Creating enriched scientific pathways in physics

For this feedback session, we visited Orsay High School to discover the use of different resources and the development of enriched pathways in physics and chemistry classes.

The Île-de-France region has implemented a major plan to provide students and teachers with laptops. For several months now, these laptops have been accompanied by content, namely resources available in a diverse catalogue from which teachers can choose for their students.

In today’s lesson, Geneviève Ponsonnet, a physics and chemistry teacher, proposes a practical lesson on physical transformations in which students will observe the temperature changes during solidification.

« Today I’m using very traditional physics and chemistry equipment, but I wanted to include digital tools in this practical session » she explains.

All the students have laptops provided by the region and they use them in class to access the content prepared by their teacher, which is an « elea » path containing several animations from the Edumedia resource. These elements help the students to understand the practical session.

The computer is also useful for writing team reports using the Pearltrees application.

« With Pearltrees, they can share a Word document that they can write on synchronously » she says.

All of these uses are made possible by the resources and tools already available on the students’ laptops.

For example, Edumedia consists of science animations that I use in class, and I also integrate them into « elea » pathways or use them in Wooflash quizzes to help students with memorization.

Geneviève Ponsonnet, a physics and chemistry teacher

The Wooflash resource, on the other hand, is used either before the lesson to assess students’ knowledge or at the end of the lesson for students who have extra time to revise « and learn the new concepts covered in today’s lesson, » she emphasises.

Digital technology does not come naturally to this teacher, but she enjoys using digital tools and all the resources available « to prepare them for their future lives ».

« Throughout the year, they become more independent, like today, during this practical session, they work intensively and are very comfortable with the tools » she adds.

The digital tool does not replace everything we did before, but it is a support; it helps us to propose new things, to do more, to differentiate and to offer collaborative work, whether sitting at their table or at a distance.

Note: The report took place in the winter of 2023, when Geneviève was still a teacher at this college; she has since taken up a position as an inspector at another college.

LUDOMAG has continued its research in the Île-de-France region and invites you every 15 days to discover feedback on teaching practices thanks to the arrival of laptops and all the digital resources they contain; see you soon on our channel!