In my Phys-L/PhysLrnR/Physhare/AP-Physics post of 14 Nov 2002
14:32:54-0800 titled "Re: Socratic Method," I wrote:
"I agree with John . . .(Texas John Clement). . . that SDI (Socratic
Dialogue Inducing) labs have proven to be very effective. However I
totally disagree that 'they may seem intimidating for an initial jump
into novel pedagogy.' "
In support of my contention that SDI labs are NOT intimidating to
teachers, the non-intimidated high-school teacher Simon Butterworth
(2002), in a recent Physhare post wrote (quoted by permission):
BUTTERWORTH-BUTTERWORTH-BUTTERWORTH-BUTTERWORTH
Just a quick note on the SDI labs developed by Richard Hake (see
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/>). . . .
I have tried the first lab which relates to Newton's first and third
laws. A good one to start with I think. I think the students
benefited greatly from my trial, their understanding of NIII pairs is
much clearer much earlier this year.
Some of the features I liked were the enforced colour coding on
diagrams (makes students more carefully consider what arrows
represent), the snap-shot pictures so that the effect of Fnet is
clearly internalised by them.
I also found the "AB switch" a catchy phrase for the NIII pairs.
The dialogue part of the activity is well structured and logically
leads the xstudents through the topic, hitting all the potential
misconceptions that normally arise.
As a teacher with very little spare time, ready made programs that
can be used off the bat are a godsend and activities that work as
well as this one doubly so!
Simon Butterworth
BUTTERWORTH-BUTTERWORTH-BUTTERWORTH-BUTTERWORTH