Chill Out: Vaccines and Heat Transfer is an engineering design-based STEM curricular unit. The unit aims to facilitate the learning of major science and mathematical concepts and skills within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Common Core State Standards (CCSS) respectively. The unit includes teacher guides, class activities with solutions, and assessment guidelines. 

Grade Level: 4-5

Approximate Time Needed to Complete Unit: Ten - 45-minute class periods

Unit Summary: The True Chill Company is working on helping countries that have unreliable access to power keep vaccines cool in warm climates. The students will design a device for the True Chill Company that will keep vaccines cool without being plugged into a power source. Students learn about vaccines and their role in disease prevention. Before designing solutions, students learn about the science of heat energy and heat transfer, conductors, and insulators. Students then plan (design), try (build), test, and decide about (evaluate) a solution to the problem twice, once as an initial design and once in a redesign. Finally, student teams write letters to their client describing their vaccine cooler solutions and justifying them with evidence.
 

List of Lessons:

• Lesson 1: Vaccines and Context of the Problem
  • Objectives: (1) Define vaccine; (2) Identify that people receive vaccines before they get sick; (3) Give an example of at least one disease that can be prevented by a vaccine; (4) Analyze a line graph to identify trends in the data.
• Lesson 2: Define the Engineering Problem
  • Objectives: (1) Describe important aspects of the engineering design process; (2) Define an engineering problem from the perspective of stakeholders; (3) Generate a description of the problem based on information; (4) Engage in problem scoping.
• Lesson 3: Heat and Conductors 
  • Objectives: (1) Explain that heat is a type of energy that moves from warm to cold; (2) Identify conductors as materials that transfer heat more easily and quickly; (3) Plan and conduct lab experiments; (4) Analyze and explain the results of lab experiments.
• Lesson 4: Heat and Insulators
  • Objectives: (1) Explain that heat is a kind of energy that always moves from warmer to colder; (2) Measure the temperature of a liquid using a thermometer; (3) Subtract decimals to calculate temperature changes; (4) Analyze the results of an experiment; (5) Identify insulators as materials that stop or slow the flow of heat.
• Lesson 5: Plan a Solution
  • Objectives: (1) Use evidence from problem scoping to generate multiple initial ideas for a design solution; (2) Systematically evaluate various solutions based on the problem to narrow to one design solution; (3) Justify why their proposed design solution is appropriate based on the application of core science/mathematics concepts and information obtained in problem scoping; (4) Add and multiply decimals to calculate the cost of the design, keeping the cost under $5.00.
• Lesson 6: Try a Solution
  • Objectives: (1) Implement a design and create a prototype vaccine cooler; (2) Add and multiply decimals to calculate the cost of the design, keeping the cost under $5.00.
• Lesson 7: Test and Decide about a Solution
  • Objectives: (1) Test their vaccine cooler prototypes; (2) Measure the temperature of a liquid, their “vaccine,” using a thermometer; (3) Subtract decimals to calculate the change in temperature of their vaccine; (4) Compare temperature and cost values with decimals to compare their design’s performance with the performance of
    their peers’ designs; (5) Analyze the characteristics of the best performing vaccine coolers.
• Lesson 8: Redesign 
  • Objectives: (1) Use evidence from problem scoping and initial design test analysis to plan an improved design; (2) Perform operations with decimals to calculate cost and temperature change; (3) Implement a design and create a prototype vaccine cooler; (4) Measure the temperature of a liquid, their “vaccine,” using a thermometer; (5) Test the performance of the improved solution; (6) Compare temperature and cost values with decimals
    to compare their second design’s performance with the performance of their initial design; (7) Evaluate the alignment between their proposed solution and the problem.
• Lesson 9: Communicate to the Client
  • Objectives: (1) Evaluate the alignment between their proposed solution and the problem; (2) Communicate their design solution through the use of evidence-based reasoning; (3) Justify why their design solution is appropriate based on application of core science/mathematics concepts, information obtained in problem scoping, and interpretation of acquired or gathered evidence.

Unit Standards:

• NGSS: 4-PS3-2, MS-PS3-3, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3.
• CCSS: 4.NBT.A.2, 4.NF.C.7, 4.MD.A.2. 

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant NSF DRL-1238140. Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Ann Oubaha, Emilie Siverling, Paula Rozowa, James Carlovsky, Aran Glancy, Kerrie Douglas, Tamara J. Moore (2022), "Chill Out: Vaccines and Heat Transfer: An EngrTEAMS Curricular Unit," https://nanohub.org/resources/36103.

  BibTex | EndNote

1. Elementary
2. engineering design
3. EngrTEAMS
4. has CCSS
5. has NGSS
6. heat energy
7. heat transfer
8. K-12
9. middle school
10. precollege
11. STEM
12. teaching and learning