Abstract
Energy is an important topic in science and
engineering. Yet, clear definitions of this concept are difficult to
come by and, as a result, students often develop a limited
understanding of energy and energy-related concepts. This is
exacerbated by traditional, deductive means of teaching. In this
paper, the authors report on an attempt at introducing an
inductive approach to the teaching and learning of energy-related
concepts, specifically conservation of energy. The approach was
attempted among a select group of school students using inductive
means, and was adapted from an article in the literature that
addressed flight energy management training for pilots. The aim
of the paper is to describe the intervention, which sought to foster
a deeper understanding of energy flows within a system and place
the school students in good stead for their subsequent design of an
ultra-energy efficient hydrogen-powered vehicle. This is done in
order to demonstrate how inductive learning can be enacted in an
engineering curriculum. However, the intervention was
implemented with a small sample of students and, as such, further
attention needs to be given to how such an inductive learning
approach can be incorporated into formal curricula at both school
and university levels, with a diverse range of students, and with
diverse topics.