This project is aimed at perfecting and testing a new instructional method to improve the effectiveness of introductory physics teaching. the methods has two chief characteristics: 1) a systematic challenge to common sense misconceptions about the physical world, and 2) an emphasis on models and modeling as basic to physical understanding. Two versions of the method will be tested. The first version is designed especially for high school physics. It emphasizes student development of explicit models to interpret laboratory activities. After an initial test, this version will be taught to high school physics teachers in a summer Teacher Enhancement Workshop, and its effect on their subsequent teaching will be evaluated. Teachers with weak as well as strong backgrounds will be included. A special effort will be made to include females and minorities. The second version will be tested in a special college physics course designed to prepare students with weak backgrounds for a standard calculus based physics course. It emphasizes modeling techniques in problem solving. This project is jointly supported by the Division of Materials development, Research and Informal Science Education and the Division of Teacher Preparation and Enhancement.
The Children's Museum proposes to develop two versions of an interative physical.science exhibit dealing with wave mechanics and the related actions of vibrating and oscillation systems. One version will be a permanent exhibit that is to be a central component in the new science area of the museum, while the other will be a traveling exhibit that will tour the country under the auspices of the Association of Science.Technology Centers. The purpose of the exhibit is to heighten the interest of children in scientific experimentation, with learning taking place at three levels including sensory.motor, perceptual.operational and intutitive.conceptual. Materials for teachers will supplement the exhibit, and an internship program will train largely minority middle.school students in basic concepts and then use them as "explainers" for the general public. The request to the National Science Foundation represents 73% of the total cost of the exhibits, with the remainder coming from institutional and other sources.
The investigation of naive conceptions of science has many implications for both teaching and learning. The predominant model for past investigations has been with school children or within very formal settings. Extending investigations of misconceptions to informal settings is the challenge of this research. Museum visitors' misconceptions about two topics, gravity and mechanical advantage, will be recorded through a variety of interview formats. Twenty-five persons from each of the age ranges 9-11, 12-14, 15-18, and college students/adults will be interviewed. Information from the interview will be used to modify the current exhibit or to build new prototypes. The research will determine if a modification can be made that results in individuals moving from their previous misconceptions toward a correct conceptualization of the concepts. This research will document what individuals actually learn from museum exhibits and how "front end evaluation" can be used to redesign exhibits for maximum concept learning. The proposed research is challenging and has the potential of adding significant information to science education research on misconceptions. The principal investigator is highly respected in the field of museum education and the associated staff and consultants are the top scholars in their respective fields.
The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum proposes to design and construct a traveling exhibit on energy. The proposed exhibit will have two goals: one, to produce an imaginative exhibit that will stimulate interest and cognitive growth in understanding about geometry; two, to develop a related education program that will reach out to underserved audiences in Michigan and beyond, including minorities, children and citizens who live far from science centers, and audiences of small- and medium-sized science centers and children's museums in the state.
The Thames Science Center collaborative with the resources of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Wesleyan University and the National Air and Space Museum will design and develop the project, "Shoot For the Moon." This science education project will capitalize on the attraction, familiarity and proximity of the moon using it as a basis to enrich and supplement the eight and ninth grade physical science curriculum. Ten classroom units, complimentary experiments and demonstrations will be developed. "Moonwatch" software and audio visual materials, including an instructional videotape and a multi.image presentation will accompany the units. Sixteen teachers and museum educators will participate in the training, evaluation and testing as the project is integratedinto the curriculum of twelve schools and four museums. The project is designed to be replicated in schools and science centers in different geographical locations nationally. The site for development and testing will be the Thames Science Center, a regional science museum in eastern Connecticut. The science center offers formal science enrichment programs and tours for students and teacher professional development programs throughout the region.