Plagiarizing Nature – Biomimicry Pitch

STEAM Challenge

Submission Due Date: April 5, 2024

Designed for Middle and High School Students

Table of Contents ·      The Challenge ·      Assumptions and Logistics ·      Process ·      Meridian Support Resources ·      Presentation of Learning ·      Evaluation Rubric ·      Essential Questions ·      Student Proficiencies ·      NGSS Curricular Correlations

Range of Activities ·      Research and Analysis of Biomimicry ·      Innovation Development ·      Risk Assessment ·      Scientific Projection ·      Creative Brainstorming ·      Script Writing ·      Digital Literacy Skills – Video – Pre-production, Production and Post-production ·      Human Skills: Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Presentational Skills

 

 

• The Challenge
• Humans have learned a lot from natural processes. When we adapt and copy those processes to our advantage, it’s called biomimicry. You and your team are challenged to a) develop a hypothetical product that mimics one such natural phenomenon or process; and b) pitch your idea to a team of investors who can propel your project forward, …if they like it. To make your pitch count, create a 2 – 4 minute digital story to convince investors to award you the funding you need to get going on the road to fame ­and fortune.
• Specifically, in this challenge, your team will:
• Research background information about biomimicry. You will find numerous examples of biomimicry and products that are in development online. Some examples for inspiration include:
• From the lowly cocklebur, we got Velcro.
• The action of a helicopter’s rotor mimics a falling maple seed.

 

What natural phenomenon inspires your creation?

 

• Choose an example of biomimicry — one that is not already commercialized – and the problem that its application solves.

 

Develop, on paper (or in mock-up form) a product – give your select form of biomimicry shape and definition and functionality – with the understanding that your final product will be a mix of real science and imaginative application.

 

Time is short, competition for funding is fierce, and you need a financial boost. Make the case for why this product or process will make the most difference for society: Is it the strongest? Lightest? Most energy efficient? Your investor pitch should explain how “plagiarizing from nature” and turning it into a product has the greatest potential for advancing civilization.

• In your video, show two existing examples of biomimicry to provide context for your invention.

Deliverables include:

• Biomimicry Pitch Video (this is the only Meridian Stories deliverable)
• Product Pitch Summary Background Paper (at teacher’s discretion)
• Resource Citation Paper (at teacher’s discretion)
• Shooting Script (at teacher’s discretion)

Assumptions and Logistics

• Time Frame – We recommend that this digital storytelling project takes place inside of a three to five-week time frame.

• Length – All Meridian Stories submissions should be under 4 minutes in length, unless otherwise specified.
• Slate – All digital storytelling projects must begin with a slate that provides: 
  • the title of the piece;
  • the name of the school submitting;      
  • the wording ‘Permission Granted’ which gives Meridian Stories the right to a) publicly display the submission in question on, as linked from, related to or in support of Meridian Stories digital media; and b) use or reference it for educational purposes only, in any and all media; and
  • We strongly recommend that students do not put their last names on the piece either at the start or finish, during the credits.

• Submissions – Keep in mind that each school can only submit three submissions per Competition (so while the entire class can participate in any given Challenge, only three can be submitted to Meridian Stories for Mentor review and scoring).
• Teacher Reviews – All reviews by the teacher are at the discretion of the teacher and all suggested paper deliverables are due only to the teacher. The only deliverable to Meridian Stories is the digital storytelling project.
• Teacher’s Role and Technology Integrator – While it is helpful to have a Technology Integrator involved, they are not usually necessary: the students already know how to produce the digital storytelling project. And if they don’t, part of their challenge is to figure it out. They will! The teacher’s primary function in these Challenges is to guide the students as they engage with the content.  You don’t need to know editing, sound design, shooting or storyboarding: you just need to know your content area, while assisting them with organization and time management issues. See the Teachers Role section of the website for further ideas about classroom guidance.
• Digital Rules/Literacy – We strongly recommend that all students follow the rules of Digital Citizenry in their proper usage and/or citation of images, music and text taken from other sources. This recommendation includes producing a citations page at the end of your entry, if applicable. See the Digital Rules area in the Meridian Stories Digital Resource Center section of the site for guidance.
• Location – Try not to shoot in a classroom at your school. The classroom, no matter how you dress it up, looks like a classroom and can negatively impact the digital story you are trying to tell.
• Collaboration – We strongly recommend that students work in teams of 3-4: part of the educational value is around building collaborative skill sets. But students may work individually.

• Process
• Below is a suggested breakdown for the students’ work.

During Phase I, student teams will:

• Research what biomimicry is and how it a) has successfully been applied in the past; and b) how it is being studied and researched in the present.
• Choose one example of biomimicry that your team finds particularly powerful, relevant, and appealing. The focus here is on the usefulness of this application–on your team’s ability to transfer the natural science to real-world applications.
• Invent your own product, giving it shape and function.
  • Where to begin? There is no right answer here. This is a speculative science as it were, demanding a high dose of science and imagination. A few suggestions include:
    • Consider animals and plants with unusual shapes and textures;
    • Consider animals and plants with unusual behaviors and capacities; and/or
    • Consider needs that are not met in the human world but are in the animal/plant world. Any possibilities in that gap?
  • Brainstorm and research plausible applications in the real world for your ‘product’. Mixing serious applications with far-fetched possibilities is encouraged.
  • Be sure to discuss the possible negative implications of your product idea. Predicting and presenting the possible risks (such as environmental impact) is an important part of this process.
    • Teacher’s Option: Product Pitch Summary – Teachers may require that teams hand in a summary paper of their product idea; its societal functions; and the potential societal ramifications.
    • Brainstorm how you are going to represent the product visually as part of your pitch video. For example, will you represent your product in two-dimensional or three-dimensional form? Begin to break down this work, especially if you are planning to build something.
  • Choose two other examples of biomimicry, to include for context in your pitch video.
    • Teacher’s Option: Resource Citation Paper – Teachers may require that teams hand in Resource Citation Paper that keeps track of the resources that the team is using to support their pitch.

 

During Phase II, student teams will:

• Brainstorm about the key ideas that will inform your investor pitch. Here are some questions and ideas to consider:
• What is the most persuasive and potent application that your team has agreed upon? Where, in this pitch, does that application go? At the beginning, or as a climactic ending?
• What are the two or three chief ‘selling points’ for your biomimicry pitch? These points could form the spine of your investor pitch.
• Who are the voices/characters that you want involved in this pitch? Salespeople? Scientists? Possible end users? Will there be interviews?
• Your intended audience is people with investor money. What do you think is most important to them? How can you target your pitch to meet their interests?
• Watch commercials on TV. You may want to pay special attention to the shopping channels that specialize in selling techniques. What works and what doesn’t work? Are there any ideas that you can adapt to your investor pitch?
• Your team should now have a) the key scientific points that need to be communicated; b) a new product idea that has a shape and defined capacity; and c) a handful of creative ideas from your brainstorm above about how to position your product. Decide on the format or approach to your investor pitch and create script outline.
• Draft the script.
• Discuss and map out the imagery needed to tell your story. Oftentimes a storyboard is the best process for this.
• Pre-produce the pitch:
• Scout locations for shooting (if this is being shot on location);
• Contact the people that you will need to include;
• Research, as necessary, the still images that you will integrate into your pitch;
• Create costumes, props and other set pieces, as needed;
• Prepare the logistics for the actual shooting of the pitch; and
• Rehearse the scenes that will comprise the pitch.

In Phase III, student teams will:

• Finalize the script.
  • Teacher’s Option: Shooting Script – Teachers may require that teams hand in their Shooting Script
• Shoot the pitch video.
• Record the voice-over or narration, as necessary.
• Edit the video, adding stills and graphics as desired.
• Post-produce the video, adding music and sound effects as desired.

Meridian Support Resources

Meridian Stories provides two forms of support for the student teams. 1.    Media Innovators and Artists – This is a series of three-to-four-minute videos featuring artists and innovative professionals who offer important advice, specifically for Meridian Stories, in the areas of creativity and production. 2.    Meridian Resources – These are short documents that offer student teams key tips in the areas of creativity and production. Recommended review, as a team, for this Challenge include:
Media Innovators and Artists	Meridian Resources
On Documentary Films – Sarah Childress On Film Producing – Tom Pierce On Non-fiction – Margaret Heffernan On Editing – Tom Pierce	“Six Principal Modes of Documentary Filmmaking” “Creating a Commercial” “Video Editing Basics” “Three Free Rendering and Animation Programs: Scratch, Geogebra And Sketch Up”

 

Presentation of Learning

Meridian Stories is a proud partner of the non-profit Share Your Learning, which is spearheading the movement of over five million students to publicly share their work as a meaningful part of their educational experience.

The workforce considers Presentational Skills to be a key asset and we encourage you to allow students to practice this skill set as often as possible. These digital storytelling projects provide a great opportunity for kids to practice their public presentational skills. This can be achieved in a remote learning environment by inviting parents to a Zoom/Google/Skype screening of the student’s digital stories.

According to Share Your Learning, Presentations of Learning (POL) promote…

• Student Ownership, Responsibility & Engagement. POLs can serve as a powerful rite of passage at the end of [a project]. By reflecting on their growth over time in relation to academic and character goals, grounded in evidence from their work, students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning. Just as an artist wants their portfolio to represent their best work, POLs encourage students to care deeply about the work they will share.
• Community Pride & Involvement. When peers, teachers and community members come together to engage with student work and provide authentic feedback, they become invested in students’ growth and serve as active contributors to the school community.
• Equity. POLs ensure that all students are seen and provide insight into what learning experiences students find most meaningful and relevant to their lives.

Meridian Stories’ own research indicates this to be a really useful exercise for one additional reason: Students actually learn from their peers’ presentations – it is useful to hear a perspective that is not just the teacher’s.

It is with this in mind that we you encourage you to plan an event – it could be just an end-of-the-week class or an event where parents, teachers and student peers are invited – to allow the students to showcase their Meridian Stories’ digital storytelling projects. For more free resources that will support this planning, visit Share Your Learning

• EVALUATION RUBRIC – Plagiarizing Nature

CONTENT COMMAND
Criteria	1 – 10
Communication of Content –Biomimicry	The innovation demonstrates a thorough understanding and creative application of biomimicry
Research	The research to support your presentation is compelling, including its assessment of social and environmental risk
Relevance	The innovation’s relevance is presented clearly and convincingly
STORYTELLING COMMAND
Criteria	1 – 10
Scripting	The script clearly conveys the content in an engaging narrative
Creative Approach	The creative approach is imaginative and well matched to the content
Persuasion	The innovation pitch is consistently persuasive and engaging

 

 

 

MEDIA COMMAND
Criteria	1 – 10
Mixed Visual Media	The use of new and existing video, stills, graphics and/or text is engaging, visually interesting, and reinforces the pitch
Sound and Music	The selective use of sound effects and music enhances the pitch’s effectiveness

HUMAN SKILLS COMMAND (for teachers only)
Criteria	1 – 10
Collaborative Thinking	The group demonstrated flexibility in making compromises and valued the contributions of each group member
Creativity and Innovation	The group brainstormed many inventive ideas and was able to evaluate, refine and implement them effectively
Initiative and Self-Direction	The group set attainable goals, worked independently and managed their time effectively, demonstrating a disciplined commitment to the project

Essential Questions

1. How do you know that your creation mimicking a natural biological form or function is plausible?
   1. By imagining and elaborating upon the many forms of biomimicry, how has your understanding of principles of physical, life, and earth sciences changed or deepened?
   2. Did your understanding of principles of engineering and technical science change or deepen as you tested your hypothesis to convert a natural form or function into a product for human use?
2. In what ways have you discovered the connections between society’s needs and engineering, technology, and science?
   1. From examples you researched, what were some of the short- and long-term consequences, positive or negative, for the health of both people and the natural environment, as society has adopted natural forms and processes?
   2. Do you feel society should require that issues of risk mitigation be taken into account and quantified?
   3. Aside from the expected benefits of your example, what costs, environmental impacts and risks do you anticipate?
3. How do scientists and engineers define and solve problems?
   1. What are the criteria and constraints of a successful solution?
   2. What is the product’s or system’s function – what job it will perform and how?
4. How has incorporating scientific research into the production of a video that is intended to educate and persuade, changed your understanding of the science?
5. How has immersion in the creation of original content and the production of digital media – exercising one’s creativity, critical thinking, and digital literacy skills – deepened the overall educational experience?
6. How has working on a team – practicing one’s collaborative skills – changed the learning experience?

Student Proficiencies

1. The student will gain a more thorough understanding of the way scientists learn to adapt principles of physical, life, and earth sciences and harness them for service of human society.
2. The student will better understand the naturally occurring processes and forms in physical, life, and earth sciences from which society has benefited.
   1. The student will gain an appreciation for the short- and long-term consequences of technological innovation, both good and negative, on society and the environment.
3. The student will gain a better understanding of the process of identifying a problem and devising a solution, including a fuller understanding of the consequences of its implementation.
4. The student will understand more about the science content by approaching it through a media production designed to educate the audience.
5. The student will utilize key 21^st century skills, with a focus on creativity, critical thinking, and digital literacy, in their process of translating STEAM content into a new narrative format.
6. The student will have an increased awareness of the challenges and rewards of team collaboration. Collaboration – the ability to work with others – is considered one of the most important 21^st century skills to develop in students as they prepare for life after secondary school.

 

Curricular Correlations

The Plagiarizing Nature Challenge addresses a range of curricular objectives articulated in the Next Generation Science Standards. The broad nature of this challenge – the array of forms biomimicry can take – means students have the opportunity to research scientific material in the categories of Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth and Space Sciences, and imagine their implementation through Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science to improve people’s lives. Therefore this challenge potentially touches on all four science categories in the Next Generation Science Standards. Below are the standards that this challenges addresses, wholly or in part.

 

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

High School – Engineering Design

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

• Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants. (HS-ETS1-1)
• Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts. (HS-ETS1-3)

 

Disciplinary Core Ideas:

• When evaluating solutions, it is important to take into account a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, and to consider social, cultural, and environmental impacts. (HS-ETS1-3)
• Criteria and constraints also include satisfying any requirements set by society, such as taking issues of risk mitigation into account, and they should be quantified to the extent possible and stated in such a way that one can tell if a given design meets them. (HS-ETS1.A)
• Both physical models and computers can be used in various ways to aid in the engineering design process. Computers are useful for a variety of purposes, such as running simulations to test different ways of solving a problem or to see which one is most efficient or economical; and in making a persuasive presentation to a client about how a given design will meet his or her needs. (HS-ETS1-4)

 

Middle School – Engineering Design

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

• 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. (MS-ETS1-1)

 

Disciplinary Core Ideas:

• 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 are likely to limit possible solutions. (MS-ETS1-1)

 

• Other Plausible Core Curricular Correlations
• Depending on what the student teams choose to focus on for their examples, they may also cover the following topics:
• PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
• LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
• LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
• ESS3  Earth and Human Activity