ERIC Number: EJ904524
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Oct
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0826-4805
EISSN: N/A
Using Nikola Tesla's Story and His Experiments as Presented in the Film "The Prestige" to Promote Scientific Inquiry: A Report of an Action Research Project
Hadzigeorgiou, Yannis; Garganourakis, Vassilios
Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, v41 n4 p363-378 Oct 2010
This paper reports on an action research project undertaken with the primary aim of investigating the extent to which situations that evoke a sense of wonder can promote scientific inquiry. Given the intense interest, curiosity, and wonder that some students had begun to develop after seeing the film "The Prestige", a science teacher used this film, which showed Tesla's demonstrations on the wireless transmission of electrical power, as a source of curiosity and wonder. The class that participated in this action research project was an 11th grade class in a rural area of southern Greece. Through an analysis of students' journals, observation, informal discussions, and paper-and-pencil tests, it was found that students (a) became involved with Tesla's life and work, thus developing an interest in current electricity; (b) learned about the skin effect, the biological effects of AC and DC currents; and (c) better understood Ohm's law in their attempt to find out the degree of damage or injury a certain measure of current can cause. Moreover, some students began to develop skepticism and open-mindedness, in addition to their sense of wonder. The paper also presents a planning framework for teaching the Tesla story.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Action Research, Research Projects, Science Teachers, Teaching Methods, Films, Engineering, Technical Occupations, Reputation, Demonstrations (Educational), Inquiry, Rural Areas, Grade 11, Personality Traits, Energy, Learner Engagement
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Grade 11
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Greece
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A