Mike Ryan

• M.S. Ed.
• Retired Senior Researcher at Georgia Institute of Technology

Objectives. The goal of this paper is to introduce and describe a new introductory computer science course. Research results from the implementation of this curriculum will be presented to demonstrate the nature of teachers’ experiences with the curriculum. Participants. Participants are teachers implementing the new curriculum at two schools in th...

Advanced Manufacturing and Prototyping Integrated to Unlock Potential (AMP-IT-UP) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded K-12 Math & Science Partnership (MSP) project with a goal of promoting math, science, and engineering learning through STEM integration-focused curricula. As part of this project, curriculum writers developed one-week modu...

The Next Generation Science Standards now integrate science and engineering through their Core Ideas and Practices dimensions. Portions of the engineering design process included in these standards emphasize: (1) defining problems through identifying criteria and constraints,(2)developing solutions to those problems, and(3)optimizing those solution...

This paper illustrates the use of simulation-based performance assessment (PA) methodology in a recent study of eighth-grade students’ understanding of physical science concepts. A set of four simulation-based PA tasks were iteratively developed to assess student understanding of an array of physical science concepts, including net force, accelerat...

Performance assessment (PA) has been increasingly advocated as a method for measuring students’ conceptual understanding of scientific phenomena. In this study, we describe preliminary findings of a simulation- based PA utilized to measure 8th grade students’ understanding of physical science concepts taught via an experimental problem-based curric...

The Science Learning Integrating Design, Engineering and Robotics (SLIDER) project at the Georgia Institute of Technology is in the 5th year of developing and implementing an inquiry and project-based learning curriculum that is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and designed to teach middle school physical science disciplina...

Science Learning: Integrating Design, Engineering and Robotics (SLIDER) is an inquiry and project-based learning curriculum designed to teach middle school physical science disciplinary content, science and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts within regular middle school physical science classrooms. SLIDER utilizes LEGO Mindstorm TM N...

How do scientists work together to solve problems? Within a physical science context, students explore variables, reliable procedures, fair tests, and use evidence to construct explanations and make recommendations to answer the Big Question. Through a series of design challenges, students explore the practices of scientists and engineers, while le...

Big Challenge: Design and build a vehicle that will go straight, far, and fast, and carry a load. Students explore principles of motion and force, including relative motion, velocity, acceleration, Newton’s laws, friction, gravity, balanced and unbalanced forces, and net force. They use these principles to improve their design of two cars—one with...

Big Question: How do machines help move large, heavy objects? Students respond to this Big Challenge: Lift a large heavy object—a crate—to the top of a cliff using a machine. They begin by investigating what makes things move and defining balanced and unbalanced forces. Through investigations, data collection, and analysis of several simple machine...

This article tells the story of the design of Learning by Design(tm) (LBD), a project-based inquiry approach to science learning with roots in case-based reasoning and problem-based learning, pointing out the theoretical contributions of both, classroom issues that arose upon piloting a first attempt, ways we addressed those challenges, lessons lea...

With foundations in scientific argumentation/discourse literature and transfer literature, this study describes the potential of a new ritualized classroom activity (Design Rules Practice) in developing the conceptual understanding, scientific reasoning, and transfer ability of eighth grade physical science students in Learning by Design™ classroom...

This paper describes a new method of using design activities to teach science methods and principles in middle school. We describe the history and cognitive foundations in addition to the curriculum design. Finally, we describe how written and performance assessments are used to determine the extent to which students acquire science content and met...

One approach to improving science literacy is to see that students make connections to real-life situations; to use science and science processes to "make decisions" and "understand the natural world" (NRC Standards). One goal in Learning by Design™ (LBD™) is to help students not only understand how science really works, but to offer them many oppo...