Science gets creative

The scientific method and periodic table of elements are two components of science instruction that are important, but not always exciting. Woodland science teachers have figured out creative ways to engage their students in these topics and get them to have fun while learning.

In eighth-grade science, Samantha Powers challenged her students to create a superhero or villain based on an element from the periodic table. Each of the hero and villain drawings included a diagram of the element's arrangement of protons, neutrons and electrons. They were also accompanied by origin stories of the character, which had to include details that tied the character's powers to those of the element they represented. The students embraced the assignment with vigor and creativity.

"In order to make the backstory, we had to find a bunch of different properties of the element -- if they were reactive, flammable, their density, their mass. We had to use those as part of the backstory," Kaitlyn Green explained.

Green's character was based on helium, so naturally one of her heroine's powers was the ability to float.

"I picked neon," Lacey Long shared. "My character, Neomi, is invisible, so she can sneak up on people because neon is invisible."

Quentin Claywell takes an experimental shot.Courtesy of Tobi Layton

Kiana Phillips also chose neon, but she created Ireneos, an orphaned Englishman who harnessed the power of his element and became a villain after realizing he was immune to fire.

"Instead of making him invisible, I decided to focus on how neon glows in electricity," Phillips said, "so I made him be able to glow and then go invisible after glowing." Her drawings were done in the style of manga, a popular form of Japanese animation.

Talon Shetley's character, Motor Man, featured dual exhaust, wheels for feet, and dual intakes.

"I picked oxygen. My guy is really obsessed with motors," Shetley said. "To make a motor run, you need combustion."

Dezi Braswell's character, Golden-Belted Aurum, was based on the element of gold.

"My family was really rich, and I always wanted to have gold," Braswell said. "I can shoot gold out or turn people into gold."

The students agreed that not only did they learn a lot, but they had a lot of fun with the assignment.

In physical science class, Trevor Glaus' students explored the scientific method by doing something a lot of high school kids enjoy -- shooting baskets. Senior Ely Fox explained the experiment.

"You shoot 20 shots and count how many you make for baseline data," Fox said. "Then one group is the control group; they don't practice at all. One group just practices shooting. The other group takes time to think about how they're shooting to build muscle memory with their brain instead of just with their muscles. So, the experiment is to see which way is the better way to improve your muscle memory."

Fox admitted that his class had several problems with keeping the experiment controlled. The students had to redo their baseline data after realizing that some directions hadn't been followed correctly, which compromised the accuracy of the data. This brought up several variables that can affect experiment results.

Classmate Josiah Smith hypothesized that both the physical practice and the mental practice groups would show similar improvement. Makenzie Russell disagreed,

"My hypothesis was that visualizing would work better," Russell said. "I think you have a little more hope to make baskets because you're actually thinking about what you're doing."

Glaus plans to have results of the experiment available for review in the new Cardinal Showcase displays that will be set up on the night of parent-teacher conferences.

Science can be much more than just facts and data. And whether students are drawing comic book characters or shooting hoops, they can be serious scientists, thanks to the creativity of their teachers.

TOBI LAYTON is a family and consumer sciences teacher and FCCLA sponsor at Woodland High School.