Inquiry low down
This year’s inquiry is going pretty well for a couple of reasons: (1) I have an undergraduate teaching assistant in the class who took the class last semester. Having her in the room really helps. I...
View ArticleTeaching by Telling: A Student Perspective
A student in my class writes in a reflection: I often feel like if a teachers tells me something and I am confused, they are frustrated. Feeling like a teacher is frustrated with me makes me want to...
View ArticleAmbitious Teaching: Perspective from Two Pre-service Teachers
Reflection: “Science is a subject that can be taught through everyday life and interesting situations…The first and most important step to teaching science well is to let students experiment. As...
View ArticleTrying to Get Better at Feedback
This semester, I’m committed to improving the feedback I give to students. Specifically, I’m trying to focus on the following: Revoicing (stating back to students what I see them as saying) Summing up...
View ArticleFeedback in Physics
As usual, I ask students for feedback after they have taken the first test, but before they have gotten it back. Below is what they have to say. Lots of interesting themes. I have to say that the...
View ArticlePhysics: Day One and Two
Day One: Learn everyone’s name… Marshmallow Challenge (Intro rules, ask if any clarification, 18 minutes, circulate, measure, kudos to winner) Small Group’s discuss and whiteboard what contributed to...
View ArticlePost-Tenure Dream Class
Get the following kinds of people together: cognitive scientists, painters, computer scientists, tattoo artists, physicists, photographers, biologists, textile manufacturers, psychologists, etc. Teach...
View ArticleThinking in School? Who knew?
The undergraduate TA in my physics course is, I think, coming along quite well. Yesterday, the TA said something like, “This class, the way you are teaching it, is a lot harder than when I took it… I...
View ArticleSkillsets for Working in Small Groups
One of the skill set I am realizing that many of the future physics teacher here lack is how to productively work with others on challenging physics tasks. I have been trying to be more explicit about...
View ArticleTheories of Color
Theory #1 (Light absorbs color from surfaces, and then some bounces off): Light from the sun is, for the most part, colorless until it comes upon a surface with color. The sun light that hits the...
View Article