How am I Supposed to Know What to Do If You Don’t Tell Me?

Abstract

In early-December, I ran a lab on density. It was mostly traditional, but I thought this particular lab would work reasonably well and be educational. Students were given explicit instructions on how to measure volume (put water in graduated cylinder, measure the level of the water, put pennies in the water,). There was some confusion, such as students putting the entire graduated cylinder on the triple beam balance,1 but eventually most were able to follow the steps. Later in the lab, immediately after measuring the volume of two pennies, students were directed to measure the volume of four pennies. Hands went up. “How do I do that?” There was no spontaneous connection to the steps that they had just completed a few minutes earlier. They were shown explicitly how to measure the volume of two pennies.