Specification of Modeling Software for Middle School Geology

Problem
For several years, we have been developing a project-based set of middle school science units collectively called Learning by Design™. In these units, students learning is driven by a need to know science to improve the design of an artifact on which they are working (e.g design of a powered car to learn about force and motion). Our geology units are centered on the design and use of models to investigate natural processes that are not accessible in the classrroom. These models do not simply represent knowledge acquired by other means. Rather, they are intended to be "runnable" so that the processes can be explored and tinkered with. The overarching challenge is to design a series of tunnels for a train route across Georgia. To date, we have used physical models but these have several limitations, not the least of which is that some very important geologic processes cannot be easily modeled with simple physical materials. We would like to develop software models for this purpose. This project will involve generating ideas and initial specifications for that software.

Here is what you need to do.

1. Read the paper Learning by Design™: Promoting Deep Science Learning Through A Design Approach for an introduction to how our curriculum works.
2. Read the paper Design Rules of Thumb - Connecting Science and Design to understand how we connect scientific principle with design projects.
3. Survey available software, both commercial and academic, that may be relevant to the processes we wish to model. This software may come from either geology or civil engineering.
4. Write a set of recommendations for modeling software that we could potentially use. This may be off-the-shelf software, adaptation of ideas from off-the-shelf software, or specifications for entirely new software.
5. Use other systems we have available at the College for Speech Recognition.
6. Evaluate all the systems and discuss the differences, strengths, weaknesses.

• Both papers are available in a variety of formats at http://www.cc.gatech.edu/projects/lbd/Conference_Papers/2001_conference_index.html


• A copy of the Tunneling unit will be provided


• Email access to our earth science teachers. NOTE: Think very carefully about what you want to ask the teachers before contacting them since they are very busy people.

• Write a set of recommendations for modeling software that we could potentially use. This may be off-the-shelf software, adaptation of ideas from off-the-shelf software, or specifications for entirely new software. These recommendations should:
• Give a brief overview of what you found in your survey and its suitability for our purpose
• Recommend at least 3 ideas for modeling software that each describe:
• What will be modeled and how students will see the process
• How the results of that model will inform the design activity in our geology unit
• The user interface and forms of feedback that will be provided to students by the software

There are many directions you could take with this project. You may think of it as largely a problem of interface design, or of developing software specifications, or of scientific visualization.

Evaluation
Based on the report turned in to the sponsor of the project by the due date.