This dialog is based on the Elementary Science Study unit on batteries and bulbs. The initial experiential problem is lighting a bulb, given a battery, some wires, and the bulb. Students have great freedom, only gradually getting individualized help. Thus the process is one of discovering; student aid narrows the problem but still allows discovery in most situations.
Again, we develop a scientific model through empirical studies, slowly and carefully, checking understanding at each stage. Although the content is simple circuit theory, the learning objectives are different from usual study of circuits, with emphasis on the way the scientist might study the situation and develop a model.
Terms such as current and resistance are introduced, but only after the empirical evidence suggests that they may be useful. They are introduced in a comparative sense, rather than in a numerical sense. That is, we can say `` the current in this bulb is greater than the current in that bulb.''
After the theory has been developed, the student uses it to make predictions about the behavior of electrical circuits. Thus the emphasis is on the predictive capabilities of scientific theory.