Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
This is a completed wind turbine. The gears are 3D printed.
These girls are applying kinetic energy to make electricity and taking an
active role in solving a problem. By exposing students to the design problem
at hand, the Make to Learn lesson introduces students to the idea of “design
criteria.” In the lesson, design criteria are introduced as a “set of rules that you
follow so you make things that people can use and are happy with.”
I watched some other students master another core engineering concept:
revolutions per minute (RPM). One boy told his partner that they needed “to
igure out their windmill's RPM.” Earlier, their teacher had attached a shiny
sticker to each windmill blade and had helped the boys count blade rotations
using a small tachometer. Armed with the rotation count from the tachom-
eter, the boys shufled off to a table to do some simple math to calculate their
blades' rotations per minute.
After my visit to a few Fab@school classrooms, I asked Glen Bull why irst-
hand experience is such a powerful pedagogical tool. Glen explained that just
watching somebody else solve design problems doesn't help students master
science, engineering, or math. “A paint-by-numbers kit never made anyone into
an artist. It's the same thing if a kid just sits there a watches a 3D printer print
something out. What do you learn? Nothing.”
