Sirikt 2015 International Conference

27th – 29th May 2015

Sirikt 2015 International Conference - 27th – 29th May 2015

When 1:30 becomes 1:1

Goran Bezjak, Zavod Antona Martina Slomška, Škofijska gimnazija

The essence of the workshop is to demonstrate the passage of teaching physics from the system 1:30 to the system 1:1. With this workshop, I will show how we can achieve this passage by using the application NearPod on the mobile devices (and the suitable network infrastructure). Explaining physics often includes drawing (graphs, sketches, sketching experiments …). We usually do this by drawing, for example, a graph on the blackboard, where we use the frontal shape, according to the system 1:30. In a case like this, not all students are always active. However, we can provide the explanation with a graph by introducing the subject matter gradually. In order to do this, we use the pre-prepared materials (for example, a graph’s base) in the application NearPod, where each student (partially guided) draws their own prospective solution. This is the way to activate every student. At the same time, the application enables us to forward in consideration the (chosen) solutions to all students or to project them on the blackboard, which provides the further discussion about the subject matter. With this practice I encourage the critical thinking and evaluation among the peers, since students have the opportunity to evaluate (or comment) the (half) products of their peers (in our case the graph) while being the co-creators of presenting a subject matter. The advantage of this method of teaching is activeness of every student in developing and explaining the matter. My role becomes decentralized and becomes the role of a moderator, who  only guides the learning process. This way students can learn from each other, which leads to increased motivation: If my classmate can do it, I can do it too.