virginia instructors of physics spring newsletter 4-11
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April 2011http://vip.vast.org
Hi everyone,
Hope your school year is going well. I am looking forward to our annual VIP spring
meeting at UVA later this month. It is coming fast! Hope to see everyone on April 30. Be
one of the first 20 to RSVP and reserve your Make N Take kit. This meeting we will be
building a longitudinal slinky wave machine courtesy of Greg Matthes.
In this months newsletter there is a lot to discuss. A big thank you to Frank Noschese of
Action-Reaction, John Burk ofQuantum Progress, Rhett Allain ofDot.Physics, and Shawn
Cornally of ThinkThankThunk. With permission, I am reprinting some of their recent
thought-provoking blog posts. Every heard ofpseudoteaching? How about Khan
Academy? Ever thought of teaching acceleration with a Wiimote? I hope you find
something here that will get you thinking about your teaching and encourage more
innovation in the classroom.
Cheers,
Timothy Couillard
President, Virginia Instructors of Physics (VIP)
Virginia Instructors of Physics Spring Meeting Information
Who: Physical Science, Physics teachers, and University physicists.
When: April 30th (time agenda below) 8:30 AM 3:00 PM
Where:Department of Physics Jesse Beams Laboratory, University of Virginia
382 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, VA 22903
There is a good web map at
http://www.virginia.edu/webmap/GMcCormickRoadArea.html The physics building is
#41. You may want to park behind #38 off of stadium road. Do not park at the physics
building. This is 24/7 permit parking.
Cost:Free!!!
RSVP IF ATTENDING FIRST 20 GUARANTEED MAKE AND TAKE EQUIPMENT
VIPs mission is to foster
communication among
teachers ofphysics and
physical science as well as to
provide unique learning
experiences forteachers and
their students.
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Spring Meeting Agenda (April 30th
2011)
8:30 to 9:00 Welcome, Coffee, and Refreshments
9:00 to 9:30 Business Meeting: PDI planning, Elections,
other business
9:30 to 10:15 Dan Meyers TED Talk, WWYDWT and
Perplexity Discussion
10:15 to 11:15 Share Session I: Bring an idea and 35
copies the write up to share!
11:15 to 11:30 Video Analysis and Discussion
11:30 to 12:30 Lunch on the Corner (We will head to local
restaurants for lunch together, but as far
as costyoure on your own)
12:45 to 1:45 Make and Take Session
1:45 to 2:45 Share Session II2:45 to 3:00 Door Prizes and Closing
In this Issue
Pseudoteaching: MIT Physics by
Frank Noschese
Five Quick Blog Links
Pseudoteaching: Hunting Monkeysby John Burk
New on the VIP Website
Pseudoteaching from Dot. Physics
by Rhett AllainOpportunities for Physics Teachers
Technology Corner: Acceleration
(Wiimotes) by Shawn Cornally
Join the VIP Online Conversation
Khan Academy: Innovation or
Indictment
Support and Sponsors
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Pseudoteaching: MIT Physics
February 21, 2011 by Frank Noschese
What is pseudoteaching?
This term was inspired by Dan Meyerspseudocontext, which sought to find examples of
textbook problems that on the surface seemed to be about real world problems and
situations, but actually were about make believe contexts that had little connection to
the real world, other than the photographs that framed the problems.
After reading many of Dans pseudocontext posts, John Burk and I had the idea of
pseudoteaching [PT] which we have defined as:
Pseudoteaching is something you realize youredoing after youve attempted a lesson
which from the outset looks like it should result in student learning, but upon further
reflection, you realize that the very lesson itself was flawed and involved minimallearning.
We hope that though discussion, well be able to clarify and refine this definition even
further. The key idea of pseudoteaching is that it looks like good teaching. In class,
studentsfeel like they are learning, and any observer who saw a teacher in the middle
of pseudoteaching would feel like hes watching a great lesson. The only problem is,
very little learning is taking place.
The Scene
Take, for example, Walter Lewins amazing physics lectures at MIT, which are available
online at MIT OpenCourseware [Mechanics | E&M].
Professor Lewin is full of energy. He clearly loves physics, and he also loves sharing it
with his students. His demonstrations were thrilling. His board work was impeccable.
Lewin worked hard to make it look effortless he ran through each lecture 3 times
before presenting it to students.
The Breakdown
So what happened result as the semester progressed? Attendance at his physicslectures fell 40% by the end of the term and an average of 10% of students failed
Mechanics and 14% failed E&M. Surprised?
If you look past his enthusiasm and his displays of physics awesomeness, Lewin was
pseudoteaching. It looks like good teaching, but he was the one doing all the talking. It
looks like the students are learning, but they werejust sitting there watching. Its like
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trying to learn to play piano or play a sport by watching your teacher or coach. It doesnt
work well.
Ironically, it was over 30 years before Lewins famous lectures that the great physicist
Richard Feynman realized more interactive engagement is necessary. From pagexxixof
Feynmans Six Easy Pieces (a greatest-hits of his lectures to freshman when he taughtintroductory physics at Cal Tech from 1961-1963):
I think, however, that there isnt any solution to this problem of education other than to
realize that the best teaching can be done only when there is a direct individual
relationship between a student and a good teachera situation in which the student
discusses the ideas, thinks about the things, and talks about the things. Its impossible to
learn very much by simply sitting in a lecture, or even by simply doing problems that are
assigned. But in our modem times we have so many students to teach that we have to
try to find some substitute for the ideal. Perhaps my lectures can make some
contribution. Perhaps in some small place where there are individual teachers and
students, they may get some inspiration or some ideas from the lectures. Perhaps they
will have fun thinking them throughor going on to develop some of the ideas further.
RICHARD P. FEYNMAN
June 1963
The Resolution
So what did MIT do after Lewins show-stopping lectures failed to change declining
attendance and large failure rates? They created interactive learning spaces like TEAL,
which stands for Technology Enhanced Active Learning. From the New York Times articleAt M.I.T., Large Lectures Are Going the Way of the Blackboard:
Instead of blackboards, the walls are covered with white boards and huge display
screens. Circulating with a team of teaching assistants, the professor makes brief
presentations of general principles and engages the students as they work out related
concepts in small groups.
Teachers and students conduct experiments together. The room buzzes. Conferring with
tablemates, calling out questions and jumping up to write formulas on the white boards
are all encouraged.
For more information on TEAL, I suggest reading:
Why TEAL Works (http://tech.mit.edu/V130/N49/normandin.html )
andLessons Learned from TEAL.(http://tech.mit.edu/V123/N56/belcher56.56c.html )
http://books.google.com/books?id=4OT7QsmboN8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=feynman+6+easy+pieces&hl=en&ei=jshiTbWFCYep8Ab42ejcCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=feynman%206%20easy%20pieces&f=falsehttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/13physics.html?_r=1&pagewanted=allhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/13physics.html?_r=1&pagewanted=allhttp://tech.mit.edu/V130/N49/normandin.htmlhttp://tech.mit.edu/V130/N49/normandin.htmlhttp://tech.mit.edu/V123/N56/belcher56.56c.htmlhttp://tech.mit.edu/V123/N56/belcher56.56c.htmlhttp://tech.mit.edu/V123/N56/belcher56.56c.htmlhttp://tech.mit.edu/V123/N56/belcher56.56c.htmlhttp://tech.mit.edu/V123/N56/belcher56.56c.htmlhttp://tech.mit.edu/V123/N56/belcher56.56c.htmlhttp://tech.mit.edu/V130/N49/normandin.htmlhttp://tech.mit.edu/V130/N49/normandin.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/13physics.html?_r=1&pagewanted=allhttp://books.google.com/books?id=4OT7QsmboN8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=feynman+6+easy+pieces&hl=en&ei=jshiTbWFCYep8Ab42ejcCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=feynman%206%20easy%20pieces&f=false -
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But you dont need a high-tech classroom filled with bright-and-shiny gadgets to do
what M.I.T. did. A class set of $2 Interactive Whiteboards will do just fine.
I admit I was doin the Lewin my first years of teaching. I was up late each night,
creating Powerpoints and crafting worksheets. All students had to do was follow along
and fill in the blanks. Then Id work a problem on the chalkboard and the studentswould finish the rest for homework. The next day, the whole cycle would repeat with a
new topic. I planned lessons by answering the question What am I going to do in class
tomorrow? Now, I plan lessons by answering the questions What are my students
going to do tomorrow? How will it help them progress towards our learning goals?
Pseudoteaching was relatively easy. It fit nicely with The Hidden Contract that exists in
the majority of classrooms. I still fall back lazily into pseudoteaching on occasion,
especially when I feel pressed for time or when I sense student resistance to work. Real
teaching provides struggles (large and small, for teachers and students) each day.
Whats your pseudoteaching story?
Head on over to the pseduoteaching page on the Action-Reaction Blog
(http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/pseudoteaching/ ) where youll currently find links to
other new pseudoteaching posts.
We all hope pseudoteaching will become a valuable lens for critically examining our own
teaching, and that the idea will spread to other teachers as well. Wed love for you to
contribute your own examples of pseudoteaching. Just email me a link to your
pseudoteaching post and Ill add it. Thanks!
Frank Noschese
Pseudoteaching: Hunting Monkeys
February 21, 2011 by John Burk, quantumprogress
Id like to begin this post with the coining of a new term: Pseudoteaching. This term was
inspired by Dan Meyerspseudocontext, which sought to find examples of textbook
problems that on the surface seemed to be about real world problems and situations,but actually were about make believe contexts that had little connection to the real
world, other than the photographs that framed the problems.
After reading many of Dans pseudocontext posts,Frank Noscheseand I had the idea of
pseudoteaching [PT] which we have defined as:
http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/the-2-interactive-whiteboard/http://www.box.net/shared/mf6koczmm9http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/pseudoteaching/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/pseudoteaching/http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=8002http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=8002http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=8002http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/about/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/about/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/about/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/about/http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=8002http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/pseudoteaching/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/pseudoteaching/http://www.box.net/shared/mf6koczmm9http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/the-2-interactive-whiteboard/ -
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Pseudoteaching is something you realize youre doing after youve attempted a lesson
which from the outset looks like it should result in student learning, but upon further
reflection, you realize that the very lesson itself was flawed and involved minimal
learning.
We hope that though discussion, well be able to clarify and refine this definition evenfurther. The key idea of pseudoteaching is that it looks like good teaching. In class,
students feel like they are learning, and any observer who saw a teacher in the middle
of pseudoteaching would feel like hes watching a great lesson. The only problem is,
very little learning is taking place. Were hoping that Pseudoteaching will become a
valuable lens for critically examining our own teaching, and that the idea will spread to
other teachers as well. Frank is keeping a collection of pseudoteaching examples at his
blog, Action Reaction, on customPseudoteaching Page. We hope youll contribute some
of your own examples of pseudoteaching as well.
Scene: Hunting Monkeys and Pseudoteaching
My example of Pseudoteaching is super fresh. This week, I decided to do an exercise
where we explored the famous monkey hunter problem. In case you havent seen it,
heres the basic setup. A monkey is hanging from a tree, a height above the ground.
Its a nervous monkey, and so it will drop from the tree at the same instant it hears any
disturbing noise. Youd like to shoot a banana at the monkey (yes, this problem has
been sanitized from its previous monkey hating roots), and you are a horizontal distance
away from the landing spot of the monkey. You wonder how you should aim at the
monkey if you want to hit it with the banana. Should you aim at the monkey, below the
monkey, or above it?
The unintuitive answer from physics is that you should aim at the monkey, since both
are falling; even through the banana is traveling upward on its way to the monkey.
Being the masochistic teacher I can be, I thought this presented a great opportunity to
dust off our algebra skills and prove, once and for all, that you should aim atthe
monkey.
So I drew this diagram on the board, and started by asking my students to tell me what
the velocity of the monkey should be.
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As I usually do, I asked the students to explain how to draw as many graphs as possible
for these two objects. And we quickly got to the following velocity graphs.
From these graphs, I ask the students to write the equations for the x and y positions of
these objects, assuming an origin at the starting location of the banana.
and
Then I ask what must be true if the banana is to hit the monkey, and the students tellme that the x and y positions must be the same at the time of impact. So we write
and
They also see that the last equation can simplified to
Now we have two equations that relate describe the motion of the banana
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With some coaxing, my students see you can solve the first equation for t_i, to get
, and this can be substituted into the second equation to get
Which rearranges to
We stop and puzzle here, since this seems to be relating the horizontal and vertical
components of the velocity to the initial height and distance of the monkey. I say, to a
physicist, this says aim at the monkey! How can we see this? I get them to draw a
triangle for the initial velocity of the banana and its components:
Soon my students see that the ratio and are just the tangents of and must be
the same:
And the only way this can be true is if , so you aim at the monkey!
Breakdown: Why this is Pseudoteaching
After the lesson was over, I felt great. Id basically run through this on the fly, and
everyone seemed to be participating and understanding. I stopped along the way to
make sure everyone was following the discussion, and to pick apart the particularly
difficult parts. Courageous students asked good questions when they couldnt follow,
and I was sure that Id made my former professors proud.
Then the next day, I decided to see how well my students could do this same derivation
on their own. So I gave them this follow-up worksheet:
View this document on Scribd
http://www.scribd.com/doc/49151702http://www.scribd.com/doc/49151702http://quantumprogress.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/screen-shot-2011-02-19-at-10-01-29-am.pnghttp://www.scribd.com/doc/49151702 -
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And as soon as they started working on itI head the questions start rolling in:
Wait, what are we supposed to be doing?
I dont get it.
How should we begin?
And boomit hit me. Yesterdays great lesson really wasnt much more than me
showing off my algebra skills. Students were saying the right things when I paused long
enough and gave them enough hints to get to the right answer likeClever Hans, but
theres no way they were learning this to symbolically reason through a challenging
problem, which was my goal.
Pseudoteaching rears its ugly head right in my classroom. Ugh.
Resolution
This experience taught me a vital lesson. If I want my kids to be able to reason their way
through difficult problems, using symbolic reasoning, I cant teach it to them by walking
them down the narrow road of my enlightened physics understanding. Since this is
how almost all of my physics classes were in high school and college, and I turned out
ok, I thought this would be a great way to learn from time to time. Of course, I forgot
how poorly I understood physics when I graduated from college and started teaching. I
didnt figure out most of these things until I was forced to puzzle through them on my
own as a teacher.
I need to make time and space in my teaching for students to take on challenges like
with this, struggle with them, get lost, fail, and keep going until they get to the solution.So thats what we did. My classes worked on this for more than half an hour. A few got
right to the finish, and were able to then try to figure out how high off the ground the
monkey would be when it got hit. Others really struggled to figure out how to interpret
their graphs to get equations, but got there in the end, and a few never finished, and I
need to find a way to give them more opportunities and scaffolding so that they, too,
can see success.
I also need to find a way to assess this skill more.Goal-less problemsare a great start,
and I really likeKelly OSheas exam designthat gives students an opportunity to show
synthesis.
John Burk
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Pseudoteaching
February 21, 2011 byRhett Allain
John Burk (ofQuantum Progress) and Frank Noschese (ofAction-Reaction) have decided
to promote the termpseudoteaching. Their definition:
Pseudoteaching is something you realize youre doing after youve attempted a lesson
which from the outset looks like it should result in student learning, but upon further
reflection, you realize that the very lesson itself was flawed and involved minimal
learning.
If you have been teaching (or facilitating learning as I like to call it) for quite some time,
you have to have noticed this. Just because I clearly explain something on the chalk
board does not mean that everyone gets it.
I like to use the example of a uni-cyclewhich I actually dont know how to ride.
Suppose I was riding a uni-cycle in front of the class and showing all sorts of tricks.
Would this help the students learn how to ride it? No.
Lecture as Pseudoteaching and Not
I have a couple of examples of pseudoteaching which I still do from time to time.
Actually, I can do something that could be both pseudoteaching and facilitating learning.
Here is the scenario. Suppose I solve a conservation of momentum problem in class on
the board. For students that have looked at this kind of problem, this might be a great
opportunity to fill-in the missing parts of their understanding. Sometimes lectures aregreat for learning.
Now take this exact same situation. Say there is another student in that same class. This
student has not yet worked on conservation of momentum. For this student, the
presented solution might seem to make sense. However, I doubt it will really help in that
students understanding.
Pseudoteaching in Lab
Here is another example. When I first started teaching lab courses, I tended to write(or borrow) my own labs and post these online. Then for the first 30 minutes or so of
the lab class, I would go over what we were going to do that day. It isnt difficult to
realize that this mini-lecture at the beginning does nothing to help them.
Now, I post the labs and give a 5 minute lecture. At the beginning of each class I let
students ask ANY questions about the lab material. Often it is clear that they have not
yet read or prepared for the lab. In this case, my lecture would be useless (except to
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waste time). If there are no questions, I might give some brief tips on specific equipment
use (like be sure to clamp this thing down).
Overall I am happy with this new format. I still have students that arent sure what to
do, but it is clear that they should read the stuff beforehand. It also gives me more time
for individual interactions with students.
Pseudoteaching in Blogging
Yes. I said it. Blogging is my last strong hold of pseudoteaching. Really, this is just like the
lecture thing. Is it possible that my blog posts could be useful? Absolutely. Could the
help the student that needs help right before the test? It is possible, but highly unlikely.
So, the blog posts can be a form of pseudoteaching but it depends on who you are.
If no pseudoteaching, then what?
I understand that it seems like there is nothing to do but lecture. Moving away from a
pure lecture based course can lead to some awkward moments. Actually, this happens
to me all the time. I tell the students:
Ok. You need to read chapter 3. The text does a pretty good job explaining this stuff.
Also, here is some extra online stuff that might help. You dont have to completely
understand this material, but if you dont even try you will be lost. In class we will do
more useful things.
Then, in the next class I will maybe give the students some problems to work on. It ispartially painful to see students just sitting there with no idea of where to start and not
even asking for help. It is clear that some of these students are not prepared. Maybe I
should give them a lecture on the material they didnt read. Should I? If I do, they will
never read this stuff before class. This is awkward time.
So, here is my typical class time recipe:
Maybe give a super short summary of the concepts (maybe like 5 minutes). Yes,this is pseudoteaching and yes I just said you shouldnt do this. Sometimes I do
this after they have read it and sometimes I dont even do this.
If the students have questions on the reading or the homework, I will try to givenice answers. If they havent worked on the homework or read the text, they
likely wont have any questions.
Give some student response multiple-choice questions (clickers). Usually, I justfind some to give rather than making my own. However, it is pretty easy to make
some. They dont have to be super hard or elaborate questions. The clicker
questions are just a starting point for a discussion.
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Practice problems. I call these practice test questions to motivate them. Duringthis time, I tell them the best thing is that they work the problem just like it was
a test question. If they cant do that, then ask for help either from a classmate,
from the text or from me. The absolute worst thing they could do would be to
just sit there and wait for someone to give the answer.
Rinse. Repeat.If you want to look at some more examples of pseudoteaching,Frank should be keeping
a list of posts on his site.
-Rhett Allain
Khan Academy: Innovation or Indictment of Education
Flip and Manage the Classroom with Khan Academyhttp://blogs.jefftwp.org/wordpress/walker/2011/04/12/flip-and-manage-the-
classroom-with-khan-academy/
Khan Academy and the Effectiveness of Science Videoshttp://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/khan-academy-and-effectiveness-
of.html
Khan Academy is an Indictment of Educationhttp://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/khan-academy-is-an-indictment-of-education/
Proof of concept: could students learn more if Kahn made mistakes?http://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/proof-of-concept-could-
students-learn-more-if-kahn-made-mistakes/
http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/pseudoteaching/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/pseudoteaching/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/pseudoteaching/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/pseudoteaching/http://blogs.jefftwp.org/wordpress/walker/2011/04/12/flip-and-manage-the-classroom-with-khan-academy/http://blogs.jefftwp.org/wordpress/walker/2011/04/12/flip-and-manage-the-classroom-with-khan-academy/http://blogs.jefftwp.org/wordpress/walker/2011/04/12/flip-and-manage-the-classroom-with-khan-academy/http://blogs.jefftwp.org/wordpress/walker/2011/04/12/flip-and-manage-the-classroom-with-khan-academy/http://blogs.jefftwp.org/wordpress/walker/2011/04/12/flip-and-manage-the-classroom-with-khan-academy/http://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/khan-academy-and-effectiveness-of.htmlhttp://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/khan-academy-and-effectiveness-of.htmlhttp://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/khan-academy-and-effectiveness-of.htmlhttp://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/khan-academy-and-effectiveness-of.htmlhttp://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/khan-academy-and-effectiveness-of.htmlhttp://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/khan-academy-is-an-indictment-of-education/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/khan-academy-is-an-indictment-of-education/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/khan-academy-is-an-indictment-of-education/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/khan-academy-is-an-indictment-of-education/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/khan-academy-is-an-indictment-of-education/http://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/proof-of-concept-could-students-learn-more-if-kahn-made-mistakes/http://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/proof-of-concept-could-students-learn-more-if-kahn-made-mistakes/http://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/proof-of-concept-could-students-learn-more-if-kahn-made-mistakes/http://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/proof-of-concept-could-students-learn-more-if-kahn-made-mistakes/http://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/proof-of-concept-could-students-learn-more-if-kahn-made-mistakes/http://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/proof-of-concept-could-students-learn-more-if-kahn-made-mistakes/http://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/proof-of-concept-could-students-learn-more-if-kahn-made-mistakes/http://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/proof-of-concept-could-students-learn-more-if-kahn-made-mistakes/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/khan-academy-is-an-indictment-of-education/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/khan-academy-is-an-indictment-of-education/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/khan-academy-is-an-indictment-of-education/http://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/khan-academy-and-effectiveness-of.htmlhttp://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/khan-academy-and-effectiveness-of.htmlhttp://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/khan-academy-and-effectiveness-of.htmlhttp://blogs.jefftwp.org/wordpress/walker/2011/04/12/flip-and-manage-the-classroom-with-khan-academy/http://blogs.jefftwp.org/wordpress/walker/2011/04/12/flip-and-manage-the-classroom-with-khan-academy/http://blogs.jefftwp.org/wordpress/walker/2011/04/12/flip-and-manage-the-classroom-with-khan-academy/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/pseudoteaching/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/pseudoteaching/ -
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Technology Corner
INQUIRY STYLEE: ACCELERATION (WIIMOTES!)
byShawn Cornally on May 5, 2010.
My secret objective is for them to think of an idea and follow it to fruition in a
scientifically meaningful way. Thats it.
Ive introduced Energy Conservation already by this time in the course, and the next
towering giant to be seen is Newtons Second Law. I know some of you will find this
approach to be crass, but my kids dont seem to benefit from the trad itional way that
physics is presented.
Why wait to introduce these huge ideas until kids have done all sorts of kinematics and
other mathematical abstractions? I know the standard arguments for book structure,
and I disagree: Were always preparing them for the most important idea. Screw that.
Give them the important ideas and flesh them out as the year goes on. Things will start
elementary (i.e. Just KE and gPE) and move into complicated abstraction as their
understanding follows. Energy conservation and F=ma are pretty much the only things I
want my kids to remember, so why not stress them throughout the whole course?
How to teach F=ma, the eternal quandary. So simple, vital, and nuanced. I know it
hinges on their understanding of acceleration. Acceleration in turn is one the trickiest
topics to teach, not because its hard to manage, but because everyone comes with
misconceptions about it. English usage of words like acceleration, velocity, speed, and
their ilk are totally muddled. I need kids to understand the differences between them. Ineed them to understand how units underpin the connection of math to the sciences. I
need them to reject their current misunderstandings about the magic pushes and pulls
that comic books and movies have shown them.
This type of teaching towards misconceptions is not new, but I think it bears reminding.
If you ask a student why something continues to move after youve thrown it, they will
often respond with something quite cobbled and illogical:
Well the force from my hand is like still pushing it in the air, and when it runs out of
force, it falls to the ground.
Yikes. A little evidence for the maligned ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny theory
(which is a bit bunk, just to be clear): This child is positingAristotles position, and she
doesnt even know it! This theory worked for a few centuries, but in the end it just
doesnt match all the data we have today about how things move. Our current most -
used theory connects force to acceleration. That is, if something doesnt feel a force, it
http://101studiostreet.com/wordpress/?author=1http://www.iep.utm.edu/aris-mot/http://www.iep.utm.edu/aris-mot/http://www.iep.utm.edu/aris-mot/http://www.iep.utm.edu/aris-mot/http://101studiostreet.com/wordpress/?author=1 -
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doesnt change speed. Whether from stop to go, or from fast to slow, those changes
require a force, and thats that. If youre not feeling it, youre not changing it.
How can I address this misconception? Wii Remotes! What? Yes! Wiimotes happen to
be the cheapest and most fun accelerometers on the market. Theres a slew of websites
dedicated to jail breaking and otherwise non-traditional uses of your Wiimote. I use apiece of software called DarwiinRemote.
1Kudos to the development team for this
community-driven gem.
A quick
Bluetooth sync (hit Find Wiimote and then holddown the 1and 2 buttons on your
Wiimote), and youre up and running! Notice the awesomeness that is the real-time
graph. Notice the fact that the Z-axis is offset by negative g when the Wiimote is sittingstill. *Geek Out*
What using the Wiimotes gains me is a little street cred. and some serious connections
to things that they want to know about. How does this thing work?2
How does it know
what Im doing? These are questions anyone has asked when interacting with a video
game, let alone one as revolutionary as the Nintendo Wii.3
How does this go in physics class? We drop them. We slide them. We put wheels on
them and make Wiimote cars. We put wings on them and throw them out windows.
Whatever it takes.
We do a lot of great experiments with the Wiimotes. I generally start an inquiry cycle
with them. My guided investigation is usually along the lines of dropping the Wiimotes,
or attaching it to a pulley with a constant force. Anything I can do to help separate the
ideas of acceleration, velocity, and force. The kids then think of all sorts of insane things
to do with these. As Ive said earlier, my goal is to start them off with something simple.
Almost painfully simple really, in order to get them thinking about what could be cooler.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/darwiin-remote/http://101studiostreet.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Picture-14.pnghttp://sourceforge.net/projects/darwiin-remote/ -
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My secret objective is for them to think of an idea and follow it to fruition in a
scientifically meaningful way. Thats it. If it takes a short lame investigation to model a
piece of technology, then thats what Ill do to get them thinking.
Id love to hear your ideas about what you do with this! These Wiimotes come back all
semester. What theyve gained for me is a foothold when talking about F=ma at theboard. (I spend more time at the whiteboard than you think). Were always fighting to
connect board ideas to real experiences. My favorite battle.
1. This is OS X software. If you have a PC, heres a link to a similar program, but I dont
run Windows, so no promises.
2.The Wiimote is actually a camera with a Bluetooth transceiver in it. The sensor bar is a
misnomer. Its actually just two infrared diodes that shine into the Wiimote camera. The
placement of the dots from the sensor bar in the picture taken by the Wiimote conveys
where the Wiimote is, which it then sends back the Wii via Bluetooth. The
accelerometer and other data are also sent to the Wii via Bluetooth. No information is
actually sent to the sensor bar!
3. Shawn Cornally is not affiliated or being paid by Nintendo, but he wouldnt mind it. Id
look great in blue overalls, or perhaps a green tunic
Five Quick Links: Physics Teaching Blogs
Three Incorrect Laws of Motion
Veritasium, an element of truth
http://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/three-incorrect-laws-of-motion.html
Goal-less Problems
Physics! Blog!by Kelly OShea
http://kellyoshea.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/goal-less-problems/
Chains of Reasoning: Sand and Standing Waves
Newtons Minions
http://tatnallsbg.blogspot.com/2011/03/chains-of-reasoning-sand-and-sw.html
Scientific Habits of Mind
Physics&Parsimony, about physics and teaching by Mark Hammond
http://physicsparsimony.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/scientific-habits-of-mind/
The $2 Interactive Whiteboard
Action-Reactionby Frank Noschese
http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/the-2-interactive-whiteboard/
http://onakasuita.org/wii/index-e.htmlhttp://onakasuita.org/wii/index-e.htmlhttp://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/three-incorrect-laws-of-motion.htmlhttp://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/three-incorrect-laws-of-motion.htmlhttp://kellyoshea.wordpress.com/http://kellyoshea.wordpress.com/http://kellyoshea.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/goal-less-problems/http://kellyoshea.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/goal-less-problems/http://tatnallsbg.blogspot.com/http://tatnallsbg.blogspot.com/http://tatnallsbg.blogspot.com/2011/03/chains-of-reasoning-sand-and-sw.htmlhttp://tatnallsbg.blogspot.com/2011/03/chains-of-reasoning-sand-and-sw.htmlhttp://physicsparsimony.wordpress.com/http://physicsparsimony.wordpress.com/http://physicsparsimony.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/scientific-habits-of-mind/http://physicsparsimony.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/scientific-habits-of-mind/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/the-2-interactive-whiteboard/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/the-2-interactive-whiteboard/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/the-2-interactive-whiteboard/http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/http://physicsparsimony.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/scientific-habits-of-mind/http://physicsparsimony.wordpress.com/http://tatnallsbg.blogspot.com/2011/03/chains-of-reasoning-sand-and-sw.htmlhttp://tatnallsbg.blogspot.com/http://kellyoshea.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/goal-less-problems/http://kellyoshea.wordpress.com/http://www.veritasium.com/2011/03/three-incorrect-laws-of-motion.htmlhttp://onakasuita.org/wii/index-e.html -
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New atvip.vast.org
Nano Technology resources and lesson plans Reasonable Speeds PPT HomoPolar Motor Welding Nails Candle -Nature of Science Activity
Opportunities for Physics Teachers
VAST Mini-Grant
Need funding for an innovative curriculum activity? VAST's minigrant application for
funding is due June 1. The application is short and can be found here:
http://www.vast.org/index.cfm/go/forms.minigrant
Professional Development
Matter and Interactions Distance Education Course
http://www.matterandinteractions.org/Content/HSteachers/teachers.html
Modeling Instruction in High School Physics Workshopshttp://modeling.asu.edu/MW_nation.html
NSTA
Urban Science Education Leadership (USEL) Academy 2011
http://www.nsta.org/conferences/2011/uselacademy.aspx?lid=con
National Conference: Indianapolis
http://www.nsta.org/conferences/2012ind/?lid=con
"Science of Nuclear Energy & Radiation" 2011 4-DAY Science Teacher Workshop,
http://local.ans.org/virginia/public_education.html
Math Science Innovation Center Summer Conference, June 22-24, 2011
http://www.msinnovation.info/tea/pg_conferences.htm
http://vip.vast.org/http://vip.vast.org/http://vip.vast.org/http://vip.vast.org/NanoResources/default.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/NanoResources/default.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2010/Resonable_Speeds/default.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2010/Resonable_Speeds/default.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2009/homopolarmotor/index.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2009/homopolarmotor/index.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2010/welding_nails/index.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2010/welding_nails/index.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2009/nos/default2.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2009/nos/default2.htmlhttp://www.vast.org/index.cfm/go/forms.minigranthttp://www.vast.org/index.cfm/go/forms.minigranthttp://www.matterandinteractions.org/Content/HSteachers/teachers.htmlhttp://www.matterandinteractions.org/Content/HSteachers/teachers.htmlhttp://modeling.asu.edu/MW_nation.htmlhttp://modeling.asu.edu/MW_nation.htmlhttp://www.nsta.org/conferences/2011/uselacademy.aspx?lid=conhttp://www.nsta.org/conferences/2011/uselacademy.aspx?lid=conhttp://www.nsta.org/conferences/2012ind/?lid=conhttp://www.nsta.org/conferences/2012ind/?lid=conhttp://local.ans.org/virginia/public_education.htmlhttp://local.ans.org/virginia/public_education.htmlhttp://www.msinnovation.info/tea/pg_conferences.htmhttp://www.msinnovation.info/tea/pg_conferences.htmhttp://www.msinnovation.info/tea/pg_conferences.htmhttp://local.ans.org/virginia/public_education.htmlhttp://www.nsta.org/conferences/2012ind/?lid=conhttp://www.nsta.org/conferences/2011/uselacademy.aspx?lid=conhttp://modeling.asu.edu/MW_nation.htmlhttp://www.matterandinteractions.org/Content/HSteachers/teachers.htmlhttp://www.vast.org/index.cfm/go/forms.minigranthttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2009/nos/default2.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2010/welding_nails/index.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2009/homopolarmotor/index.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/VAST2010/Resonable_Speeds/default.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/NanoResources/default.htmlhttp://vip.vast.org/ -
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"Promoting Active Learning in Introductory Courses with Research-Based Curricula
and Tools
Chautauqua Course 2011, June 11-13, 2011 Dickinson College Carlisle, Pennsylvania
http://uoregon.edu/~sokoloff/chaut1.htm
UVA Professional Development Opportunities in Physics Educationhttp://k12.phys.virginia.edu/home.html
Virginia Association of Science Teachers Profession Development Institute (VAST-PDI)
The New Face of Science Education
November 17 - 19, 2011at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center
http://www.vast.org/index.cfm/go/content.dspcontent/Page_Name/2011-PDI.html
Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars Teacher Institute,
August 14th
-19th
, 2011 at NASA Langley Research Center, in Hampton, Virginia.
http://www.vasts.spacegrant.org/institute
AAPT Summer Meeting http://www.aapt.org/Conferences/sm2011/
Professional Organizations
Virginia Association of Science Teachers(VAST)
American Association of Physics Teachers(AAPT)
American Modeling Teachers Association
(AMTA)
http://www.modelingteachers.org/
National Science Teachers Association
(NSTA)
http://uoregon.edu/~sokoloff/chaut1.htmhttp://uoregon.edu/~sokoloff/chaut1.htmhttp://k12.phys.virginia.edu/home.htmlhttp://k12.phys.virginia.edu/home.htmlhttp://www.vast.org/index.cfm/go/content.dspcontent/Page_Name/2011-PDI.htmlhttp://www.vast.org/index.cfm/go/content.dspcontent/Page_Name/2011-PDI.htmlhttp://www.vasts.spacegrant.org/institutehttp://www.vasts.spacegrant.org/institutehttp://www.aapt.org/Conferences/sm2011/http://www.aapt.org/Conferences/sm2011/http://www.nsta.org/http://www.aapt.org/http://www.vast.org/http://www.aapt.org/Conferences/sm2011/http://www.vasts.spacegrant.org/institutehttp://www.vast.org/index.cfm/go/content.dspcontent/Page_Name/2011-PDI.htmlhttp://k12.phys.virginia.edu/home.htmlhttp://uoregon.edu/~sokoloff/chaut1.htm -
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Do you blog? Are you on Facebook, LinkedIn, or PD360?
Send us your blog url and well add it to our list of recommended links. There are some
really great teaching ideas out there.
VIP on LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2992762&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
VIP on PD360
http://www.pd360.com/pd360.cfm?showwall=284216#tab=groups&page=groupsBrows
e
VIP on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/groups/edit.php?gid=123151287705275#!/group.php?gid=1
23151287705275
If you have any physics-related news, please post it to the yahoogroup
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/va-inst-phys/) or send it to us directly.
Contact Info
Email:[email protected]
Twitter: coolyrd
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2992762&trk=myg_ugrp_ovrhttp://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2992762&trk=myg_ugrp_ovrhttp://www.pd360.com/pd360.cfm?showwall=284216#tab=groups&page=groupsBrowsehttp://www.pd360.com/pd360.cfm?showwall=284216#tab=groups&page=groupsBrowsehttp://www.pd360.com/pd360.cfm?showwall=284216#tab=groups&page=groupsBrowsehttp://www.facebook.com/groups/edit.php?gid=123151287705275#!/group.php?gid=123151287705275http://www.facebook.com/groups/edit.php?gid=123151287705275#!/group.php?gid=123151287705275http://www.facebook.com/groups/edit.php?gid=123151287705275#!/group.php?gid=123151287705275http://groups.yahoo.com/group/va-inst-phys/http://groups.yahoo.com/group/va-inst-phys/http://groups.yahoo.com/group/va-inst-phys/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://groups.yahoo.com/group/va-inst-phys/http://www.facebook.com/groups/edit.php?gid=123151287705275#!/group.php?gid=123151287705275http://www.facebook.com/groups/edit.php?gid=123151287705275#!/group.php?gid=123151287705275http://www.pd360.com/pd360.cfm?showwall=284216#tab=groups&page=groupsBrowsehttp://www.pd360.com/pd360.cfm?showwall=284216#tab=groups&page=groupsBrowsehttp://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2992762&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr -
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Support
This newsletter and our spring meeting are graciously hosted by the Physics Department
of the University of Virginia. The Make N Take session is funded by the Virginia
Association of Science Teachers (VAST) of whom we are an affiliate and Jefferson
National Laboratory. Spring meeting door prizes generously donated by Vernier, CPO,
Sargent-Welch, Frey, Arbor Scientific.
Thank you for all you do to promote physics education in Virginia and beyond!
http://www.arborsci.com/http://education.jlab.org/http://www.freyscientific.com/http://www.cposcience.com/home/Home/tabid/119/Default.aspxhttp://sargentwelch.com/physics/c/4758/http://www.vernier.com/http://www.vast.org/http://www.phys.virginia.edu/