Teaching Resources

Jérôme KARIGER

Electric current

The topics that can be addressed using this animation are the notion of electrical conductor, metal, electrons movements in metals, electric circuit and its modelling with symbols.

This animation meets the objectives of the curriculum: “metals/nonmetals”

This resource is well made, but unfortunately access to its website is charged. However, I found it on this website http://pccollege.toile-libre.org/troisieme-2/chimie-3eme/chapitre-ii-le-courant-electrique-dans-les-metaux/ that uses it on its page. It is thus possible to use the animation without buying it. I think the website edumedia-sciences provide a number of very interesting animations, but unfortunately charged and not easy to find.

The resource was tested in a third year class de 3e Socio Educative Transition with twelve students at Institut Sainte-Thérèse D’Avila in Chênée (Liège). It was presented on an interactive whiteboard in a class of physics.

This animation was used as additional information for a short time. I think its exploitation could be explored in a second year physics class to discover electric circuits and electrical conductors.
In the case of this sequence, it was the end of a path. After manipulating and discovering the properties of metals, it was used to illustrate the tested properties, electrical conductivity. For students, it is mainly additional information to better visualise what happens (they saw the conductivity of some metals the previous year).

9 students out of 12 think this resource is motivating and only 3 students think it is somehow motivating. The reasons they mention were motivation to work, change of daily routine and fun. 7 students think the sequence helps better than another support. Only 3 students out of 12 think the resource fostered interactions between them. However, 7 students think that the discussions with the teacher and classmates helped them better understand the notion. 4 students think they can better understand the real world, 7 are somehow convinced of it and 1 not at all. Finally, 6 students think they could better explain this chemistry notion thanks to the resource, 5 think they would be somehow able and 1 not at all.

As previously explained, this resource can be used in a more in-depth way during a lesson on electricity and electrical circuits (2nd year). However, it illustrates the conductivity of metals and makes mental representation of what happens in metals easier. Therefore I think it was used intelligently. Moreover, it varies supports, which is dynamic and motivating for students. However, I think that if the teacher lacks time to finish this sequence, they can do without this resource, because it “just” provides additional information.