Course Description
Silver Spring International Middle School
301-650-6544
Invention and Engineering: Sea Perch
OVERVIEW
Welcome to Sea Perch! In this course, students will develop an understanding of the cultural, social,
economic, and political effects of technology; the role of society in the development and use of
technology; and the influence technology on history. Students will use engineering design,
troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in
problem solving while learning to use and maintain technological systems. This curriculum is a unique
problem/project based curriculum. The learning is student-centered with the teacher acting as a
facilitator. Instruction is woven around one main problem within each unit of study, and students will
be presented a request for proposals (RFP) at the start of each unit.
UNITS OF STUDY
Unit
1
Title
Content Focus
Invention &
Engineering:
Sea Perch
Students will research, design, construct, and test their sea perch device to
solve a natural or manmade disaster.
Invention &
Engineering:
Bioluminescence
Students will explore sustainability, explain the relationship between
biomimicry & sustainability, and identify examples of possible products
incorporating hydrophobicity. Students will explore a living thing that will
serve as inspiration for a new product design that would enhance life for
human beings living in that climate.
2
Course Description
Silver Spring International Middle School
301-650-6544
Technology Elective Grading and MYP Assessment Criteria
In this technology elective class, students will be assessed according to the MYP Science Criteria. These
criteria are knowing and understanding, inquiring and designing, processing and evaluating, and
reflecting on the impacts of science. The percentage for each category is listed below.
Grading Categories
Criterion A: Knowing and Understanding
Criterion B: Inquiring and Designing
Criterion C: Processing and Evaluating
Criterion D: Reflecting on the Impacts of Science
Homework
Percent of student’s
overall science grade
45 %
10%
25%
15%
5%
Using Knowledge—Explain scientific knowledge and apply it to solve problems
 Describe scientific knowledge
 Solve problems in familiar and unfamiliar situations
 Analyze information to make scientifically supported judgments
Inquiring and Designing—Develop intellectual and practical skills through designing, analyzing, and
performing scientific investigations
 Describe a problem or question to be tested by a scientific investigation
 Create and explain a testable hypothesis using scientific reasoning
 Describe variables and how data will be collected
 Design scientific investigations
Processing and Evaluating—Collect qualitative and quantitative data and explain appropriately
reached conclusions
 Present collected data
 Interpret data and describe results using scientific reasoning
 Discuss the validity of a hypothesis and the methods used in the investigation
 Explain improvements to the methods used to collect data
Reflecting and Evaluating—Gain a global understanding of science
 Describe the ways science is applied and used to address a specific problem
 Analyze the various implementations of how science is used to a specific problem
 Apply different methods of communication
 Document the work of others and sources of information used
Homework: Homework for practice or preparation for instruction accounts for 5% of the marking
period grade.