By Summer Cline, Eagle Journalism

Mr. Groves’s AP Psychology class has recently done a fun little project with LEGOs for their Research Methods and Statistics unit. His class was split into groups, and they were all presented with LEGOs that they had to use to design a creation and write instructions. Once it was over, Mr. Groves took a picture of the creations. The groups had to switch tables. Then they had to follow the previous group’s steps so they could try their best to replicate the original design. Once time was up, Mr. Groves took another picture of all the creations to compare them. Students tried their best to replicate them, but Mr. Groves expected them to not do as well, which was the outcome. 

The lesson learned was that scientific replication takes more time and more clarification than the rushed step-by-step instructions they were given and had given from and to other groups. This is a very effective way to teach students the importance of research and clarity in replication. Plus, it seems students had a blast as they were giggling at how they failed to replicate the designs! 

Note from the Journalist: When I took AP Psychology, we actually did this project; I still remember it to this day and how much fun I had. I’m glad Mr. Groves is still doing it, and I hope he continues to have fun projects for his students!