SPRINGFIELD TWP. — Mount Healthy South Middle School students are building miniature roller coasters while learning principles of math and science.

        Eighth-graders in Steve Capella's science class and Maureen Cleary's math class are using thousands of K'NEX toy pieces in this hands-on approach to learning.

        It's all part of finding innovative ways to help kids grasp difficult concepts and stimulate their interest in math and science.

        “We're learning more doing this than writing it out in a book,” said Casey Pogue, 14, who worked on a roller coaster this week with her 14-year-old classmate, Gavin Pennington.

        Said Gavin: “It gives you a different perspective on class. ... You know it's not going to be boring. It helps us want to do science and pick a career in science.”

        Although the students use K'NEX toys, the project is far from child's play.

        “It is kind of stressful,” Gavin said. “You have to be precise with almost everything you do. We've done this hill five times.”

        Another student agreed.

        “It takes patience to do this and the right calculations,” said Ronald Thompson, 14. “Activities like this are fun. I'd rather do this than four pages of homework.”

        The teachers received a $2,500 Michael Jordan grant last spring from the National Foundation for Improvement of Education, proposing to use the roller coaster project to teach principles such as calculating speed and acceleration, conservation of energy, G-forces and kinetic energy.

        It was a natural progression, Ms. Cleary said, because students participate in Math and Science Day, sponsored by Paramount's Kings Island. They always have at least one roller coaster problem to solve.

        The coaster project is carried out in both classes. Students gather data in science class and take it to math class to calculate.

        One class completed its roller coasters, but not all of them worked. Some students redesigned them until they got it right.

        “That's a practical lesson,” Mr. Capella said. “A lot of stuff looks good and may not work properly.”

        Since the grant called for the project to be interdisciplinary, students designed brochures marketing their roller coaster, used the Internet to research the history of roller coasters and created time lines, and pinpointed locations of famous roller coasters on a United States map.

        Students might not retain everything they've learned from this exercise, but some things will stick, Mr. Capella said. Hands-on learning also gives some students an opportunity to shine.

        “Some of them don't do as well when they read it in a book,” he said. “When they get this, they can excel because they're more mechanically inclined.”

        Students also said they get a bonus lesson in social skills by learning to work in teams and cooperate. As the roller coasters take shape, so do friendships.

        “When me and Casey started this, we weren't really good friends,” Gavin said. “We've learned to work with each other.”

Nordstrom site to become parking lot
Neyer conflict of interest alleged
Alliance seeks $600,000 to promote arts, culture
Dimpled chads wouldn't fly in Ohio
Bistro reaches out to AIDS groups
Powerball jackpot tops $100 million
The wait for organs to change
Crash kills Ryle athlete
Obituary: Alig hoped to play pro baseball
Protests staging a return in 2000
Educator will take pie in face
Flat boats left trail through time in Cleves
How Bush carried Kentucky
Kentucky Digest
Learning has its ups and downs
Lebanon cable TV suit drags on
Local Digest
Charter school push on again in Ind.
Identity crisis grips Otterbein
Murray loses Scouting museum
Parents who treated boy as girl cleared