Invention through Form and Function Analogy

Authors

Audrey C. Rule, University of Northern IowaFollow

Files

Comments

This is an Open Access book.

ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 557 145

Description

Invention through Form and Function Analogy is an invention book for teachers and other leaders working with youth who are involving students in the invention process. The book consists of an introduction and set of nine learning cycle formatted lessons for teaching the principles of invention through the science and engineering design principles of form and function. An appendix contains sets of color, illustrated cards to be printed onto cardstock paper and used for sorting and sequencing activities during the lessons. This set of lessons has been field-tested with elementary and middle school students by teachers and was improved through the peer review process. The introduction section of the book addresses metaphors, analogies, and the use of form and function analogies in problem-solving and innovations. Human need related to invention and cultural universals are also discussed. Lessons address the following topics: 1) Identifying forms and functions of objects; 2) Forms and functions of the human hand; 3) Forms and functions of the body extended with tools; 4) Extending the body to serve basic human needs; 5) Tools related to forms and functions of the mouth; 6) Historical perspective of inventions; 7) Animal form and function analogies; 8) Inventors inspired by form and function; and 9) Combining SCAMPER with form and function to spur invention. Many charts are included to give teachers ideas for supporting student discussions. Teachers who field-tested the book with elementary and middle school students were uniformly positive about the lessons [25 tables, 20 figures, 7 card sets in the Appendix, 35 references.

Keywords

Science--Study and teaching (Elementary); Science--Study and teaching (Middle school); Engineering--Study and teaching (Elementary); Engineering--Study and teaching (Middle school);

Document Type

Book

Publication Date

6-5-2015

Publisher

Center for Educational Transformation, University of Northern Iowa

City

Cedar Falls, IA

Department

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Department

Center for Educational Transformation

Disciplines

Educational Methods | Elementary Education | Science and Mathematics Education

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Language

en

Recommended Citation

Rule, Audrey C., "Invention through Form and Function Analogy" (2015). Faculty Book Gallery. 104.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facbook/104