Mission 3: Technical Skills

What are the specific STEM skills you need to fly a drone precisely?

Welcome to Mission 3!

This mission is all about making sure students have the technical skills they need to fly drones. Students will learn how to map airspace, fly multiple drones at the same time safely. In this Mission students will be asked to complete the Trust Test, a FREE online UAS Safety Test. Any recreational flyer in the United States needs to pass the exam to fly legally. This includes all unmanned aerial systems, including drones, RC helicopters, and more.

Office Hours (Zoom Link): If you need assistance with the Take Flight Curriculum or you have general questions about the program please join us for monthly virtual office hours from 4:00-5:00 p.m. (EST). Office Hour Dates: Jan - 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30; Feb - 13 & 27; March - 13 & 27; April - 10 & 24; May - 8 & 22; June - 5 & 19.

Overview

1.Before the Mission

Motivational Moves

Teacher

Explicitly Teach Students About Growth Mindset

Research spanning decades has revealed the profound impact of individuals' mindsets — their beliefs regarding the fixed or adaptable nature of talent, ability, and intelligence — on their motivation, engagement, and performance.

Research shows that you can help girls develop a growth mindset by explicitly teaching all students what a growth mindset is.

Try using a video to teach students what a growth vs. fixed mindset is.
Remind them that working through problems and having experiments fail is a normal part of the scientific and engineering process.
Make sure you give students time and space to grapple with and process ideas before stepping in to provide support and direction. Then, if you do jump in remind them about having a growth mindset and the work they are doing to “grow” their STEM skills and knowledge.

This will help you reduce the stereotype that people are just born good at STEM and will help students who need more time and practice to understand concepts in STEM - or fly drones - to feel like they still belong in the class and that they can be successful.

Students

Develop a growth mindset through the Affirmation Activities embedded in this mission.

Before the Mission

Coming Soon!

2. Student Portfolio

Print or Work Online

Every student will need a copy!

This portfolio is where students can capture their learning. They can take notes, make drawings, and document what they do. You can print a copy or share the portofolio virtually.

M3_Student Portfolio

3. The Challenges

Challenge 1 - Build Your Flying Skills

Overview

Description: Understand the vocabulary you need to fly drones precisely and practice specific aerial maneuvers.
Time estimate: 45 minutes.
Materials:
- Co-drones
- Student Portfolio for Mission 3

Curriculum Standards

Access Standards for this Challenge

Slide Deck

M3_C1_Build your flying skills-SlideDeck

Challenge 2: Put Your Flying Skills to Use

Overview

Description: Create and test flight plans to make sure multiple aircraft can use airspace safely.
Time estimate: 45 minutes.
Materials:
- Student Portfolio for Mission 3.
- CoDrone with controller.
- CoDrone battery (charge the batteries before the class!).
- 2 AA batteries.

Curriculum Standards

Access Standards for this Challenge

Slide Deck

M3_C2_Put your flight skills to test_SlideDeck

Challenge 3: Map Air Space

Overview

Description: Understand what airspace is and be able to read and create maps for flying.
Time estimate: 45 minutes.
Materials:
- Images from Mission 3 Challenge 2 “Put your skills to use” (see above).
- Airspace map digital template in the Student Portfolio for Mission 3 OR a long, large piece of paper.

Curriculum Standards

Access Standards for this Challenge

Slide Deck

M3_C3_Challenge-SlideDeck

⭐ Bonus Challenge: Airspace and Sectional Charts

Overview

Description: In this activity students will learn about the different classes of airspace over the United States as well as how to determine the boundaries of those different classes.

Slide Deck

M3_Bonus Challenge

4. Mission Landing

Landing Assessment 🚩 Required

Landing Assessment Questions & Answers

At the end of each mission is a Landing Assessment. This Assessment consists of a 5-10 question multiple choice quiz and a few open-ended questions. After completing this assessment students receive a downloadable certificate of completion for the STEM: Technical Skills mission. This link is NOT a template; the data will go directly to the CAST Research Team.

Mission 3 Student Post-Assessment