Inquiry-Based, Constructivist Learning in Physics

Every year New Milford High School teacher Tahreen Chowdhury teaches Newton’s laws of physics and most of the students are able to grasp the first and the second law. However, Newton’s third law is the one that is most contrary to their everyday intuition. This law, as the students know it, is “every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. The students have learned this concept since their first science classes, but are puzzled by this concept when they see small cars being demolished by bigger SUV’s. 

Image credit: http://nancyrubin.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/learn_istock_000017123843xsmall.jpg

So this year, Mrs. Chowdhury decided to take a different approach to teaching this law in physics. The lesson started with Mrs. Chowdhury having two students pull on each other with spring scales. She asked the students to pull so that the two spring scales read different forces. The students were unable to do so, each time one pulled with a certain force, the other spring scale read the same force. Normally, students agree when Mrs. Chowdhury says that pulling with the spring scales attached and pulling hand to hand are the same except spring scales just reads the strength of the pull. This year, the students completely disagreed and said that using the spring scales make the forces the same. So Mrs. Chowdhury decided to use the Vernier Force Sensors. She set up an air track and two carts with motion sensors attached to them. She asked the students to come up with different collisions and predict how the forces will compare to each other based on the collisions. The students changed the carts’ mass and velocity so the collisions were different. 

In the end, they saw on the force sensor software that the readings were identical from the two sensors. One student summarized their learning from that lesson as “when two things collide with each other, they exert the same force on each other regardless of their mass and how fast they are coming at each other”. Below is a screenshot of the convincing data of two students pulling on the force probes from two different directions, each time the measured forces were identical regardless of who pulled harder. Mrs. Chowdhury believes that this year the students have a much better understanding of Newton’s third law instead of mere memorization of the phrase “every action has an equal and opposite reaction”.  

Making to Learn in Physics

Ms. Fleming recently hosted Mr. Fowler’s Conceptual Physics classes for some hands-on experiences with electronics in the Makerspace at New Milford HS.  Prior to their experience in this space, students had worked with the pHET DC Circuit Simulator. They were able to explore current flows through light bulbs in circuits powered by batteries and controlled by switches.  This simulation experience gave the students some cause and effect experiences allowing them to witness the interplay between voltage, current, and resistance.  Despite these experiences, they missed the reality of low batteries, poor electrical connections, and other real world experiences that impact circuits.  This all changed dramatically when students were afforded a hands-on, authentic learning experience in the Makerspace that allowed them to create artifacts of learning to demonstrate conceptual mastery.    

Image credit: http://www.snapcircuits.net

Once in the Makerspace students began to create, tinker, and invent to learn concepts related to circuitry   When they made the Little Bits circuits that rotated paper hands and Snaptricity circuits that launched propellers, they experienced success that usually followed some initial impediments.  They had to troubleshoot to find a broken lead on a connection to the battery, or find an open circuit because a connection that appeared to be made was electrically disconnected.  The support provided by Ms. Fleming was excellent and pivotal to the success of the lesson.  Kits were readily available for the students to use.  When batteries ran low she had backups on hand for all of the groups.  Two students were pulled more towards the Legos and she immediately improvised by having electronic motors available that they could work with.  

This experience has provided a reservoir of learning opportunities for both of Mr. Fowler's classes that they continue to draw from when working through series and parallel circuits.  The Makerspace in the library is an oasis for student self-directed learning.  It serves as a rejuvenation center for inspiring of love for both formal and informal learning.  In my opinion a space like this should be a priority for all schools in the 21st Century and you do not have to break the bank to create one.