Home
What is LBD?
LBD Cycle
LBD Units
LBD in Action
LBD Software
LBD Tools
Design Diaries
Testimonials
Publications
People of LBD
Acknowledgements
Job Opportunities
Seeking Teachers


Launcher Units


Apollo 13

Launches physical science and helps students learn about experiment design and associated skills, collaboration, clear communication, and LBD rituals. It is easy to integrate activities associated with measuring, metric units, and lab safety into this unit. Its final activity is design of a parachute from coffee filters. It is designed to be 4 weeks long. Click here for a walkthrough.

Digging In

Launches earth science and helps students learn about modeling and its associated skills, collaboration, clear communication, and LBD™ rituals. It is easy to integrate activities associated with measuring, metric units, and lab safety into this unit. Its final activity is design of an erosion management system that will keep the dirt from an adjacent hill off a new basketball court. It is designed to be 6 weeks long.


Physical Science Units

Vehicles in Motion

Students learn about forces and motion in the context of designing and building a miniature vehicle and its propulsion system that can traverse two hills and go as far as possible. Designed to be 8 weeks long. Click here for a walkthrough.

Machines That Help

Students learn about work and mechanical advantage in the context of designing and building a device for lifting heavy objects. They must build it so that somebody with minimum hand strength (e.g., someone with arthritis) can use it. Designed to be 3 weeks long.


Earth Science Units

Tunneling Across Georgia

Students learn about the rock cycle, rock types, properties of rocks and minerals, underground water, geologic time, rock formations, and several kinds of geological maps in the context of advising about the core sampling and tunnel design for a set of subway tunnels that will be built through a variety of different land forms. Designed to be 8 to 10 weeks long.


Learning by Design™ • Georgia Institute of Technology • 801 Atlantic • Atlanta, GA 30332-0280 • lbd@cc.gatech.edu