by Joan Roux
Edward de Bono, a proponent of teaching thinking as a subject in schools, would endorse the Extended Lab Project (XLP) that Bernard Lockhart-Gilroy’s AP Physics students undertake in the second semester as they are tasked to ask a definitive and quantifiable question that can be answered by a 15 week experiment.
De Bono believes creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. As the titles of some of these projects suggest, the students rose to the challenge:
“Kinematics of a Pneumatic Spud Gun: Pressure v. Distance”
(Fast food takes on a whole new meaning…)
“’I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that’: Optimizing an Autonomous Programmed Robot”
(The contrary robot!)
“A Laser Pointer Becomes A Laser Gun”
(‘Lethal Weapon 6’?)
“Tesla Coil Symphony” and the “PVC Pipe Organ”
(Performing arts meet science.)
Students work in groups of 3, and each group has a budget of $100.00 per person to purchase materials to conduct the experiment and/or build the final product. Ingenuity and cost effectiveness go hand in hand as students are encouraged to use equipment already in the possession of the Hun School.
The scope of these projects is as ambitious as the students who attempt them. However, reality checks exist in the form of peer reviewers who will use a rubric to do occasional checks. A project could be “advancing rapidly and effectively,” “making solid but unspectacular progress,” or in the worst case-scenario, be in “imminent danger of collapse.”
In order to keep things fair, the reviewers are also assessed by the instructor, and their contribution could range from “helpful and insightful” to “vague and useless.” What goes around comes around…
De Bono believes creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. As the titles of some of these projects suggest, the students rose to the challenge:
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| Potential Unlimited: the first steps of building a pipe organ. |
(Fast food takes on a whole new meaning…)
“’I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that’: Optimizing an Autonomous Programmed Robot”
(The contrary robot!)
“A Laser Pointer Becomes A Laser Gun”
(‘Lethal Weapon 6’?)
“Tesla Coil Symphony” and the “PVC Pipe Organ”
(Performing arts meet science.)
Students work in groups of 3, and each group has a budget of $100.00 per person to purchase materials to conduct the experiment and/or build the final product. Ingenuity and cost effectiveness go hand in hand as students are encouraged to use equipment already in the possession of the Hun School.
The scope of these projects is as ambitious as the students who attempt them. However, reality checks exist in the form of peer reviewers who will use a rubric to do occasional checks. A project could be “advancing rapidly and effectively,” “making solid but unspectacular progress,” or in the worst case-scenario, be in “imminent danger of collapse.”
In order to keep things fair, the reviewers are also assessed by the instructor, and their contribution could range from “helpful and insightful” to “vague and useless.” What goes around comes around…
From conception to completion, the Extra Lab Project constitutes a proposal and an interview, and research followed by lab design and execution. Students then submit a report accompanied by a lab journal. The final step is a 5 – 7 minute presentation.
Here is what junior Ajay Vasisht says:
"The XLP Pipe Organ Project has been a huge learning experience. I have to be involved in every aspect of the project, from managing the budget, to researching theories, to buying and shaping the tubes, to creating and analyzing data. The experience certainly has brought out the best in each group member, as every long period we are given 90 minutes to work without teacher supervision."
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