Why Do Lecture Demonstrations?

• "In the matter of physics the first lessons should contain nothing but what is experimental and interesting to see. A pretty experiment is in itself often more valuable than twenty formulae extracted from our minds." Albert Einstein.

• "A lecturer should exert his utmost effort to gain completely the mind and attention of his audience, and irresistibly make them join in his ideas to the end of the subject. He should endeavour to raise their interest at the commencement of the lecture and by a series of imperceptible gradations, unnoticed by the company, keep it alive as long as the subject demands it..... A flame should be lighted at the commencement and kept alive with unremitting splendour to the end..". Michael Faraday

• Sir Lawrence Bragg: "...superiority of, as judged by the effect on the audience, of a series of experiments and demonstrations explained by a talk over a lecture illustrated by slides." and.... " ...in recalling their impressions they almost invariably say not we were told, but 'we were shown' this or that."

• J.T . Desaguiliers: " Without Observations and Experiments, our natural Philosophy could only be a science of terms and an unitelligible jargon."

• "It is more likely that a student will remember a well executed demonstration experiment than an elegant derivation of an important equation." Tom Rossing American Journal of physics Vol 59 No. 2 February 1991

• Recalling lectures that stayed with him for more than 50 years, Charles Taylor, former Prof of Experimental Physics at The Royal Institution of Great Britain, states that the lectures on sound and optics stayed with him due to the demonstrations performed by Dr. Alexander Wood and Sir Lawrence Bragg. This and some of the other stated quotes come from the book The Art and Science of Lecture Demonstrations Charles Taylor, 1988 ISBN 0852743238 (pbk.)
• I believe Sutton once made a statement comparing the importance of demonstrations and compared it to breathing...I hope I find it again someday...

• University of Oregon course Evaluations Winter 2004
  

• PHYS 202: (out of 60 students who responded)
  33 students liked them
  none mentioned anything negative
  
• PHYS 162: (out of 48 students who responded)
  32 students liked them
  none mentioned anything negative
• PHYS 102: (out of 27 students who responded)
  15 students liked them
  none mentioned anything negative
  

• The first question on the written evaluations is: "What did you like most about this course?" Many of them responded: The DEMOS!
  
  Hope this helps.
  
  Bonnie Grimm
  

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