The Effectiveness of a Stream Table in Promoting Pupils' Understanding of How Running Water Functions

Abstract

This paper introduces a stream table which was used for science lesson trials in fifth grade elementary school classes. The effectiveness of the stream table was verified by examining the pupils' understanding of functions of running water, in comparison with the experiment of running water on a heap of soil. The results were the following: (1) According to a questionnaire given to the pupils before and after the lessons, the use of a stream table to compare the functions of running water on a heap of soil was shown to be effective in promoting the pupils' understanding of the relationship between the volume and speed of running water; and the process of erosion. (2) According to the pupils' descriptions on their lesson worksheets, the stream table facilitated the pupils' understanding of the process of erosion from running water better than those of transportation and sedimentation. The effectiveness of the stream table was notable in promoting the pupils' understanding of the process of erosion by running water. One feature of the stream table is its ability to allow students to control the conditions of the experiment and hence to make a reproducible experiment. It is thought that this feature was described in the results mentioned above.