I've reached the halfway point of my three week experience with MAST, which is a science workshop for teachers in Mississippi.   The sessions have been mentally stimulating, as well as informative with strategies for instruction and an offering of deeper understanding for specific topics in science.

One of the most memorable sessions I've experienced so far was the all day session with Paul Snyder and Wayne Williams.  We'd already had one session with Paul, and he's amazing, so I was looking forward to more of his wisdom.  

During this session, the focus was on Force, Motion and Acceleration.  Wayne and Paul both have excellent teaching strategies, which make the content easy to understand and provide ways to teach meaning  through activities and investigations.  

I had one of Oprah's "Ah Hah" moments after a discussion about the forces applied to an airplane.  Wayne asked the question, "How does lift work?  Can air provide enough lift to get a 900,000 757 airplane off the ground."  Well we know that it can, as most of us have flown somewhere before and lived to tell about it.  I'd never been asked to explain how though.  In fact, I couldn't explain how at all.  One thing about these types of workshops is you have to check your ego at the door.  It's okay not to know things.  

We started a lab to figure out the answer.  So thinking back to the big question.  Is air strong enough to lift massive amounts of mass? This lab was such a great explanation of a concept students would find relevant to their lives in some way or another.  Besides learning the concept behind the question, this activity helped me remember that I take for granted how little my students might understand about science in their lives.  There are times we skim right over things we assume our students know, and if there's one thing my dad taught me, it's never to assume.  "You make an ass out of u and me."  

After discussing the forces on the airplane, we could have moved right into figuring up the Newtons necessary to overcome the drag and weight of the aircraft.  Instead, we took time out to really understand air's role in the whole scenario.  Once I understood the role air plays and how it behaves, I was ready to fully take in the rest of the information.  It made for a well rounded and complete explanation.  

To wrap this up, I'm a visual learner.  I need to see the why in action, not just have it explained to me.  When I was able to see the "why" and "how" concerning air molecules and lift, I made my Oprah face and let out a big, "Ahhhh-hah!!!!"  

Below is the lab sheet and a video of the actual activity.