Matt Bixby

EDF 662, Fall 2016

University of Northern Colorado

Foundations Element 5 Mission to Mars (?)

Element 5a (Project Overview)
I designed a 3-week "STEAM" unit for my 7th grade math class involving the current "Mission to
Mars" efforts. A guest speaker from Lockheed Martin (a rocket company) came to speak to my Geometry
class last Spring, and the kids were fascinated by his presentation, and also by a few things he said
about Elon Musk and SpaceX's goal of colonizing Mars. There are many STEM and STEAM programs
out there, and my goal for this project will be to discuss the rationale of going to (and colonizing) Mars,
and study in depth some of the geometric, scientific, and ethical principles involved in getting there.
My main aims will be to challenge my students with an engaging and meaningful project, put them
in situations where they have to become a rocket designer (Tomlinson, 2002), while working together with
group members, defering to others' ideas while justifying their own conclusions, and to "write and think
like a scientist" (Cervetti & Pearson, 2012). For the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math)
part of the project, student groups will build a "stomp rocket launcher" out of PVC pipe, and use
construction paper to build basic rocket bodies that will fit on the launcher. Then they will use 3D
software (TinkerCAD) and 3D printers (my school has five of them!) to design "nose cones" for their
rockets. They will calculate the volume and mass of each cone, then they will attach their nose cones to
their rockets, and do launch tests to evaluate the effectiveness of the various nose cones. Student
groups will present their rockets and the results of their tests to the class.
For the A in STEAM ("Arts"), we will spend a few days discussing and debating the current efforts
by SpaceX (and other governmental and non-governmental entities) to travel to and eventually colonize
Mars. We will have a socratic seminar, discussing the reasons why our society should (or should not)
become a multi-planetary species. If possible, we will take a field trip to the local ULA headquarters,
where many of the most important research is being done on this topic.
I will do this project with my Math 7 classes this Spring, as a part of our Geometry unit, but in the
future it would be a great way to start the year, so that we could revisit this topic throughout the school
year, and incorporate more "Arts" elements (If we do colonize Mars, who should go and why? How
should governmental structures be established? How could we ensure that our current environmental
problems aren't continued on Mars? etc.).

Element 5b (Research Base)

Research Base
Analytic

Portrait

Meyer,
Turner &
Spencer
(1997)
Leinwand
(2009)

Intentional

Structural

Societal

Narrative

Cochran, Cochran,
Laney and Dean
(2016)

Yokana (2014)

Cervetti & Pearson

(2012)

Perham & Perham

(2011)

Smith, King &

Gonzalez
(2015)

Koellner-Clark
(2002)

Brazell (2013)
Kleiman
(1991)
Leppien &
Purcell (2005)
Tomlinson
(2011)
Dewey (1938)
In this Mission to Mars (?) project, my aim is for my 7th grade math students to personally go
through many of the steps that scientists, as well as business and community leaders are going through
right now (and will continue to examine over the next few decades) that will lead to a group of people
landing on (and perhaps setting up a colony) on Mars. Many middle and high school math classes have
traditionally involved students sitting quietly, while the teacher explains the content and the students take
notes. But research indicates that students learn better by doing, by having hands-on experiences, and
seeing how the math applies to their lives (Leinwand, 2009). I intend to use a STEAM approach
(science, technology, engineering, arts and math) in this project, with a great deal of hands-on and
experiential learning (see Cochran, Cochran, Laney and Dean, 2016, for 3D printing case studies, and
Yokana, 2013, and Smith, King and Gonzalez, 2015, and also Brazell, 2013 for more background on
STEAM education). In this unit, students will design and 3D print parts of rockets and explore the
effectiveness of different shapes and volumes.
Because I teach math in a GT magnet school, I am using Tomlinson, Leppien, and Purcells work
on challenging GT students (2005) with the Parallel Curriculum Model (2011) as I design this unit. In this
model, the Curriculum of Practice involves the students actually exploring the practice of a particular
field or career, which is a major goal is this unit (that students are put in the role of the scientist). To truly
implement a STEAM approach, the unit must be connected to humanities and the arts (see Cervetti &
Pearson, 2012). We will read about and discuss the ethical issues and risks involved in travelling to and

colonizing Mars (Simberg, 2016). To get more background on the scientific factors involved in this
project, I have looked to a variety of case studies of classes who have done similar projects (Perham &
Perham, 2010, as well as Riddle, 2011).
Leinwands work on effective math classrooms has always been one of my guiding lights when it
comes to lesson planning. He describes the results of the famous TIMSS video study, conducted in one
hundred eighth-grade classrooms in the United States, Germany and Japan. As opposed to many
classrooms in the United States, students in the Japanese classroom are asked to struggle much more
with rich, challenging problems. In addition to this, one of the major instructional shifts he recommends
for American math classrooms is to embed the mathematics in realistic and problems and real-world
contexts. That will be a major component of this unit--to study math not only in contexts that the
students may have seen before, but in new, exciting contexts that they may have a chance to become more
engaged with in the future.
Its no secret that when students have passion for what they are studying, things just go better
during class (Tomlinson, 2011). I have found that many of my students are incredibly interested in and
engaged by the topic of aerospace engineering, even if they are not planning to make a career of it. This
unit will be engaging for them on so many levels. Besides discussing the very exciting (and risky!) task of
getting a rocket out of Earths orbit, theres the more mysterious ethical dilemma of actually colonizing
another planet! This is something that Elon Musk and others have made a top priority, but I doubt that
many students have thought about the sociological factors involved in doing so (Who should go? How
can we ensure that we dont make a mess out that planet as well?). We will use Socratic seminars to
engage in these questions (Leppien & Purcell, 2005, as well as Koellner-Clark, 2002).
References
Brazell, J. (2013). STEM 2.0: Transformational Thinking about STEM for Education and Career
Practitioners. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 29 (2): 2033.
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. New York, NY: Touchstone.
Cervetti, G. & Pearson, P.D. (2012). Reading, Writing, and Thinking Like a Scientist. Journal of
Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55 (7), 580-586.
Cochran, J.A., Cochran, Z., Laney, K. & Dean, M. (2016). Expanding Geometry Understanding with 3D
Printing. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 21(9), 534-542.
Kleiman, G.M. (1991). Mathematics across the Curriculum. Educational Leadership, 49(2), 4851.
Koellner-Clark, K., Stallings, L.L. & Hoover, S.A. (2002). Socratic Seminars for Mathematics. The
Mathematics Teacher, 95 (9), 682-687.
Leinwand, S. (2009). Accessible Mathematics. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Leppien, J.H. & Purcell, J.H. (Eds). (2011). Parallel Curriculum Units for Mathematics, Grades 612.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Meyer, D.K., Turner, C.K., & Spencer, C.A. (1997). Challenge in a Mathematics Classroom: Students'
Motivation and Strategies in Project-Based Learning. The Elementary School Journal, 97 (5),
501-521.
Perham, P. & Perham, P. (2011). Looking to Mars for Mathematics Connections. The Mathematics
Teacher. 104 (5), 344-349.
Riddle, B. (2011). Getting a crew into orbit. Science Scope, 34 (6), 82-85.
Simberg, R. (2016). Getting Over 'Apolloism'. The New Atlantis, 49, 51-60.
Smith, C.P., King, B. & Gonzlez, D. (2015). The STEAM behind the Scenes. Teaching Children
Mathematics, 22 (1), 46-49.
Tomlinson, C.A. (2005). Quality Curriculum and Instruction for Highly Able Students. Theory Into
Practice, 44 (2), 160-166.
Tomlinson, C. A., & National Association for Gifted Children (U.S.). (2002). The parallel curriculum: A
design to develop high potential and challenge high-ability learners. Thousand Oaks, Calif:
Corwin Press.
Yokana, L. (2014). The Art of Thinking Like a Scientist. Generation STEM, 9 (9).

Element 5c: Stakeholders

First, with regard to my students, my aims are to give them something real and meaningful. I
believe this is my obligation--to put the math in context whenever possible (Leinwand 2009). The
students will also be immersed in the actual work life and practice of the astronaut and astrophysicist.
Research has shown that GT students long for lessons that allow them to be immersed in real-life issues,
to solve real-life problems, to see how various disparate ideas are interconnected, and to see how these
disparate ideas are connected to the big picture in some way. My aim is to inspire my students to
engage in one of the key questions of this generation--Should humans become a multi-planetary
species?
It is important, I think, to have the conversation with my students that I dont desire for all my
students to go into the aerospace industry, or for that matter the financial world, or carpentry, or any of the
other jobs that we will periodically deal with in math projects and problems. But my hope is to introduce
these fields to the students, to let them know that these are choices they have, that they will be able to

pursue later in life, but that they may or may not have any exposure to. Some scholars do like the word
achievement gap with regard to minority students, and prefer opportunity gap. My goal for this
curriculum is that all my students have the opportunity to temporarily become rocket scientists, so that
they can more accurately make a decision about whether that type of field interests them.
The ideas of STEM and STEAM are not new, but the A in STEAM (Arts) is often neglected, or
at least not connected to math and science. But again, making that connection is not new. Think of the
ways that Leonardo Da Vinci and others connected science/innovation with art (Yokana, 2014). I desire
for my students to be engaged in the arts and in the larger questions that govern the decisions that we must
make as we pursue scientific endeavors, and I want these students to be informed by others who have
spent their lives asking and answering these ethical questions.
Regarding members of the community, we have a number of unique opportunities in Denver to
give our students personal experience with aeronautical education, with Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and
ULA all having major offices in the Denver-metro area. In fact a few of my students parents work at
these companies, which makes it even easier (and more necessary, I believe) to utilize these connections to
inspire all my students. I have had guest speakers from Lockheed Martin and other tech companies come
to my school to speak, and its always been very interesting and informative. My desire for this project is
to actually bring my students into that world, so they can see for themselves the reality of this field.
Our school district has put an enormous amount of money, time and energy into STEM and
STEAM education over the past ten years, and I will certainly look to them for input and guidance with
this project. Recently our district hosted its 2nd annual Steam-a-palooza festival, in which students
from various schools presented projects that had been working on, various companies volunteered their
time and resources to plan activities for kids of all ages, and district leaders (and local weatherman Mike
Nelson!) launched a high-altitude weather/GPS balloon to the joy and excitement of hundreds of kids and
parents.
Finally, I believe that the visionaries who founded my school have a stake in giving input toward
my curriculum. Our schools mission statement is to inspire, empower and challenge academically
advanced and gifted students. I hope that those are the words that come to my students minds as we
complete this project. This unit was greatly influenced by Tomlinsons work on the Parallel Curriculum,
specifically as it relates to advanced learner, though I hope and expect that all my students will feel
engaged, inspired and challenged by this unit.

Element 5d: Curriculum Materials

Teacher Aims:
Challenge and inspire advanced learners (Tomlinson et al., 2002; Leppien & Purcell 2011),
while supporting struggling learners
Students practice being an astronaut/astrophysicist (Tomlinson, 2002)
Students can choose to work in a role that they are passionate about (non-CAD design,
CAD design, data analysis, presentation, mathematician)
Students engage in hands-on math activities (Leinwand, 2009)
Solve challenging problems involving volumes of cones, hemispheres and composite
figures.

 Math and science are connected to arts/humanities/philosophy/ethics (also known as

STEAM).
Students write and think like scientists (Cervetti & Pearson, 2012; Yokana, 2014)
Connect life lessons from astronauts and astrophysicists to the Standards for Math
Practice (Attend to Precision, Persevere through difficult problems, etc)

Learning Objectives for 1st week:

In groups of three.
Build rocket bodies and
launcher
Use CAD software to design and 3D-print cone shells
Use math problem-solving skills to calculate volume of all cone
shells
Attach cones to rockets
Test rockets and analyze results
Life skills: Embody the characteristics of great astronauts and
astrophysicists--learn the practice of the field (Tomlinson, 2002)

Day1: Introduce overall project. Hook and

motivate.
Briefly introduce project (the learning objectives above)
Opening question: What does it take to be a great
astronaut or astrophysicist (someone who designs rockets and
spacecrafts)? Make circle map as a class (write on sticky notes,
stick on front board)
Watch An Astronauts Guide to Life in Space video (10
minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Q3uqjEexm44
How were these life lessons different than you expected,
or from what you have been taught?
The Power of Negative Thinking
Aim to Be a Zero
Have an Attitude
Sweat the Small Stuff
Introduce specific rocket tasks for the week: in groups of 3 students, build your stomp
rocket launcher out of PVC pipe, design six and 3D print three nose cone shells, attach them to
rocket bodies (made from construction paper), test the rockets, and reflect on which flew best.
Give computers
Introduce TinkerCAD software (20 minutes)

 Rest of class: Design basic cones and hemispheres (see worksheet)

Homework: Watch Chris Hadfield TED talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Zo62S0ulqhA)

Day 2: Work day! Start designing and building rockets and

launcher
Materials needed: see Building Stomp Rockets and Launchers document:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GYOh1_uq7s0qO7giFeo6MAv6_EAh
PIrDqxAlYyUr2A8/edit?usp=sharing
Opening question: When building a rocket, do we want more or
less volume? Why? Discuss as a class.
Get into groups of 3 (or teacher can assign
groups)
Choose jobs to complete from below:
Student A: build launcher
Student B: build rocket bodies
(one backup)
Student C: design nose cone shells on
TinkerCAD
Rest of class time: work time
Before starting work, review Day 1 (Chris Hadfields life lessons)
The Power of Negative Thinking
Aim to Be a Zero
Have an Attitude
Sweat the Small Stuff
When Students A and B are done with the rockets
and launchers, they can also design nose cones on
TinkerCAD (see instructions on How to Design Nose
Cones on TinkerCAD below)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16_LOafGHH8A7Ow3lSzNLDvslJs3s9g1I
RUaWQb6qYuk/edit?usp=sharing

Day 3: Finish design, start printing.

Opening question: What STEM concepts (science, technology, engineering and math)
have we done so far? How are they all important and related?
30 minutes of work time
Student A: finish launcher
Student B: finish four rocket bodies (one backup)
Student C: design nose cones on TinkerCAD
Have another group or the teacher approve your three designs
Make hypotheses for which you think will work best and why.
Get approval from teacher for 3 designs, and (if time) start printing.

Day 4: Math Day

Opening question: Why do rocket designers need to understand volume?

As a class, complete the Volume of Cones and Hemisphere worksheet
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q0HrU3tVrcchWGLh6rCDxBfynZmW
6KcfH-c348QOQcA/edit?usp=sharing
Then
Groups finish TinkerCAD designs
Groups fill out Volume of Rocket Nose Cones worksheet
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XOgFGgDgEPsNPx_Yo0XY9y0hb0MXR03hgYa8yBeMMs/edit?usp=sharing

Day 6: Guest Speaker

Guest speaker: Stephen Whitnah, graduate student in astrophysics and former student.
Presentation on basics of rocket and satellite design.
Also discuss his life lessons, as well as the importance of math mastery,
problem-solving ability, and group work habits.

If time: start attaching nose cones to rockets

Day 7: Finish printing, attach nose cones

Opening question: What do rocket scientists do when things fail?
3D print and attach nose cones (hot glue or superglue)
While theyre printing (it should take an hour or two), watch October Sky clip
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP_OM5VVcSo) and read article about the real-life rocket
boys.
http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2018festival/schoolprograms/niftyfifty/item/1084-mr_homer.html
For homework: Complete worksheet
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jDixkpsS126aIuJmYQC0YuQbNu5op32b0SqtNlNSxM/edit?usp=sharing

Day 8: Test rockets, record and analyze results

Test day. Go outside or to gym to test rockets

Record and analyze results
Create poster (or another display) to show rocket designs and results

Day 9: Poster work day, begin presentations

Work on posters and presentations . See rubric.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GLmPT5v3aYyVe1DAumbWuM4fls3jbMQ1B3I366PnZk/edit?usp=sharing

Days 9 and 10: Finish presentations

Each group present their posters to two other groups (this could take a few days)
Teacher will float between presentations

Learning Objectives for 3rd week:

Learn about current Mission to Mars efforts
Should we become a multi-planetary species? Why or why not?
Conduct Socratic Seminar to discuss these and other
ethical/philosophical questions. (Tomlinson and Leppien, 2005)

Day 11: Ethics in science and math

Opening question: Who is Elon Musk? Do STEM people need to be ethical? Why or
why not?
Watch 60 Minutes interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=bwZyyAxkqQc
Elon Musk and others believe very deeply in the goal of establishing
a community of humans on Mars, and are spending billions of dollars to
make it happen, soon! The A in STEAM stands for Arts (Humanities).
Why is important to incorporate the Arts/Humanities into this discussion
(of whether we should colonize Mars)? What are some pitfalls of doing
science without discussing the ethics/philosophy underneath the
science?
Meet in new groups of 3 discuss these questions
Introduce Socratic Seminar topics: Should we colonize Mars? Who
should go? Who should be in charge? Would you want to go?
Split into new groups of 3. Each student reads one of 3 articles, and
summarizes them to their group:

Articles for research:

http://www.redcolony.com/features.php?name=whycolonizemars
http://www.universetoday.com/14883/mars-colonizing/
http://www.science20.com/robert_inventor/blog/ten_reasons_not_to_live_on_mars_great_
place_to_explore-118531
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prepare for Socratic Seminar
HW: read Elon Musk Mars article: http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-carbon-fiberfuel-tank-ocean-ship-test-2016-1

Day 12: Socratic seminar--Should we colonize Mars?

Socratic seminar day:
Introduce rules/norms or a good Socratic Seminar
(http://blog.mrwaddell.net/uploads/2016/08/SocraticSeminarGroundRulesPoster_000.pdf)
Questions:

 Should we colonize Mars?

Who should go?
Who should be in charge?
Would you want to go?
References: Tomlinson (2002) and Leppien & Purcells (2011) work on the the Parallel
Curriculum (designed to inspire and challenge GT learners (and all learners) recommends using
Socratic Questioning techniques to help the students to see the connections between topics, and
to find the theme that hold the unit together. Without a powerful theme, a unit may *seem*
connected, but it may be an illusion.

Day 13: Field trip to ULA (United Launch Alliance)

Field Trip day

Tour ULA (join venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin) headquarters in Centennial, CO
Alternative: tour a comparable facility elsewhere (Raytheon, Lockheed
Martin, SpaceX)
Alternative: have a phone conference with a NASA or SpaceX or ULA
engineer

Day 14: Closure

Revisit some of the main points from the 3-week unit

How did you use (or not use) the lessons from Chris Hadfield in this unit?
The Power of Negative Thinking
Aim to Be a Zero
Have an Attitude
Sweat the Small Stuff
How did we find the volumes of the composite shapes (hollow cones with cones cut out
from the inside, or cones with hemispheres on top)
More CAD possibilities
TinkerCAD rocket designs: http://www.thingiverse.com/search?
q=rocket&sa=
Explore a few other software options: SketchUp, Fusion360, SolidWorks
Did you end up thinking we *should* or *should not* colonize Mars?
Discuss the above questions, then fill out the unit reflection sheet GoogleForm here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeHZGtg_f0lCwVNDE3XDTqwf
RScUGkdYWPKTA8L4RIn-5OzgQ/viewform

5e: Summary and Reflection

Ive learned an enormous amount about myself through the process of creating this curriculum. I
did my undergraduate studies at Colorado College, a small liberal arts college well known for immersing
students in a curriculum very similar to the STEAM curriculum I tried to create here. I believe that
Connelly and Clandidins (1988) concept of curriculum as narrative is very present in this unit. At
Colorado College, and in my daily lesson plans at my current school, I am always looking for ways to
*connect* disparate topics and help my students to develop meaning within their studies and within
themselves. This is a major aim of this Mission to Mars project--to give the students the *experience* of

being a rocket designer (astrophysicist), but in a 7th grade way. Dewey wrote, in Experience and
Education, that To imposition from above is opposed expression and cultivation of individuality; to
external discipline is opposed free activity; to learning from texts and teachers, learning through
experience; to acquisition of isolated skills and techniques by drill, is opposed acquisition of them as
means of attaining ends which make direct vital appeal (Dewey, 1938). My hope is that through STEAM
units like this one, students have a chance to study mathematics in a personal and meaningful way--in a
way that allows them to utilize their own creativity, while using mathematical and scientific reasoning
throughout.
Regarding the commonplaces (Connelly and Clandinin, 1988), I believe that this unit connects
very well to all four. With respect to the learner commonplace, when asked about their future plans,
many of my current students respond that theyd like to go into a STEM profession, and indeed many of
their families emigrated to the United States from another country because they accepted a job in a
STEM field. For the teacher commonplace, I am personally excited by the current direction of our space
program, and I know my interest and enthusiasm will come through in this unit. I feel that we are, in
many ways, back to a situation to the 1960s, when President Kennedys passion and emphasis on
science (and specifically space travel) education spurred the nation on in a myriad of ways, and I believe
that connects with the milieu commonplace, because of the current state of our world (in major flux!).
And of course there will be no changes to our space program, or to our worlds frightening climate
change, without a major emphasis on mathematics, which brings us to the subject matter commonplace.
The life of the astronaut or the astrophysicist is not my story, but I feel that in another life it could
have been! I relate personally to my relatives and friends who do work for Lockheed Martin, NASA and
Texas Instruments. I am the MathCounts (middle school advanced math competition) coach for my
school, which has won the State Competition 4 of the last 16 years, and I also run advanced math camps
in my spare time, and many of my students are interested in pursuing these fields. And I personally feel
that our society is in the midst of a wave of enthusiasm directed toward space travel (and 3D printing),
and I am excited to tap into that enthusiasm. I hope that this unit is a step toward these goals.