Snapshot! Timeframe in Energy Theater

(This definitely has subtitles in it on my computer but I can't see them when I put them here.)

This clip shows the very first Energy Theater in the E2 class. The scenario is a ruler being bent back and released to hit a ring. Some members of the group are struggling with whether they should be representing a "snapshot" (either an instant or a short time interval) or the "entire movie" (referring to the short video clip shown to the class.

Narrative of Video

Debra is the major proponent of the "snapshot" idea. She begins by saying it's impossible to portray the whole movie: "You can't do the whole thing, you just pick one piece." She claims they need to choose among individual instants or short time intervals in which energy is transferred from one object to another object:

[00:00:22.21] Debra: you can say that the energy scenario or snapshot we're gonna do when you're pulling back the stick? that's it?
[00:00:30.24]or it could be letting go of the stick--but the ring hasn't let go
[00:00:36.17] or it could be that the stick is here but the ring is moving

In a later class discussion, Debra suggests that to her, "snapshot" means a short time interval ("it's not a still shot, frozen.") However, it's not clear to me why Debra thinks that the shorter process of pulling back the stick can be represented by energy theater, but the entire process cannot. She says (in the later class discussion) that "doing step one, two, three is a slippery slope" but doesn't explain why.) It seemed like maybe she's thinking that each of these "snapshots" has a defined set of energy transformations that occur. I'm not sure if she thinks showing the whole "movie" would be too complicated, or if it actually would not be possible.

Brad and Bryan express the desire to show the "whole movie"--Bryan seems to imply that in fact the "snapshot" would be "going into it too deep" and that it would be simpler to show the entire process as shown in the video: "From stick back to ring stopped." Don arrives late to the conversation and breaks it up with a joke that seems to settle the argument in Brad and Bryan's favor, but Debra is not deterred.

[00:01:23.13] Debra: I think it would be much quicker, much shorter to do
[00:01:26.15] This is the stick with all the stored elastic energy in it
[00:01:31.19] and the snapshot starts when we let go

Bryan appears to be frustrated, holding his face in his hands; Brad seems to give in ("Right on; I agree."). However, a few moments later, it seems like Brad hadn't quite understood what Debra was saying:

[00:01:34.07] Debra: And it's pushing the ring forward and then that's where we stop.
[00:01:37.14] it's transferred energy to the ring and the ring hasn't let go yet
Brad: Oh you just want to do the first part!

Debra is still seeing the process as being broken up into segments that should be (or must be?) separated from each other. Brad seems not to have understood this; Bryan also does not seem to have fully considered it either. Later when Debra says that "most of the energy would still be in the ring, because the ring hasn't let go yet" Bryan chuckles with surprise and delight. "You're right!"

Thoughts
Energy Theater Logistics
I was surprised that the learners were sent immediately into Energy Theater without even a short discussion of what it was, how it worked, what were the conventions, etc. Of the three ETs I have observed so far, two of them were largely taken up with how to represent objects, types of energy, time (as in this clip), etc. Only by the third was most of the conversation primarily related to the physics rather than the mechanics of the energy theater.

Group Dynamics
I also noticed that of the seven people in the group, only 3 speak (not counting Don's joke as he enters the group). The three non-speakers positioned themselves at the other side of the lobby from the four speakers. (At the very beginning of the clip, you can see Gail "crossing over" to the other side.) After the end of this clip, Don does speak a few more times about physics content. Later in this session, Jean tries to ask a question several times but is ignored. Finally she refuses to participate in the theater because she doesn't "understand what's going on." The other two women (Gail and Melanie) never speak at all during the entire Energy Theater. [I showed my E2 I-RISE buddies an extended version of this clip that shows some of this conflict but didn't post it here--I felt like I had enough with the first three minutes to write about!]

Talking about Timeframe (or not)
What is most stunning to me is the way the speakers talk at each other. The "snapshot" and "movie" advocates don't seem to ask each other about why they think their method is better. Interestingly, the only reason offered by the proponents of each method is that their way is easier. Debra says the snapshot would be "much quicker, much shorter to do"; Brad wants the video because "that's what I did [in his diagram] so I want to make it easier on me"; Bryan thinks the snapshot would be "going into it too deep." My hunch is that each group also thinks their way is more accurate or more complete but this is not discussed. The other groups members are not asked their opinion, nor do they volunteer it. Don makes a joke based on a snippet of conversation he hears ("Eye on the ring") that diffuses some of the tension but does not move the conversation. My sense here is that a lot of the conversation is focused on how and not why.