Sample TRAILS Course Project

This course project, the “Mars Exploration Curriculum,” was produced by a student team at Stanford in Winter 2004. They worked with an elementary school teacher teaching a unit on astronomy. The activity is mediated by “Willy”, a robot whose memory chips are zapped en route to Mars. In order to help him succeed in his mission, the user has to help him remember facts about Mars. The educational goals were to learn facts about Mars and engage in some simple problem-solving activities.

Students choose which question to answer by clicking on a question mark, and are presented with a simple activity that explores a Mars fact. They then answer a multiple choice question. If all the facts are remembered, then the mission is accomplished; Willy makes it to Mars.

The software was designed to align to the NCTM Standard for Grades 3-5 and Grades 6-8, Measurement:

• understand measureable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and processes of measurement
• apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements