Track Model: A Proposal of an Interactive Exhibit to Learn Aerodynamics

Abstract

Bird flight and lift in general is a complex subject which is also difficult to teach in a classroom. In order to support the teaching of this curriculum-based subject, an interactive exhibit to demonstrate aerodynamic aspects of objects has been developed, implemented and evaluated with 262 middle school students. The empirical evaluation comprised a semantic differential in order to test the affectivity of the model as well as workbook analyses in order to measure potential cognitive gains. Factor analyses of the semantic differential responses revealed two factors with high factor loadings and high consistency. Qualitative analyses of the workbooks showed that 67% of the students added cognitive knowledge by experimenting with the track model. Conclusions are drawn concerning the added value of the implementation of our track model in school.