Lesson from TeachEngineering.org. Contributed by the Techtronics Program, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University.

Note: This activity, part of a teachengineering curricular unit on Engineering and the Human Body that includes a lesson on the heart, could be enhanced with two preliminary heart-valve activities – Engineering the Heart and Saving a Life: Valve replacement

Grade level: 6 – 8
Time: 90 minutes

Summary

In this activity, teams of middle school “biomedical engineers” will learn about the engineering design process and how a one-way valve works by creating heart valves from tape, plastic tubing and a variety of other materials.

Learning Objectives  

After doing this activity, students should be able to:

Standards

Next Generation Science Standards

• Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions. [Grades 6 – 8]
• Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. [Grades 6 – 8]
• Science & Engineering Practices: Define a design problem that can be solved through the development of an object, tool, process or system and includes multiple criteria and constraints, including scientific knowledge that may limit possible solutions.
• Disciplinary Core Idea: The more precisely a design task’s criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specification of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that is likely to limit possible solutions.
• Crosscutting Concepts: All human activity draws on natural resources and has both short and long-term consequences, positive as well as negative, for the health of people and the natural environment. The uses of technologies and any limitations on their use are driven by individual or societal needs, desires, and values; by the findings of scientific research; and by differences in such factors as climate, natural resources, and economic conditions.

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association

• E. Design is a creative planning process that leads to useful products and systems.
• F. There is no perfect design. Design involves a set of steps, which can be performed in different sequences and repeated as needed.
• G. Requirements for design are made up of criteria and constraints. Brainstorming is a group problem-solving design process in which each person in the group presents his or her ideas in an open forum.
• H. Modeling, testing, evaluating, and modifying are used to transform ideas into practical solutions.

National Science Education Standards

• Form and function are complementary aspects of objects, organisms, and systems in the natural and designed world. [Grades K – 12]
• Living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary nature of structure and function. Important levels of organization for structure and function include cells, organs, tissues, organ systems, whole organisms, and ecosystems. [Grades 5 – 8]
• Evaluate completed technological designs or products, with consideration given to factors that might affect acceptability and suitability for intended users or beneficiaries; suggest improvements and try proposed modifications. [Grades 5 – 8]
• Communicate the process of technological design. Students should review and describe any completed piece of work and identify the stages of problem identification, solution design, implementation, and evaluation. [Grades 5 – 8]
• Technological designs have constraints. Some constraints are unavoidable, for example, properties of materials, or effects of weather and friction; other constraints limit choices in the design, for example, environmental protection, human safety, and aesthetics. [Grades 5 – 8]

Materials

• Scissors
• Waterproof tape (i.e. duct tape, electrical tape, etc.)
• Flexible plastic tubing (2 in. in diameter and 4 in. length/student)
• Flexible plastic sheets (flexible binder type of material, 12 in. x 12 in. piece/student)
• Foam sheets (1/4 in. thick, 12 in. x 12 in. piece/student)
• Clay
• Wire
• Pipe cleaners
• Beakers or measuring cups for pouring the water
• Buckets or baking pans for catching water (or sink)
• Paper towels, sponges, or cloths for wiping up spills
• Prosthetic heart valves (or, if difficult to obtain without a connection to a hospital, images of prosthetic heart valves)
• Heart valve handout (.pdf)

Procedure   

Activity Extensions

Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans

Tags: biomdedical engineering, Class Activities, device, Engineering Design Process, Grades 6-8, heart, Lesson Plan, Mechanical engineering, valve