Bringing Math and Physics to Life With a Model Car Derby
Giving students a design challenge鈥攁nd a compelling reason to delve into complex engineering鈥攎akes them more engaged, motivated, and committed to deepening their own understanding.
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Go to My Saved Content.Every year at Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine, teachers stage a model car race as the culminating event for an integrated math and physics project that helps students connect to content in a hands-on way. Teams of students design, test, and tinker with several car designs before the big day in an attempt to build the fastest鈥攁nd the slowest鈥攎odel cars. And on race day, an atmosphere of competition and celebration builds excitement for their demonstrations of learning. Only one team wins, but everyone walks away with a better grasp on higher-level STEM concepts.
To learn more about the research behind the practices seen in the video, check out the links below.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics鈥� (2018)
- Kayleigh Skene, Christine M. O鈥橣arrelly, Elizabeth M. Byrne, Natalie Kirby, Eloise C. Stevens, and Paul G. Ramchandani鈥檚 (2022)
- Rachel Parker, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, and Amy Berry鈥檚 (2022)
- Rosangela Bando, Emma N盲slund-Hadley and Paul Gertler鈥檚 (2019)
- Lu Zhang and Yan Ma鈥檚 (2023)
- Cheng-Huan Chen and Yong-Cih Yang鈥檚 (2019)
- Linda Darling-Hammond, Lisa Flook, Channa Cook-Harvey, Brigid Barron and David Osher鈥檚 (2019)
- Helena M. Thuneberg, Hannu S. Salmi and Franz X. Bogner鈥檚 (2018)
麻豆传媒入口 developed the Making Learning More Playful series with support from