Schneps, Matthew H., Producer, Director
Annenberg Foundation/Corporation
for Public Broadcasting Math and Science Project
1995, President and Fellows of Harvard College
This 90-minute video includes student interviews about the particulate nature of matter, discussion of issues the students raise, and strategies for effective teaching. In one interview Jamie, a gifted 8th-grader, thinks about some phenomena that relate to the particulate model of matter. Jamie is presented with two tasks. In the first, she is presented with a syringe filled with air. The air in the syringe is compressed ("squashed"), and Jamie is asked to draw a diagram of the air inside the syringe before and after it is squashed. In the second task, Jamie is presented with a closed flask containing air. She is asked to describe what the air would look like in the flask if it were possible for her to see it magnified many times. Then a pump is used to remove some of the air, and Jamie is asked to describe what the air would look like if half of the air were removed from the flask. The tasks examine whether Jamie spontaneously applies the idea of the particulate nature of air, whether she thinks that the particles are evenly scattered, and what she thinks is in the spaces between the particles. Jamie's responses are repeatedly prompted by the interviewer. In another interview Chris, a 6th-grader, explains what happens to the air in a syringe after it gets compressed. Chris is asked to draw a diagram of the syringe and the air inside before and after it gets squashed. The task examines whether Chris spontaneously applies the idea of the particulate nature of air, whether he thinks that the particles are evenly scattered, and what he thinks is in the spaces between the particles. These interviews and others provide a compelling exhibit of student ideas about the structure of matter.