Creating a Three Dimensional NGSS Aligned Unit on Motion and Energy for Middle Grades Students

Author

Spencer M. Rudie, Northern Illinois UniversityFollow

Publication Date

Fall 12-8-2023

Document Type

Student Project

First Advisor

Sunderlin, Lee

Second Advisor

Fix, Paul

Degree Name

B.S. (Bachelor of Science)

Department

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Abstract

A study was conducted to see how the attitudes of middle school aged students would change with respect to science and engineering before and after participating in a ten-lesson unit. Students from the Barb City STEAM team (n=5) participated in the unit and attitudes assessment The unit was based on the principles of motion and energy, concluding with an engineering challenge where the students analyzed the motion and energy of a mousetrap powered car that they built from common craft materials. Their attitudes were assessed before and after the unit with seven questions using a five-point Likert scale, and the change in the average survey response was measured. Comparing the survey results, it was concluded that students exhibited an increased interest in learning about physics and a decrease in their perceived difficulty of learning chemistry and physics. However, the remainder of the survey questions reveal no significant change in score. For future iterations, a more significant data analysis can be collected with a larger sample size in an academic classroom setting.

Recommended Citation

Rudie, Spencer M., "Creating a Three Dimensional NGSS Aligned Unit on Motion and Energy for Middle Grades Students" (2023). Honors Capstones. 1488.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/studentengagement-honorscapstones/1488