Category Archives: Child Development

Learning a New Task

Posted on September 5, 2011 by JohnHeffernan

My 5 year old son Aidan just learned to ride a bike. We noticed that there were 5 or so dimensions to learning to ride a bike:  steering, balance, braking, pedaling, and staying balanced when bragging to strangers on how … Continue reading →

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Another Example of Natural Kid Engineering

Posted on August 26, 2011 by JohnHeffernan

I posted previously on ways that kids are natural engineers at school with their fairy houses and gnome homes.  On vacation at the beach, another one became apparent, sand castles.  Such a great way to explore materials and building!  You … Continue reading →

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Tracking Engineering Skills Over Time

Posted on August 25, 2011 by JohnHeffernan

I am trying to think of a good way to track engineering skills over time.  I will be tracking this year’s K class as they progress to sixth grade.  Is there a task I can give them that will work … Continue reading →

Posted in Child Development, Robotics | 3 Comments

Fear and Learning

Posted on July 17, 2011 by JohnHeffernan

Aidan is spending lots of time in the water.  A few weeks ago, we were swimming at Beaver Lake in Ware, Massachusetts and were out on a dock.  I have expected for sometime that he would be close to jumping … Continue reading →

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Fairy House Engineering

Posted on July 15, 2011 by JohnHeffernan

I was thinking today about Fairy Houses, also known as Gnome Homes, when I saw a bunch of them at my son’s YMCA camp.  We also see these at the elementary school where I work.  I wonder if these fill … Continue reading →

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Research Directions; Which Way To Go?

Posted on July 13, 2011 by JohnHeffernan

I plan on continuing to implement and document the PK-6 Elementary Engineering Curriculum I have been developing.  That is clear.  What is less clear is the direction to go with my associated research. Many intriguing possible areas have come up … Continue reading →

Posted in Child Development, Research, Robotics | 5 Comments

What Do The Student Quotes Mean?

Posted on July 5, 2011 by JohnHeffernan

I received this analysis of the student robotics quotes from graduate student Lama Jaber.  I found it to be an excellent summary.  Here it is.   First, at an affective level, the robotic experience seems to be triggering very good … Continue reading →

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Creative Play and How It Relates to Robotics Education

Posted on June 26, 2011 by JohnHeffernan

At the suggestion of a doctoral student I met at a robotics conference, I did a series of interviews with some of my elementary robotics students.  I started a program this year that consists of robotics projects at every grade … Continue reading →

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Quotes From Elementary Robotics Students

Posted on June 25, 2011 by JohnHeffernan

Here are some key quotes from the robotics interviews I conducted with students this year.  I will discuss them later.  Enjoy.  There are some great quotes that show what this robotics experience is like from the student’s point of view. … Continue reading →

Posted in Child Development, Research, Robotics, Teaching | 2 Comments

Robotics Interview Data

Posted on June 24, 2011 by JohnHeffernan

Here are some preliminary data from the robotics interviews I conducted this year.  I recorded responses when watching the video of the interviews and grouped the same or similar responses together.  There were lots of unique answers and I some … Continue reading →

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