Fermilab LInC

Aviation

Student Travel Itinerary

Dreams of Flight: Change the way you learn!

How would you like the opportunity to change the way you and the other students learn at your school and the ways that the teachers teach? Does the following sound like a typical list of homework assignments for you: twenty math problems in math class, a textbook lab assignment in science, a grammar handout or story to read in English, and a chapter to read in history ñand donít forget to do the study questions written by some textbook publisher? What if you could study math, science, English, and history as a part of a field of study that you might consider for a life career? What if you could make more decisions about what you learn? If youíre tired of doing labs that the teacher assigns to you, if you donít understand how the math problems that you completed last night have anything to do with what youíre doing today or for the rest of your life, or how doing grammar exercises is going to advance your career opportunities, then you may be interested in helping plan and implement a learning pathway that teaches what you need to know, but in a more real-world way. If working on projects like those that you would be asked to work on in "the grown-up" world appeals to you, you will want to take the challenge offered by your school board and by local aviation experts, as shown in a recent newspaper article and in the memo below.

Memo

To: Students

From: School Board

Your high school has the opportunity to create and implement an aviation academy that will be a curricular path for students to explore opportunities in the field of aviation. The board will approve funding of the aviation curricular path if the school community ñstaff, students, and parents- can convince us that all disciplines will be included in the academy; that the academy will offer a rigorous curriculum that meets the University of California A-F requirements; and that you will be able to create enough interest in the academy that enrollment will be filled by students who are excited to choose this path.

Your Task:

  1. To answer the question "What does an aviation academy look like?"
  2. To answer the question "What does English, math, science, or history have to do with the field of aviation?
  3. To provide evidence of a variety of English, math, science, or history skills and concepts that professionals in the field of aviation use.
  4. To show the relationship of the English, math, science, or history skills and concepts to the state mandated Language Arts Standards
  5. To work effectively in a team environment to solve problems that arise in the investigation of the original question.
  6. To create a public relations product that will "sell" the academy to the school community.
  7. To present the public relations product to the school community.

Getting Started:

As a class, you must determine how you want to approach this investigation. What happens when thirty-three people work on the same problem? What is the most effective way to organize yourselves to arrive at a product that will sell the academy to the community? What will the final product or products look like? What qualities describe an investigative team? These are questions that your teachers may have answered for you in the past, but for this project you will have to answer them on your own. Of course, your teacher is available to guide you and to give suggestions, but you are responsible for planning the process and strategies that you will use to complete the project. Consider the following:
  1. What is the question that needs to be answered or the problem that needs to be solved.
  2. What are possible strategies to answer the question or solve the problem?
  3. How will you organize yourselves to answer the question or solve the problem? Do you need to identify and define specific team roles?
  4. What method(s) will you use to document your findings and your progress?
  5. What tools (resources, technology, etc.) will you use to accomplish the task? What tools are readily available to you?
  6. What is the structure of your timeline for completing the investigation and final product?
  7. What do you predict the final product will be to answer the question or solve the problem?
  8. What other questions must be asked and answered to achieve a successful outcome for this investigation?
  9. What resources can the teacher offer to help you on your way?
  10. How will you use the links that you find on this page?
Want to earn your VHS pilot's license? If yes, click here.

 

CAD Student Pages Flight Plan
English Student Pages Flight Plan
Library Student Pages Flight Plan
Math Student Pages Flight Plan

 

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Created for the Fermilab LInC program sponsored by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Education Office and Friends of Fermilab, and funded by United States Department of Energy, Illinois State Board of Education, North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium which is operated by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), and the National Science Foundation.

Author(s): Jim Connelly (vhsjconnelly@myschool.com), Carla Decker(vhscdecker@hotmail.com), Sandra Lane (sandlane90@hotmail.com), and Sheila Smith (mommymean@hotmail.com), David Tillay (vhsdtillay@hotmail.com)
School: Vallejo High School, Vallejo, CA
Created: February 15, 2001 - Updated: December 28, 2002
URL: /lincon/w01/projects/aviation/studentpages.htm