Tips for Using Demonstrations Effectively

Brian Shmaefsky

Example Demonstration 1
D
emonstrations are sometimes per-
ceived as merely entertaining and The Effects of Gravity on
expendable ancillaries for lec- Falling Objects
tures and laboratory sessions. Noth- It is surprising how many students
ing can be further from the truth. If still believe that heavier objects fall
done properly, demonstrations have faster than lighter objects. Plus, not
much more value than lectures and all students fully understand the in-
labs when used to teach critical think- fluence of atmospheric density on
Photos courtesy of the author

ing in the sciences (Shmaefsky 2004). the rate and pattern of falling. This
Science demonstrations were the demonstration helps students evalu-
hallmark of kindergarten through col- ate the variables associated with fall-
lege teaching until the 1990s. How- ing objects.
ever, various factors have led to their The materials needed for this
departurean influx of faculty unfa- demonstration are two 16-ounce or
miliar with classical demonstrations, larger paper cups, two 16-ounce or
budget cuts limiting the use of instruc- larger Styrofoam cups, two tennis
tional materials, an overreaction to lecture or lab. Stand-alone demonstra- balls, one hard baseball, one Ping
classroom safety by administrators, tions done just for entertainment di- Pong ball, one golf ball, and two equal
and the perception that demonstra- minish the instructional value of sub- size sheets of paper.
tions should be replaced with more sequent classroom demonstrations. I begin by introducing the ration-
lecture information to cover the bur- Many faculty believe that it takes ale for doing the demonstration. I then
geoning science content in textbooks. a certain personality to pull off an ef- stand on a high surface within view of
An educationally effective dem- fective science demonstration. Per- all students in the class and announce
onstration must follow the same sonality helps, but it is not the main that they are to determine if the ob-
guidelines as any other pedagogical ingredient for a successful demonstra- jects hit the ground at the same time,
strategy (Figure 1). It must be tion. The format in Figure 2, applied which many of them expect.
accurate, informative, instructional, to an informative demonstrative, pro- I drop the two tennis balls to-
interactive, and relevant. Most impor- vides an effective learning experience gether, as a control, to see if they hit
tantly, a demonstration must for students. the ground at the same time. Next, I
incorporate an element that permits summarize what happened, question
assessment of student learning. Plus, FIGURE 1. the students about why it happened,
a good demonstration should rein- and drop a tennis ball and a baseball
force the experimental design inher- Effective demonstration properties. to see if they hit the ground at the
ent in the scientific method. Instruc- Accurate same time. I summarize what hap-
tors who use demonstrations should Demonstrates scientific method pened and question the students about
use them to introduce or reinforce why it happened. I tell them to note
Informative
abstract scientific concepts covered in that the balls are similar sizes but dif-
Instructional ferent densities. Then, I drop the golf
Interactive ball and the Ping Pong ball to see if
Brian Shmaefsky is a professor of biology they hit the ground at the same time.
Permits student assessment
at Kingwood College, Kingwood, TX 77339; Finally, I summarize what happened
e-mail: Brian.Shmaefsky@nhmccd.edu. Relevant and question the students about why

60 JOURNAL of COLLEGE SCIENCE TEACHING



FIGURE 2.

The format of an effective demonstration.

1. Introduction: Briefly explain how the demonstration relates to the topic being covered.
2. Background: Explain what you are going to do without telling them the expected
results.
3. Safety Precautions: Have all safety precautions in place to perform the demonstra-
tion without harming anybody. Announce the safety measures to the class.
4. Student Feedback: Ask the class for the probable results or have them make a hy-
pothesis based on what they learned in class so far or have read.
5. Perform Demonstration: Carry out the demonstration, explaining each step.
6. Reiteration: Ask students what took place and what they saw.
7. Assessment or Reflection: Provide a brief guided question-and-answer session about
the principles behind the demonstration.
8. Critical Thinking Moment: Ask the class to come up with applications of the principle
or other ways to demonstrate the principle.

it happened. Again, students should demonstration and state the principles

note that the objects are similar sizes involved. I use this demonstration to
but have different densities. help students investigate the roles of
Next, I drop the two paper cups density and shape on falling objects. Before class I use the tape to
with the bottoms facing down to see It encourages students to think of ev- make 3 x 3 meter squares on the floor
if they hit the ground at the same time. eryday applications of the principles within view of the whole class. I then
Again, I summarize what happened they observed. tell the class that I made an interest-
and question the students about why In terms of safety, it is impor- ing finding in two similar ponds,
it happened. This is a control. tant to use caution when standing on identified by the squares in front of
Next, I drop a paper cup and a the elevated surface. Also, it is nec- the room. I say, In one pond I found
Styrofoam cup with the bottoms fac- essary to use caution when dismount- a population of fish made up of an
ing down to see if they hit the ground ing. The objects should be dropped equal number of female and male in-
at the same time. Again, I summarize where they will not hit a student af- dividuals and then call down four
what happened and question the stu- ter hitting the floor. female and four male students to
dents about why. They should say that stand together in one pond.
the cups are similar sizes with differ- Example Demonstration 2 Next, I say, In another pond
ent densities. I then drop the two From Correlational Study to a identical to the first, I found a popu-
Styrofoam cups, one with the bottom Cause-and-Effect Experiment lation of fish made up of only female
facing down and the other with the An essential skill in all of the sciences individuals, and then I call down
bottom facing up, to see if they hit is the ability to set up properly con- eight female students to stand together
the ground at the same time. I sum- trolled experiments that show cause- in the other pond. I say, I also no-
marize what happened and question and-effect in the variables. This dem- ticed that a pollutant was running off
the students about why. Students onstration uses an environmental into the pond that contained only fe-
should note that these are identical toxicology scenario to demonstrate how male fish, and then I gently throw
objects with the shape reversed. to design a correct experiment to re- the index cards into the pond saying
Next, I wad up one piece of pa- solve a toxicology issue. It is based on they are the pollutant.
per and drop it along with another real research on the effect of environ- I then ask the class to hypothesize
piece of paper to see if they hit the mental endocrine disruptors on wildlife about the observation and if it is pos-
ground at the same time. I summa- development, physiology, and popula- sible to make a definitive conclusion
rize what happened and question the tions. The materials needed are one roll about the situation. I point out why
students about why it happened. I re- of masking tape or other sticky tape, 12 the observation is based only on cor-
mind them that these are identical female students, eight male students, relation and say that any explanations
objects with different shapes and den- and six index cards or sticky notes do not fulfill the criteria of the scien-
sities. Finally, I summarize the whole with Pesticide written on them. tific method. The class then comes up

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with an experiment to determine the ask the class to explain the popula- students dont step on each others
cause of the population differences. I tion change. I explain that research toes during the shuffling around. Plus,
say, Before you tell me about your shows that this particular pesticide I take care not to strain my back while
experiments, let me conduct one to converts male fish into females. Fi- taping off the ponds.
see if my hunch is correct. nally, I ask the class how they would Demonstrations are powerful
I ask all the students to leave the confirm this piece of evidence with learning tools when properly used in
ponds and then invite four female stu- another experiment. To summarize combination with other teaching strat-
dents and four male students to stand the results, I ask the class how this egies. They are effective ways to
in each pond. I say, Let me start my experiment could be applied to other model scientific principles in a man-
experiment with two equal ponds. Now environmental or health issues facing ner that allows students to visualize,
I will add some of the same pesticide society and wildlife. practice, and apply the information
found in the pond having all females I use this demonstration to help being presented.
in the population. I explain that I am students analyze news stories about
doing this because I think the pesticide pollution, cancer, or diets. It helps References
is the cause of the observation. them to learn to recognize whether the Shmaefsky, B.R., ed. 2004. Favorite
I then throw the index cards into information was gathered using con- Demonstrations for College Sci-
one pond, replace the four male stu- trolled experiments. In terms of ence. Arlington, Va.: NSTA Press.
dents with four female students, and safety, it is important to be sure that Available online at store.nsta.org.

62 JOURNAL of COLLEGE SCIENCE TEACHING