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On Wed, 9 Jun 2004 10:15:56 EDT Ted Ansbacher <[log in to unmask]> writes:

> I wonder if it wouldn't have been more effective to put the
> different materials out in the sun for a period of time and then let
the
> students simply touch them to feel the different temperatures. What do
probes and sensors
> add to this, in the fifth grade?

This, at least, I can answer: because simply touching objects might not
be a good way to measure temperature. Maybe the difference in temps is
small enough that it's difficult just to perceive by touch. Maybe some
kind of tactile illusion is at work. Maybe they have pre-conceived
notions about which object they think should be hotter, and this effects
their perception of which one is actually hotter. And how do you compare
the memory of what one object felt like to what you're feeling now -
that's quite subjective.

So what this adds in 5th grade, is an understanding of why measuring and
quantifying accurately is important in science. We have a program where
kids build devices to slow down balls rolling down an inclined plane. I
time them. They often tell me "When you weren't here we counted and ours
took [very unlikely number] of seconds!" I then do a little experiment: I
tell them I'll start my stopwatch, and I want them to tell me to stop
when they think 10 seconds have passed. I get 2 kids to do this. They're
seldom close to an actual 10 seconds, and never yet have the 2 kids been
the same. "This," I tell them, "is why scientists are keen on measuring
stuff." Certainly, getting familiar with using equipment like probes and
sensors in a non-threatening way in 5th grade might make more advanced
work in the future less daunting.

Jonah Cohen
Outreach & Public Programs Manager
Science Center of Connecticut

"Scalia finished his memo by writing 'If a Supreme Court justice
can be bought so cheaply, this country is in deeper trouble than I
thought.'
In a related story, this country is in deeper trouble than Scalia
thought."
-The Daily Show


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