Technology Cycle Series

The Technology portion of the cycle classes is made up of three courses. All of these classes are designed to grow and test the students problem solving skills by presenting challenges that require "models" to be built in order to prove out their potential solutions. The three technology classes are Transportation Technology, Engineering Technology and Manufacturing Technology. The complexity of the problems that are presented in each class are carefully tailored to the maturity grade level of the students in that particular technology class.

Transportation Technology Grade 6

The overall objective for the sixth grade portion of the technology series, “Transportation Technology”, is to introduce the students to an organized problem solving methodology. Utilizing four hands-on-projects, based on a transportation theme, the students are guided through a four-step problem solving cycle. Each project is worked on in a team of two students, and new, unique teams are created for each project.

The teams attempt to solve the challenge presented in each project by following the four-step problem solving cycle. This cycle consists of:

Problem Identification
Brain Storm Solutions
Build a Solution
Test and Re-test

Class time is carefully split between presenting of new knowledge; reviewing of old knowledge, and hands-on creation or building time. Each project also attempts to have the students apply the knowledge they’ve learned in their math, science and history classes. Each project also contains a written element.

The material covered in the Transportation class also helps the students apply knowledge they’ve learned in their other subject areas. Their ability to apply previously learned information allows them to reinforce that knowledge through its actual application in real life challenges.

Each student earns four grades for each project:

The actual created project as measured against a performance objective
The completed lab sheet
Knowledge quiz
The students’ effort

Engineering Technology Grade 7

The overall objective for the seventh grade portion of the technology series, “Engineering Technology”, is to continue to develop the student’s problem solving capabilities and to expose the students to engineering career fields. There are two hands-on-projects, bridge design and robot development, which expose the students to two very different technical fields.

The bridge project requires the students to work in teams of three. Each member of the team chooses a defined role, civil engineer, construction manager or financial analyst, and then works with the team to design a bridge, acquire the land and materials for the bridge, and then build and test the bridge. The bridge is tested for efficiency of design which compares bridge strength to material usage within budget. The students learn both how bridges can be built and how purchase orders are placed and how financial statements are balanced.

The robotics project places the students into teams of two where they design and build two robots that must meet specific challenges. Each robot utilizes a different operating program that the teams load along with different sensors and operating parameters. The robots must climb a ramp or speed along a course to deliver a cargo. These challenges put the students into the roles of mechanical engineer, systems engineer and design engineer.

The students earn several grades for each project. These projects grades are earned by the completion of:

A lab sheet
Measurement against a performance objective
The effort that they put into the projects

Manufacturing Technology Grade 8

Manufacturing Technology is the eighth grade technology class. Its main objective is to introduce the student to a single, complex challenge that they work through by completing a series of smaller projects.

The eighth grade students create their own companies for this project and design and build a product from start to finish. They are introduced to some of the main functions of a company (purchasing, advertising, design and manufacturing), and they are also taught how to safely use power wood working equipment. A strong emphasis is placed on team work and planning, both of which are required to complete this project.

The current project involves each team designing a game that utilizes marbles for scoring points. Each student group sets up a company with four to six employees. The employees then create a company identification by generating a company name, slogan and logo. The company employees must design their game, produce an advertising campaign, create Bill of Materials, build a model of their design, test and troubleshoot their design and finally procure the required materials and build one of their product for each company member.

The students earn several grades for each project. These projects grades are earned by the completion of:

A lab sheet
Measurement against a performance objective
The effort that they put into the projects

Technology Education Teachers:

Mr. Andre