From: "Noble, Alice" <noblea@88ABW.WPAFB.AF.MIL>
Subject: RE: doing experiments in class
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 1997 12:18:32 -0500
thanks for the idea, i am doing a k-4 workshop and will use this with the teachers did you have a particular form that you used for their data? > ---------- > From: Marc Siegel[SMTP:marc@quest.arc.nasa.gov] > Reply To: discuss@quest.arc.nasa.gov > Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 1997 10:38 AM > To: discuss@quest.arc.nasa.gov > Subject: doing experiments in class > > Hi, > I was interested to read the active discussion yesterday. As a > manager > at Quest, I don't get much first hand experience with what happens > in classrooms, so I find the insights offered very useful. Thanks. > > I wanted to share an experience I had recently when I was invited to > my > nephew's class (3rd grade) to do a NASA presentation. I talked a bit > about the Mars Pathfinder mission (I love describing the wacky > basketball > style bounce landing), but the most fun was when we did an experiment > about > dropping marbles into a tray of flour. The point was to find how the > speed of the impact (height of the drop) related tothe size of the > crater > and the diameter of the ejecta. it wa clear that the kids almost > never > got a chance to actually experiment, and the energy level during this > time was quite high. > > I think we determined quite well that though the crater size gets a > bit > bigger with increasing speed, the diameter of the ejecta really > increases. > Kids were able to reach these conclusions from the data we took, and > it > was really fun. > > I was most surprised at how excited kids were to do the experiments > (it is > fun to chuck marbles and watch flour fly), but how taking the data and > > drawing conclusion weren't greeted with near the enthusiasm. In > retrospect, > I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. So we found ourselves > talking a lot about about recording data and analyzing it is the real > reason for experiments (in the real world), not just having fun doing > the > experiment. > > Anyway, it was a real learning experience for me, and I sure wish the > curriculum or teacher in my nephew's class was able to do more > hands-on > science. It seems like the way to get kids engaged. I'd be > interested > to hear why this often doesn't seem to happen....as Stephaine wrote, > in elementary school, science is mainly lecture. > > Anyway, I'm off the net for a while, but Happy Holidays to everyone. > Yours, Marc > > I > >