Introduction to Energy Theater
Energy Theater is an activity in which students represent “chunks” of energy with their bodies. Designated regions on the classroom floor represent objects of interest. Students move between objects and use hand gestures to dynamically represent the transfer(s) and/or transformation(s) of energy associated with specific scenarios. Energy Theater encourages learners to express their thinking about energy with their bodies and provides learners with a tangible and dynamic representation of energy conservation. The sequence of activities that follows provides an opportunity for students to explore the concepts of energy transfers and transformations through actions, diagrams, discussion, and writing.
Material/Handouts
- Ropes, tape, or dry erase markers to mark regions on the classroom floor.
- Materials and/or video to demonstrate selected scenarios (optional)
- Action to Writing Worksheet (optional)
Constructing Energy Theater Representations
- Choose a scenario – Start with a physical scenario that is both simple and specific. Even a very simple scenario like pushing a box across a floor can raise challenging energy questions for students. We recommend that you test out the energy scenario with Energy Theater yourself before trying it with students. Even if you already know what the energy is doing you may find that significant questions are foregrounded for you through the process of constructing a dynamic representation. We have included some suggested starter scenarios with instructional notes and associated prevalent student ideas.
- Introduce the scenario – We encourage you to take some time to ensure that all of your students share an understanding of the physical process that you will explore together [1]. If possible, it is helpful to provide a demonstration of the scenario and allow students to raise questions about the details of the physical process.
- Refine the scenario – When a physical scenario involves a sequence of actions it is helpful to divide the sequence into distinct ‘energy acts’. For example, shooting an arrow could be divided into the pullback act, the launch, the flight act, and the impact act. Students can be encouraged to identify the acts, name them, and identify a specific beginning and ending moment or snapshot for each act.
- Negotiate and enact the energy story – Divide the students into groups of 8 to 12 students. If students are trying Energy Theater for the first time, you may decide to begin with one group working in a fishbowl in order to demonstrate the rules. Tell them the following rules [2]:
- Each participant represents a “chunk” of energy.
- The objects in which the energy is contained are represented by designated regions on the floor.
- The form of energy that each student represents must be indicated with a hand gesture. When the form of energy changes, the hand gesture should change.
- When energy is transferred, a student must move from the original object (the location that represents the object from which the energy is being transferred) to another object (the location that represents the object that receives the energy).
Encourage the groups to negotiate how they will act out the energy processes and then to actually act them out [3]. We encourage instructors to find a balance between allowing students the creative license to best express their ideas about the energy processes and helping them raise and negotiate critical conceptual questions. You should expect lively negotiation and the generation of a wide array of excellent scientific questions during this stage. The instructor can listen to groups, respond to questions, and eventually ask groups to show them their dynamic Energy Theater representation.
Sharing Energy Theater Representations
When several groups enact the same scenario there will be important differences between their representations. These differences present wonderful opportunities for scientific questioning, argumentation, and consensus-building. We aim to encourage students to share their representations with the expectation that each group of students will raise new questions and insights. We do not aim to assess which group got the ‘right answer’. Below are a few options for sharing Energy Theater representations:
- Each group can share their dynamic Energy Theater representation with the rest of the class. In this approach, students should be encouraged to look for (and possibly write down) differences they notice between the representations. Some students may be hesitant to bring up differences. It is helpful when instructors model asking about differences in a constructive, non-judgemental manner.
- For expedience, only one group can share their Energy Theater representation with the whole class. Other students can watch closely and identify any differences between the representation shown and their own representation.
- Students can work in groups to draw a static representation or Energy Tracking Diagram of what they did in their Energy Theater. These diagrams should show all of the energy transfers and transformations – and the sequence – that occurred during their Energy Theater representation. When groups have completed their diagrams the entire class can do a gallery walk to compare the diagrams drawn by their classmates. Students can then describe any differences they noticed.
- Write about energy processes (optional) – Students work individually to construct a written explanation of the energy transfers and transformations that are depicted in their diagram. They can write in their notebooks or journals or use an Action to Writing worksheet.
Affordances of Energy Theater
Encourages negotiation and consensus-building – Energy Theater provides a supportive context for negotiating energy ideas. Students are compelled to reach a tentative agreement about the energy transfers and transformations in order to enact their Energy Theater representation.
Encourages attention to energy conservation – Many students in secondary science courses are familiar with energy conservation. A central conceptual challenge in learning about energy is figuring out how energy is conserved in a wide array of dynamic physical processes. This involves answering questions like: Where does the energy start? Where does it go after that? What form does the energy take along the way? Energy Theater mandates energy conservation because students – each of whom represents a unit of energy – cannot spontaneously appear or disappear. The students must negotiate where they should begin, where and when to move, and what form they should exhibit along the way.
Balances creativity with representational rigor – The rules of Energy Theater challenge students to devise a sequence of energy transfers and transformations that satisfy conservation of energy and correspond to a given physical scenario. Simultaneously, students must make a number of representational choices based on what they think is important to show.
Tips, Tricks, and FAQ’s
What if students claim that they have no idea what is happening with the energy? – Students often claim that they have no idea when what they really mean is that they don’t know the full story. Encourage them to start with what they know. What objects are involved? What forms of energy? Where is the energy at the beginning/end of the scenario?
What if students are just standing around talking rather than acting things out? – If they are talking about energy then this is probably a good thing. We have found that Energy Theater does a great job of promoting scientific discourse. Because all of the students will be participating in the representation they will be motivated to participate in the planning discussion as well. If students have been discussing for 10 or 15 minutes without acting things out collectively you may want to encourage them to “just give it a try.”
What if students work through a scenario very quickly without much discussion? – This might be a sign that they are not rigorously attending to the rules of Energy Theater. Ask them to show you what they have figured out and ask clarifying questions. We recommend that you work through the scenario yourself beforehand to identify some of the potential conceptual challenges. It is also helpful to have a few “back-pocket” questions which are designed to problematize student thinking about a particular scenario.
What if students are using a non-conventional name for a form of energy? – As long as they agree about the name this is fine. In fact, we would love to hear about some of the forms/names they invent. Later on, when the entire class reaches some consensus about how to categorize a form of energy you can let them know what that form of energy is called in the state/national standards.
What if students are calling something energy that isn’t? – For example, students might show the energy of a sliding object as turning into “friction.” In this case, you can ask them to describe that energy in more detail. What happens to that energy after the sliding stops? What is the indicator or evidence for that form of energy?
[1] A simple description like ‘a ball rolls to a stop’ might lead some students to think of a ball rolling into a wall and others to think of a soccer ball rolling across a grass field.
[2] In addition, we recommend posting them on the board.
[3] Many students appreciate some time for individual contemplation before they begin to negotiate with their peers. You can ask students to write or draw a description of the energy processes in the scenario in their notebooks, journals, 3×5 cards or use an ET worksheet. They can also be encouraged to write down questions that they have about what the energy is doing.
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