![]() ![]() In the case of the mirror this approach yields the insight that the things in the mirror appear in spatial depth, exactly opposite their counterparts in front of the mirror (and at an equal distance from the mirror’s surface). The degree of inclination can be described by a law, according to which the significant factors are the distance and the angle of inclination of the surface with respect to other bright surfaces. Analysed in terms of the former perspective, however, a surface is brighter the more it is inclined towards brightness. In terms of the latter perspective, a surface is brighter because more light rays are falling on it a person sees herself in a mirror because light rays are being reflected from the mirror’s surface. Having gained certain insights from such experiments, those engaged in them are faced with a fundamental choice: they can either follow up on the hypotheses that emerged directly from the observations, or they can introduce non-perceptible variables or dimensions operating in principle as causes behind the phenomena. The interpretation of experiments involves weighing up different perspectives, forming hypotheses, clearly identifying those factors which may or must be in play. Such questions are raised by the interpretation of the experiment, which usually takes place at the beginning of the lesson on the following day. Up to this point the demand made upon their understanding goes more towards grasping the “how” of the phenomenon with all its special details, and less towards inquiring into the “why” or into the relationships it might have to other phenomena. Thus they have a sound basis upon which to formulate a clear description of it. Subsequently they make notes and assess the experiment in terms of its construction, performance and what they observed. Here the students are being asked to be fully present in their sensory alertness. In many Waldorf schools it has become customary to approach phenomena in the manner outlined, often without initially writing anything down. In thus perceiving such a pattern of related conditions, concrete seeing then further develops into systematic seeing. When these essential conditions are met, then certain associated phenomena always appear. With concrete seeing, understanding comes into play, distinguishing essential from non-essential factors. In engaging in such experiments and going from observing to describing physical phenomena and chemical processes, the students develop what begins as a simple act of lookinginto a concrete and ultimately systematic form of seeing. It was Wagenschein (1962) who first described the stages of this process: with looking, things are permitted to speak for themselves, nature tells her story without interruption. They are the mediators between young people and the world, between subject and object – as Goethe put it. In Waldorf education such experiments normally constitute the point of departure for coming to an ordered understanding of physical and chemical phenomena. The thing is to encounter phenomena with wakeful attention, observe them exactly, arrange them in order, and finally analyse them. The intention is to provide the students with powerful experiences for instance, how an object’s position, as established by touch, appears different when looked at in a mirror, or how acids and bases are produced by the process of calcium combustion. ![]() ![]() In teaching physics and chemistry the main thing is the experiment, whether performed by the teacher as a demonstration, or by the students, alone, in pairs or in groups.
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