A STUDENT (Read more...)

ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS (Read more...)

ENERGY FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES (Read more...)

LIGHT FROM A SOURCE (Read more...)

• Source: NESA Science K-10 Syllabus - Stage 3 2018

While teaching we want to collect evidence and data as to how the students are understanding the material. We then use that evidence to form or change what we do next. This process is commonly referred to as Formative Assessment

Formative assessment can take many shapes, including:

• observations
• checks for understanding
• asking questions (especially 'why' questions)
• quizzes.

Formative assessment is NOT designed to obtain a score for entry into a grade-book.

A well recognised, research-based diagnostic tool (QUIZ) is available to aid formative assessment. At the top of each QUIZ, you will see something like:

THIS IS A QUIZ - IT IS NOT A TEST
It is to help you find & understand correct answers, not mark you down for incorrect answers!

As a bonus, the evidence from 'pre' versus 'post' quiz scores provides an easy way for teachers to gain authentic comments for student reports.

To get started, all teachers and students should first complete the our school ELECTRICITY QUIZ - before commencing any teaching/learning activities.

• 'It is not what you cover, it is what you uncover that is most important.'

• IF UNABLE TO ACCESS YOUTUBE, TRY:Viewpure

• How much preparation is required to teach well?

INTRODUCTION:

• All activities described here have been trialled in Australian primary schools.

This unit (Electricity ST3 2018) is designed to teach the core principals and to ensure students gain an understanding of electricity at the deepest level. It is not an easy topic and it is not easy to teach.

Taking the harder path is justified by the belief that it is better to teach something that is difficult and correct than something that is easier but incorrect.

• NOTE: Classroom activities may be recorded and some content published (requires: 'permission to publish' approval).

• IF UNABLE TO ACCESS YOUTUBE, TRY:Viewpure

• The full-length video is available here.

SCIENCE:

• Students will engage in a combination of classroom learning and flipped-classroom style homework.
• The learning process will 'start with a misconception', as inspired by Dr Derek Muller's PhD and Veritasium Youtube channel.
• Students will be work in teams to construct electrical circuits and demonstrate how the circuit works to show what they know and have learned.
• Students will identify the circuit components that form a continuous path for the flow of electrons (what about transformers or other components where there is no continuous path)
• Students will describe and discuss how energy is transferred within an electrical circuit
• Students will explain and discuss conductors & insulators in terms of categories of materials.

LITERACY:

• Make a labelled journal diagram to represent how an electric circuit works (include at least one example of both a pictoral and a schematic circuit diagram - for example.
• Make a presentation to communicate their understanding of electric circuits
• Reflect on their learning. Create a journal entry to describe 'what I used to think versus what I think now'.

EXAMPLE DESIGN + ASSESSMENT TASK:

• Each group will build an electric motor using the components supplied by the teacher.
• There will be prizes for the fastest and most efficient motors and circuits

CONCEPTS:

• The students will first be engaged in discussion by a facilitator/scientist whose task is to work with and assist the classroom teacher. The discussions and tasks are designed to be performed in the framework of Scientific Method, and to help all students understand what electricity is, and how it works.

Students will be asked to explain their current thoughts about:

1. Where does electricity come from?
2. How is electricity made?
3. Does electricity move quickly or slowly?
4. What is an electricity generator?
5. What is an electric motor?
6. What is a battery?
7. What is a conductor?
8. What is an insulator?
9. What is a circuit (how does energy get from the battery into the light globe)? ²⁾
10. What is a semi-conductor?
11. What is a switch?
12. What is a light?
13. How 'safe' is electricity?

Following these discussions, students are challenged by hands-on activities designed to allow them to discover answers that will assist them overcome any misconceptions about electricity and circuits.

The teacher/facilitator will explain that students will work together in groups to build electronic circuits.

Students may use on-line resources to experiment and create virtual circuits, investigate Faraday's Law and experiment with electro-magnetism (may require Google CHROME browser)!

Students must ensure that their circuit includes all four parts of a simple circuit:

1. Power Source -(a battery)
2. Conducting Path - (wire(s), foil or similar)
3. Switch - (mechanical device/foil pressure switch to turn device on/off)
4. Load - (apply power to a device or activate a lamp/LED).
   1. If using a LED:
      1. Demonstrate that a LED only lights when connected one way to power source
      2. A LED is semiconductor. Semiconductors only conduct electricity under certain conditions.

It is extremely important that students come up with their own solutions and answers.

Teacher(s)/facilitator(s) MUST NOT provide prescriptive explanations, strategies or answers during practical activities. Students are encouraged to work collaboratively to come up with their own theories and solutions.

Students must be given continuous opportunities/reminders to compare 'what I used to think' with 'what I think now'

• IF UNABLE TO ACCESS YOUTUBE, TRY:Viewpure

• Lindfield PS, 5/6 Awesome Design & Make a 'Puppy Switch'
• Some classroom activities are described here

Another example of what was done at our school in 2017, where our school students interview students from other schools who presented their science projects at the MAAS Young Creators Conference 2017

• IF UNABLE TO ACCESS YOUTUBE,TRY:Viewpure

• Additional/new activities will be customised to meet the particular needs and interests of your own students.

• Teachers and facilitators can find most of the correct explanations summarised here., plus an explanation of an article published by ABC Australia why many school text-books and resources (Primary Connections?) should be avoided.

• When the ELECTRICITY QUIZ has been completed, students are sent results by email.
• In the email, there is a link for more information, activities and experiments to help the student understand more about each question and the answer.
• Students are encouraged to investigate, ask questions and design their own experiments.
• There are lots of hands-on activities in the circuits section of this wiki.

• IF UNABLE TO ACCESS YOUTUBE VIDEO, TRY:Viewpure

Most textbooks forget to mention where electrical energy comes from

QUESTION(s) Where do you think electricity and electrical energy comes from?

• Do you think the the video explains what electricity is?
• Do you think the the video explains where electrical energy comes from?
• What do you think is the scientific definition for the word 'Electricity'? ³⁾
• Watt do you think!

• IF UNABLE TO ACCESS YOUTUBE VIDEO, TRY:Batteries - ABC Catalyst

Most textbooks forget to mention how batteries have changed and why they are so important for the future

QUESTION(s) Do you think batteries store electricity?

• Do you think the this 3 minute explanation of how batteries work (in the video) is correct?
• Watt do you think!

• IF UNABLE TO ACCESS YOUTUBE VIDEO, TRY:Symphony of Science - The Brain

Many textbooks forget to mention a quite important example of an electrical circuit - the human brain:

QUESTION(s) Do you think the human brain may be like an electrical circuit - or not?

• What are the similarities/differences between electrical circuits in your house/brain?
• Watt do you think!

HYPOTHESES & QUESTION(S):

1. When you build a house, all of the electricity is already in the wire. The electricity company does not make, supply or sell any electricity.
2. When you buy a battery, all of the electricity is already in the battery and never gets used up. Batteries do NOT store electricity.
3. What is a switch?
   1. Can electricity travel through a switch that is turned 'off' (travel through an open circuit)?

YOUR FINDINGS/ANSWERS:

1. Where do you look first for answers (for example; friends, teachers, parents, Internet)?
2. Were you surprised by anything that you discovered through research?
3. Have any of your ideas changed? What did you used to think and what do you think now?

SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS HAVE SHOWN THAT (Read More...)

Students will work in groups to design a helicopter ignition switch - A circuit designed to activate a 'helicopter'

Before take-off, students need to perform three 'pre-flight take-off checks' and a fourth switch for take-off.

FOR OUR CLASSROOM CHALLENGE (Read More...)

• IF UNABLE TO ACCESS YOUTUBE VIDEO, TRY:Viewpure - ⁵⁾

THE LPS AIRFORCE 'HELICOPTER IGNITION SWITCH' CHALLENGE (Read More...)

• Build simple pressure switches and stuff
• Soledoids (example of linear motor)
• Electricity Explained - Advanced, Atomic Level
• What holds our world together? The Full Version - Prof. Walter Lewin
• Electricity - A whole science degree in a single 10 minute video
• Ultimate DIY Motor example
• Magic tricks with motors & magnets
• VIC Education - Electricity & Circuits
• Random links to advanced electricity information and projects
• Everything you didn't know about motors
• Phet - Faradays Law - electromagnetic on-line interactive

'Everything was a little bit ambiguous – they weren't smart enough to understand what was meant by “rigor.” They were faking it. They were teaching something they didn't understand, and which was, in fact, useless, at that time, for the child.' - Source: ⁶⁾

If you're swayed by authorities, then listen to Albert Einstein, from his 1938 book Evolution of Physics:

“The electric fluid flowing through the wire is the negative one, directed, therefore, from lower to higher potential… The next important question is whether the structure of this negative fluid is “granular,” whether or not it is composed of electric quanta. Again a number of independent experiments show that there is no doubt as to the existence of an elementary quantum of negative electricity. The negative electric fluid is constructed of grains, just as the beach is composed of grains of sand, or a house built of bricks. This result was forumlated most clearly by J. J. Thomson, about forty years ago. The elementary quantity of negative electricity are called electrons.” - Einstein/Infeld, EVOLUTION OF PHYSICS 1938, p 253

So even Einstein believes that “electricity” is not electromagnetic energy, but instead is the same as Charge (it is Coulombs rather than Joules.) ⁷⁾