Teacher Experience: “Rocket Golf Course Designer” Task for High School Science Students

A Defined STEM Learning Experience From:
Jenn Wells
High School Science Teacher
Newell-Fonda High School (IA)

Performance Tasks:
Rocket Golf Course Designer

What we did:
To start the task, I showed the class the introductory video provided by Defined STEM, which got students excited to share their own ideas for how they would design a course and the different features their design would need. Students got to choose from doing a course design, a mathematical analysis, a TV/online commercial, or an electronic presentation plus building a model of their course. Students presented their final projects to the class.

Why Defined STEM was the Perfect Fit:
Student engagement during this project was very high. It was the first time many of them got to see how science and their labs can translate into jobs, careers, and real life.