Circuit City : Classroom Using Urban Planning Techniques and Movement of Traffic To Teach Electric Theory Eric Bailey Tamecia Jones Jennifer Steinman

The Landscape / Immersion in Problem Agenda Prototype User Scenario for the Classroom Hands-on experience Understanding the Prototype The Landscape / Immersion in Problem Prior Experience Tech Challenge Observation Literature Review

Prototype Overview The design product is an interactive exhibit which helps students to understand circuit current theory.  Here we will use the social, cultural, and physical metaphor of city planning and cars traveling over streets or within a larger context of a city to explain the flow of current through a circuit. The form is both a physical artifact and a mini- curriculum on electricity.

Prototype Objectives Develop understanding of concepts of electricity and allow transfer to real world

Relation to elementary science education General Skills Across K-12 Span Early Elementary Upper Elementary/Middle Secondary Recognition Categorization Explanation Conceptualization Mathematical Proof Target skills of the prototype

How does the project accomplish the objective? Uses cars and streets to help students understand the concepts of electricity Cars symbolize electricity flow Problem-solving can occur within the urban planning context Expandable to learner’s competency growth

Prototype Affordances Visualization of concepts of electricity Typical electrical instruction uses batteries and light bulbs but the flow of electricity can not be seen because it is invisible Inquiry based context – drives conversation between students and teachers Sensory motor - Based on real-world experiences

User Scenario Overview Ages: Ms. Saraniti’s 5th Grade Class Context: Single lesson in science class Parallel vs Series Circuits Part of electricity unit Scenario: Ground in real-world problem Explain theory of electricity Use prototype to highlight concept Prototype is highly contextual

Full Circuit City Curriculum Concept Visible Example of Circulating Current Electric Particle Car Circuit Road loop with cars moving in one direction Switch Road block, bridge; road open or closed Current # of cars passing a point per unit of time Battery Gas; mechanism injecting energy Resistance Road conditions; hazards, curves, potholes

The Landscape / Immersion in Problem Agenda Prototype Hands-on experience Understanding the Prototype User Scenario for the Classroom The Landscape / Immersion in Problem Prior Experience Tech Challenge Observation Literature Review

Immersion in Problem Experience with Engineering Summer Camp Tutoring engineering students in electrical engineering coursework Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose Furby Workshop Tech Challenge Engineering Workshops Observations / videos of workshops

Key Findings From Tech Challenge Workshop Video Students have problems understanding series and parallel beyond battery example  Engineering elements are abstract Switching between a representation and actual elements or analogy is hard for all grade levels Manipulation alone is not enough for understanding Students can do series circuit and parallel circuit, but not combinational, do not understand

Salient Literature Gibbons, P., McMahon, A., Weigers, J. 2003. Hands-On Current Electricity: A Professional Development Course. Journal of Elementary Science Education, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 1-11. This article describes a teacher professional development on how to teach electrical circuits to their students. It begins with understanding their own misconceptions, correcting them, and then expanding their models to create lessons for their students. It confirms our traveling car analogy.

Learning Theories Theory of Conceptual Change Structure Mapping Theory of Analogical Thinking Mental Models

Conceptual Change Model Science education learning theory Instructor facilitates a discrepant events that contradict the learner’s existing conceptual framework and provides a teaching moment through reactions of surprise or motivation to correct the discrepant events. These four conditions must occur: Dissatisfaction with existing conceptions A new (alternative) conception must be intelligible A new (alternative) conception must be appear initially feasible A new (alternative) concept should suggest the possibility of fruitful research (testing) program. Posner et al. (1982)

Conceptual Change Variations A process that enables students to synthesize models in their minds, beginning with their existing explanatory framework, (Vosniadou, 2002) Repair of misconceptions, (Chi and Roscoe, 2002) The reorganization of diverse kinds of knowledge into complex systems in students’ minds, (diSessa, 2002) Conceptual change results from changes in the way that students use the tools in various contexts, and the change actually occurs at the societal level, (Ivarrson, Schoultz, and Saljo, 2002) Suping, S. Conceptual Change Among Science Students. 2003.

Structure-Mapping Theory The structure-mapping analogy asserts that identical operations and relationships hold among nonidentical things. (Gentner and Gentner, 1983). Base domain = known domain Target domain = domain of inquiry Analogy has components: Object Relationships Object Attributes or surface features This is successful under these two conditions: Preservations of relations – relational predicates, and not object attributes, carry over into analogical mappings Systematicity – predicates are more likely to be imported into the target into the target if they belong to a system of coherent, mutually constraining relationships, the others of which map into the target.

Instructional Analogies and Mental Models Di Vesta, F., Zook, K. (1991). Instructional Analogies and Conceptual Misrepresentations. Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol. 83, No. 2, pp. 246-252. This article discusses the issues around young/novice and adult/expert learners in successfully mapping from the base domain to the target domain, and how constraints will help the learner see the goal of the analogy. It is important to discriminate between relevant relations and superficial attributes of the object.

Mental Model Resources Clement, J., Steinberg, M. (2002). Step-Wise Evolution of Mental Models of Electric Circuits: A “Learning-Aloud” Case Study. The Journal of the Learning Sciences. 11 (4). Pp 389- 452. Gentner, D., & Gentner, D. (1983). Flowing Waters or Teeming Crowds: Mental Models of Electricity. In D. Gentner and A. L. Stevens (Eds.), Mental Models. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Hadzigeorgiou, Y., Savage, M. 2001. A Study of the Effect of Sensorimotor Experiences on the Retention and Application of Two Fundamental Physics Ideas. Journal of Elementary Science Education. Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 9-21.

Developmental /Learning Theory Design Structures Solution Objective Sensori-motor Experience Visualizations Real-World Application Embed in Community Context Problem-Based Learning Develop understanding of concepts of electricity and allow transfer to real world Conceptual Change Structure-Mapping Mental Models Expandable, Interactive Prototype Auxiliary Activities

Reflections on Design Process Immersion Observation Literature Review User scenario 1 User scenario 2 Prototype

Prototype Sketches First Pass at Analogy Sketch Interchangeable components

Prototype Sketches Conceptual Sketches for Parallel Unit of Instruction

Prototype Sketches