Search results for "hands-on learning"
showing 4 items of 4 documents
Individual Creativity and Career Choices of Pre-teens in the Context of a Math-Art Learning Event
2021
A sample of 392 students (aged 12-13 years, M± SD: 12. 52% girls) completed a learning module integrating informal hands-on mathematics and arts activity (extending STEM to STEAM). Within a 140 minute workshop period participants worked with commercially available ‘4Dframe’ Math and STEAM learning toolkits to design and create original, personal and individual geometrical structures. Two science pedagogues acted as tutors supervising the process and intervened only when needed. A pre-/post-test design monitored individual creativity, relative autonomy, and career choice preference. Path analysis elaborated the role of creativity (measured with two subscales: act and flow), and it showed tha…
Teaching Motion Control in Mechatronics Education Using an Open Framework Based on the Elevator Model
2022
Universities and other educational institutions may find it difficult to afford the cost of obtaining cutting-edge teaching resources. This study introduces the adoption of a novel open prototyping framework in the context of mechatronics education, employing low-cost commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and tools for the motion control module. The goal of this study is to propose a novel structure for the motion control module in the engineering mechatronics curriculum. The objective is to foster a new teaching method. From a methodology perspective, students are involved in a series of well-organised theoretical lectures as well as practical, very engaging group projects in the lab.…
Teaching Inorganic Photophysics and Photochemistry with Three Ruthenium(II) Polypyridyl Complexes: A Computer-Based Exercise
2015
Among computational methods, DFT (density functional theory) and TD-DFT (time-dependent DFT) are widely used in research to describe, inter alia, the optical properties of transition metal complexes. Inorganic/physical chemistry courses for undergraduate students treat such methods, but quite often only from the theoretical point of view. In the calculation exercise herein described, students are guided step by step through the computational study of the photophysics and photochemistry of polypyridyl Ru(II) d6-metal complexes. In particular, by means of DFT and TD-DFT calculations, they are asked to examine and interpret a set of experimental data describing the absorption, emission, and ph…
Building large molecular models with plastic screw-on bottle caps and sturdy connectors
2016
An improved method of connecting atoms formed with screw-on bottle caps is described. Fishing line (artificial polymer), steel wire, and countersunk bolts with nyloc nuts are proposed as sturdy connectors. Advantages and disadvantages of each method are described. The molecular models are stable while handling, can be built in a relatively short time at low cost, and can be useful at every level of education. The method is an alternative to professional model kits, in particular in construction of large models for long-term usage.