The Loprieno/Iovino 7th grade science team designed a hands-on lesson about texting and driving called “Attention Drivers: FOCUS!” Using some of the techniques they studied and practiced during the Briarcliff Summer Institute (read the Journal News coverage of the program here), these innovative teachers allowed students to literally take texting and driving into their own hands using the AT&T Texting and Driving Simulator: It Can Wait. This activity covered topics spanning several instructional units including: scientific reasoning, components of controlled experiments, experimental design, and presentation of findings. The directions were: Think about how often you are riding as a passenger in a school bus or car. Then think about how you might feel if you notice the driver becoming distracted with his or her cell phone. Most people understand that doing something like texting which driving is a risky activity, and yet the National Safety Council reports that 1 in 4 car accidents is now caused by cellphone use. When a driver glances down at a phone to read or type a text message, their reaction time increases. The lag time can make all the difference when it comes to maintaining the vehicle in the correct lane or hitting the brakes in time to avoid a pedestrian crossing the street. How can we design controlled experiments to collect data that shows how well one can drive when texting versus not texting. How can we then share our information with loved ones and community members to urge them to take action to spread the word that cell phone use and driving don’t mix. Next step: students will make posters for BHS using the data they collected to remind everyone not to text & drive.Check out a video of the students doing an actual simulation on our Facebook page!
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