People often use the terms ‘mass’ and ‘weight’ interchangeably. However, both these terms mean two things that are distinct from each other—mass being the amount of matter present inside a body, and weight being the force exerted on a body due to the Earth’s gravitational pull.
Tinker Village taught me this important difference, for which I am absolutely grateful.
I dived headfirst into this activity without answering any preliminary questions, as I usually do. The questions were a part of the experiment, but after the main activity was done.
The activity involved me making a forcemeter—a device used for measuring the mass of objects. For this, I used the following: a forcemeter board, a paper clip, a rubber band and an S hook. In addition to these objects, there was a spring balance and a mass with a hook.
(Clockwise from top left to bottom right): The forcemeter board, the spring balance, the paper clip and the rubber band.
Using the forcemeter, I tried calculating the mass (in grams) of four objects—a glass, a case of spectacles, a pair of pliers and a plug.
(Clockwise from top left to bottom right): The glass, the spectacles' case, the pair of pliers and the plug.
Before measuring the mass of these objects, I went through the rather interesting process of constructing the forcemeter—by tying the rubber band to the paper clip, attaching the paper clip to the forcemeter board, and finally attaching the S hook to the paper clip. Any object attached to the S hook would ensure that the rubber band got pulled down, the extent of it getting pulled down depending on the mass of the object.
This was followed by estimating and trying to measure the weight (in newton).
Observations
Working on understanding weight and mass was both intriguing and difficult.
It was intriguing because I was making my own instrument to measure the mass of objects, and it seemed quite exciting to see how close (or far) the measured mass would be as compared to an actual weighing machine.
It was difficult because, in the mass with hooks, there was only one hook where there should have been more. This proved to be a big challenge. So, I had to rely on external help to make markings on my forcemeter by using substitutes for the masses that were missing.
This activity taught me two important things—the value of external help and the benefits of challenges.
What I also learnt is that getting stuck while attempting any task and losing focus is not something major, as long as the task at hand is completed. Treating these things as unusual or abnormal and running away from them will only ensure that no learner prepares themselves for the challenges that any form of learning, including hands-on learning, entails.
Though I faced a challenge while doing this activity, I was able to complete it with the assistance of external guidance.
This made me realise that challenges should not only be treated as normal, but also encouraged.
The presence of a challenge indicates that the learner still has scope to learn and can continue to avail of the benefits of the learning process. Without a challenge, the task may start to seem boring after a point of time. Keeping the learning process engaging and exciting is, after all, the true aim of hands-on learning.
Challenges also help learners imbibe qualities such as humility and patience, which are necessary for achieving success. When a learner feels challenged, they are more likely to put in the effort to understand what is being taught, thereby ensuring that they perform better as well.
For parents and teachers, this is perhaps the most important takeaway. When a child gets stuck, asks for help or struggles with an activity, it is not necessarily a sign that they are incapable. More often than not, it is a sign that they are learning. Every challenge gives them an opportunity to think, reflect, seek guidance and come back stronger.
To conclude, challenges should not scare learners and should be taken in stride, because they can often be blessings in disguise. Sometimes, the greatest learning does not come from completing an activity with ease, but from overcoming the challenges that come with it.
