Remote-Control Gear-Bot

This toy comes with 148 building pieces, a wireless remote control, and an instruction manual that contains structures for the user option to build. Four AA batteries in total are needed for both the remote control and the base of the robot as batteries are not included in the kit. Guidance from an adult is recommended to show how to set up the toy, as it might be confusing for younger users.

Remote-Control Gear-Bot strengthens the user’s design skills, critical and creative thinking skills, and spatial reasoning skills through the construction of various types of robots. They have the option to construct any of the several robots presented in the instruction manual, which enhances their spatial reasoning skills by translating 2D to 3D. Additionally, the gears can only be attached to the robots if all of the gears are placed in a certain configuration, which prompts the user to analyze the structure of the robot and find the most effective way to assemble it. Once all of the robots in the instruction manual have been built, the user has the option of engaging their creative thinking skills and creating their own robots. While creating their own robots, the user must use iterative design principles in order to create a robot that operates with ease and is relatively stable, lest it falls on its face.

Altogether, Remote-Control Gear-Bot employs children’s spatial reasoning skills, creative and critical thinking skills, and introduces iterative design through the creation of a plethora of unique, controllable robots. 

Framework Categories

Engineering Thinking (EThink)
Processes of Design (POD)

Moore, T.J., Glancy, A.W., Tank, K.M., Kersten, J.A., Smith, K.A., & Stohlmann, M.S. (2014). A framework for quality K-12 engineering education: Research and development. Journal of Precollege Engineering Education Research, 4(1), 1-13.