Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology, Michigan Technological University , Houghton, Michigan.
Department of Biology, University of Utah , Salt Lake City, Utah.
Adv Physiol Educ. 2019 Sep 1;43(3):282-287. doi: 10.1152/advan.00159.2018.
Developing hands-on activities that engage and excite K-12 students is critical for stimulating interest in science-based careers. We created an activity for high school students that required them to integrate biology and physics concepts to experience how humans and animals maneuver through their environments (i.e., turning). Understanding how turning works is important because it accounts for up to 50% of daily walking steps and is needed for survival when animals elude predators and capture prey. For this activity, student groups used 2 × 4 lumber, wood screws, and a power drill to build an apparatus that, when connected to the body, altered rotational inertia (object's resistance to change in angular motion, = mass × radius). Students navigated through a slalom course with the apparatus (increased radius and rotational inertia) and without the apparatus (mass-matched control). Times to complete the course were compared between trials to determine the influence of rotational inertia on turning performance. Students compiled their data, graphed their results, and found that increased rotational inertia decreased turning performance. Results were connected to sports, rehabilitation, and dinosaur evolution. This activity was implemented during local, regional, national, and international outreach events and adapted for use in undergraduate courses as well (total impact, 250 students). At the end of the activity, students were able to ) describe whether their results supported their hypothesis; ) explain how radius influences rotational inertia and turning performance; and ) apply results to real-world examples. Students and teachers appreciated this "outside-the-box" activity with an engineering twist and found it entertaining.
开发能够吸引和激发 K-12 学生兴趣的实践活动对于激发他们对科学相关职业的兴趣至关重要。我们为高中生设计了一项活动，要求他们整合生物学和物理学概念，亲身体验人类和动物如何在环境中移动（即转弯）。了解转弯的工作原理很重要，因为它占日常行走步数的 50%左右，而且动物在躲避捕食者和捕获猎物时也需要转弯。在这项活动中，学生小组使用 2×4 木材、木螺丝和电动钻来构建一个装置，当连接到身体上时，该装置会改变转动惯量（物体抵抗角运动变化的能力，=质量×半径）。学生们在装有该装置（增加半径和转动惯量）和未装该装置（质量匹配对照）的情况下通过障碍赛道。通过比较试验中的完成时间来确定转动惯量对转弯性能的影响。学生们收集数据、绘制图表，并发现转动惯量的增加会降低转弯性能。结果与运动、康复和恐龙进化联系起来。这项活动在当地、地区、国家和国际推广活动中实施，并适应于本科课程的使用（总影响人数为 250 名学生）。在活动结束时，学生们能够：）描述他们的结果是否支持他们的假设；）解释半径如何影响转动惯量和转弯性能；）将结果应用于实际示例。学生和教师都很欣赏这项具有工程思维的“跳出框框”的活动，并觉得它很有趣。
