Sonnets vs Haikus

Physics solutions are sonnets, not haiku.

Sonnets are 14 line poems that follow a defined rhyming scheme.
Haiku are simple 3 line poems consisting of phrases, may not rhyme and are open to various interpretations.

I made this statement last week in an effort to conceptualize how some students are able to fully work a multiple step physics problem and some are not.  The successful students follows an algebraic sequence down the page.  The confused students writes disconnected equations and definitions that do not flow logically top to bottom.  The successful students' work is detailed, complete and organized.  The confused students' work is more akin to scratch calculation that do not fit together.

I'm hoping this analogy gives my students a framework to create their solutions around and a path to better navigate the water of physic problems.

Work Energy Methodology

Work Energy Methodology

1.   Define the System and the Energy States.

2.   Is a NON-CONSERVATIVE FORCE doing any work?

3.   If YES use WORK-ENERGY THEOREM

a.    Write the Work-Energy Theorem out completely.

b.   Look for any changes in energies that are zero and cross them out

c.    Expand the Work and Energy Terms

d.   Put in known values

e.    Solve using your calculator

4.   If NO use Conservation of Energy

a.    Write the Conservation of Energy Equation completely with an energy term for each object in the system

b.   Look for any Energies that are Zero and cross them out.

c.    Expand the Energy Terms

d.   Put in known values

e.    Solve using your calculator

5.   Don’t forget simple ideas .   Work changes Energy.  Energy is the ability to do work.

Three Questions

Friday before Fall break I asked my classes three questions:

What should I stop doing?

What should I keep doing?

What should I start doing?

First time I have surveyed any of my classes on their opinion of my teaching other than at the end of the year.  I got some good feedback to reflect on. 

Most requested "stop" - Answering questions with a question.  They take being questioned as showing that they don't know and makes them feel "stupid" and intimidated.  Fair enough.  I need to remember the maxim that it is achievement that builds motivation and not the other way around.  I'll work to build more of a solid foundation they can stand on before firing arrows at them.

Most requested "keep" - Red Ink Quizzes.  These are formative assessments where student self access in red ink and get the feedback on strategies and mistakes in problem solving.  I give credit for the work they do and for the feedback they mark on the page.

Most requested "start" - More Problems.  I feel this is from the AP Physics classes.  They want to gain more confidence they'll be ready for the AP test.  So I'll schedule less labs and more strategy sessions.

Credit to the students that out of 120 responses I received only a handful of silly answers (mostly give out more candy).
 

Simple Physics

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” - Steve Jobs

It is easy for the students to be overwhelmed by the new concepts they encounter in their first Physics course.  Often the principles run counter to what seems intuitive in real life.  For example, friction exists in all motion, so it is logical to assume that a force is always required to produce motion and in the face of such thinking the students miss Newton's First Law of Motion.   

One of my goals for the Physics class is to break down the objectives into "Simple Ideas" - basic principles that the student can turn to and begin their thinking and then create a solution to the particular problem at hand.  But as I tell them simple does not mean easy.  Calculus is simple:  How do you describe change and what is the effect of change.  Calculus is not easy but Calculus allowed us to send human beings to the moon and back.   The actual astronauts' flight path has less turns than the students drive to school every day.  Simple.

I am not building recipes to use for the problems.  The formulas will be on the reference sheet.  I explain the formulas.  We discuss under what conditions the formulas are applicable.  At that point the student should take a deep breath, and dive into the problem and start swimming.  Even if you can't see the finish line, only by moving will you get there.

Art Scrivener

AP Physics 1 Text

An update to last week's post:  I have located a pdf version of the College Physics text.  The text can be accessed here: AP Physics 1 Text

Art Scrivener

Why isn't my child bringing home a textbook?

Why isn't my child bringing home a textbook?

This question was asked at last week's Parent-Teacher Conferences.  The short answer is that I have more students for Physics and for AP Physics 1 than there are Physics texts at Collins HS.  The longer answer is that with the strategic initiative and students getting Macbook Air's next year, I'm working to come up with a digital solution.

I do not have an e-text version of the AP Physics 1 textbook.  But I do have PowerPoint presentations that go with each chapter.  I can put them into a shareable folder and students can download them there.

For regular Physics I do have a PDF version of the text.  Again I will put that into a shareable folder.

Shared Google Drive Folder:   MLCHS Physics Shared

I'm hoping this fills a gap for students looking for a reference.

Art Scrivener

Why take Physics?

Why take Physics?

Last week I asked the students what they wanted to learn in my class.  The overwhelming response was "I want to learn what is needed to pass the class".  This tells me I have some coaching to do.  I was hoping to find responses like "how a diesel engine works" or "what is dark matter" or "how does my smart phone know where I am".  I want them to look beyond the grade in Infinite Campus.  I seek to rekindle that curiosity they had as children when the took apart things to look in side; to find joy in discovery that you can predict how an object will behave and then run the test and find that you were correct.

What I want our students to learn is the Science and Engineering practices:

1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
   
2. Developing and using models
   
3. Planning and carrying out investigations
   
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
   
5. Using mathematics, information and computer technology, and computational thinking
   
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
   
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
   
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information 
   
   Through practices the students will come to understand the nature of science and the science of nature.