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