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MFA Microelectronics For All Presented by Bruce Wigley B.Ed.
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MFA Microelectronics For All Presented by Bruce Wigley B.Ed.
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MFA (Microelectronics For All) is a problem solving
kit designed by Salford University in UK for the Middle School, ie years 6 to 9.
It is in 60% of Secondary Schools in UK and 70% of their Middle Schools.
It teaches students to think logically and to work cooperatively in ten
groups of two or three. Students
progress at their own rate, learn the basics of electronics, design systems and
gain some knowledge of digital electronics.
No teacher training is necessary. Approximately
30 hours of work has been prepared for you. It is a fun activity.
MFA is a student centred activity, not a teacher
directed one. Along the journey students:-
·
learn to think logically
·
are able to use their creative ability
·
work cooperatively as a team and
discuss issues
·
learn some digital electronics ie how
to use gates
·
learn binary and hexadecimal counting
·
learn how to program an integrated
circuit and output this information to control a Dodger Buggy or play some
simple tunes.
There are three main Modules in MFA; these are
Decisions, Counting and Memory Modules. A
six-volt battery and Battery Cap provide power to these Modules.
The Movement Module is used to control the Dodger Buggy while the Music
Module is used to play some tunes.
The MFA resources are excellent.
The teachers Manual explains how the MFA activity should be run and
provides useful help. It includes numerous white pages for you to photocopy and
produce workbooks for students to write their solutions to problems.
In the class kit there are eleven student workbooks on ‘Making
Decisions’, (one for each of the ten workgroups and one for the teacher),
eleven Counting books, and eleven Memory books.
The problems set are realistic for modern life.
Note that there are no answers to these problems, only solutions.
Hence one group may have a solution to a problem while another may
discover a different solution. Provided
that the solution satisfies the criteria then it must be accepted.
As students aged 11 to 14 think creatively “outside the square” they
will have fun by developing a range of solutions.
For the purpose
of assessment, the teachers manual contains three assignments for each of the
three Modules.
MFA is a
self-contained teaching kit. It is
available in three kits ie
540.125
MFA Appraisal Pack (Single Workstation)
2 or 3 students
540.126
MFA Half Pack Class Kit (Five Workstations)
10 to 15 students
540.129
MFA
Class Kit Complete Pack (Ten Workstations)
20 to 30 students
Bruce
Wigley by Phone 08 83238442 or Fax on 08 83230033 e-mail bwigley@senet.com.au