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Fifth Graders’ Learning About Simple Machines Through Engineering Design-Based Instruction Using LEGO™ Materials

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Abstract

This study is part of a 5-year National Science Foundation-funded project, Transforming Elementary Science Learning Through LEGO™ Engineering Design. In this study, we report on the successes and challenges of implementing an engineering design-based and LEGO™-oriented unit in an urban classroom setting and we focus on the impact of the unit on students’ content understanding of simple machines. The LEGO™ engineering-based simple machines module, which was developed for fifth graders by our research team, was implemented in an urban school in a large city in the Northeastern region of the USA. Thirty-three fifth grade students participated in the study, and they showed significant growth in content understanding. We measured students’ content knowledge by using identical paper tests and semistructured interviews before and after instruction. Our paired t test analysis results showed that students significantly improved their test and interview scores (t = −3.62, p < 0.001 for multiple-choice items and t = −9.06, p < 0.000 for the open-ended items in the test and t = −12.11, p < 0.000 for the items in interviews). We also identified several alternative conceptions that are held by students on simple machines.

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Notes

  1. See Appendix 1 for the inclined plane item.

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Acknowledgments

The research described in this paper was supported in part through a National Science Foundation Research and Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering program (grant no. 0633952). The authors would like to thank Kristen Wendell, Kathleen Connolly, Chris Wright, Linda Jarvin, and Chris Rogers from Tufts University for their help and support during the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey

    Ismail Marulcu

  2. Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

    Mike Barnett

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  1. Ismail Marulcu
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  2. Mike Barnett
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Correspondence to Ismail Marulcu.

Appendices

Appendix 1

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Appendix 2

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Marulcu, I., Barnett, M. Fifth Graders’ Learning About Simple Machines Through Engineering Design-Based Instruction Using LEGO™ Materials. Res Sci Educ 43, 1825–1850 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-012-9335-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-012-9335-9

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