CamillaSorensen

EmilyBridge
HeatherCombs

EDCI270:Case2
TheMechanicalHand

Overview

Thislessonwillgivestudentsahandsonwaytolearnabout
howhumananatomyandtechnologycanbeincorporated.
Thestudentshavepreviouslylearnedabouttheanatomy
andphysiologyofthemuscles,tendons,andligaments
associatewiththehandspecificallyopeningandclosingthe
hand.Thestudentswillthenbeguided,stepbystep,
throughtheprocessofassemblingamechanicalhand.

DescriptionofLearners,
TheselearnersarefifthgradersparticipatinginCollege
Environment,Learning
MentorsforKidshereatPurdueUniversity.Thereare
Goals,andLessonContent twentystudentsinthegroup.Thesestudentshave
previouslystudiedanatomyextensively.Theclasshadan
interestinthehandspecifically,soextensiveresearchand
studyhasgoneintothisarea.
ThelessonwilltakeplaceinoneoftheEPICclassroomsin
thebasementofArmstrong.Theseclassroomsarevery
informalareaswithmanyworkspaces.Theyarefilledwithall
sortsoftubing,piping,string,rope,glue,nails,etc.thatthe
studentswillneedtocompletethetasks.
Thestudentswillusethesematerialstoproducea
mechanicalhandcapableofopeningandclosing.Theywill
thenbeabletoexplainhowthemechanicsrelatetothe
anatomicalstructuresinahand.
LearningObjectives

Giventhematerials,studentswillbeabletoproduce
amechanicalhandthathastheabilitytoopenand
close,within3045minutes.
Givenamechanicalhand,studentswillbeableto
describeitsrelationtotheanatomyofahumanhand
withtheassistanceofgroupmembers,withouterror.
Givenacup,themechanicalhandthestudents
createdshouldbeabletopickupandholdthecup,
forfiveseconds.

Standards

5.4.1Investigatetechnologiesthatmimichumanor
animalmusculoskeletalsystemsinordertomeeta
need.

 5.4.2Investigatethepurposeofprototypesand
modelswhendesigningasolutiontoaproblemand
howlimitationsincostanddesignfeaturesmight
affecttheirconstruction.

5.4.3Designsolutionstoproblemsinthecontextof
musculoskeletalbodysystems.Usingsuitabletools,
techniquesandmaterials,draworbuildaprototype
ormodelofaproposeddesign.

RequiredMaterials

Procedures

Tubing
String
Tape
Sharpknife
Hotgluegun
Marker/pen
CDcover
Plasticorwoodenclotheshanger

Showstudentsoneortwovideos
(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppILwXwsMng
&
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMHvziAikok
on
thesecondvideo,keepthevideomutedandstopat
1:20)onrobotichandsandexplainthatbecause
theylearnedaboutthemechanismsofbodyparts
previouslytheywillnowbuildasimplifiedversionof
thesehands.
Studentswillgetintogroupsoffour.
Onestudentineachgrouptraceshis/herhandona
pieceofpaper,markingwhereeveryjointislocated.
Thiswillbethetemplateforthemechanicalhand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3WolGwHlAc&f
eature=youtu.be
Hereisavideoexamplingteaching
thestepssofar.
Studentswillthencuttheblacktubingapproximately

ahandlength.Makefiveofthese.

Studentsshouldthenmarkthejointsofthefingers
andusethemarkstoknowwheretocutaVshapein
thetubing.Mentorsshouldbecheckingtheangleof
thebendtheirbuddiescreatedsothatitmatches
howapersonsfingerswouldflex.Thementorswill
thencutouttheVshapewiththesharpknifetoavoid
injury.

Studentwilltheninsertthestringintothetubes.They
shouldbeusingafewfeetperfinger.Thentheywill
tieafewknotsattheendandsecureallofthestrings
withtape.

 Attheotherend,thesideofthewrist,pullandtape
thestring.

Thenthestudentswillsnapoffapieceofplasticfrom
anoldCDcover.Nextstudentscutittosizeand
powerupthegluegun.

Gluethefingerstotheplasticstripbelowtheknuckle
joints.Studentscanprobablydothis,howeverifthey
needhelpmentorswillgladlydothispart.Depending
onthediameterofthetubing,thekidsmightwantto
tapethefingersbeforegluingthethumbinplace.


Next,studentswillremovethetapefromthe
wristendofthetubesandinserttheminafootorso
oftubing.

Thechildrenshouldthenattachanotherpieceofthe
CDcovertothewrist.Thentheywillglueitall
togetherleavinganinchforthestring.

Studentsneedtomakeabracetoholdthestringsfor
thepulley.Aplasticclotheshangerwillbebended
intoasquarebytapingandgluingthepieces
together.


Students,withthehelpoftheirbuddymentors,will
thentieloopsforallfingers.Thehandshouldnow
functiontoopenandclose.

Nowisagoodtimeforthementorsandbuddiesto
establishthecorrelationsbetweenthemechanical
partsandtheanatomicpartsofthehandwiththe
visualofthefunctionalmechanicalhandpresent.
Assessment

Thestudentswillbeassessedontheirabilitytoproducea
functionalhandthathasthecapacitytoopenandclose.
Theywillalsobejudgedontheircapabilitytoproperly
identifyanddescribetherelationbetweenthemechanical
handandthemusclesofahumanhand.Thehandthe

studentsmadeshouldbeabletograspandpickupacup
andholditforfivesecondsaswell.

References

SimpleAnimatronics.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch24,2015,from
http://m.instructables.com/id/SimpleAnimatronicsroboticha
nd/

Indiana'sAcademicStandards.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch24,
2015,from
http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/standards/science/2
010ScienceGrade05.pdf

ManControlsRoboticHandwithMind
.(2009).Rome.
RetrievedMarch24,2015,from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppILwXwsMng

AmazingRoboticHand
.(2006).RetrievedMarch24,2015,
from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMHvziAikok

Sorensen,C.,Bridge,E.,&Combs,H.(2015,March29).
ExampleTeachingfortheMechanicalHand.Retrieved
March30,2015,from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3WolGwHlAc&feature=
youtu.be

b.)
WhenweconsideredaSTEMlessonplanwedecidedthatwewantedtodoanactivitythat
wassciencebasedbecauseweweremorefamiliarwiththattopic.Itisalwaysimportantto
lookforlessonplansfromdifferentsources,sothistookourgroupindifferentdirectionsasto
whatwewantedtodo.HeatherresearchedthestandardsforfifthgradesciencewhileCamilla
andIlookedatdifferentactivitiesonGoogleandPinterest.Wefinallydecidedonthefun
processofcreatingahandprototype.DuringtheplanningprocessweusedthetoolLino.We
postedallofourideasandsourcesonitsothatwecouldkeeptrackoftheinformationthatwe

used.WefoundtheproceduresandmaterialsonawebsitetitledSimpleAnimatronic(foundin
ourreferencelist).Becausethisactivityissolonganddoesnotrequirealotoftechnology,we
decidedtowatchoneortwoYoutubevideoswiththeprojectoronexamplesofmechanical
handsrightbeforetheactivity.Wedeterminedthatthestudentshadalreadyhadalesson
aboutthewaythatbodypartsworkandmovesothatwecouldusemoretimetobuildthe
hand.

c.)
Bissaker,K.(2014).TransformingSTEMeducationinaninnovativeAustralianschool:The
roleofteachers'andacademics'professionalpartnerships.
TheoryIntoPractice
,
53(1),5563.RetrievedMarch30,2015.

ThisarticleisaboutusinginterdisciplinarycurriculuminordertocreateabetterSTEM
educationforstudents.Meaningthatdifferentsubjects/classesshouldcoordinatewitheach
othertocreateamoreexpandededucationacrosssubjects.Thisrelatestoourlessonplan
becauseweareincorporatingtwodifferentsubjectsinordertocompletetheproject.Students
needtohaveaknowledgeofhumananatomyaswellasknowledgeoftechnologytocreate
themechanicalhand.Becauseweareincorporatingthetwosubjects,itismoreofan
interdisciplinaryeducation.

Brown,J.(2011,December1).ScienceandTechnologyEducators'EnactedCurriculum:
AreasofPossibleCollaborationforanIntegrativeSTEMApproachinPublicSchools.
TechnologyandEngineeringTeacher
,3034.RetrievedMarch29,2015.

Thisarticledescribestheneedforcollaborationbetweenscienceandtechnology
teachersandhowtheycanpartnerwitheachothertocreatebettercontentfortheirstudents.
Thearticlealsoexplainshowscienceandtechnologyteacherscancreateandenhance
partnershipsbyutilizingthestrengthsofeachoftheirdisciplines.Integrationbetweenthe
STEMdisciplinesisagoodstrengthenandbuildbetterlessonplans.Thatiswhythisgroup
wasabletointegratetheideasofthisarticleintoourlessonplanbycollaboratingtechnology
andscience,specificallyanatomy,tocreateabetteroveralllearningexperience.