Category Archives: Robotics

Book Now Available!

Posted on November 18, 2013 by JohnHeffernan

https://www.createspace.com/4488315 Toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners are natural engineers. They love sand castles, blocks, fairy houses, and other projects that support their creative, fantasy play. We support this natural engineering instinct in preschool and kindergarten classrooms with blocks, LEGOs, sand and … Continue reading →

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Dragster Record Broken

Posted on November 15, 2013 by JohnHeffernan

Two great designers and great grade 6 kids, Kyle and Mark, worked together in an exceptional way to break my current record for dragster cars.  They achieved 7.7 ft/sec beating the old record of 7.63 ft/sec.  They created a dozen … Continue reading →

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Book Nearing Completion

Posted on October 23, 2013 by JohnHeffernan

I am in the (hopefully) final throes of producing my book Elementary Engineering:  Sustaining the Natural Engineering Instincts of Children.  I decided to self publish through createspace.com.  Going through large companies was taking to long.  I hope to have it … Continue reading →

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Calculating Velocity

Posted on October 3, 2013 by JohnHeffernan

I had a great team of 2 boys this week who were the first to build a LEGO NXT Dragster.  I usually instruct kids to build a 10 foot course and time the car.  Well, I noticed they were setting … Continue reading →

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Year 2 Case Study Results – Summary

Posted on September 11, 2013 by JohnHeffernan

Year 2 – Longitudinal Robotics Case Study John Heffernan – 7/7/13 Introduction This basic research seeks to understand how children’s engineering skills change over time. Secondarily, I want to know how our K-6 robotics program influences students.  Every year from … Continue reading →

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Gender Differences in STEM

Posted on July 27, 2013 by JohnHeffernan

This is from a very interesting study that looks at how teachers treat boys and girls differently in the context of a STEM LEGO robotics project.  It confirms my experience that girls need to be involved in engineering projects all … Continue reading →

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Robotics Bibliography

Posted on July 16, 2013 by JohnHeffernan

As part of my book project and for graduate school, I am working on a research chapter for my elementary robotics book. Next step is an annotated bibliography but here is the non-annotated one for now.  I will post a … Continue reading →

Posted in Research, Robotics | 1 Comment

EV3 Woodpecker

Posted on July 9, 2013 by JohnHeffernan

One interesting project would be for students to create their own wild animals that mimics the  movement or behavior of a wild animal.  In addition to the open ended engineering challenge of building the robot, they would need to research … Continue reading →

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Sample Lesson Plan – Grade 2 Robotic Amusement Park Ride Challenge

Posted on June 26, 2013 by JohnHeffernan

I am in the process of finishing my Elementary Engineering with Robotics book.  I am now finishing all the lesson plans.  Here is a sample lesson that will be in the book.  Note that the standards alignment will be in … Continue reading →

Posted in Robotics, Teaching, Technology | 6 Comments

New NXT Dragster Record

Posted on June 3, 2013 by JohnHeffernan

Our sixth grade had a new dragster speed record this week. The previous record was around 6 feet per speed. This year we had a student, Evrett, who achieved a time of 1.3 seconds on a 10 foot course, which … Continue reading →

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