Student discussions lead the learning

The author presents an activity and the associated student group discussions where through polite but critical negotiation students develop their own definition of differences in resistance,... See More

The author presents an activity and the associated student group discussions where through polite but critical negotiation students develop their own definition of differences in resistance, voltage, and current between series and parallel circuits. However, the article does not provide any information on what backgroud the students had prior to the lesson or how the instructor planned to follow up the lesson to develop student understanding of Ohm's Law. It is a facinating stand-alone lesson and provides insight into how much our students can learn from each other, but it also points out the limits of that learning and the article does not provide hints as to a good way to complete student learning - we are left hanging in the middle of the lesson. I appreciate the author sharing this - it is actually inspirational in a way - but I wish it had been more complete.