In Year 1, an open-ended biomimetic robot design task led to a wide range of implementation outcomes, with some groups not completing the task or not integrating biology¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · design r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? During Y1 the open-ended nature of the design task led to a wide range of implementation outcomes, including focal groups that did not complete the design task and robots that did not integrate biology. → Debra Bernstein 2022

Evidence¶

Debra Bernstein 2022¶

Debra Bernstein, Gillian Puttick, Kristen Wendell, Fayette Shaw, Ethan Danahy, Michael Cassidy. (2022). Designing biomimetic robots: iterative development of an integrated technology design curriculum. Education Tech Research Dev. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-021-10061-0

q2 · i? · design · r3

Case study analysis of Y1 focal groups across three classrooms found that the open-ended design task produced uneven outcomes: some groups "did not complete the design task" and others built robots with no biological integration, such as a robotic car.

"During Y1 the open-ended nature of the design task led to a wide range of implementation outcomes. In all three classrooms, there were some focal groups that did not complete the design task and others whose robots did not integrate biology (e.g., designing a robotic car)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• A focused design task supported by explicit and targeted disciplinary supports led to a student technology design process driven by disciplinary understanding — related
• While completing the robotics open-ended project, teachers developed learning strategies including case-based reasoning, sketches, trial and error, and evaluating capacity — related
• The Y1 curriculum's engineering design goals were too extensive for an integrated project — a broader claim this one bears on
• Narrowing the design task in Y2 to a digging robot with targeted biology resources supported students in completing structure–function analyses and biomimetic designs — related
• The Y2 curriculum supported students in enacting the CT practices of decomposition and abstraction in biology and engineering work — related
• Y2 students did not always extend their animal structure–function understanding to the choice or use of building materials — related
• With the revised Y3 curriculum, students conducted more in-depth structure–function analyses that guided their robot designs, mimicking both structure and function — related