Presentations

Active Learning

Rebecca Vieyra, rvieyra@d155.org
Active Learning, Either day
Equipment needs: Computer projector
Comments: I will need to hook up my own computer in order to access my own game files.

Gaming in the Physics Classroom. Rebecca Vieyra, Cary-Grove High School, Crystal Lake, IL 60014. This presentation will look at free resources and ideas for using both technology-based and traditional gaming opportunities for teaching physics. Gaming is effective as a recreational tool, as well as in education and business, because it is motivational, engaging, requires problem-solving skills, and allows players to be part of something "bigger than themselves." This presentation will specifically focus on using cooperative learning, Chore Wars, and Portal 2 in the high school classroom.

The Winter Break Effect in the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS). Tom Carter, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137. I will show data on the Winter Break Effect in the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) for a calc-based introductory physics class at a two-year college. By evaluating pre and post course results from the CLASS, previous publications have shown that students tend to have a less "expert-like" opinion of studying physics after taking an introductory physics class. Although this result was seen in the data provided here, we also saw that by merely waiting until after the winter break and surveying the same students at the beginning of the second term, their opinions appeared to shift back towards the more "expert-like" end. Although the statistics in this data sample are limited, the Winter Break Effect shown may imply that student opinions evaluated by the CLASS may depend on when in the term the survey is given.

View Homework as a Means not an End. Bill Hogan, Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL 60435. I have made many changes over the years to the syllabi for my courses as I've tried to get students to focus more on understanding the material and less on their grade. I currently have some unusual policies about how homework and lab work are counted in determining student grades that I believe have been effective in influencing students to change their behavior and learn more from the homework and labs. My talk will provide details of these unusual policies and some comments about the effect they have had on student behavior.

Teaching Mechanics with a Cheap Stroboscope. Morten Lundsgaard, UIUC, Urbana, IL 61801. In this presentation I will give examples on how a cheap, homemade stroboscope can be used in activities that help MS and HS students change their conceptions about motion and forces.

Teaching Methods

Flipped Classroom - The First Year in Physics and Chemistry. Carol Hedden, Bill Kane, Colleen Gosewisch, and Bob Champlin, Lockport Township High School, Lockport, IL 60441. We will give a brief overview of our success and hardships during our first 3 months as we convert to the flip classroom model in Physics R, AP Physics, Chemistry R, and AP Chemistry. The flip classroom model involves placing lectures on the Internet and doing the "traditional" homework in the classroom. It has allowed a greater emphasis on labs, physics modeling, and more intensive tutoring, depending on the class. Each of us have a slightly different emphasis in what we do in the classroom, and how we have the students access our lectures. Student access portals vary from blogs to using Moodle.

Using Learning Targets to Enhance Metacogntion. Rebecca E. Vieyra, Cary-Grove High School, Cary, IL 60013. Helping physics students to identify their own strengths and weaknesses (metacognition) is one of the so-called "best practices" of teaching, but can be difficult to implement. This presentation will focus on strategies I have used in my own classroom to help students become more metacognitive (pre/post tests, diagnostic tools, reflections, concept maps, misconception lists, and teaching for mastery).

Physics Teaching in Theory of Mind. Max Lee, Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL 60431. Neural mirror system, Darwinian competitive neurons and reward-risk decision making mechanisms in the human brain are among many aspects of neuroscience that are related to teaching and learning. This presentation focuses on the compare and contrast, which is a combination of the second and third mechanism. Human beings learn novel things by comparing and contrasting these with the previously existing knowledge as claimed by the theory of mind. The process brings the subtlety of new and old concepts and helps the novice to learn better. This presentation draws insights from neuroscience research into physics teaching. Instead of teaching physics topics in a traditional linear sequence, (i.e., defining a new term or concept, explaining it, applying it, and then moving on to the next term), I present similar concepts in pairs or in parallel to compare and contrast them at the same time. The presentation will share some compare & contrast forms constructed by students.

Introducing the Concept of Resonance. Andrew Morrison, Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL 60431. Understanding the concept of resonance is one of the most important goals for studying wave behavior. Students are often first introduced to resonance when they examine the standing wave behavior of simple one-dimensional systems such as stretched strings and pipes with open ends or one closed end. The concept has direct applications to the study of acoustics and beyond, but it is also a difficult concept for many students to understand. In our class, we discuss how looking at the boundary conditions of the systems we examine can be applied to predict what the resonant frequencies of the system are.

Demonstrations

RC Circuit Analogy for Thermal Energy Transfer. John Milton, DePaul University (retired), Chicago, IL 60614. Thermal energy transfer by a metal plate from a warm water source to a cold water sink can be modeled by analysis of electrical energy transfer by a resistor between two charged spheres. A demonstration of this thermal effect illustrates a changing thermal gradient. Temperature difference between source and sink undergoes exponential decay. Results of experimental observations indicate a discrepancy from the model. This suggests energy loss mechanisms not included in the model.

An Inexpensive, Easy-to-Build Projectile Launcher. Christopher Wozny, Judson University, Elgin, IL 60123. The projectile launcher described in this presentation is an original design with a per-unit cost of less than $5.00. Classes and groups ranging from elementary school and college students to science teachers have built projectile launchers in about 30 - 45 minutes. The launcher uses a rubber band as its energy source and is able to launch a one-inch wooden ball more than three meters. Materials and instructions will be provided; kits will be available for purchase at cost.

Brownian Motion and Newton's Laws. Jim Rabchuk, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL 61455. I will present a standard demonstration of Brownian Motion using whole milk in water, and discuss some of the ways I have used that demonstration in my course on scientific reasoning, as well as how I might use it in an introductory physics class as one of the best demonstrations supporting many of the ideas that undergird the conceptual framework of classical physics.

Research

Learning From Student "Cheat Sheets". Timothy McCaskey, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL 60605. In an effort to shift course goals away from equation memorizing, I allowed two different introductory physics classes the opportunity to prepare a card or sheet of notes for the exams. I analyze and categorize the items students choose to include on a case-by-case basis. Students included some mixture of definitions, equations (general and specific), unit information, constants, statements of laws or concepts, math review, guides to symbols and variables, diagrams, and worked examples. I look at some individual students in depth, and try to gain insight on how we can use these artifacts to see what students perceive as important in the courses (or at least what's worth committing to paper). This semester, I ask survey questions that will try to get at both why students choose to include certain items and how helpful the students find the cheat sheets.

Role of Knowledge Organizing in Understanding Science. Amitabh Joshi, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL 61920. Science has its rigid foundation and it provides highly systematic presentation of knowledge. The main goal of science is to remove ambiguity and use concepts in very precise manners. New learners can understand physical sciences in much convincing manner if they could organize their collected knowledge bank using the knowledge representation principles. This could provide a systematic way to keep their conceptual framework in line with that of experts' conceptual framework and hence in this way the goal of science education could be achieved. In this discussion operationizable methodology for organizing knowledge utilizing knowledge representation technique will be discussed. This can be done by organizing concepts using their cognitive function and then looking for most appropriate semantic relations to the concepts. Some findings on students' learning of concepts in physical sciences will be presented.

Other

Update on the New AP Physics 1 and 2 Courses. Martha Lietz. On October 4th, the College Board posted the new Curriculum Framework for the long-awaited "new Physics B" courses, to be called Physics 1 and Physics 2. These courses will have similar content to Physics B, but it is divided into two years to provide time for students to develop deep conceptual understanding through an inquiry-based approach. In this talk, we will address the structure and content of the new framework, as well as provide information related to the new format of the exam. Strategies for modifying instruction based on the new framework in anticipation of the test will be provided. The presenter is a member of the Curriculum Development and Assessment Committee (CDAC) working to develop the new Physics 2 exam as well as professional development materials for teachers to use in their classroom.

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