professional reflection-oriented focus on inquiry-based...

Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science

Project funded within the EC FP7 Programme: 5.2.2.1 – SiS-2010-2.2.1

Grant Agreement No.:266589

Supporting and coordinating actions on innovative methods in science education: teacher training on inquiry based teaching methods on a large scale in Europe

PROFILES Teaching Material – Material for Teachers

Instructions for the task

Who is better at walking upright – you or the chimpanzee?

The students move like different species of primates. They solve semi‐open tasks, based on the sequence of moving exercises. They understand that there is a connection between the skeleton and the gait.

Social form: in class: sequence of moving exercises

individual work: solve tasks

partner work: exchange answers to the tasks, discuss and complement

in class: secure knowledge linked with tasks

Formation of groups: occasional partner work with desk neighbor

Individualization: Through various hints and questions (see section accompanying units), the students can get support in their work.

Extension: As a homework assignment, the students can search for the link to a short film on the upright walk of the sifakas. Sifakas are primates living in Madagascar. In the next session, the film is shown to introduce the revision of the subject matter. The skeletons of chimpanzees and humans can be compared extensively. Apart from the structure of the spine, further differences that have to do with the humans’ upright walk are of particular interest. Further items of comparison are the shape of the nape muscles, the position of the foramen magnum, thorax and pelvis, the limbs (relative length of arm, hand, position of the thighs, skeleton of the foot) and the position of the gravity center (before or in the body axis).

Material: Worksheet with the tasks on “physique and movement”

If at hand, human skeleton

Room or hallway where the students can move freely in order to try out the different gaits. At school, the students spend most of their time sitting. The task is suitable for “exercise in class” and meets young people’s need for physical activity.

Maybe short film on the specific walk of the sifakas. Computer, internet access and beamer.





Timing:

Time Activity Material

5' Introduction Certainly each of you has had the opportunity to watch the great apes and other primates in the zoo. You stop in front of the pen and admire the nimble movements of the primates on the branches. When primates walk on the ground, they often prop themselves up on their hands. For primates, moving on the ground is more exhausting than moving in the treetops of the rainforest. Humans, on the contrary, can walk upright without difficulty, whereas they are bad in climbing. The following question arises: What is the connection between the skeleton and movement? To answer this question, you will move like a chimpanzee and a sifaka, another primate. Then, you will do the tasks on the various gaits. Questions The students read the questions on the gaits before “learning by moving”. After the “learning by moving” exercises, they answer the questions in writing.

worksheet with learning tasks

10' Trying out gaits / “learning by moving” The teacher demonstrates the upright walks of the chimpanzees and of the sifakas in the school hallway. He/she encourages all the students to follow him/her and to imitate the various movements shown by him/her. The characteristics of a chimpanzee’s gait can be found in answer 1) to task 1), which is subsequently specified. The sifaka has extraordinary movements when walking upright. It makes hopping steps, turning its body sideways. The authentic physical experience is a prerequisite to answer the task successfully.

hallway or room without furniture

15' Learning tasks The students solve the learning tasks individually.

learning tasks; skeleton if available

10' Securing knowledge The students compare their answer with those of their respective desk neighbor and complement their own answers. The teacher requests e.g. two students to present their answer to the whole class. During the discussion, the students complement their own answers.

learning tasks

+ Optional conclusion A short film on the sifaka’s gait may be shown.

film, computer with internet access, beamer





Accompanying units:

Photos to introduce the topic

The photos show orang‐utans in the Tanjung Putting National Park, Kalimantan, Indonesia. The photos illustrate primates’ various ways of movement. They introduce the topic of “physique and movement”. The photos do not have to be commented on. One option lies in the students’ description of what they see in the photos: a tame orang‐utan lady is walking upright between two humans. She holds on to the humans’ forearms to take weight off herself… (photos: Miriam Herrmann, Centre for Science and Technology Education, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Northwestern Switzerland)





Learning by moving

The following photos give the reader an idea how the students move (illustrations 1 and 2). Photos of

a chimpanzee (illustration 3) and of a sifaka (illustration 4) are added to the respective gaits.

Illustration 1: Chimpanzees‘ gait. Students move like chimpanzees in the upright walk. (photo: M. Herrmann)

Illustration 2: Sifakas’ gait. Students try out the sifakas’ gait. (photo: M. Herrmann)

Illustration 3: Chimpanzee walking upright. The upright walk enables the chimpanzee to carry something. http://www.dradio.de/dlf/sendungen/studiozeit‐ks/1419839/bilder/image_main/ (8 February 2013)

Illustration 4: Sifakas’ gait. When walking upright, the sifaka hops turning sideways. http://www.ultimate‐guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1474673 (8 February 2013)





Learning task “physique and movement”

You have just moved like a chimpanzee and a sifaka. Solve the following tasks to understand the connection between physique and movement. Individual work, 15 minutes.

1) Give a detailed description of the chimpanzee’s physical positions during its upright walk, so that someone else can move like a chimpanzee following your instructions.

2) Is walking upright easier for the chimpanzee or the sifaka? State your reasons.

3) Why is it easy for the human to walk upright? Your answer should take the form of the human spine into consideration. You can observe a classmate or the school skeleton from the side to see the form of the spine.

4) Which are the advantages of the upright walk? Think of two advantages and discuss them.

Answers to the learning tasks

1) When walking on two legs, the chimpanzee has a C‐shaped back, it “arches its back” and bends its legs in the hip and knee joints (with legs stretched, the chimpanzee would tilt over head first). The arms, which are long in proportion to the rest of the body, dangle between the legs. Sometimes the chimpanzee touches the ground with the knuckles of its lightly clenched fists, thus propping itself up a bit.

2) For the sifaka, walking is slightly easier. The chimpanzee, however, uses a lot of muscle power for walking upright. It tenses the muscles of the lower legs, the thighs and the thorax. (At this point, the teacher can explain what is meant by center of gravity and that the chimpanzee’s center of gravity is not in the axis of its body.)

3) Humans have a doubly curved spine. (The teacher can introduce the technical term “double‐S‐shaped”. There are two spine curves in the area of the cervical and the lumbar vertebrae, that is why the term “double‐S‐shaped” is used.) This form of the spine (and other characteristics of the skeleton) allows for an upright walk without a lot of effort. (The spine is part of the vertical connection feet‐legs‐head.)

4) The upright walk makes it possible to carry something and to have a better view of one’s surroundings…

ad 1) It may happen that some students describe the chimpanzee’s gait inaccurately. While the task is being worked on, the teacher can ask one of the classmates to move according the student’s description. Thus, the students become aware of the accuracy of their description of the chimpanzee’s gait. If need be, they may add supplements.

ad 3) In addition, the position of the body’s center of gravity could be made a subject of discussion. However, additional teaching time must be considered in that case.





Understanding of primates’ gaits: The learning task presented above is a semi‐open, structured task. It is typical of learning tasks that students look into a problem, work on it and, by doing so, learn something new. By contrast, exercises are solved to revise and apply subject matter that has already been learned. Solving learning tasks requires understanding on a higher cognitive level.

The students have gained the following insight by working on the learning task: the skeleton and the manner of walking are connected.

Background knowledge:

Primates: Primates are a systematic order of mammals. Primates include sifakas, chimpanzees and humans. The group of the great apes (hominidae) consist of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orang‐utans.

The chimpanzee’s body position when walking upright: When the chimpanzee walks on two legs, its back is C‐shaped, it “arches its back”, and bends its legs in the hip and knee joints (with legs stretched, the chimpanzee would tilt over head first).

The arms, which are long in proportion to the rest of the body, dangle between the legs. Sometimes the chimpanzee touches the ground with the knuckles of its lightly clenched fists, thus propping itself up a bit.

5) Characteristics of the human skeleton that have to do with the upright walk: Humans have a doubly curved spine. There are two spine curves in the area of the cervical and the lumbar vertebrae, that is why the term “double‐S‐shaped” is used. This form of the spine (and other characteristics of the skeleton) allows for an upright walk without a lot of effort. The spine is part of the vertical connection feet‐legs‐head.

6) Advantages of the upright walk: The upright walk makes it possible to carry something and to have a better view of one’s surroundings.

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