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Energy: Stop Faking It! |
The NSTA Symposium: Energy: Stop Faking It! took place at the America's Center in
St. Louis, MO, on Saturday, March 31, 2007. Thirty-five educators were in attendance
at the symposium. The presenter was Dr. Bill Robertson, author of the popular series
of books Stop Faking It! This symposium was designed around the book titled: Energy:
Stop Faking It! for teachers of grades 3-8. In this symposium Dr. Robertson
focused on the concepts of potential and kinetic energy, transformation of energy,
work, and conservation of energy. NSTA would like to thank all the participants
and Dr. Robertson for a job well done.
After an introductory administrative session during which Flavio Mendez, Symposia
and Web Seminars Program Manager at NSTA, familiarized participants with the contents
of their folders (including the agenda, talent release form, and pre-assessment),
Bill Robertson started by introducing the audience to the term of constructivism.
He explained that throughout the symposium he would use this concept and the learning
cycle to teach the concepts of energy listed in the agenda.
Throughout the program Dr. Robertson engaged the audience in using different materials
that were placed at the participants' tables. The materials used included rulers,
toy-car ramps, marbles, paper cups, batteries, paper clips, scissors, etc. The presenter
began the seminar by giving teachers experiences in the concepts of potential and
kinetic energy. Teachers used a marble, a ruler, and a paper cup for this activity.
They rolled the marble down the ruler (used as a ramp) and measured the distance
the paper cup moved as the marble collided with it. Several measurements were taking
as the marble was released from different heights off the ramp. Some teachers also
explored using different slopes too observing their results.
Guided discussions followed each one of the experiences. Teachers were able to ask
their questions as they " constructed" their new understanding about the concepts
presented. Other experiences included assembling a pendulum, dropping objects, blowing
up balloons, and using toy-car ramps to learn about the concept of conservation
of energy. The program ended with the presenter talking about pulleys.
All the concepts and exercises covered in the symposium are described in detail
in Dr. Robertson's Energy: Stop Faking It! book. All participants received
a copy of the Stop Faking It! book for attending the symposium and were encouraged
to continue the discussion via the listserv and two follow-up web seminars.
Want to see more photos taken during the program? Check out the photo gallery below
and feel free to browse the program's agenda
For more information contact symposia@nsta.org
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Underwritten in part by NSTA Press