A Case Study on LEGO Activity in Physics Class: Taking the "Rotational Kinetic Energy" for Example

Knowledge of Rotational Kinetic Energy (RKE) is always difficult for students to understand using traditional teaching methods. In this study, we designed an inquiry-based activity in which students can explore influence factors of RKE with a car built by LEGO, according to the scaffolds provided on the activity sheet. Then an experiment of the activity was carried out in a high school in Beijing. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data, we concluded that the inquiry-based activity with LEGO can: 1) help students gain a deeper understanding of RKE, 2) significantly increase students´ learning interest towards physics according to sign test results, 3) be considered as effective tool for students in the physics classroom.