Al Fleming and Jake Scruggs
May 2, 1996
For people of all ages, the mysteries of the universe and the idea of space
travel are fascinating subjects. In the classroom, students find black
holes, the Big Bang theory, and the possibilities of other worlds exciting
topics for thought and discussion. Space is a subject that provides
opportunity to wonder, to imagine, and to explore one's place in a vast
universe. Science fiction literature and drama exploit this inherent
fascination with space by creating fantasy based on speculative scientific
theories within the plot or background in the story.
Each year during the spring semester, students in Al Fleming's Advanced Physics class at Champaign Centennial High School study a wide range of topics in astrophysics (see Timeline). The research project for the "Inquiry" class described herein utilizes the existing Advanced Physics curriculum and integrates a science fiction component to enable students to learn more about the universe. Using science fiction-based literature and drama, students investigate the distinction between science and science fiction. Their focus is on how both science and science fiction are fields of growing sophistication and that the line between each is continuously changing.
OUTLINE OF THE PROJECT:
On March 6, the 18 students enrolled in Advanced Physics began astrophysics
discussions. The work for this project has been integrated into the
existing curriculum. Changes to the regular class schedule have been
minimized but the astrophysics unit was shortened and begun earlier than
usual to meet the deadline for this project. Access to the Internet also
determined part of the schedule. In addition, the project schedule was
adjusted because the teacher was out of the classroom at various times due
to other professional commitments. Refer to the Timeline in the following
discussion.
Students spent six days learning concepts related to astrophysics, primarily through teacher-led discussions. After establishing a preliminary, but firm grasp of the subject matter, a video from an episode of the television series The Outer Limits entitled "The Galaxy Being" (1963) was shown in class. A science fiction short story, First Contact, by Murray Leinster (1945) was also assigned to be read. These two stories were chosen because of their similarities. Each presents a "first contact" scenario with beings from another planet. The Galaxy Being uses microwave radiation as a means of contact with extraterrestrials and First Contact is about an encounter between two interstellar spaceships just outside the Crab Nebula.
The video was shown on a Friday and the reading assigned for the upcoming
weekend. On the following Monday, students used the two stories to
generate a list of topics for further study. Topics focused on the
existence of extraterrestrials and considered the scientific limitations of
a possible encounter with alien life forms. The list that was developed
was done in light of earlier discussions in astrophysics . The
student-generated topics from the classroom discussion were:
1) Conditions for life
2) Communication issues
3) Moral issues
4) Science/technology constraints
Students formed small groups based on topic interest. They were given approximately two weeks (including four class periods) to gather background information on their selected area and to work on presentations for discussion. Class time was used for library research, working with appropriate computer software, and Internet use. Prior to Internet work, all students had to qualify for Internet access due to a new district policy. All students passed the qualification test and all used the Internet (some for the first time) to gather data on their topic. Work outside the classroom was also expected. Each group then presented their work orally. In addition, each individual wrote a two to four-page paper on a topic of interest resulting from this project. As part of the paper, they were also encouraged to evaluate the assignment itself. A group interview was conducted on April 3 to assess the cognitive value of the project.
Evaluation criteria for the group presentations were creativity, thoroughness of the topic coverage, and depth of insight into the subject. Individual papers were evaluated on level of understanding and sophistication of logic used both in addressing the issues and in evaluating the worth of the project.
Audio and video tapes were used throughout the project to record important segments of the research. Much of this paper is based on excerpts from individual and group interviews, group presentations, and individually written reactions.
It should be noted that after the segment in the astrophysics unit dedicated to this project is completed, students then move into a unit on Observational Astronomy which includes lab work on expansion of the universe and celestial motions of the night sky. The capstone experience for this unit is a visit to the local amateur astronomer's observatory, located southwest of Champaign.
Ultimately, we are trying to provide our students with an open-ended, inquiry-based learning opportunity that allows integration, not only of the science disciplines, but also other areas outside the natural sciences (e.g. literature).
The following discussion highlights the inquiry-based process, student presentations, cognitive results, and the assessment and evaluation of the project by both student participants and the teachers involved. DESCRIPTION OF THE "FIRST FOUR DAYS" ... THE RESEARCH PROCESS:
Day One
The first class meeting after the video presentation and reading assignment
was an interesting study in social interaction. Students were asked a
number of open-ended questions to get the discussion moving and it soon
took off. Many of the students seemed genuinely interested in the topic of
first contact with aliens, but had trouble following any specific line of
inquiry. A promising discussion topic would begin, but the next speaker
would veer off on a totally unrelated subject. For example, at one point
in the discussion, Brigid stated that maybe the reason there was so much
mistrust between parties in each of the stories had to do with the
political climate of the time, that is the Cold War. The last word wasn't
out of her mouth before another student started talking excitedly about how
Pluto might have another moon or maybe it was another planet. Brigid
didn't reassert her topic and it wasn't brought up again. Clearly there
are listening skills that have yet to be developed in the students.
Toward the end of the class period the ideas discussed were grouped and displayed using an overhead projector. Conditions for Life, Communication Issues, Moral Issues, and Science/Technology Constraints were the four major areas of interest (see Appendix). The topic we expected to be the most popular choice, Science/Technology Constraints, was actually the last subject to get volunteers. We suspect individuals selected topics based on existing friendships within the class rather than on actual interest in a particular subject.
Day Two
On the second day students made use of the Internet. The class had a choice:
they could stay with Mr. Fleming in the physics classroom and use texts
from his personal library and the Champaign Public Library, or they could
go with Mr. Scruggs to the school library and use the Internet. Everyone
chose to go to the library, so both teachers accompanied the students. The
Internet proved less helpful than expected. Downloading time was
excessively slow and the students had trouble getting the search engines to
produce anything useful. Most World Wide Web pages that were located
lacked substance and were not as useful as hoped.
There were three computers connected to the Internet. One member of the group would sit at the computer while the rest watched and offered suggestions. After 20 minutes, some groups decided to go back to the physics classroom and research there. They departed with Mr. Fleming while Mr. Scruggs and the rest stayed.
An informal quizzing of the students during the second day revealed that most groups were not really narrowing down their topics. For instance, when the Science/Technology Group was asked what they were looking for, they repeated verbatim the ideas listed under the Science/Technology Constraints heading in the handout that was developed in the original class discussion. When asked what specific part of the topic interested them, their answers were vague, indicating minimal thought and work on the subject. Only the Moral Issues Group seemed to have some focus. They were interested in pursuing the concept of Manifest Destiny in outer space. (For example, what are the similarities between the conquering of western America and the potential colonization of an alien civilization?)
Day Three
On the third day another setback with the Internet occurred. After seeing
students fumble with the World Wide Web, it was suggested that they might
want to post questions on news groups, specifically the science-based ones.
It was soon discovered that, unbeknownst to the librarian, the school
didn't have access to news groups. There was no real reason given for
this, but it was hinted that the presence of sex-based news groups was the
cause for this omission. Another informal polling of the students revealed
a little more thought had been put into their topics. The
Science/Technology Group was starting to explore the idea of past
predictions vs. future realities (e.g. what did people in the past think
the future would be like?) Only the Moral Issues Group had given any
thought about presentation format. They decided they might try some sort
of talk show with audience participation.
Day Four
By the fourth day, the Science/Technology Group had become bogged down.
Bill openly admitted that he wasn't interested in much of anything because
he is a second semester senior. He thought the project would have gone
over better "maybe last year" when they were Juniors taking first-year
Physics. All of the students are graduating seniors and the general
enthusiasm level seemed to be low. Most students, when asked about the
state of their project, complained of outside pressures and the research
term paper they have to complete for Mr. Fleming's class (this is a
semester long project due in May). Bill, in particular, viewed the writing
component of this assignment as a major problem. He seemed to think
putting on a 25-minute presentation would be much easier than writing a 3-4
page paper on his reaction to this project. Not many students choose to go
to the library on the fourth day. They seemed to have become disenchanted
with the Internet.
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS:
The first presentation was given by the Conditions for Life Group. It was
in the form of a talk show (as were all the presentations) and each "guest"
spoke in turn. The first topic centered on the Drake Equation (an equation
to determine the probability for the existence of life on other planets)
and it ended up being the most thoroughly researched of all the
presentations. Although it was full of interesting content, the
presentation lacked creativity and was rather dry. The group had obviously
not timed their presentations because the first student took 13 minutes for
her presentation out of the group's allotted 25 minutes. The other group
members had to cut her off so that they could fit in their ideas. The
second "panelist" talked about the origins of life. He was dressed up as a
former chemistry teacher at Centennial that most of the class knew. Much
of his presentation consisted of imitating mannerisms of this particular
chemistry teacher, and had little substance. He had one especially,
although unintentionally amusing moment when he mentioned DNA, but found he
did not know what the acronym stood for. The final presenter dressed up as
Al Fleming and repeated much of the previous presenter's subject. It was
obvious that the group had not really discussed what they were going to
talk about before the presentation. At the last moment the group did
mention carbonation chondrites, which would have been relevant to the
topic, but it was discussed hurriedly and incompletely.
The Communication Group was next to present and they began by apologizing
for their presentation. They showed a patch of binary code that had been
sent into space. The code is meant to be deciphered into information about
our planet, but because the group spent so little time on this topic there
was not much said about how this code would be interpreted by an alien
race. The group then showed a video they had produced about the pros and
cons of sending messages to aliens. It was in a talk show format, too.
One girl argued that two good reasons to spend money on an alien search
were possible scientific advances and loneliness. A group member pointed
out the limitations to the speed of light and the time problems it would
cause and also stated that extraterrestrial travel cost too much money.
She admitted that she did not know how much money it would cost, but shethought any amount was too much. It took approximately five minutes to
state these points and the rest of the video was mostly repetition. It was
painful to watch students struggle to fill time with what they obviously
knew was redundant. Other than the time delay issue, there was not really
any other interesting information in the project. The ideas presented
seemed to be what they already knew about the subject when they started the
project.
The Moral Issues Group was another panel/talk show that had four "guests". The guests included: Starchild, a hippy type; Stewart, an intolerant country bumpkin; Jebidia, an alien abductee; and an alien (a student with a bag on her head). Starchild started off saying that he wanted to "make love not war" and have peaceful relations with aliens. Stewart said that we should enslave inferior aliens. Jebidia looked shook up and stated that his experience was horrible. The alien, accused of Jebidia's abduction, offered the excuse, "its all for science", and suggested an exchange of cadavers. Like the previous presentation, there were no new ideas or information presented in this forum. It seemed as if most of the presentation had been put together with minimal, if any, research. This was particularly disappointing because this group had very interesting ideas early in the project about Manifest Destiny, yet the subject was not mentioned in the final presentation.
"A barrage of ideas" is the best way to describe the presentation of the Science/Technology Constraints Group. The presentation was in the same format as the others. This group had done some research, but the treatment of each idea was fairly shallow. In the space of 25 minutes they "covered" such topics as: hydrogen/water power, solar power, tachyons, foamy ether, warp speed, solar sails, worm holes, exotic matter, chaos theory, blood flow problems in space, extra-dimensional travel, self-replicating probes, and string theory. It is interesting that this group chose to present their material in a traditional survey-lecture format. The students opted to cover a wide range of topics instead of one or two in depth. This resulted in a rush to cover as many topics as possible in such a shallow manner that little knowledge was gained from the presentation. The in-class discussions in the "Inquiry" class (C&I 407) have often focused on coverage verses mastery and it was interesting to see students choose to teach the way they have been taught most of their lives. Could this be learned behavior?
ASSESSMENT: STUDENT AND TEACHER EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT
Assessment of this project includes evaluation by both the students and
teachers involved in the project. Evaluation is largely observational and
anecdotal. Students wrote their reactions in the form of written papers
and submitted them at the time of class presentations. A class discussion
was also held at the end of the unit. Teacher evaluations were based on
personal observations including the use of audio and video recordings made
during the project.
Student reactions:
Students realized rather quickly that the assignment was not only unusual
in terms of content, but pedagogy as well. Many of the students became
interested in the unit simply because of its unusual approach to an
atypical topic. Most of the students enjoyed reading the science fiction
story and watching The Outer Limits television episode. They also
enthusiastically participated in a class discussion critiquing the short
story and video, offering a variety of insights into the ideas within the
two stories. They were able to develop a list of topics for further
research with little effort. For example, Jan reported, "At the beginning
I liked the topic very much. Connecting science with science fiction was a
good idea. It was also interesting to see how people in the past saw our
future and the expectations they had about aliens." Lara became interested
in the project simply because, "we would be deviating from the normal
routine."
After the main topics were selected and the groups formed, four class periods were provided to do basic library research and Internet searches. After the in-class work, students had an additional week to do research on their own and to work on their presentations. After the initial enthusiasm, interest began to wane (see preceding section). Problems with Internet access, perceived limitation of materials on the subjects, and logistical problems of meeting in small groups outside of class began to take their toll. Chad felt; " it was difficult to find acceptable resources to add a realistic side to the presentation." For many, the lack of explicit concrete educational objectives proved problematic. Comments were expressed such as; "more assistance and control by the teacher is needed to get to a satisfying conclusion", and "I think it would have been more interesting and more would have been learned if you had given us a set project with solutions we had to solve".
The common consensus within the class was that much more could have been done with the project. However, reasons for the less than satisfactory results varied. Many blamed external factors. Bill blamed the timing of the project; "I would not recommend a project like this, however, for seniors in their second semester of high school...". Robert believes "our class no longer cares. Senioritis is setting in ..., Because it is the end of the day, there are no windows or strong light (in the room) ... we just don't care." Ben felt "... we being high school students that are tired of high school seemed to take the shortest route possible in order to complete this project. If your goal was for us to learn something with more substance you should have given more guidelines or at least a projected goal." Luke summed up the feeling of many by saying; "the lack of direction made the research portion of our preparation very difficult. I also felt that many of the fields tended to be very hypothetical and information given lacking support." Other reasons for less than satisfactory results centered around conflicts with the semester play, sports commitments, and large-scale projects due in other classes.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the project in the eyes of the
students (and the teachers) was the oral presentations. Although
creativity was encouraged for the group presentations, each group chose to
present their research findings in a "talk show" format. There was general
agreement that the presentations did little to demonstrate what was learned
by the group or to inform the rest of the class about their particular
topic:
Kim "I did not like the idea of the group presentations ... I found the
groups' creative presentations rather dull and uninformative."
Lisa "...we saw almost every group present in the same format. What we
initially thought was creative, turned into a very boring and
repetitive scenario."
Lara "I do not feel the group presentation process was a very valuable
assignment."
Other students found value in the project and in the study approach as a
whole. The opportunity to work on a particular subject with little
guidance was a positive experience for some. Lara states:
"Despite my lack of motivation, I actually found it interesting to
observe the differences between the science fiction story
we read and the movie we saw in class. The class discussion that
followed the evaluation of the stories was similarly an
enlightening experience. It forced me to think about some issues
that I have thought of very infrequently".
Kim felt the learning experience was positive because it was an unusual
assignment:
"On the whole, the science/science fiction section of advanced
physics has been fun and interesting. It made me think, I
learned some new facts, and it was a change from the usual physics
routine... I would definitely recommend that the space
'chapter' be left in the curriculum for next year."
Some students saw a larger benefit to the assignment. Tim stated;
"I think that Dr. Fleming may have stumbled on to something in
this project-- and I'll have to say that this is what I liked
about it so much. In the real world and in college I highly
doubt that people are going to expect us to simply do our tasks as
close to conformity as possible; rather, I think that we are going to be
expected to be problem solvers and thinkers, not mindless drones
that can regurgitate information. Through this project I
think that we got a good taste of what's to come and I think
that it proved us to be quite ill-prepared-- I contrive this
through the quality of our work. It is just to bad that this type of real
learning through our own creative means did not come at an
earlier level. I would encourage all educators to take this
approach to teaching-- it just may lead to brighter
students who can rely on more than just booksmarts to get something
done."
Perhaps Susan's assessment sums up the project best; "The format of this project was left very open-ended. While initially, this led to general confusion, once a group gained momentum, one found that the format was conducive to individual exploration and satisfaction of personal curiosities. Unfortunately, I somehow feel that this was not the general attitude of the class. I think that the format and the idea behind the creation of this project was wonderful. It allowed the students to teach fellow classmates about topics which they had generated from their own curiosity. In essence, it allowed students to answer their own burning questions in a creative way. I only wish that other students could see what I nearly overlooked; that our experiences in high school are what we make of them and while details do not stay with us, we are better and more educated people because of what we discover. But, perhaps that is the most important element of our education; learning this on your own."
Teacher reactions:
Interest in the project was initially high. Most students found the
science fiction short story interesting and The Outer Limits video
entertaining. The initial class session after the reading and the video
was lively. Student comments covered a broad range of topics but with a
little guidance four major topics for further investigation were
identified. Students were also interested in the new pedagogical approach
taken with this assignment.
During the in-class research portion of the project students began to encounter obstacles. Internet searches were slow and often unproductive. Students also had a hard time finding relevant material on their initial attempts. The logistical problems of group work also began to take their toll. We observed a rather pronounced decrease in interest and enthusiasm in the project when these troubles first became apparent.
Student attitude was also a factor. Some felt the project was ill-timed. Many students were involved with play practices and presentations, assignments in other classes, and a semester research project in Advanced Physics. There is also a general attitude among many seniors that they are entitled to "take it easy" during their final semester in high school. They viewed this project as an assault on that philosophy.
For these reasons, the research on most topics was incomplete and the class presentations lacked substance and creativity. It appeared that student groups met only to put something minimally together for the class presentations. It is generally agreed, by students and teachers, that the project idea (both content and approach) was worthwhile but, for reasons described earlier, fell short of its goals.
CONCLUSIONS:
Although the project yielded mixed results we see the idea of an
inquiry-based approach to the topic of science/science fiction as a viable
one. The genre of science fiction promotes speculation, creativity, and
imagination. It seems a natural vehicle by which students can construct
their own knowledge and begin to move away from prescribed learning.
Simple modifications to the approach described here are expected to improve
this unit when taught next year. This was our first attempt at this type
of pedagogy on such a large scale. It was also the first exposure to this
type of learning for most of the students. One major improvement would be
to give students more opportunities for this type of learning throughout
the year and even in the first-year physics course. Confusion over
expectations would be eliminated once students see, with practice, that
they control what and how they learn. Logistical changes would also
increase probability for success. Scheduling the unit at a more
appropriate time and providing additional guidance and encouragement would
give students more confidence in the independent learning process.
REFERENCES:
Leinster, Murray. "First Contact" (1945). The Science Fiction Hall of
Fame. Vol. I. Ed. Robert Siverberg. New York: Avon Books,
1970. 310-343.
Stevens, Leslie, dir. "The Galaxy Being" (1963). Prod. Joseph Stefano.
The Outer Limits. MGM/UA Home Video. Culver City, CA.