Michell+Frederiksen

//__**Monday 7/26/10 **__//

Today's activities were very interesting to see in action. I have had my students perform a very similar pendulum lab but as much more of a cookie cutter approach. It was very interesting to see the difference and I can imagine how much more my students will gain from an open ended format. For one, I know they will be much more invested in the outcome, especially when they are responsible for the class discussion at the end. I am excited to see the more open ended lab activity in action so I can begin implementing this next year.

I agree with Ashley in that this helps clarify my plans for the introductory topic. I had not ever thought of starting the first day with a lab activity. The first two days on our campus is typically very much the same for all the students in every class...setting expectations and issuing textbooks. I especially like the assignment regarding the three questions about science and the real world.

My biggest issue in my classes is the lack of time. This concerns me regarding the use of this type of methodology. I can see in the long run it can save time if they really retain more information - time gained during review prior to AP test... Another challenge is in student comfort level in understanding and placing importance in the process as opposed to just the "right answer". I have been frustrated since I began teaching with the focus on the right answer rather than in the process to get there. My students are so afraid to get the answer wrong they rarely spend time analyzing the significance of getting there. I believe working through this lab process will definitely help them in applying the same reasoning in problem solving.

Reading: Aaron's Ch 1: This chapter totally supported our activities and especially the emphasis on student wording. Many times I believe (incorrectly) if I hear a student say something, they understand what they have said. I also have heard the mathematical definition. I like the term "operational definition" to require the student to really think about what it means to them, not just how they would calculate the answer or plug it into a formula.

Force Concept Inventory:

__**Tuesday 7/27/10**__ I was not in class today, as my children were leaving for church camp for the remainder of the week. However, I did review the constant velocity materials on the workshop DVD. I can definitely see where this method allows students to have a much stronger connection between the actual motion and the graph of motion. This would definitely help my students understand the formula much better since most have a firm understanding of "y = mx+b". I also reviewed the Schober information on this unit. I like the additional lab report he included. This provides a concrete example of what type of lab report to expect from the students even when all the data has already been discussed.

__Reading:__ __Guest Comment: How we teach and how students learn - a mismatch?__ This reading is a close parallel with the current buzz on my campus - WOW, by Schlecty (Working on the Work). They both relate back to the point that students need relevant, meaningful experiences to truly learn information. This concept is not new, only being applied at a higher level. My children attended Montessori elementary school (through 3rd and 1st grades). Montessori, which has been around for many, many years, follows a very similar pattern. Allowing children to work with materials in a hand's on fashion allowing them to actually internalize and "prove" to themselves what they are told or what they have read. Many of the points the author makes I have experienced in my own classroom. Often students can manipulate the formulas quite easily but not truly understand what it means. On many occasions I have heard students having that proverbial "light bulb" moment regarding the formluas fitting with experience. It always amuses me at the student's excitement over this revelation. This true excitement proves to me their desire to understand but not quite getting there in many cases.

I completly agree with the brain-based education and the modeling approach. This article lists many examples specific to Physics although I believe this is applicable to most content areas. It would be nice if the legislators who dictate the knowledge required from the High School Physics class would understand how much more valuable it would be for the students to learn a smaller volume of information and allow the time to fully concentrate on a few main concepts and the higher level thinking required for truly understanding the Scientific Method involved in experimentation. I remind myself this discomfort I am currently feeling is how I will grow as a teacher, not unlike the discomfort we require the student to experience as they address their own misconceptions.

__**Monday 8/2/10**__ Today we continued our discussion of slopes of our graphs of force due to gravity and the mass. Ultimately we came to the conclusion there is approximately a constant slope for all the graphs of 9.8 m/s^2. Determined this to be significant, called it "gravitational field strength" (in lieu of acceleration due to gravity - confusion when discussing things that are not accelerating); determined this created an action at a distance - interaction without touching; exudes through space.

We then moved to the challenges we face as teachers implementing this process especially when we are so late into the summer. Debated pros and cons to employing pieces either literally some components not others, also discussed fully implementing the model with some units, not others. Jim Bono - 6 Thinking Hats...

At that point we further clarified the "Balanced Interaction Model"

We ended the day working on friction force lab. Introduced coefficient of friction

I feel this is a significant article describing the importance of allowing students to build the knowledge themselves rather than having teachers tell them. This transfers the role of the teacher significantly. Allowing the student to build the knowledge themselves allows them to have a more solid understanding of both the scientific process AND the Physics concepts we are trying to impart. In my opinion the most significant statement in the paper is "Modeling Instruction produces students who engage intelligently in public discourse and debate about matters of scientific and technical concern." This method may provide a stronger understanding of the Physics concepts, however along the way the students are becoming better at synthesizing their thought processes and being able to articulate them to others. They are also being required to develop stronger problem solving skills, something lacking in many students graduating from college at this time.
 * Reading:**
 * Handout - What is Modeling??**

__**Tuesday 8/3/10**__ We started the day discussing the reading assignments. We then moved into a demonstration followed by our own lab involving a mass (Fred), cart, string and pulley. We are looking at the acceleration of the objects along the track. We used this information to determine a new model for unbalanced forces.

At the end of the day we did a nice summary of the models developed to date. This summary tied the constant velocity and the balanced forces models together and the constant acceleration and the constant unbalanced forces models together We also reviewed the significant definitions we have encountered so far. This summary was great - I needed a review!!

It was very enlightening today to see how difficult relatively simple tasks became in the late afternoon (motion maps should not be that difficult??) I believe my brain was on overload!! This was enlightening to see because I know many of my students feel the same way at times either due to the pace in my class or the fact that physics is late in the day on their schedule. Even with my brain so full, I am interested in seeing as much of the model as possible. In my opinion, if I can at least see it, even if it does not sink in at this time, later with reflection it will become a bit more clear. Ultimately the only thing that will clarify the process is diligence on my part and practice,