Enhancing a scientific inquiry lesson through computer-supported collaborative learning

摘要

We developed an activity for eighth-grade classrooms that addresses energy transformation and renewable energy. This activity allows students to apply what they have learned to a real-world context: the generation of electricity using wind power. The activity begins with students using a hand-cranked DC generator connected to a light bulb to observe how mechanical energy is transformed into electrical energy and then into light energy. Students recognize that more electrical energy is produced when the handle is turned at a higher rate. Students then compare the hand-cranked DC generator to a wind turbine assembly to understand how wind energy can be transformed into electrical energy, with the rotation rate of the blade system influencing the amount of energy produced.