🚀 go-pugleaf

As part of a response on constructivist classrooms it was said.

> Some demos are
>used but it is my understanding that demos do little to actually teach
>physics.  I agree.  Therefor I have become quite selective with
>demonstrations.  I am the business of teaching not self-gratification and
>I must admit, a good demo does a lot for the personal ego.
>

I strongly disagree that demonstrations do little to actually teach
Physics.  On the contrary if the students can see no connections between
the real world and what you are teaching as content then you are not
teaching Physics at all.  Good demonstrations set the stage for the topic
to be discussed and analysed.

I also agree that you should be selective about which demonstrations you
use.  The students should be able to see the point that you are trying to
make and this requires clarity of presentation and their attention being
drawn to the particular feature that is important to the lesson.

Unfortunately the last statement does worry me.  If the demonstration is
only a teacher activity then we have lost a great potential for impact with
our students.  Demonstrations have even more impact if they are presented
with student participation and even better if it a student or group of
students presents the activity.  My students are peer oriented and more
interested in what they each do and say.  I wish to capitalise on that as a
teacher.  It also helps to get the students presenting more dynamically
involved in the topic.

Now do we have any experimental evidence for these statements ?  Lots of
anecdotal items re the connection between the world and the Physics of the
classroom.  Ditto misconceptions engendered by students seeing something in
the demonstration which was not the main point and not seeing the supposed
feature.  For the third point my personal experience is that the student's
attitudes towards classes with demonstrations is far superior to that in
'chalk and talk'  classes.

Give me a good demo any day.

As for the teacher's ego.  I will go off the deep end and insist that it is
important for the teacher to enjoy teaching and working with students for
maximising student responses.  If you don't enjoy it get out of the lab !

This is expressed strongly but is intended only to emphasise that teaching
Physics can be rewarding to teacher and student if they are both enjoying
the interaction.  It is O.K. to stroke one's ego with a caution, which I
believe was the writer's intention, that the ego should not get in the way
of the teaching.
David Bailey                              !  Faculty of Science &
Technology,
University of Western Sydney, Nepean            !  P.O. Box 10, KINGSWOOD  2747
Phone (047) 360 429  Fax (047) 360 713    !  Australia