own school or community that the students could help solve:
- Maybe a certain patch of grass won't grow in front of the school.
- Why is that? What is happening? How can we test that? How can we fix it?
Overall, I think this idea can work with many subjects, age groups, and learners. The topic they are addressing has a lot of room for flexibility, and can relate to most science units.