Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum (if the lesson is not a fit for the class you teach, how could the lesson be modified so that it is applicable to your curriculum)?
I was having difficulty trying to figure how to make this anything, but a science experiment. If it was just this, I don’t see how it would fit my curriculum.
However, I teach a flight and space unit, so I thought about how I could turn this into an engineering challenge. What about trying to designing visors and looking at what materials would make a good visor. You would have to have samples of dozens to types lenses, but students could combine/layer to develop a lens or system that would work.
I don’t really know what the values were supposed to be. My luminescence reading never really changed, but the UV did. Not sure if I was doing something wrong, bad sensor, or should no difference. It was a partly cloudy day, so I had to keep waiting until the clouds did not obscure the sun. Tried to import a table, but was unsuccessful. My data is below:
Glasses, Lens, Luminescence (LUX), Ultraviolet (UV)
Ambient, None, 5343, 7.6
Green Frame, Dark-Constant, 5343, .52
Blue Frame, Dark-Gradient, 5343, .71
Oakley M Frame, Dark-Constant, 5343, .63
Wiley X, Brown-Polarized, 5343, .43
There was some variability with the data, so I attempted to determine the average. I was just using the OLED display and not using the computer to data log. I would have been able to obtain specific values if the computer could be used for data logging.
The polarized lens gave the best UV numbers next to the cheap green frame glasses. I was a bit surprised the Oakley M Frames did not have better performance numbers.
Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful?
Assuming there were several kits, the number of sunglasses required would be costly. I would probably take the lenses out of the frames and mark them to lower costs. This would also help with the layering for the helmet visor engineering project. There would need to be a discussion about the electromagnetic spectrum, visible vs invisible, and what is damaging to humans and why. This activity should also be done after one of the simpler activities using the LUX and UV meters.
If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher actively do during this lesson?
I definitely would have to do some direct instruction with this activity. I think I would also have to do some research to understand the electromagnetic spectrum…I am not a science teacher. I would have to monitor/remind students to keep at lenses at same angle and clean. The paper tube in the video might be a good option.
If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your student’s role during the class. What does “student success” look like?
My courses are mostly project-based learning (PBL), so students are in charge of their own learning. Success would be a student being able to complete activity, understand the electromagnet spectrum, explain different lens performances, and be able to apply what was learned to future lessons.
