Unplanned "experiments"
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<<There is ALWAYS something else they'd be doing if you hadn't
made them do what you wanted them to do. Inertia would have come up some
other time, some other place. My kids probably know more interesting
things
to say about it than I do <G>. I never planned an "inertia" experiment
for
them, to make sure they knew about it.>>
About 3 days ago I was watching a demonstration of how inertia, mass and
force effect how an ice skater spins. I wasn't even think about where
the kids were and how "instructional" this was, I was just watching
because this kind of thing fascinates me. I always have something like
this on the TV, Discovery, PBS, History, etc. I have it on because it's
truly what I prefer to watch, sometimes the kids join me and sometimes
they don't. If they watch it's because they were drawn to it or my
enthusiasm.
This time my daughter was watching from the kitchen table and eventually
moved over next to me. When it was done she said, "I have no idea what
they were saying." I explained it a couple of different ways and with
that "Hmmmmm" look on her face wandered off. About 20 minutes later she
came back and said, "They could have explained it better if they had just
said........" and she launched into an explanation which showed she
understood the concept.
No plans, no experiment, just natural interest. I didn't even think it
through to "She just learned something about physics." until this thread
came up. I don't have a problem with "experiments" if it's a natural
thing, something you would do whether it proved the kids are learning or
not.
Kris
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made them do what you wanted them to do. Inertia would have come up some
other time, some other place. My kids probably know more interesting
things
to say about it than I do <G>. I never planned an "inertia" experiment
for
them, to make sure they knew about it.>>
About 3 days ago I was watching a demonstration of how inertia, mass and
force effect how an ice skater spins. I wasn't even think about where
the kids were and how "instructional" this was, I was just watching
because this kind of thing fascinates me. I always have something like
this on the TV, Discovery, PBS, History, etc. I have it on because it's
truly what I prefer to watch, sometimes the kids join me and sometimes
they don't. If they watch it's because they were drawn to it or my
enthusiasm.
This time my daughter was watching from the kitchen table and eventually
moved over next to me. When it was done she said, "I have no idea what
they were saying." I explained it a couple of different ways and with
that "Hmmmmm" look on her face wandered off. About 20 minutes later she
came back and said, "They could have explained it better if they had just
said........" and she launched into an explanation which showed she
understood the concept.
No plans, no experiment, just natural interest. I didn't even think it
through to "She just learned something about physics." until this thread
came up. I don't have a problem with "experiments" if it's a natural
thing, something you would do whether it proved the kids are learning or
not.
Kris
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.
[email protected]
At the museum here they used to have a small, easily-spinning platform with a
pole to hold onto, and you could speed up and slow down, and spinning skaters
do, by changing your position. There were diagrams, and then video of
skaters demonstrating what you could do with this contraption.
OH! It was part of a sports exhibit from a Canadian museum which was a
travelling exhibit. It was SO fun we went three times. Almost every
display had something to actually DO, and it did something back! And, of
course, someone had designed an insipid little checklist for schoolgroups to
use that had the dumbest question ever. In a hugely fascinating display
about physics and anatomy and materials science in sports, this page said
"Which display had a green ball?"
The greenness of balls was not part of ANY of the presentations.
Sandra
pole to hold onto, and you could speed up and slow down, and spinning skaters
do, by changing your position. There were diagrams, and then video of
skaters demonstrating what you could do with this contraption.
OH! It was part of a sports exhibit from a Canadian museum which was a
travelling exhibit. It was SO fun we went three times. Almost every
display had something to actually DO, and it did something back! And, of
course, someone had designed an insipid little checklist for schoolgroups to
use that had the dumbest question ever. In a hugely fascinating display
about physics and anatomy and materials science in sports, this page said
"Which display had a green ball?"
The greenness of balls was not part of ANY of the presentations.
Sandra