MECHANICAL ENGINEERING STUDENT DEVELOPED LEGO ENGINEERING DESIGN LEARNING ACTIVITY FOR 6TH GRADE SCIENCE STUDENTS

摘要

A linkage synthesis and analysis project from a 3rd year mechanical engineering Kinematics of Machines course at SUNY New Paltz was used by the ASME student section to develop a Lego based middle school activity to teach engineering design as a part of the new 6th grade New York State Science Learning Standards. This activity was brought to a local middle school, where mechanical engineering students from the ASME student section led the learning activity in four 6th grade science classes. The activity involved the building and testing of a mechanized soccer goalie, which included several design parameters selected by the 6th grade students based on the results of experimental measurements, using an engineering decision making process. The development and refinement of this activity is presented along with guidance for its implementation elsewhere.