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ERIC Number: EJ1204650
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Feb
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-8148
EISSN: N/A
Crossing the Amazon by LEGO
Edelen, Daniel; Bush, Sarah B.; Nickels, Megan
Science and Children, v56 n6 p30-36 Feb 2019
Because students have often been conditioned as passive learners and receivers of knowledge, it can be difficult for them to persevere in solving authentic problems. Nevertheless, teachers must persist in preparing students as problem solvers and critical thinkers. In an urban inner-city neighborhood school in the southeast, students embarked on a unique adventure created to engage them as scientists and engineers on an interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) adventure. In this article, the authors share how connections between the STEM disciplines can be meaningfully constructed for elementary students. In the inquiry, third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students modeled, designed, evaluated, and tested Lego WeDo 2.0 robots as solutions to crossing a river in the Amazon Rainforest. The Amazon Rainforest River Task showcases an interdisciplinary integration in which each of the STEM disciplines were incorporated meaningfully. Furthermore, this inquiry highlights an authentic learning opportunity for students to collaborate as learners and problem solvers. Students were critically engaged in their learning as evident in their designs and through the rich conversations centered on the inquiry.
National Science Teachers Association. 1840 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201-3000. Tel: 800-722-6782; Fax: 703-243-3924; e-mail: membership@nsta.org; Web site: http://www.nsta.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 3; Primary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Grade 5; Middle Schools
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A