Resumen de Utilization of a Simple Educational Tool in Science Education: The V-Shape Spring
Nowadays, inquiry-based learning is getting a lot of attention as an effective education method. Therefore, it has been researched and implemented in various countries.1-4 Inquiry-based learning has been used in various subjects such as biology,5 mathematics,6 social studies,7 and others. In order to encourage a smooth implementation of inquiry-based learning in science, enhancement of scientific knowledge is primarily important. In general, scientific knowledge is taught to students in usual sessions of each subject such as physics, chemistry, and biology. During these sessions, the students mostly use some kind of textbook, in which various scientific terms and theories are described efficiently. However, the knowledge acquired via textbook-based learning could sometimes deviate from reality. And, consequently, the superficial and restrictive knowledge deviating from reality could prevent students’ appropriate interpretations and inspirations in inquiry-based learning. I would like to propose one effective approach to have students realize the gap between their knowledge acquired from textbooks and a real phenomenon, by using the spring as an example.
In the Japanese curriculum, the classical helical spring is usually introduced in middle school. Many creative approaches to teach this topic have been researched and practiced, which are roughly divided into two types: regarding a substance of the spring itself or an experimental apparatus. For examples of the former, aiming to attract students’ attention, it has been proposed to use bamboo8 or paper9 as a spring substance. For examples of the latter, aiming to demonstrate the spring characteristics efficiently, an experimental apparatus to show several springs’ behaviors at once was reported.10 Thus, various attempts have been made and reported. Yet, the spring type used in physics instructions is the helical spring exclusively, which has a linear spring characteristic of linearly generating elongation and contraction to a load. In the real world, however, there are various kinds of springs other than the helical one, and many of them show nonlinear spring characteristics. For example, a conical coil spring11 used in a battery box is one of the most popular nonlinear springs. Considering the above, it was appropriate to introduce a nonlinear spring. That is, a nonlinear spring would offer a good example of the gap between the knowledge and reality.
