How successful was this kit in allowing the exploration of energy transformation in your learners?

Not Successful At All

Neutral

Very Successful

Did you find the lessons on solar energy useful in improving the students understanding and interest in renewable energy?

Already well versed

Somewhat useful

Very useful

How did students approach the car modification challenge, and what innovative solutions did they come up with? Some could not get their cars to go but they kept trying and it worked, other cars were going back instead of forward which they had to modify

How did the test-modify-repeat cycle impact students' understanding of the engineering design process?

A little helpful

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

What feedback have you received from students or parents about the learning in this kit? The students loved the cars and have been going out to have races with them most days.

“The kids loved putting their car together and it tied in well with our inquiry. It certainly made them think pf resilience and perseverence as well!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

How successful was this kit in allowing the exploration of energy transformation in your learners?

Not Successful At All

Neutral

Very Successful

Did you find the lessons on solar energy useful in improving the students understanding and interest in renewable energy?

Already well versed

Somewhat useful

Very useful

How did students approach the car modification challenge, and what innovative solutions did they come up with? They loved this, and were coming up with all sorts of interesting ideas like adding more solar panels, more weight, less weight, battery operated propeller, etc

How did the test-modify-repeat cycle impact students' understanding of the engineering design process?

A little helpful

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

What feedback have you received from students or parents about the learning in this kit? It’s so fun, they have also been telling their parents about it, which doesn’t always happen with year 7 kids. Some have also been going home and making cars too.

“My class have absolutely loved this unit. They really enjoyed learning about solar power and the n having the experience of building the cars and racing them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

How successful was this kit in allowing the exploration of energy transformation in your learners?

Not Successful At All

Neutral

Very Successful

Did you find the lessons on solar energy useful in improving the students understanding and interest in renewable energy?

Already well versed

Somewhat useful

Very useful

How did students approach the car modification challenge, and what innovative solutions did they come up with? The discussions about the modifications were interesting to listen to, and was impressed with the resilience they showed when their modifications didn't work as planned.

How did the test-modify-repeat cycle impact students' understanding of the engineering design process?

A little helpful

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

What feedback have you received from students or parents about the learning in this kit? The students loved the hands-on building of the cars, and discussing and modifying the cars.

“This kit was very engaging for our students. There was lots of problem-solving that happened to get the solar cars running. Some went backwards, to begin with, but with some problem-solving and teamwork, they managed to fix the problem. Seeing how students supported one another to complete the solar car was very rewarding. The testing of the cars to compare weight and speed was very successful. It encouraged students to compare and modify their cars and then compare the data. A great activity for all students in our senior hubs.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

How successful was this kit in allowing the exploration of energy transformation in your learners?

Not Successful At All

Neutral

Very Successful

Did you find the lessons on solar energy useful in improving the students understanding and interest in renewable energy?

Already well versed

Somewhat useful

Very useful

How did students approach the car modification challenge, and what innovative solutions did they come up with? Some of my students used multiple solar panels.

How did the test-modify-repeat cycle impact students' understanding of the engineering design process?

A little helpful

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

What feedback have you received from students or parents about the learning in this kit? Students have said how much fun it was. They've learnt a lot of new skills and said that they now want to try to make another one at home.

“My students really enjoyed this kit. They learnt knew skills that they'd never done before. Some students had never used a screw driver and didn't really understand that if the car went in their shadow the car would stop. Students learnt to problem solve and work together.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

How successful was this kit in allowing the exploration of energy transformation in your learners?

Not Successful At All

Neutral

Very Successful

Did you find the lessons on solar energy useful in improving the students understanding and interest in renewable energy?

Already well versed

Somewhat useful

Very useful

How did students approach the car modification challenge, and what innovative solutions did they come up with? Students were enthusiastic. They really loved modifying their cars. One student even put a propeller on their car. They were able to recognise that the car wouldn't go faster but thought it enhanced the look of their car.

How did the test-modify-repeat cycle impact students' understanding of the engineering design process?

A little helpful

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

What feedback have you received from students or parents about the learning in this kit? Some of the students said that they'd like to do this sort of thing when they grow up. Girls felt more confident about this type of learning as it's something that they wouldn't normally do.

“I really enjoyed teaching solar cars to my class and the students loved it. Especially as they were able to take their cars home at the end of the session. Boys and girls were both engaged. The students that would normally struggle in class were kept engaged the whole time. It incorporated team work, listening, perseverance and many more values.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

How successful was this kit in allowing the exploration of energy transformation in your learners?

Not Successful At All

Neutral

Very Successful

Did you find the lessons on solar energy useful in improving the students understanding and interest in renewable energy?

Already well versed

Somewhat useful

Very useful

How did students approach the car modification challenge, and what innovative solutions did they come up with? We had lots of bright colour but not a lot of weight added. As we did this over multiple weeks some students misplaced parts and had to come up with creative solutions to make it work. We also had some which would not stick very well so some hot glue was used, others used PVA so will be interesting to see the difference in these glues.

How did the test-modify-repeat cycle impact students' understanding of the engineering design process?

A little helpful

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

What feedback have you received from students or parents about the learning in this kit? Parents have said their child is engaged and sharing what they have been doing at home which is great to see they have an extended interest.

“From the moment I opened the box up until now (up to racing beginning next week) it has been a smooth flowing journey and both myself and the children have had a lot of fun. The instructions are very easy to follow and the steps have been able to be completed by most of the children independently. Some of the kits when joine together were very loose so we added some glue to help keep them in place. It was also hard to get the wires to touch each other so I really hope I have done this correctly. The children have really enjoyed the process and are looking forward to taking their cars home.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

How successful was this kit in allowing the exploration of energy transformation in your learners?

Not Successful At All

Neutral

Very Successful

Did you find the lessons on solar energy useful in improving the students understanding and interest in renewable energy?

Already well versed

Somewhat useful

Very useful

How did students approach the car modification challenge, and what innovative solutions did they come up with? Some of them had trouble just ensuring they would go in a straight line (and not backwards) so there wasn't anything too amazing in terms of modification (beyond what was suggested).

How did the test-modify-repeat cycle impact students' understanding of the engineering design process?

A little helpful

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

What feedback have you received from students or parents about the learning in this kit? Lots of fun and lots of learning around resilience and perseverance when things weren't going how they wanted when testing their cars. Some of the energy transfer learning was a bit over some of their heads.

“Fantastic kit! My Year 5-6 students had an awesome time assembling the solar cars and then modifying and then finally lots of fun racing them. The main difficulty we had was the lack of sun! Every time we were due to go out to race them, the clouds would come over and then we'd have to go back inside, so if I was going to do this again, I'd probably do it in Term 1 or 4 when the sun is out more.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

How successful was this kit in allowing the exploration of energy transformation in your learners?

Not Successful At All

Neutral

Very Successful

Did you find the lessons on solar energy useful in improving the students understanding and interest in renewable energy?

Already well versed

Somewhat useful

Very useful

How did students approach the car modification challenge, and what innovative solutions did they come up with? N/A

How did the test-modify-repeat cycle impact students' understanding of the engineering design process?

A little helpful

Somewhat helpful

Very helpful

What feedback have you received from students or parents about the learning in this kit? N/A

“A fantastic learning activity which followed on from our NZ History theme in Term 1 about our Seddon Street light in Pukekohe. We were able to talk about the different types/progressions of cars such as the solar battery cars vs battery powered cars. The students really enjoyed racing their cars and the boys especially enjoyed the competition. When modifying their cars, it helped to ignite the students' curiosity. We really enjoyed seeing the results when a student decided to put 2 solar panels on one car and noticed that the car went faster and further as predicted. We timed each car to see whether the car doubled the speed and distance when 2 solar panels were involved. Cons: As we did it in Term 2 there wasn’t always enough sun to test. If we had to do it again I think we would do it in either Term 1 or Term 4.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

Solar Cars 24 Reviews