Go! Motion: Understanding the Relationship Between. Position, Velocity and Acceleration

Transcription

1 Go! Motion: Understanding the Relationship Between Position, Velocity and Acceleration 1. Overview of Project a. Identified needs- Why was the Go! Motion equipment imperative in teaching the concepts of position, time, velocity and acceleration? The Go! Motion equipment was essential for teaching students about the concept of motion for a variety of reasons. The concepts of motion, specifically position, velocity and acceleration, are particularly difficult for middle school students to comprehend. The students are often times able to memorize definitions and repeat them verbatim, but are unable to apply the concepts. For example, a student may be able to state the definition of velocity, but may not be able to interpret a graph involving velocity. The Go! Motion program allows students to bring these difficult concepts to life by allowing them to create the graphs, forming a mental picture in their head of what the motion looked like. The equipment allowed students to visualize what position, velocity, and acceleration graphs represent and how they relate to one another. In addition, the software integrated science, math and technology so students could see interdisciplinary connections. b. Instructional Objectives Students will be able to use a motion detector to measure position, velocity and acceleration. Students will be able to use a computer to produce graphs of their own motion. Students will be able to analyze graphs they produce.

2 Students will be able to describe the motion of various position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs. c. Number of Students Served A total of 126 eighth grade physical science students utilized the Go! Motion equipment although only 65 participated in the pre-test/ post-test evaluation. d. Other Faculty Involved In the Moorestown School District, teachers work on interdisciplinary teams that consist of a math, science, language arts and social science teacher. After conducting this activity and reviewing the students test scores, it was apparent that many of the lower tracked students needed reinforcement with the concept of acceleration. Because the math students are leveled, the math teacher on my team was able to utilize the equipment to reinforce this difficult concept with the students in her basic and lower level classes. When quizzed after the second implementation, the majority of students had a sound understanding of acceleration. This was beneficial to those students in particular because it allowed them to master the concept as well as see the connection between math and science. e. Description of Project as Implemented Prior to the Project: (about one week) Students had conducted two mini-labs that addressed the idea of velocity, position, time and acceleration. Class discussions and Power Point presentations that included conceptual questions had been provided for the students to summarize the concepts and to require higher order thinking. Textbook assignments were also assigned to homework reinforcement.

3 Day One: Introduction (classroom) The students took a pre-test (please see attached). Each of the students received a GRAPHING YOUR MOTION handout provided by Vernier. The concepts of velocity, position and acceleration were reviewed. One of the Go! Motion sensors was installed at the computer at the front of the classroom. The students were taught how to use the Logger Lite software required for the Go! Motion equipment. Various student volunteers were called to the front of the room to demonstrate how to collect data the correct way. Each section of the lab was demonstrated and explained. Groups were assigned as to minimize confusion in the computer lab the following day and maximize time spent using the equipment. Day Two: Implementation (computer lab) The Logger Lite software was installed on eight computers in the middle school computer lab. The students were aware of their groups and headed to their assigned computer. Because of the time spent explaining the logistics the prior day, students were able to get to work right away. They spent the entire period collecting data to complete their lab. Students were required to print out certain graphs for later analysis. When they finished the required work, the students were encouraged to experiment by creating their own graphs or attempting to match a graph located in the software folders (EXTENSIONS: page 33-6 of handout) Day Three: Predications (classroom) The frictionless track was set up at the front of the room. Students were asked to predict what various graphs would look like when the cart was moved from one position to another. The results from the prior day were discussed. Students then utilized the

4 remainder of the period to answer the questions associated with the graphs made and printed the day before. 2. Evaluation of Project a. How has the project influenced your teaching over the past year? The pre-test allowed me to see what my students did not know. I no longer assumed that because they answered questions correctly on homework and tests that they had a sound understanding of the concept. I became a cynic to some degree- constantly probing deeper to see what they really knew. The project also confirmed for me that a hands-on lesson was a great way to grab students attention, engage them and allow them to have fun while learning. b. How has the project affected student learning and attitudes? First and foremost, the students fully enjoyed this series of lessons. They were engaged from start to finish. The introduction on day one grabbed the students attention straight away. Students who came to class later in the day had already heard the buzz and asked if they could be one of the students to demonstrate the program to the class. The next day, students walked into class excited and ready to get to work. Some of the comments included, Mrs. Redding this is so cool! and Can we do this again tomorrow? The most gratifying of all the comments were the many students that stated I get this- it didn t make sense before but now I get it! The Dynamics System (Go! Motion equipment) allowed my students to visualize and synthesize very difficult concepts. Prior to implementing this system, a test would have been administered at the end of the motion unit. Many students predictably would have scored well on this test because they could have written the definitions and even

5 explained many of the concepts such as velocity. I would have felt good, the students would have been pleased, and their parents would have been proud. The problem would have been that the students would not have mastered the concepts to the extent that I thought they had. This was apparent when the results from the pre-test were analyzed. Although students were familiar with terms such as velocity and time, when asked to apply them to a graph, they simply could not. Imagine my surprise when the majority could not even respond with a partially correct answer and instead answered I don t know. Keep in mind that the students had spent a week prior to this activity studying motion. Only 6%-7% of the students were able to interpret the position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs correctly. After using the Go! Motion equipment, there was not one student who answered I don t know and in fact 89.2% of the students were able to correctly interpret the position vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs (please see graphs and charts on display board). 3. Ruminations a. What would you do differently next time, or if you were recommending this to colleagues? I have made several changes for next year. These changes are mainly with the wording of the lab report. I am planning to add in additional explanations and require students to create additional graphs to analyze. The activity will also be conducted as an inquiry based activity prior to the readings, mini-labs and Power Point presentations in order to allow students to construct their own knowledge. b. What residual effects either for your or your students do you anticipate?

6 The residual effects for me as a teacher would be to create assessments that truly test what the students know and do not know. I also have solidified my feelings that hands on activities truly facilitate student learning by allowing students to create their own knowledge. I feel as if many misconceptions that could have carried through to high school (or even the rest of their lives) have been quashed. Their physics knowledge base was increased enormously which will surely be a help in future science classes. c. How could the grant process (application process, materials acquisition, reporting, or evaluation) be improved? I do not see any need for change with the grant process. I felt it was efficient.