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Improv Newton: An Interdisciplinary Lesson in Theatre and Physics
"Improv Newton" is an interdisciplinary lesson in which theatre improvisation is used to help students study Newton's Laws. The lesson is easily adaptable to the study of almost any set of concepts in physics…the abstract and outline below are from the presentation of this lesson at the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Winter Meeting on January 18, 2000 in Kissimmee, Florida.
The lessons was originally done with students in the AP/IB Physics class at Warwick High School in Newport News, VA.
Inquiries about this lesson should be addressed to:
Kenneth Cecire
Warwick High School
51 Copeland Lane
Newport News VA 23607
e-mail ken.cecire@hamptonu.edu
Abstract:
The author has noted in teaching AP and IB Physics that students learned Newton's Laws of Motion in a problem-solving mode. Conceptual retention and an understanding of real-world application is sometimes lacking; affective appreciation of Newton's laws does not always follow their use in a rigorous course. The author has as a high school teacher directed theatre students in creating humorous improvisational material with application to the learning of academic subjects. In Improv Newton, the author seeks to lead physics students to create "commercials" for Newton's Laws for performance and recording on videotape. The goal of this exercise is to involve students in thinking of Newton's Laws more conceptually, to engage them in an activity that would help make the laws - and their meaning - memorable, and to breach the imagined wall between physics and the arts.
The Problem
- Affective Understanding
- Physical Insight
- Motivation/Enjoyment
The Solution
- Movement and Drama
- Original Student Ideas
- Humor
Physics Material covered: Newton's Laws
- Inertia
- F=ma
- Action/Reaction
- Universal Gravitation
It is possible to use any fundamental concept or even a problem solution.
Drama/Improv Material:
Truth in Comedy
Halpern, Close, and Johnson
Merriweather Publishing 1994
"The Ad Game"
Components of the Ad Game:
A small group (4-8 students) has five minutes to work to create an advertising campaign for a product.
- Unusual product
- Name of the product
- Package design
- Slogan
- Spokesperson
- Jingle
- Marketing strategy
- Finished commercial
- Total agreement…the first idea in any category is acclaimed and adopted
Modifications for a Physics Class:
- The product is one of Newton's Laws
- After the initial 5 minutes, students refine ideas, make props and demonstrations, and re-do "commercials" in the next class
- Videotaping
- Student survey
- Geek appeal
Example 1: A "Commercial" Designed by Warwick High School (Newport News, VA) Physics Students
- Product: Action-Reaction Law
- Name of the product:
OUCH!
- Package design:
none
- Slogan:
The ONLY Law of the WWF
- Spokesperson:
WWF Wrestler
- Jingle:
You hit me...I hit you...
- Marketing strategy:
WWF connection
- Commercial:
wrestling with commentary
Example 2: A "Commercial" envisioned by participants in the "Making Physics Fun" Session at the AAPT Winter Meeting 2000
- Product: Kepler's 1st Law
Planets move in elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus.
- Name of the product:
"Ovalos"
- Package design:
an egg
- Slogan:
"Goes around, comes around"
- Spokesperson:
Joe Montana
- Jingle:
don't ask
What some students said about Improv Newton...
"Though I hate to say it, doing one practice problem using the equation presented after each skit would help reinforce the overall meaning."
"Learning occurs because students must look stuff up in order to make an accurate commercial."
"It was a nice change of pace from what we normally do."
"...need more rehearsals..."
"Some of the skits did not fully explain the laws and I had to rely on further lesson study to understand them."
"It was new and not the same old way of learning."
"...took away from time where I could understand other equations better."
"We didn't get to eat."
"It was fun. It is so OM-like."
To comment on this web page or to request more information on Education and Outreach by the Hampton University Particle Physics Group, please use the contact information below.
E-Mail:cecire@jlab.org
Tel: (757)728-6533
Fax: (757)728-6946
Contact Person: K. Cecire, HU
Last Updated: February 2000