S10-30006

Walking Waddles

When making animal prosthetics like for Waddles the Duck, people think about how animals can move comfortably. This is called metacognitive thinking, which helps design prosthetics that let animals eat, play, and interact as they did before. It's about understanding animals and helping them feel better.

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Activity Time

STEM Concept

Subject & Grades

Metacognition

minutes

All

K-5th

Connections between STEM Concepts, Learning Targets and Standards

Learning Objective

Students will identify and apply many metacognitive techniques to everyday situations.
Students will understand how these skills relate to their confidence and success.

Success Criteria

Students will be able to explain why metacognition is an essential skill needed for life.
Students will identify and use the appropriate metacognitive strategies and techniques.
Students will apply metacognitive techniques to arrive at a practical solution.

Pathway 1 : Students participate in STEM education that combines all STEM subjects and

prioritizes STEM processes and practices.

Pathways 3: Staff members and leaders regularly engage in STEM-focused professional development.

Pathway 9: Students display their knowledge through practical assessments and improve their self-assessment and monitoring skills.

STANDARD 1: Learners engage in STEM learning experiences that integrate all STEM disciplines with an emphasis on processes and practices associated with STEM .

STANDARD 7: Learners engage in self-directed STEM learning guided by professional staff members who are effective facilitators of learning.

STANDARD 9: Learners demonstrate their learning through performance-based assessments and have opportunities to develop self-assessment and self-monitoring skills.

Activity Introduction

Watch this video about Waddles the Duck. When people develop animal prosthetics, they think a lot about how the animals can move and live their lives comfortably. This is called metacognitive thinking, which means thinking about how we think and understand things. Metacognitive thinking also involves considering how the prosthetic will affect the animal's daily activities. The people designing the prosthetics want to make sure that the animal can do things like eat, play, and interact with other animals just like they used to before losing a limb. By using metacognitive thinking, people can create animal prosthetics that make animals feel better and live happier lives. It's all about understanding how animals move, think, and behave so that the prosthetics can help them in the best possible way. Remember, metacognition sounds like a big word but it simply means thinking about how we think and understand things.

[Click image to enlarge]

Prompts for group activities

How do metacognitive skills help you think about different situations

How does thinking about how prosthetics are designed and work help us understand how they can help animals and humans?
Can you think of any situations where someone might need a prosthetic? How do you think a prosthetic could make their life better?
If you were designing a prosthetic for an animal or a person, how would you use your thinking skills to create something comfortable and helpful for them?

Step 1: Watch the video

Watch Waddles Walk

Activity Tips

Remind the students to write down words they don’t understand or questions that immediately come to mind about the topic they’re watching.
Tell them to be ready to share with their group.

Step 2:
Group Session

After the video, divide students into groups of 3 or 4 and let the students begin their discussions while you circulate; it’s all about what THEY think and feel. Ask them to listen carefully to their friends as they might have different opinions to them.

Step 3:
Assessment

Ask the students:

Ask the students who they believe the best listeners and best team players are from this activity.
Ask them to justify their answers in a simple sentence.
Explain to them that the idea is everyone improves both their listening and teamwork skills over time.
Ask the students to summarize the video in 6-8 words only.