Improvised apparatus for pre-service and in-service teacher education programs

Abstract

The training programs conducted by the Physics Education Workgroup of the Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development attempt to address several concerns of preservice and in-service teacher educators. Teachers usually attend training programs to enhance their knowledge on Physics content and process skills, acquire effective classroom procedures, and develop teaching aids and materials that will be useful in the field.
While trainees are at UP-ISMED, they are able to use a variety of equipment ranging from the simple ticker timers to the more sophisticated apparatus in Modern Physics. The Institute has always adopted practical work as a strategy for concept development and for the acquisition ofhigher order thinking skills among teacher-trainees. Considering the current status of laboratory equipment in secondary schools, Teacher Education Institutions (TEI's) and Regional Science Teaching Centers (RSTC's), there is a need for teachers to be trained not only in the use of laboratory equipment but also in the development and construction of improvised equipment.
Equipment improvisation sessions have become an integral part to most courses conducted at the UP-Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development. Training sessions begin with a brief background on the equipment to be improvised, then the actual improvisation and finally the testing of the apparatus. To maximize time and resources, trainees follow detailed procedures for improvisation. They have to see to it that the improvised equipment they have constructed is really working since they will gather experimental data using the same equipment.
Some of the improvised equipment that were used in teaching topics in Mechanics, Electromagnetism, and Electronics are described here. Many of these equipment like the improvised spectrometer, manometer, Joule's calorimeter, resonance apparatus and electronic circuit boards have been used for small group practical activities. The magnetic field mapping equipment for electromagnets and permanent magnets, and the projectible wave models are used for classroom demonstration purposes.