Problem Solving, Persistence, and Patience: 
The Three P's of Science Research
I recommend this lesson as the first lab/activity for the year. It is appropriate for students in grades 6-12. By building a Rube Goldberg-type machine with limited materials and time designed to solve a specific problem, students will learn that problem solving, patience, and persistence are all an integral and inherent part of science research. This will help to counter the common student misconception that there is always one correct answer that can be found by following a series of procedures in a lab activity. The lesson is structured according to the Learning Cycle, with engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate components.

Appropriate Levels: Middle-High School

Click here to download this laboratory activity in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format
(see below if you are not familiar with PDF format or Adobe Acrobat.)
Contributed by:
Terri C. Decresie
A.G. Cox Middle School, Winterville, NC

Frontiers in Physiology 1996 Summer Research Teacher

Research Host:  Stephen C. Wood, Ph.D.
East Carolina University School of Medicine
What is Frontiers in Physiology? Frontiers is a nationwide outreach effort by the American Physiological Society, designed to develop working relationships between middle/high school science teachers and research physiologists.
What is Adobe Acrobat? Adobe Acrobat software allows documents created in Adobe's Portable Document Format (.pdf) to be displayed and printed from any computer, regardless of the fonts or software used to create the original. To learn more about Adobe Acrobat, visit the Adobe web site at http://www.adobe.com/. 


Download the free Adobe Acrobat reader!
"Acrobat" and the Acrobat logo are trademarks of
Adobe Systems Incorporated