
GIREP Seminar
2003
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The constructivistic approach suggests the experiment to be one of the
most efficient methods for building concepts and models that make
linkage between physical quantities and the natural phenomena, thus
giving a valuable tool at all levels of physics teaching.When exposed
to a simple demonstrative experiment with every-day materials and
objects, children of a pre-physics-learning age are intuitively forming
pre-concepts of natural phenomena. In most cases, they need help
in order to form the firm concepts and to build the model that relate
simple phenomena together. However, physics teacher's training very
often lacks the knowledge and experience on shaping the concepts
to understand natural phenomena at the very early cognitive stage.
In order to fill this gap, we held a serial of workshops for elementary
school pupils (pre-physics-learning age, 7-13 ys), using a constructivistic
approach through a serial of experiments on a chosen subject (e.g.
atmospheric pressure, etc.), in order to make the implementation
of it into the physics teachers' education. Through this work it
was possible to achieve at least two goals; 1) to search for the
ways for developing creative and analytic thinking by construction
of basic physical models through active learning at the very early
stage, 2) to make improvements in the already existing and investigation
of new methods in education of future physics teachers. The results
directly affect the quality of physics teaching, by creating a new
experinece for both partner sides in the process of learning.
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