The MShoe, Take 3

Yesterday, I came into my geometry classes with a tried-and-true talk that I've given for the past two years on a project that I did in grad school to develop a running shoe that generates power. This discussion is usually a hit with the students, as they seem to really understand this application of science to their lives. I used a model that worked last year, using fewer slides (a shorter version of the powerpoint) for the nonaccelerated students. I start out by explaining that I was working on a graduate school course project, and my team was trying to design a product that would power an iPod through running. Before discussing the product itself, though, I like to talk about energy first - what it is and where it comes from, and why we chose to take it from running. I conclude by describing the project, walking through a quick calculation that we had to do to ensure that there would be enough power, showing the prototype, and passing it around while answering questions about it.

Second hour (accelerated) seemed to enjoy the talk, and it went on for a lot longer than I had planned (probably about 25 minutes). There were a lot of questions from the students, and they were able to point out a lot of our issues that we came across (e.g., waterproofing, too many wires/cables). Third hour (non-accelerated) had some new faces, as this is my first class of the new semester, so I briefly introduced myself to them and gave the abbreviated version of the shoe talk. While they seemed attentive, they weren't responsive to my questions, which makes me feel like they weren't very interested. As a result of the low response, this talk probably only lasted about ten minutes or so. In fourth hour, which is historically less engaged and in which Ms. Tran wanted more time for lecture notes, I dropped the powerpoint altogether and just told them about the project with the prop. This actually seemed to work well, and when I told them what we did, many of them expressed that it was a cool idea and design. I think the brevity and the props helped. I wish that I could do this with fourth hour all the time, but unfortunately I don't have any other cool projects that I can easily bring in to show the students. Sixth hour (accelerated again) also went well, although at times they were unresponsive. Perhaps I over-talked the energy issue and should have stuck to the meat of the presentation (the product), but I always like to make sure that they have some background information and tidbits of knowledge.