Unit 1: Exploring the Nature of Light Phenomena
II. Identifying Student Resources
What do you already know about light? When did you learn this? Where were you? With whom? Why were you interested? How did this learning occur? These prior experiences in learning about light provide resources upon which you can draw in learning more about light in this course.
These “question words” –What? When? Where? Who? Why? and How? – represent an important aspect of science for which you are already expert in everyday life: asking questions. In this unit, you will explore questions that you and others generate about science learning in general and also about learning about light.
A. Learning about ways to foster science learning
Here is the first question:
Question 1.1 What have you learned about light at some time in your life, inside or outside of school, during an experience when you enjoyed the learning process?
- What did you learn about light? How did you learn this? With whom were you learning? Where were you doing this learning? When did this happen? Why were you enjoying this learning process?
Think about what you may have learned about light in a science class at school but also consider what you learned outside of school by playing with flashlights, looking in mirrors, swimming, wearing glasses, painting, seeing rainbows, sitting by campfires, growing plants, noticing the moon, watching a sunset, looking up at the stars…
If you are working with a group, share some of these learning experiences with one another.
- Choose one of these positive science learning experiences on which to focus. Draw a picture of yourself learning about light while enjoying the process. This course models integrating art and science so make a large vivid, colorful picture that will interest others.
- Note the age you were when you were learning this.
- While drawing a picture of yourself learning about light, think about why this experience had ‘worked’ for you. What had helped you learn about light in this instance?
- Add to your drawing words or phrases that convey some of the ways that this experience had helped you learn about light.
- If you are working with others, introduce yourselves by describing your positive experiences learning about light, the ages you were when you had these experiences, and some of the ways that these experiences had fostered your science learning.
- Based upon the evidence provided by this process, make a list of ways to help someone learn science in the context of learning about light.
- Make a claim about one way to foster such science learning. Support your claim with evidence drawn from the positive science learning experiences you and others reported.
After completing your exploration of ways to foster such science learning, look at an example of student work to see how others have thought about this process.
1. An example of student work identifying resources for fostering science learning
On the first day of class, for example, phys