PHYSICS MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

WORKSHOP OUTLINE

The workshop consisted of the following main activities:

1. Welcome and Introductions

2. Purpose of Materials
Participants discussed the different purposes of materials and
how the style of the materials should complement the purpose.
It was agreed that the materials must scaffold the learning,
engaging students actively in various activities and tasks. It was
also agreed that materials should be written in clear, simple
language that is appropriate for the level of foundation students

3. Target Audience
The nature of foundation students was discussed. The point was
made that it is important to keep the level of the students in
mind when writing the materials.

4. Skills and Outcomes

The group discussed a set of general outcomes that should be
achieved in a Physics Foundation course. These are shown in
Appendix A.

5. Experiential Exercise
An example of a guided enquiry activity was done with the
participants to illustrate the use of materials in guiding students
in the construction of their scientific knowledge. The exercise is
shown in Appendix B.

6. Model of Materials Development

Participants were introduced to a model of building a body of
materials. They were given the handout shown in Appendix C.

7. Materials Development Exercise

Participants worked on a set of notes using the model
discussed. A suggested outline for each section of their notes
was discussed, and is included as Appendix D. Participants
looked at each others’ work together with the facilitator, and
gave one another feedback on the style and structure of their
writing.
APPENDIX A

General skills / Outcomes for Physics course

1. Understand and interpret data
2. Experimental skills:
a. Represent data through:
i. Tables
ii. Graphs
1. Interpretation
2. Translation between graphs
3. Link between graphs and physical reality
iii. Equations
b. Hands-on skills
c. Application of concepts
d. Make conclusions, including deductive reasoning and logical inferences
e. Explain reasoning
f. Reflection
g. Read, understand and follow instructions
3. Problem solving – range of skills
4. Understand and apply concepts
5. Construct knowledge
APPENDIX B

SCIENCE MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP

MODEL OF BUILDING A BODY OF MATERIALS
1. SKELETON
It is helpful to start by developing a framework for the materials. This is
the core structure, which we will call the “skeleton” of our materials. In
developing the skeleton, it is helpful to follow some of these steps:

• Think about the “end point” of where the students need to reach by
the end of this section
• Think about the “beginning point” of where the students will need
to start (assume that they know less than you anticipate!)
• Consider the steps that need to be covered to get from the
beginning point to the end point. These are key learning concepts
that will scaffold the framework.
• Try to think conceptually and not just in terms of content that
needs to be covered. This means thinking about the underlying skill
or science learning concept that needs to form a building block of
the learning process.

2. VITAL ORGANS
In order to facilitate deeper learning, it is useful to build in core
experiments or exercises to encourage experiential learning. Looking at
your skeletal framework, add in experiments or exercises that will help
the students grasp each key learning concept.

Try to consider the following while you select experiments or exercises to

facilitate the conceptual learning:

• Students learn better while having fun!

• Students learn better when they discover the solutions themselves
– when real conceptual learning takes place
• Break the experiments or exercises down into stages, making sure
that the students understand each stage before moving onto more
complex learning and reflection

3. MUSCLES
At this stage it might be helpful to add some basic content to each step or
sub-section of your framework. Try to make sure that:

• The content enhances the experiential learning, rather than pre-

empting the learning
• The level of the content is simple and clear to understand
• The content should also be structured in a logical way
 • Try to add a summary which draws out the key learning concepts at
the end of the section

4. FLOW SYSTEMS
Now try to organize the notes in a way that flows consistently. Try to
structure each section in a consistent way, using similar headings and
style. For example, each section might follow this type of flow:

• Introduction (captivating beginning to inspire the students about

the relevance and interest value of this section)
• Experiment or exercise (experiential learning)
• Reflections (questions which draw out key learning concepts)
• Theory (adding content to the learning)
• Exercises or test questions
• Section summary (reminder of the key learning concepts and main
content to be remembered)

5. AESTHETICS
Once the “body” has been formed, it is fun to add some unique aspects
that make the notes more attractive and interesting. Here are some
ideas:

• Add tips and hints in boxes or in the margins alongside the

notes
• Add fun and interesting knowledge points
• Where possible, use diagrams and pictures to illustrate
points
• Students are very social beings and are interested in people
their own age. Where possible, add photographs of students
doing the experiments or discussing concepts with one
another
• Try to leave spaces for students to capture their own
reflections and notes
• Try to make the layout attractive – use a good sized font,
space the notes well and start new sections on a new page

6. REVIEW
Once the notes have been written, try to read them from the perspective
of a student, making improvements to ensure that the students will
understand each section clearly. Each year as you use the materials,
make adjustments according to what sections did not come across so
clearly.
 SCIENCE MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT
WORKSHOP OUTLINE

8. Welcome and Introductions

Introduce yourself (emphasizing passion for this type of work of
helping disadvantaged students learn and using materials to
enhance this learning). Ask each participant to introduce their
name and the institution they represent.

9. Purpose of Materials
Brainstorm some of the different purposes of materials and how
the style of the materials should complement the purpose.
Emphasise the point that the notes / materials must scaffold the
learning.

10. Target Audience

One of the most important aspects of developing materials is to
be clear about who one is writing for. It helps to keep a picture
of a specific student in one’s head as one is writing. Discuss:
“Who are our students” and therefore talk about some aspects
about the level and style of the notes.

11. Experiential Exercise

Facilitate the scotch tape exercise with the participants, using
the notes to engage with the learning process. Comment on the
skills needed and process followed:
• reading and following instructions
• making observations
• deductive reasoning
• making inferences
• understanding forces between change

12. Model of Materials Development

Introduce the model of building a body of materials. Use the
handout provided. Take the participants through each section
(1-6), each time breaking into small groups who each work on
that section to develop a specific set of notes on different topics.

When presenting the work to one another, try to encourage

constructive criticism, for example:
• What I really liked about what this group did was …
• What they might be able to improve on is …
APPENDIX C

PHYSICS MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION
In this workshop you will work in groups to explore an experimental investigation
using simple equipment. The investigation will illustrate how materials can be used
to guide students in discovering concepts for themselves by doing the practical
investigations and reflecting on their findings.

ELECTROSTATICS
The following activities demonstrate how students can discover the forces between
charges using simple equipment. Work through these activities in a group.

ACTIVITY 1 : Investigating charge

You will need:

• a plastic ruler or a perspex rod
• a piece of paper that has been torn into small pieces

1. Rub the ruler or perspex rod with a piece of cloth. Bring this ruler near to
your small pieces of torn paper. What do you observe?

2. Rub the other objects that you have collected in the same way, and hold
each of them near to the pieces of paper. Do they all have the same effect
on the pieces of paper?

When you rub a ruler with a piece of cloth, it becomes charged. The process of
rubbing causes small negatively charged particles (called electrons) to be added to, or
removed from, an object. These electrons are not created by the rubbing process, but
already exist in all objects. Usually they are balanced by an equal number of larger,
heavier positively charged particles (protons) in objects, and so normally objects are
not charged.

From your investigation you will notice the effect of a charged object, because there is
a force of attraction between the charged ruler and the bits of paper.

ACTIVITY 2 : Investigating the interaction between two objects with the same
charge

You will need:

• a piece of paper that has been torn into small pieces
• some scotch magic tape

1. Stick a length of magic tape to your desktop, and pull it up very quickly. With
the sticky side facing upwards, bring this magic tape close to the bits of paper.
What do you notice?
 You should notice that the small pieces of paper are attracted to your magic tape.
We can therefore conclude that pulling a piece of magic tape off a desk causes the
tape to become charged.

Discuss in your group:

What would happen if two pieces of tape are pulled off the desk in exactly the
same way? How will their charges compare to one another?

2. Stick two lengths of magic tape to your desktop. Pull them up very quickly,
and hold them close to one another, and look carefully to see how they move.
What do you observe?

When two objects made from the same material are charged in the same way, they
must have the same type of charge on them (either both positive, or both negative).
We say that they have like charges. From your investigation, what can you infer
about the effect that objects with like charges have on each other?

ACTIVITY 3 : Investigating the interaction between two objects with opposite

charge

You will need:

• a piece of paper that has been torn into small pieces
• some scotch magic tape

1. Stick two lengths of tape on top of one another, so that the sticky side of one is
placed onto the non-sticky side of the other. Remove any excess charges that
might be on this combination of tape by rubbing the non-sticky side against
your lips. Test that there is no charge on this combination of tape using your
torn pieces of paper.

2. Now pull these two lengths of tape apart very quickly. Bring each of them near
to your pieces of paper. You will notice that they are both charged by pulling
them apart.

3. Stick your lengths of tape together again, rub them against your lips, and then
pull them apart again. Bring them near to one another, and look carefully to
see how they move. What do you observe?

When you pull two pieces of tape away from each other, you will notice that they
each become charged. Recall that objects are charged by either having electrons
added to them, or removed from them. Since the combination of tapes had no
charge, pulling them apart must have caused one of them to gain electrons, and
the other to lose electrons. They therefore have opposite charges to one
another. From your observations, what can you infer about the effect that objects
with opposite charges have on each other?

Write a summary of your conclusions from the experiments in Activities 1, 2 and

3.
Summary

The interaction between the charged objects that you have observed in these
activities is known as “static electricity” (or electrostatics). In other words, you
have been experimenting with electricity that has not been moving. When an object
is charged, the charges stay on this object, and cause a force between this object and
another.

From your investigations, we can conclude a number of things about charges:

• there are two different types of charge

• like charges cause one another to move apart (repel)
• opposite, or unlike, charges move towards one another (attract)

Scientists have decided to name the different types of charge positive charge and
negative charge. (Any names could have been used, but since scientists find it useful
to apply mathematics to their problems, positive and negative signs are useful.)

Most objects contain both positive and negative charges. Positively charged objects
contain more positive than negative charges. Neutral objects contain equal numbers
of each, and negatively charged objects contain more negative than positive charges
APPENDIX D

PHYSICS MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP

Suggested Structure of a Section of a Physics Manual

• Introductory activities – develop concept by actively engaging students (can be

demonstration, can be lab work)
• Clear explanation of concept
• Examples – at least one simple, one more difficult. Maybe leave blank for
students to try themselves in class, then discuss with them.
• Exercises – students do some in class, complete for homework
• Summary