Implementation of ‘Physics in Pictures’ (SOI-MT-111)

This Story of Implementation was done with two Physics mixed-ability classes. Students were all girls and aged 13-14 and 14-15 years respectively.  Some students were introduced to the Europeana Collections through other lessons done over the past two years. Including Eureka! Materials and people in Physics lessons, and also through the exposure of the Europeana Galleries and Europeana Collections used during Science Clubs at break time in our school.

A Project-Based Learning Approach

It was decided to use a group work task in a storytelling project. Students were subdivided into groups and chose a Physics topic as suggested in the original LS. Using Europeana resources, students had to come up with a story that uses pictures so that the topic is revised. 

Why the use of storytelling?

In Physics lessons, I generally use storytelling to engage students aged  13 – 16 years. Challenging as it may be, students keep remembering the story!  So I truly enjoy doing it on a regular basis by relating to a historical aspect, a scientist’s biography or even a twist to a classic fairy tale to simplify a Physics topic.  

How did students respond?

The lesson served as a means to do revision in preparation for exams.  The work collated was presented in a number of slides for a class presentation that had a story in the background.  

Students were very engaged, some discovered sound (that I was not yet aware of) and videos from the Europeana Collection which proved their interest to discover different media from this portal to make an engaging presentation.

One lesson was used to look into the website and decide the pictures. Students had to do the Presentation for homework. Then the presentation followed in the next lesson.  Some students put a funny ending to the story which added to the fun of the lesson.  

Dissemination of work

A few students were so intrigued with the project behind the lesson that they suggested drawing up their story using the pictures to put up on the Physics noticeboard at school.  All the presentations in each class were then uploaded on the Edmodo.com online group for that class for easy recall and shared also with other Physics teachers at school.

Overall impression

This SoI, therefore, moves away from the original LS that inspired this lesson and was combined with a pedagogy that I am confident in using in my classes. 

The outcome of this SoI was beyond what I expected. It truly proved how the Europeana website can be versatile with some little imagination and creativity in the planning phase. Through this SoI the lower-ability students were better engaged in their learning. Moreover, it enabled students to deliver a lesson themselves and acquire some public speaking skills.

What do you think?

I would like to hear about your views on this SOI and if you also find it intriguing to try out in your classes. To me, it was a truly enjoyable experience.

Did you find this story of implementation interesting? Why don’t you read about the related learning scenario?

Physics in Pictures by Otília Filep

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The featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana Collections and belongs to the public domain.