Ecuadorian Fishermen 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: 6-8

Approximate Time Needed to Complete Unit: Fourteen-seventeen 50-minute class periods

Unit Summary: A team that works with small businesses in Ecuador has discovered that some of the Ecuadorian
fishermen need help. Once the fishermen return to the fish markets, they need a small cooker container to cook the fish in so they can be sold. Students are tasked with designing this cooker container device. Before designing solutions, students learn about the science of heat transfer, including conduction, convection, and radiation. They also analyze data by creating temperature vs. time graphs and comparing different line graphs qualitatively. Students then plan (design), try (build), test, and decide whether their solution is successful (evaluate) twice, an initial design and a redesign. Finally, students communicate to the client their cooker container solutions, justifying them with evidence.

List of Lessons:

• Lesson 1: Defining the Engineering Problem
  • Objectives: (1) Describe important features of an engineering design process; (2) Define an engineering problem from the perspective of stakeholders; (3) Engage in problem scoping.
• Lesson 2: Temperature and Heat Transfer & Convection
  • Objectives: (1) Describe the relationship between the motion of particles and temperature in a solid, liquid, and gas; (2) Define temperature as a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles of matter; (3) Define thermal energy as the total amount, or sum, of kinetic energy in a substance; (4) Define heat as the thermal energy transferred from one object to another due to the temperature difference between the objects; energy is transferred from hotter objects to colder ones; (5) Define convection as how heat transfers in liquids and gases; cold matter sinks because it is denser, which pushes the hotter matter up.
• Lesson 3: Heat Transfer Through Conduction 
  • Objectives: (1) Define conduction as the transfer of energy through a solid or from a solid to another solid, a liquid, or a gas; (2) Identify which kinds of materials are conductors (i.e., transfer heat by the process of conduction easily and quickly) or insulators (i.e., slow down the transfer of heat by the process of conduction).
• Lesson 4: Heat Transfer Through Radiation
  • Objectives: (1) Define radiation as the transfer of thermal energy across space in the form of light waves called electromagnetic radiation; (2) Explain that electromagnetic radiation (i.e., light) can be reflected, absorbed, or transmitted by objects depending on the object’s material.
• Lesson 5: Analyzing the Absorption Property of Materials
  • Objectives: (1) Graph points in the Cartesian system; (2) Draw line graphs from coordinate points; (3) Analyze data by qualitatively comparing multiple line graphs; (4) Identify materials that absorb, reflect, or transmit radiation based on the data analyzed.
• Lesson 6: Getting to Know the Context
  • Objectives: (1) Describe how the three processes of heat transfer are present in the classroom solar oven; (2) Identify the process of heat transfer represented in various scenarios; (3) Explain similarities and differences between conduction, convection, and radiation.
• Lesson 7: Exploring Materials and Planning: Idea Generation
  • Objectives: (1) Identify whether materials conduct or insulate against heat transfer via conduction and absorb or reflect heat transfer via radiation; (2) Use evidence from problem scoping to generate multiple initial ideas for a design solution.
• Lesson 8: Planning: Idea Selection and Evidence-Based Reasoning
  • Objectives: (1) Systematically evaluate various solutions based on the problem to narrow to one design solution; (2) Justify why their proposed design solution is appropriate based on the application of core science/mathematics concepts, and information obtained in problem scoping.
• Lesson 9: Trying/Building the First Prototype
  • Objectives: (1) Implement a design and create a prototype cooker container.
• Lesson 10: Testing and Deciding About the First Prototype
  • Objectives: (1) Test the cooker container prototypes; (2) Compare design’s performance with the performance of their peer’s designs to determine the characteristics of the best performing cooker container prototypes; (3) Analyze the performance of their first prototype.
• Lesson 11: Redesigning a Second Prototype
  • Objectives: (1) Use evidence from problem scoping, core science/mathematics concepts, and initial design test analysis to plan an improved design; (2) Implement a design and create a prototype cooker container; (3) Test the performance of the improved solution; (4) Compare their second design’s performance with the performance of their first design; (5) Evaluate the alignment between their proposed solution and the problem.
• Lesson 12: Communicating with 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 the application of core science/mathematics concepts, information obtained in problem scoping, and interpretation of acquired or gathered evidence.

Unit Standards:

• NGSS: MS-PS1-4, MS-PS3-3, MS-PS3-4, MS-PS3-5, MS-PS4-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4.
• CCSS: 5.G.A.1, 6.EE.C.9, 8.F.B.5.

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:

• Kristi Berg, Sonja Dunlap, Emilie Siverling, Elizabeth Suazo-Flores, Emily Dare, Kerrie Douglas, Tamara J. Moore (2022), "Ecuadorian Fishermen: An EngrTEAMS Curricular Unit," https://nanohub.org/resources/36120.

  BibTex | EndNote

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