Author: Vaclav Piskac
Origin: CZECH REPUBLIC
Implemented in: Portugal, Finland and Italy
The aim of this GP is to show students the different positions of images made by mirrors and lenses. The teacher and the students are supposed to bring all different types of mirrors, so that a range of plane, concave, convex mirrors and converging and diverging lenses is available. The students are asked to work individually to try out the different mirrors and see the position of the images changing. The role of the teacher is to guide the students individually through their discovery phases.
Success stories
A Portuguese teacher mentioned that after his initial difficulties in obtaining all the different kinds of mirrors, once the implementation started, he noticed a great interest within the students. They were curious to handle the lenses and mirrors and they enjoyed the hands-on approach of this GP. An interesting thing that the Portuguese teacher mentioned is that “some students who participate less in classroom activities were very active during the implementation of the GP, sharing very interesting examples of their day to day activities and willing to perform the experiments with great care and attention.” An Italian teacher mentioned that instead of buying all the different types of mirrors, she tried to use objects from every-day life that could act as a mirror or a lens, for example she used a spoon instead of a concave mirror. This little adaptation made the GP even closer to real life for students. Something that shows how much the students enjoyed this GP is that the teachers noticed that some students shared their newly acquired knowledge with their families and friends, particularly with the people who wear glasses.
