Article

Skateboard: Ciencia de acción de Doctor Skateboard: Educacion transformativa en física

Authors

William Robertson, The University of Texas at El PasoFollow

Publication Date

January 2009

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Perspectivas educacionales

Issue

9

Abstract

This article, written in Spanish, describes a transformative process for teaching physics in the middle school science classroom through an analysis of the use of Dr. Skateboard’s Action Science. Additionally, the article attempts to bridge efforts in the US, specifically in El Paso, Texas to opportunities that exist in Spanish speaking countries, including Mexico and Chile. The provided abstracts, in Spanish and English, describe how “action science” can be used in presenting fundamental science concepts and that this approach can be expanded from Middle schools to high schools and universities. Action science is an active learning methodology for teaching physics concepts built around student interests such as skateboarding and bicycle motocross (BMX). The phrase “action science” can be defined as the use of familiar objects, circumstances and situations within the lives of students in order to explain specific concepts in science. One new idea in this area is Dr. Skateboard’s Action Science, a DVD with classroom activities and video instruction taken from demonstrations in schools and different settings in order to facilitate the learning of science concepts such as motion, forces, energy and simple machines in these sports.