A Case Study on LEGO Activity in Physics Class: Taking the "Rotational Kinetic Energy" for Example

Abstract

Knowledge of Rotational Kinetic Energy (RKE) is always difficult for students to understand using traditional teaching methods. In this study, we designed an inquiry-based activity in which students can explore influence factors of RKE with a car built by LEGO, according to the scaffolds provided on the activity sheet. Then an experiment of the activity was carried out in a high school in Beijing. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data, we concluded that the inquiry-based activity with LEGO can: 1) help students gain a deeper understanding of RKE; 2) significantly increase students' learning interest towards physics according to sign test results; 3) be considered as effective tool for students in the physics classroom.

Inspiring next generation of engineers through service-learning robotics outreach and mentorship programme

“…Concepts from software engineering, signals and systems, circuits and probability are emphasized and their applications are demonstrated. The LEGO platform has been used by various researchers to teach and reinforce concepts such as real-time control, 13 control systems laboratory, 14 discrete-time control systems, 15 Kalman filter, 16 fuzzy control, 17 rotational energy in physics, 18 programme structures in software engineering, 19 engineering design, 20 C programming 21 and MATLAB programming. 22 Showing students all these pedagogic applications of LEGO kits helps to convince them that LEGO kit is not a mere toy.…”