A Theoretical Basis for In-Class Demonstrations

A session of the ASEE Mechanics Division which has drawn considerable interest in recent years is the demonstration session. In it, participants describe presentation tools and activities that have been used during classroom lectures. Their observations have led them to conclude that the use of relatively simple and/or inexpensive demonstrations result in a more effective learning experience. Most engineering professors have not deeply studied educational psychology, and so may not be fully aware of the background of their activities and their implications in the learning process. As a result, while their demonstrations may well be effective teaching and learning tools, with deeper understanding they may be able to design and implement classroom and lab demonstrations with still greater impact on their students. This paper will discuss theories of scientific understanding and cognitive dissonance as they apply to an engineering classroom, results of which can be used to design effective classroom and lab demonstrations. Definitions and examples of scientific learning and cognitive dissonance will be discussed.