Back to Home Page

The link below is to a virtual conference on science education I participated in. The conference was created for LabRats, a revolutionary after-school science education program sponsored by the Society for Amateur Scientists. This conference brought together educators from across the country in an effort to come up with novel approaches on how to teach science in the classroom.
http://www.sas.org/virtualConf.html            

This link is to the paper on teaching hands on science I wrote for the conference. My basic premise of the paper is to demonstrate how to teach by Constructivism. The basic premise is teaching science by taking apart electronic components.
http://www.sas.org/virtualConference2004/little.html      

The following is an outline of a lesson plan on teaching science by disassembling a video cassette recorder.

     Instructional Outline for Disassembly of Video Cassette Recorder (VCR)
                                                By Scott Little

The following is a breakdown in logical order of a simple disassembly of a standard videocassette recorder and the corresponding scientific principles involved. Any analogous biological mechanisms to the operational aspects of the VCR will be introduced.

1. Removal of the outer protective cover.
1. Principles: Structural protection from outside elements-dust, heat, particulate matter. Plastic composite material made of highly dense chain polymers.
2. Skills needed: Basic operation and manipulation of hand tools- screwdriver.
3. Analogous biological mechanisms: Outer protective carapace or skeletal structure.

2. Examination and disassembly of magnetic head tape reader and drive.
1. Principles: Physics of Electromagnetism, transfer of magnetic impulses to electronic signals to visible images, Ohm’s Law, Mechanics.
2. Skills needed: Basic operation and manipulation of hand tools- screwdriver,wire cutters, possible use of  multi-meter to measure voltages, resistance, etc.
3. Analogous biological mechanisms: Brain and nervous system optical nerve- conversion of electromagnetic signals into images. Storage of images on to medium- tape, memory section of brain. Interpretation and analysis of data received from stimulus.  Desired outcome produced from stimulus.       

3. Examination and disassembly of main integrated circuitry.
1. Principles: Physics of Electromagnetism, Quantum Mechanics, binary/ digital electronics, Ohm’s Law.
2. Skills needed: Basic operation and manipulation of hand tools- screwdriver,wire cutters, possible use of  multi-meter to measure voltages, resistance, etc
3. Analogous biological mechanisms: Brain and nervous system, operation of conversion of    electrochemical impulses in synapses and dendrites to transport and store information. Interpretation and analysis of data received from stimulus.  Desired outcome produced from stimulus.
   

4. Examination and disassembly of sound circuit card.
1. Principles: Physics of Electromagnetism, Quantum Mechanics, binary/ digital electronics, Ohm’s Law, Acoustics, conversion of electrical impulses into sound waves.
2. Skills needed: Basic operation and manipulation of hand tools- screwdriver,wire cutters, possible use of  multi-meter to measure voltages, resistance, etc.
3. Analogous biological mechanisms: Brain and nervous system, conversion of sound waves into electrochemical impulses. Interpretation and analysis of data received from stimulus.  Desired outcome produced from stimulus.

5. Examination and disassembly of push button control system and readout.
1. Principles: Physics of Electromagnetism, Quantum Mechanics, binary/ digital electronics, Ohm’s Law, control electronics. Mechanics.
2. Skills needed: Basic operation and manipulation of hand tools- screwdriver,wire cutters, possible use of  multi-meter to measure voltages, resistance, etc.      
3.  Analogous biological mechanisms: Brain and nervous system, conversion of tactile      stimulation into electrochemical impulses. Interpretation and analysis of data received from stimulus.  Desired outcome produced from stimulus.