From: kgh_donelson@K12.MEC.OHIO.GOV
Subject: Re: Challenge Question #2 rebuttal
Date: Sun, 10 Nov 1996 17:49:13 -0500 (EST)
Hey Chris .... Yes ... there are a few of us PTK folks who actually did understand _some_ of the derivation of equations! But your letter is right on track! Actually, what you found disturbing, I found quite refreshing! It has always seemed to me that much of the "Live" projects, as well as other things done by NASA have tended to be aimed more from 5-8 or 6-9 rather than the high school level. I find it very hard year in and year out to find high school teachers who are willing to commit to projects anyway, and anytime someone with the resources like NASA aims a project at high schoolers, I get excited. But as you so accurately have written twice now, there should be levels of difficulty or levels of responses, so that kids feel like they have a chance to really answer and "win" .... get the right answer or be thinking along the correct lines. Hopefully, there are big differences between your kids' answers and mine .... if not, I'm in BIG trouble!!! So ... now that we've laid the issue on the table, what do we do about it??!! Be careful asking this kind of stuff .... soon you and I will be doing more stuff on the net with all of our spare time!!! By the way ... for those of you who don't know .... Chris and I do projects together every year and have been for several years. When Chris writes a "negative" letter ... it's worth listening too and thinking about!!! Thanks for the thoughts ... it has made me do some serious thinking again about all that I do with kids on the NET! And then tomorrow we get to get back in the grind of everyday teaching .... ....... Ain't it grand!!!! I LOVE IT!! Have a good week all! Fred Donelson Project Orion Space Shuttle Simulation Coordinator