[USMA:29117] Re: education as an approach to metrication

[Predrag Lezaic]

Just last year at the Chemistry class that I took at the community 
college here in Minnesota teacher used only metric units. He is a strong 
proponent of metric and when he started the class he used me for helping 
explain students why metric is better. That was because he knew I was 
Croatian and I grew up with only knowing metric. He did the standard 
"How many yards in a mile?" for Americans and then "how many meters in a 
kilometer?" question to me. Needless to say, I was much quickeer with 
the answers than the other students.

Predrag

Pat Naughtin wrote:

Dear Gavin,

My experience sounds similar to yours, but some 25 years earlier.

My Chemistry and Physics teachers tried to teach us in metric units
(generally cgs in chemistry and mksA in physics, but also some of the, then
very new, SI), but they also reckoned that we would probably end up in a
mixed unit environment, so they also taught us about what they called 'old'
units.
The Physics teacher went to considerable trouble over this even-handedness
between old and new. He even taught us the difference between the two fps's
(foot pound second and foot poundal second) and the fss (foot slug second)
systems, in case we turned out to be engineers.
With the wisdom of hindsight, I regret that my teachers did not make a
decision to adopt SI, as soon as they could, and not trouble us with the
knowledge of the old ways. I think that we all would have benefited from a
teaching technique that involved us all in a total immersion in SI.
Cheers,

Pat Naughtin LCAMS
Geelong, Australia
Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication
matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words
subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
on 8/3/04 7:30 AM, Gavin Young at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 

My Benson Polytechnic High School and Portland State University physics and
chemistry classes only used SI in the textbooks and lab experiments. I
graduated from college in 1987. However my high school also had non-SI
versions 
of their science courses for those who did not plan on college. The science
classes I took in college were designed for engineering majors.

Quoting Pat Naughtin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:

   

Dear Stan,

For many years language teachers have championed a technique of language
training called 'total immersion'. With this technique, students are placed
in an environment where all communication is done in the language being
taught -- there is no translation or training in how to translate between
your native language and the new language. Linguists have reported very high
success rates by using this method.
Famously, the Spanish Department at La Trobe University in Melbourne used
this technique. From the moment that students enrolled in Spanish, they were
confronted by this immersion technique. The Department's receptionist spoke
only Spanish; enrolment forms were written only in Spanish, and the staff
did not speak any other language to students.
I wonder how effective a similar metric science education program would be
using similar methods.
Your science classrooms and laboratories would only have metric rulers (in
metres and millimetres -- with no double sided scales); all masses would be
metric only, in grams and kilograms; all measuring cylinders would be in
litres and millilitres; and all thermometers would be Celsius only.
All lessons, experiments, and calculations would involve SI units only;
there would be no calculations involving old imperial or old USA units, nor
would there would be any calculations involving old metric units. In
particular, there would never be any requirement to convert any units from
old to new -- students could develop their new SI metric mindsets from
direct experience.
Cheers,

Pat Naughtin LCAMS
Geelong, Australia
Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication
matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words
subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
on 29/2/04 1:27 PM, G. Stanley Doore at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

     

Effective metrication must begin in schools.

Rather than teach metrication for general purpose use, the SI must be
       

taught
     

and used exclusively in science classes and courses since science uses
metric virtually exclusively.  In this way, students will relate to
       

science
     

much easier than trying to force them to use the SI outside of science or
using English units in science.  In this way, students will be prepared
       

for
     

conversion outside of science without creating disturbances by the adult
population.  In fact, students could be a catalyst for educating the
       

public
     

about the SI and its ease of use and its coherency.

As for volume vs. mass, liquids could be measured by volume while solids
       

by
     

mass.  Ingredients should be given in mass of each element per kilogram
and/or for the total volume a container's contents.  That way you can
compare the density of the fluid with water which is virtually 1 kg/L.
Stan Doore
       

     

Gavin Young
http://www.xprt.net/~hightech , http://www.renewableelectricity.com,
http://www.electric-automobile.com