Teaching the Experimental Design Process in High School Physics

Most students' experience with high school experiments involves either following a predetermined procedure or trying ideas haphazardly until a working procedure is found, neither of which is effective in teaching the experimental design process. By following a process that connects equations and experimental conditions with each other, students will be able to systematically determine the necessary measurements and experimental conditions. The process of connecting the equations creates the list of quantities to be measured, constants to be looked up, and some of the necessary experimental conditions. This list of quantities, in turn, determines the flow chart from which the detailed experimental procedure can be created. The list of equations in the order that they were found determines (in reverse) the equations needed for calculations and the order in which to perform them. This presentation describes the process, leads participants through some sample experiments, and gives them a form that their students can use for the process in their classrooms. While this presentation is geared toward high school physics experiments, the technique could also be applicable to some undergraduate experiments.