Associate Professor of Education Jennifer Frisch, PhD, stands in front of her class of Integrated Elementary and Special Education students. She plugs the projector into her laptop, and a presentation appears. On the screen are images of sharks and windmills and the title “Shark Tank: Windmill Edition.” Frisch then walks to the back of the room, and the students track her movement with curiosity—something is different about today’s class.

At the back, Frisch picks up a red shopping bag. She reaches inside and pulls out a felted shark mask. She pulls the mask over her head, and the students erupt in excitement. With her face framed in the toothy opening of the shark's mouth, she smiles and dips in a curtsy to ruckus applause.

“They are getting ready to go into the classroom and one of the things they’re going to teach is science,” Frisch said. “So we’ve been working on the engineering design process … we’re demonstrating how thermal energy can be converted into mechanical energy by making windmills.”

“We’re doing it Shark Tank-style because that’s fun.”

To prepare, the students worked in groups to design windmills using craft materials like paper cups, index cards, and wooden skewers. Their creations resemble colorful pinwheels. Today, they’ll put those designs to the test in front of a panel of judges (Frisch and two stuffed shark animals). It’s an activity these students might present to students in their own classrooms someday.

To test their designs, the students hang small paper cups containing several pennies to the shafts of their windmills. Using a hair dryer, they blow air into the blades of their windmills in hopes the shaft will spin, wind up the string, and lift their cups. With each successful lift, they add more pennies.

It’s a humbling experience for some groups, whose windmill blades bend under the pressure of the Conair 1875 dryer. For others, they add more and more pennies as their windmills spin in a colorful blur, hoisting the weight of 10, 20, and, for one group, 30 pennies. All the while, Frisch and her finned sidekicks judge the activity and ensure fair play.

“School should be fun,” Frisch said, still wearing her shark mask.

It’s a simple but important message that she hopes her students will take away from her classroom as they prepare to teach elementary-aged students. Judging by their continued laughter and excited conversation, it’s clear they're feeling the benefit of that engaged learning.

The Integrated Elementary and Special Education (IESE) major is a dual licensure program and the only one of its kind in Minnesota that combines both elementary education and special education. It qualifies students to apply for state licensure to teach K-6 elementary education and K-12 special education.

Learn more about this marketable degree program.