Here’s a
quick way to facilitate student investigation of science (or anything else for
that matter): (1) start with something learners can connect with their own
experiences, a topic that they innately want to explore and (2) ask a question
that’s nigh impossible to answer with an easy yes or no. In many ways, the concept of flight fulfills these requirements. After
all, who hasn’t dreamt of soaring over the earth and looking down upon the land
like a bird in flight? Some of the greatest minds in history have pondered the problem of
flight. Dropping by Workman’s Download a Paper Airplane site is an easy
way to “hook” students while introducing an essential question on the order of “What’s the best way
to fly?” There is no right or wrong answer to such a query. Indeed, there
are many of ways to achieve flight (both in nature—as in birds, bats,
insects, et
cetera—and with mechanical
processes created by humans). By exploring the wonder of flight using resources
like the Wright Stuff,
Jes Raskin’s intriguing Coanda Effect: Understanding Why Wings Work , the Physics
of Flight, and conducting offline experiments, students have a number of
opportunities to call upon and hone their creative and critical
thinking skills. Throw in an interesting story about an odd, flying object to maintain interest. Mix in digital imaging tools (i.e., scanners, graphic design software, cameras, and video
cameras) to record student-lead inquiry, a digital audio-editing tool for
collecting and enhancing spoken interviews, a word
processing program to assemble written descriptions of discoveries, a spreadsheet or graphing resource to visually
articulate numerical information, presentation
software to illustrate key points, and pupil created web
pages/blogs to share results, and you
can make learning interesting and meaningful while simultaneously integrating
technology.