In his 10/20/99 Phys-L posting "Physics education (fwd)", Joe Bellina forwarded a Chemed post by Anne Pfannkoch, a high-school teacher searching for downloadable material which might help her teach circular motion.
Anne might be interested in considering Socratic Dialogue Inducing (1-4) (SDI) Lab #3 "Circular Motion and Frictional Forces." Only very simple and readily available materials are required (e.g., a bucket of water to be rotated over the head, a ball tied to a string and rotated as a conical pendulum).
The SDI Lab #3 Manual is downloadable at <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>. A Teacher's Guide can be downloaded at <http://galileo.harvard.edu/> under "Hands-On Methods"/SDI Labs/Resources/Teacher's Guides. The guide is password protected, requiring a hard-copy request written on department letterhead. If Anne or others are interested and want more information they should get in touch with me.
Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
PLEASE NOTE NEW ADDRESSES!
<rrhake@earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~redcube>
REFERENCES
1. R.R. Hake, "Socratic Pedagogy in the Introductory Physics Lab," Phys. Teach. 30, 546 (1992); an updated version is on the web at <http:www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>.
2. J.L Uretsky, "Using 'Dialogue' Labs in a Community College Physics Course," Phys. Teach. 31, 478-481 (1993).
3. SDI Lab Manuals, Teacher's Guides, and other ancillaries are available on the web at <http:www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi> and also <http://galileo.harvard.edu/> under "Hands On Methods."
4. The theoretical underpinning of various interactive-engagement methods, including SDI Labs, is discussed by K. Heller, "Introductory Physics Reform in the Traditional Format: An Intellectual Framework", APS Forum on Education Newsletter, August 1999. On the web at <http://webs.csu.edu/~bisb2/FEdnl/heller.htm>.