So I decided to take a page from a friend of mine and try something different for the intro Geology lab this semester. He had people come in and organize their shoes in whatever way they liked then describe their organization. This was to show people that science is about organizing information in a way that makes sense and people can understand.Since I can't stand people taking off their shoes near me I went a different route. I have a whole bunch of random stuff that is all very similar that I could use for this assignment. And I will have the students organize this in whatever means they see fit as a class, then describe their organization.
The items:
Football thingy
Aerobie
Wobble thingy (the yellow and green thing) that is 2 ovals attached to each other
Boomerang
Roomerang (a boomerang made of foam so it can be thrown indoors)
Circle thowing thingy (I wish I knew the name of some of this stuff)
Racquetball
Squash Ball
Tennis Ball
Ping Pong Ball
Golf Ball
My dog's ball
Foam globe
Giant Foam Die
Regular die
20 sided die
So any comments or suggestions?
I think this is a great idea. The Boston science museum has an absolutely fantastic exhibit all about categorization ... with a bunch of 'hands-on' stuff for people of all ages to organize things in different ways. Very well done exhibit.
ReplyDeleteGood luck w/ the lab.