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Physics Problem-Solving Project
by Susan Bonthron, with Marc Chabot and Jean Lathrop

This exemplary curriculum project is excerpted from
Connecting Service-Learning to the Curriculum: A Workbook for Teachers and Administrators
More Info on Workbook


“I want you to design a product that will make life at school easier for Amy and Theresa,” Marc Chabot told his twelfth-grade physics students. Amy and Theresa, two Thetford Academy students, have neurological problems affecting movement and communication. For each of them, the busy atmosphere of a public high school is challenging. They confront difficulties maneuvering through the building, working within the high school curricula, and fitting into the mainstream population. The physics students took up the challenge and surprised Marc with a variety of practical inventions. But what was most inspiring to Marc and other teachers involved in the project was the response of the students to their two special needs classmates. The students’ reflections at the culmination of the project are powerful reminders of the reasons we participate in service projects. Their comments get at the heart of true service.

ADDING SERVICE TO LEARNING Marc had been teaching an engineering problem-solving unit based on a model developed by John Collier for the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. After several years, Marc recognized a need in the school that might be addressed by applying this problem-solving process.

Students were instructed to develop a prototype of a new device or product that would solve an educational or physical problem experienced by two special needs students. According to Marc, “In the spring seniors’ motivation tends to drop off. They just want to get done. In past years, I’d find them on the steps in front of the library on a nice day complaining about something and I’d have to nudge them along. I wanted an idea that would get them more active and engaged. I put that in my head as a problem and I let that swim around.

Then in the middle of one night I woke up with a start and realized what I could do. At Thetford Academy we have these two women students, both with cerebral palsy, one with autism in addition. They have a room away from others where the various specialists work with them. Amy, 16, and Theresa, 13, are largely ignored by the other students. Occasionally we see Theresa move from one place to another in her wheelchair. No one is really sure how she reacts with the world so the world doesn’t particularly interact with her. Amy, the other woman, is very communicative. She does not speak, but she is clearly present.

“More importantly, I am glad to have met and interacted with two people that I normally would not, and I believe that this may ultimately be the most valuable thing that Theresa and Amy receive as well. It was essential to our projects to make this connection with the girls and their caregivers...”
Hilary Garrison-Botsford, Physics Project Reaction Paper

OPPORTUNITY “I said to myself, this is what we have to do. These girls have profound problems that wait to be solved. People may never know how to solve them but to put our minds to it is as good as anything else. And furthermore these girls are ignored. Ignored because they are different and a little bit scary. And I feel that too. What an amazing opportunity I thought. But I waited a long time. I held it in. I thought about it.

“Three days before the class needed to start their final projects, I talked to Amy’s mother, and then Linda and Sara, special educators who work with them every day. They were all really excited. I invited Linda and Sarah and Amy and Theresa to come to class. I told the class to get ready for some visitors but I didn’t say who. When they all came in, the class was struck silent; no one knew how to react.

“Linda and Sara introduced the girls and the kinds of problems they have and then I introduced the method of problem solving. None of us knew anything, we were all kind of embarrassed and shy about asking questions.”

“One of the problems is her headrest. She rubs her ear on it and we want to help her with that. The other problem is a table. She can’t see it. She has cerebral palsy and her head is back. She can’t pull it up. And the table is too low. So we have to think of a way to put the table so that she can see it.”
From a dialogue with physics students conducted by Jean Lathrop

PROBLEM SOLVING Their tasks included identifying a problem, determining what was known about the problem, searching the US patent database for existing solutions to the problem, generating possible solutions and creating and testing a prototype device. The students then had to present and defend their designs and models in front of a panel of experts from the local community. While the devices did not have to function to be considered, they had to be grounded in available technology and had to take in marketing considerations. The community of design experts and business people listened to the presentations and gave feedback on the viability and creativity of the students’ designs.

“I think that this bike (photo on right) will be a great instrument in helping Amy become more involved with the outside world. She is so secluded, and not able to work with others. This might be able to introduce her a little bit more into the social community.” Rob Crossett, Physics Project Journal Entry

The project addressed specific state standards related to the science curriculum as well as cross-curricular standards, such as Personal Development, Civic and Social Responsibility, and Problem Solving. Marc assessed the students’ progress throughout the unit (see examples in Section IV, “Assessing Student Learning”). He monitored written plans and team dialogues and required students to explain the scientific principles behind their designs. If the prototype used an electric switch, students had to be able to explain how the switch worked. Pulleys and levers figured largely in many of the designs, creating an opportunity to study the mechanics of everyday devices. Students worked in teams and taught each other the basics of these principles.

After presenting their prototypes to the panel, students celebrated their designs and new learning by sharing their work at an all-school assembly.




“Even if our project does not end up being of any real value to Amy, I think the learning process for our group, for myself at least, has made the project worthwhile. It has pushed me to think further about the needs of the handicapped, and how I can help and respect them better.”
Clifton Martin, Physics Project Journal Entry




Marc is the science teacher at Thetford Academy in Vermont and has taught high school chemistry and/or physics for 13 years. He was a Christa McAuliffe fellow based on his project "Reaching Mainstreamed Students in Chemistry using Computers." Marc is presently a (co-)coach of a critical friends team at Thetford Academy. Marc may be reached at: Marc.J.Chabot.81@Alum.Dartmouth.ORG