Science First Hand Models in Physical Science

Produced by the Educational Programming Department

Part of the WGBH Collection
Closed captioned for the hearing impaired
Funded by the National Science Foundation

Science First Hand, three new educational videotapes from the Instructional Programming Department at WGBH Educational Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts, with funding from the National Science Foundation.

Are you still wondering what a middle school "hands-on" science classroom looks like? How students in these classes talk and what they learn? Are you concerned about classroom management, assessment, and evaluation as you adapt inquiry-based learning or extended investigations to your classroom? Science First Hand is available to help.

Curriculum developed at the Children's Museum Boston by Bernie Zubrowski with assistance from Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts teachers.

Science First Hand presents three public school teachers at work in real-life, unscripted classrooms. Using simple materials - drinking straws, paper clips, plastic cups and plates, rubber stoppers, wooden dowels, tape and string - these teachers and their students confront challenges in physical science.

Educators may purchase Science First Hand videos for teacher training individually, or as a set of three (Note: Each order comes with a 16-page Users Guide) from:
WGBH Educational Foundation
(800) 255-9424

Structures
Joseph Johnson's 7th grade students spend three weeks exploring forces, tension and compression by testing the structural soundness of houses, bridges and towers they design and build.

Tops and Yo-Yos
Kathy Brown's seventh graders experiment for 6 weeks with rotational motion by building tops and yo-yos. In Tops and Yo-Yos, small groups of students test, modify, re-test and discuss their results.

Waterwheels
Viewers follow Chris Whitbeck's eighth graders during an 8-week unit on simple machines. Students build working waterwheels and keep meticulous journals about efficiency and speed, variables, and modifications.

Science First Hand features real-life problems of teaching middle school physical science. The tapes are rich with examples of teacher-student interactions, small-group collaboration, class management techniques, organizational hints and assessment strategies. Accompanied by detailed Print Guides, SCIENCE FIRST HAND is a valuable tool for individual teachers and for both pre-service and in-service teacher training workshops.