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LEGO
®
Teaching Revised by Patrick McShane 03-15-2009Note: The Unix had no spell checker.LEGO
®
Teaching!
I will count this as
"Lesson Zero"
because I want to emphasize the "constructivenature" of LEGO bricks! I was going through some old files and found the followingdocument written by
 Pat McShane
, the grizzled founder of the school. I agreewholeheartedly with these notes, and in the years I have been teaching and playing in thePCS Engineering Lab I can add to it...
one of the goals of this web site!
I reprint it here asa record to the vision of the school's founder and to the power of our teachingphilosophy...read and enjoy!
LEGO
®
bricks as a FUNCTION of...
 by Pat McShane
 
Printed May 9 1991, all spelling and grammatical errors are his!Note: Some minor alterations to the original text have taken place to protect the LEGO
®
trademark.
LEGO
®
products are a marvelous method of enriching an interdisciplinary curriculum.When LEGO
®
products are introduced into an educational environment one or more of the following functions will always be present and active. I maintain that there isn't asingle field of study that LEGO
®
products can't be used to enhance the Learning Process.
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Anthropology...
 (a) Homo Faber ( Man the Designer ) ( Man the Maker )(b) The Irresistible Invitation to Create. It is impossible to keep your hands off a pileof LEGO
®
products.(c) Play is the WORK of Children...All higher-level animal young develop life skillsthrough PLAY. He who plays best, survives longest! Yet man-the-adult denigratesChild-Play. Man is the only animal that tries to teach its young by LECTURE...Theman-child who can learn by PLAY ( hands-on experiences ) becomes a better adult.
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Art...
 (a) Abstract Designs(b) Kinetic Artwork (c) Use of color, shape, size, proportion, symmetry.(d) When a Model 'speaks' to the designer it is completed.
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Biology...
 (a) Form Follows Function ( Rule of 'Mother Nature' )(b) Six-Legged Walker ( Study of Insect Movement )(c) Arachnid Walker ( Study of Spider Movement )(d) The Paranoid Robot Insect Project ( Insect Brain )(e) DNA Modeling
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Challenge...
 (a) Build a Machine, entirely of LEGO
®
Elements, that can pull a 2000 pound
 
 
vehicle.(b) Build a model of an ancient Chinese roof that will support the total body weightof the builder and then calculate the weight distribution throughout the model.
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Communications...
 (a) Verbal Communication. Note: Verbal descriptions of a LEGO
®
element by type (brick, beam, plate, etc ), dimensions ( size....2x4 brick etc ), color, function ( what itDOES ), assembly Q & A(b) Written Communication. With LEGO
®
-LOGO applications ( spelling,punctuation, grammar, syntax )...if it isn't absolutely correct it won't run!(c) Giving and getting information and instructions.(d) Deaf Building ( Signing with the American Manual Alphabet ).(e) Share your respect for accuracy and the clear and concise use of the EnglishLanguage!
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Death...
 Yes there is a life after disassembly! Students who cling tenaciously to "No Disassemble"need to be handled with generous doses of TLC. Why disassemble? Disassembly is aNEGATIVE ACT...It must be made a positive activity!(a) Recycle Parts(b) Share parts with another student who may need a part that is in your project.(c) Build something different, something new, something better.
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Design...( Building )
 (a) Structure(b) Symmetry(c) Scale(d) Stress
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Applied History...
 (a) Modeling Ancient Structures ( History of Architecture )(b) Modeling Ancient Machines (History of Machines )(c) Modeling Leonardo's Inventions
( Or maybe Buckminster Fuller's???-R )
 (d) Modeling Stonehenge(e) Modeling the Inventions of al-Jazari ( See Scientific American May 1991,National Geographic May 1991 )Note...this use of LEGO
®
products is a very rich and exciting way to study History.Start with the machines of an era/nation and then research into the reasons for suchinventions.
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Idea ware...
 (a) Professional Idea ware---With LEGO
®
Kits come plans and plans provide a richsource for insight and new ideas.(b) Shareware or Freeware Ideas---Someone builds and is willing to share his ideaswith others.(c) Cripple ware Ideas---Someone shares only certain parts of his project and jealously guards other.
 
 
(d) Deamware Ideas---Someone makes something and you are expected to figure itout for yourself.(e) Crudware Ideas---Someone makes something and you decide that it is notsomething you can use.Note--- Idea Shoppers can be recognized quite easily by the questions they ask: How didyou do that? How does this work? What does this do? Why did you put that there?
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Infinity...
 There is an infinite number of possible combinations when building withLEGO
®
products because the primary ingredient, a child's creative imagination isinfinite...
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Learning...
 Reflecting on the world about them...'How things work''How things look''How I fit into the picture'
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Applied Mathematics...
 (a) Gear Ratios ( + - * / ) Gear Relationships(b) Building to Scale(c) Geometry ( Euclid's Cube )(d) Young Children: LEGO
®
Number & Math Function Bricks(e) Algebraic Expressions ( Effort Formula for Levers )(f) Number Systems: Base Two, Base Eight, Base Ten )(g) Differential Adding Machine ( +/- Integers )
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Measurement...
 (a) Fabricated to Metric Standards.(b) Weights ( Mass ) 54 gramsNote: Scientists around the world use the Metric System and so should we. PCS alsouses 24 hour clocks instead of the A.M. and P.M. Standard.
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Need...( MacGivorism )
 (a) Holographic Table(b) Acid-bath Shaker(c) Accurate Computer Plotter(d) Laser Mirror Spinner(e) Doorstop Wedges
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Organizational Skills...
 (a) Sorting ( Classifications )(b) Organization of Elements(c) Data Base Management ( DBM )
LEGO
®
products as a Function of Applied Physics...
 (a) Levers
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