Table 2 Student teams’ inventions
From: Learning science through a collaborative invention project in primary school
Name (No. students and background) | Description (Artefact analysis based on essays) | Type |
|---|---|---|
1. Vacuuming Carpet (4 girls) | The invention sought to prevent rocks and sand from getting into a house. The Vacuuming Carpet is located in the hallway. The students’ description of their invention prototype showed that they were thinking about physics-related phenomena. Specifically, they mentioned power, which would be needed to vacuum up small rocks and sand | physics-intensive |
2. Box for Wires (3 girls, 1 boy) | The invention sought to help people organize their wires inside a box made of plastic. In one of the groups, the students explained levers and how they used levers in the box. They also mentioned buttons, wires, Legos, and suction cups. The description of the materials used made this invention prototype a physics-intensive invention | physics-intensive |
3. Garbage Can (3 boys, one of them SEN) | The invention sought to detect and alert users when a garbage can is too full. Texts from this invention group showed that the students thought about using electronics during this invention, since they used magnets to make the invention prototype | physics-intensive |
4. Key and Bus Card Locker (3 girls) | The invention was a smart key-holding stand that sounded an alarm if a user left home without their keys or wallet. The group produced two similar inventions related to holding keys. It was a physics-intensive invention because the students’ texts described the use of smart technology | physics-intensive |
5. Fitness Equipment (5 girls) | The invention sought to enhance the ability to train at home. The students described the objects’ rotation around an axle in their texts. They did not report any digital technology use, but did describe the use of dynamics during the construction process | physics-intensive |
6. Snack Machine (5 boys) | The invention was a machine that made snacks after school: for example, it made bread and dispensed juice. It was a physics-intensive invention because the students reported using Lego robotics during their invention-making process | physics-intensive |
7. Smartboard (3 girls) | The invention involved notifying users of things they needed to do. The students described using and thinking about sensors during the making of the invention prototype. The description made the invention physics-intensive | physics-intensive |
8. Gel Comb (5 boys, three of them SEN) | The invention of a gel comb was a non-physics invention. The students designed this invention for people who use gel in their hair, creating a product that applied gel while brushing a person’s hair. This was a non-physics invention because the students’ texts included no description of physics subject matter use during the construction process | non-physics |
9. Toothpaste Bottle (2 girls) | The invention involved putting toothpaste into a pump bottle instead of a tube. The group’s student text did not include any discussion of physics subject matter use; therefore, this was classified as a non-physics invention | non-physics |
10. Flying Toilet Seat (3 boys, one of them SEN) | The invention was a toilet seat that could fly anywhere it was needed. The invention was imaginary and not possible to make | non-physics |
11. Key Rack (3 girls, one of them SEN) | The key holder did not contain any smart technology, and the students’ texts did not include any descriptions of physics-related content. The invention holds your keys in the same place | non-physics |
12. Smoothie (3 boys) | The invention sought to help hungry people who wanted a snack. The students essentially designed an invention that made smoothies of different flavors. Their texts did not include any discussion of physics-related technology | non-physics |
13. Spy-briefcase (3 boys, three of them SEN) | The spy briefcase was designed to help in a number of different situations. For example, the students described it acting as an alarm in the morning, luring and then driving away a little brother, and serving as an extra seat when riding in a full bus. The invention was a fantasy invention that was not fully thought out and did not include any physics-related content | non-physics |