Practical Situations Involving Thermodynamic Principles: Teaching-Learning through Learner-Led Lesson Demonstration

     There are many practical situations each day that involve thermodynamics principles. For example, two drinking glasses that are stuck together will need some knowledge of thermodynamics in order to separate them easily without breaking any of the two glasses. Such a situation should find its way in the classroom as a problem for students to think about and develop a solution for (as opposed to listening about it from the teacher talking about it). In this case, students are doing active learning, which requires “doing” something and actively thinking about what they are doing (Bonwell & Eison, 1991). I argue that as a kind of active learning, learner-led lesson demonstration is a modality, in addition to class discussion, ensures engagement, scientific inquiry, and independent planning for the learners. Learner-led demonstration particularly provides an opportunity for students in teacher education programs to facilitate the teaching-learning process even prior to pre-service teaching, thereby giving them a head start into experiential learning early on in their program.

     I propose a series of steps to facilitate this modality in the classroom throughout the semester. First, learners should be made to form groups of not more than five members. One class session may be allotted for discussing in their small groups about practical situations in everyday life. For this illustration, I use here the thermodynamics course. Practical situations involving thermodynamic concepts may include any or a combination of the following: proper placement of an air-conditioning unit in a room, do-it-yourself thermos bottle, and spoon gets hot when placed in hot cup of coffee, among others. Second, learners may be given the next two meetings for submitting with finality their practical situation so that they will have been able to do readings and internet search on their chosen practical situation before submission. All learner-led demonstrations, upon finalization, may now be randomly picked and arranged for one demonstration per meeting. This way, all learners know the schedule and can therefore plan ahead of time. The criteria for grading this demonstration may include accuracy of content, organization of ideas, manner of delivery, creativity, and teamwork. Third, leaders of demonstrations deliver their demonstrations. It usually consists of the leaders: 1) giving introduction, materials, the challenge, and needed participants; and 2) participants perform the challenge; 3) giving explanations and raising questions. Fourth, a debriefing is facilitated by the teacher pointing out strengths and areas for improvement about the discussion on the thermodynamics principles (content) and the demonstration (modality).    

Reference:

Bonwell, C. C., & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. Washington, D. C.: School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University.

Picture 1

 Step 1 of demonstration proper: Giving the introduction, materials, the challenge, and needed participants.

Picture 2

Step 2 of demonstration proper: Participants perform the challenge.

Picture 3:

Step 3 of demonstrations proper: Giving explanations and raising questions.

Picture 3

Step 3 of demonstration proper: Giving explanations and raising questions.

Role-Playing the Abstract Physics Concepts of Voltage and Current

Any idea in the mind requires some form of expression to be able to communicate the idea to others. In most cases we use words. These words can then be expressed into many different ways such as: 1) symbols that form mathematical equations, drawings that make up diagrams, and diagrams that show an analogy. For instance, the small creatures analogy of a circuit with one bulb, two wires and one battery, which is presented as a static diagram, can be acted out or role-played. Students are able to use daily life activities such as walking and eating (Yes! Eating cookies in an electromagnetism class is not unthinkable!) to demonstrate the abstract concepts of voltage and current.

For teachers who wish to know how to undertake role-playing, here are the steps for a simple circuit. First, the teacher shows to the class the small creatures analogy (see picture 1 below). Then the teacher explains the analogy by pointing out the representations. The creatures represent the charges which are the electrons that are present in the connecting wires. The voltage source is the provider of energy. In this case, the voltage source gives cookies to the creatures. The bulb receives the cookies and turns them into light and heat when the circuit is closed. The cookie represents energy. 

Picture 1. The small creatures analogy of a simple circuit

Second, the teacher demonstrates the representations by assigning the roles to five students. Assign students into the roles of bulb, voltage source, and electrons. One student must act as bulb, another student as voltage source, and three students as electrons. The three students (electrons) must receive one piece of cookie and travel to the bulb, give the cookie to the bulb, the bulb eats the cookie and acts as a lighted bulb by raising his/her two arms up in the air, and the electrons go back to the voltage source to receive another set of cookie. Here, the concept of voltage is cookie per student (the scientific definition is electric potential energy per unit of charge) and current is student only (the scientific definition is the rate of charge flow at a given time). 

Third, conduct a debriefing. Help students notice that: 1) it is very clear in the role-play that current is not consumed by the bulb because the students representing the charges were not eaten, it was only the cookie that was eaten, this means that current before and after the bulb is the same, 2) electrons are supposedly identical but students are not so students who were chosen or would be chosen as electrons are preferably students of similar height, and 3) because the cookie was being consumed (transformed from one form to another), the voltage source will run out thus batteries do run out.

Fourth, when done with the simple circuit, the teacher can challenge the students to make their own role-play using the same small creatures analogy but with a series circuit with three bulbs and parallel circuit with three bulbs. They can be graded using the following criteria: 1) accuracy of content which may be subdivided into representations: 30%, amount of cookie given by the voltage source to the creatures: 15%, amount of cookie given to the bulbs: 15%, 2) creativity: 20% and 3) props and materials: 20%. 

Here are pictures of my college students in their series and parallel role-playing.

Picture 2. Group 1's story is about a king who eventually had to pass on to his three offsprings (three bulbs in series) the power of the kingdom. He was fed with cookie (energy) by the servants (electrons). Here the king is being fed by a servant.

Picture 3. Group 2 made a story about a restaurant serving food to customers. Here the chef (voltage source) is giving the crackers (energy) to every staff (electron). The staff divided the crackers into three and gave 1/3 each to the customers arranged in series.   

Picture 4. Group 3's story is similar to Group 2. Here the customers (arranged in parallel) raise their lighted bulb after consuming the meal. Each customer (bulb) received a full set of meal from every staff (electron). 

Picture 5. Group 4's story was about a king and queen (bulbs in series), who needed energy. Here the servant (electron) gives 1/2 of the cookie to the king and queen.

  

  

Today, October 6, 2017, we are celebrating World Teachers' Day at Leyte Normal University, Tacloban City, Philippines. We thank our students for showing their appreciation to us and to all teachers in the world through their flowers, leis, cards, and song and dance rendition. Our students are the sweetest!  

The first time I saw the small creatures analogy and then role-playing the analogy was in my physics class with Dr. Ed Van Den Berg back in 2002 at the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines. From then on, my researches have revolved around role-playing electric circuit concepts. My gratitude goes to Dr. Van Den Berg for being a great teacher.  

   

My One Dozen Words in Ten Languages (in the order that I learned them)

Waray Waray	Filipino	English	Cebuano	Japanese	Hawaiian	Turkish	Indonesian	Spanish	Korean
siyensya	agham	science	siyensya	kagaku	nauka	bilim	ilmu	ciencia	gwahag
oo	opo	yes	oo	hai	‘ae	evet	iya ni	si	ye
dire	hindi	no	dili	eie	‘a’ole	hayir	tidak	no	anyo
salamat	salamat	thanks	salamat	arigatou	mahalo	tessekur	terimakasi	gracias	khamsahamnida
ano	ano	what	unsa	nani	ka mea	ne	apa	que	mwo
ha-in	saan	where	asa	doko	kahi	nerede	dimana	donde	eodie
ngaran	pangalan	name	ngalan	namae	inoa	isim	nama	nombre	ileum
gugma	pag-ibig	love	gugma	ai	aloha	aşk	cinta	amor	aejeong
nanay	nanay	mother	nanay	otousan	makuahine	anne	ibu	madre	omoni
tatay	tatay	father	tatay	okaasan	makuakane	baba	ayah	padre	aboji
sangkay	kaibigan	friend	amigo	tomodachi	hoaloa	arkadaş	teman	amigo	chingu
usa	isa	one	isa	ichi	ekahi	bir	satu	uno	hana

Doing and Learning Science with Average Speed Activity

Everyday life experiences such as walking, jogging, and skipping can make students comfortable in doing science. They can take advantage of these to understand why the average speed that has a higher numerator (with a denominator of 1 second) such as 8.5 meters per second has a higher average speed or is faster than one that has a lower numerator (also with a denominator of 1 second) such as 3.5 meters per second.

In this activity, students do not use toy cars or carts as devices on laboratory tables. They use themselves as the body in motion to cover the same distance but in different ways (e.g., normal walking, skipping, duckwalking, or any way they wish). Such an activity helps students strengthen their doing science such as using the same teammate (same length of legs throughout) for the three activities, running three times to not leave to chance or luck the data gathered, verifying data by doing the calculations at least thrice by not only one member of the team, using number sense to detect that the timer in the cellphone did not show the lap time but rather the difference of one lap from the preceding lap, using graphs to use a different representation of data, and surfacing creativity by using shoes (instead of settling with chalk marks) as lap indicators on the floor. And yes, students are willing to stay put without shoes for the sake of science 😊

 

Three Dimensional Models in Electricity and Magnetism: Electronic Ink

Science concepts that are represented by one dimensional and static pictures are a lot better than making students IMAGINE them. It is even better if three dimensional models are used because our daily life experiences involve objects that are three dimensional. For instance, the mechanism of electronic ink (an application of the principle that like charges repel and unlike charges attract) as explained by Cutnell & Johnson (2012) may come alive by affording students the opportunity to collaborate with each other in making a three dimensional model. How does one facilitate this? First, you need to discuss the model as a class. Then students are grouped to plan their model using readily available materials. Third, they give their presentation. Fourth, a debriefing is given by the professor to discuss with the class the limitations of the models. The following pictures show my students and their models.