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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Session E-1: Labs For Waves, Sound, And Optics, Brooke Schmidt
Session E-1: Labs For Waves, Sound, And Optics, Brooke Schmidt
Professional Learning Day
I've been reworking our labs for waves, sound, and light this semester and I would like to share my work with you. These are a mix of both derivation and application experiments. I will also give suggestions for modifications for the middle school level.
Session A-1: Teaching Fields In Introductory Physics, Peter Dong
Session A-1: Teaching Fields In Introductory Physics, Peter Dong
Professional Learning Day
The concept of a field is integral to all areas of contemporary physics - perhaps as fundamental a concept as energy. Fields are mentioned in several NGSS standards and essential to understand physics at an advanced level. However, fields are not difficult and can be taught in an introductory course with minimal math. Students who understand the basic concept early should have less difficulty understanding electric and magnetic fields in later classes. I will discuss our implementation of a fields unit in our introductory physics course and give examples of simple labs and exercises to help students understand this basic …
Session D-4: Particle Physics, Peter Dong
Session D-4: Particle Physics, Peter Dong
Professional Learning Day
Particle physics is generally seen as far too difficult, too abstract and mathematical, to teach at the high school level — which is a pity, since particle physics is most likely to get students interested in the subject (witness the response to the discovery of the Higgs boson). However, the day-to-day work of experimental particle physicists is remarkably understandable, even for high school students willing to do a little work. We will examine assignments given at IMSA in this vein, including a class-wide analysis that simulated the search for a super symmetric Higgs boson, and discuss how they worked. Attendees …
Session D-4: Teaching Quantum Mechanics, Peter Dong
Session D-4: Teaching Quantum Mechanics, Peter Dong
Professional Learning Day
Quantum mechanics is a part of modern life, playing a major role in chemistry, computing, nanotechnology, cryptography, and even biology. Many students are fascinated by the principles of quantum mechanics - and wave-particle duality is now in the Next Generation Science Standards. This course will present a basic introduction to quantum mechanics, accessible to middle or high school students, that will give students a taste of how strange and wonderful the universe really is (while also meeting the new standard). Teachers will be given slides and materials so they can teach the lesson themselves.
Session E-4: What's Up With The Higgs Boson? Teaching Particle Physics In High School, Peter Dong
Session E-4: What's Up With The Higgs Boson? Teaching Particle Physics In High School, Peter Dong
Professional Learning Day
Best-selling books, popular PBS specials, and multi-billion-dollar machines all attest to the fascination with particle physics - including many teenagers. Physics and physical science classes can capitalize on this interest by talking about high-profile results, such as last summer's Higgs Boson Discovery. This session will answer some basic questions about contemporary particle physics and suggest some ideas for lessons and projects in particle physics.
Session E-1: Self-Paced Proficiency Based Physics – Updates And Extensions, Brooke Schmidt, Eric Hawker
Session E-1: Self-Paced Proficiency Based Physics – Updates And Extensions, Brooke Schmidt, Eric Hawker
Professional Learning Day
This presentation will cover how a typical introductory physics course has been transformed into one that is self-paced and proficiency graded. The changes were made so that each student would be challenged at his/her level and therefore be more engaged in the course. This structure allows the teacher to individualize instruction of the students. The presentation will also cover adjustments that were made to this model based on student feedback and experiences. The model used to make this course self-paced and proficiency graded should be transferable to other courses.
Session D-6: Teaching Modern Physics, Peter Dong
Session D-6: Teaching Modern Physics, Peter Dong
Professional Learning Day
Modern physics is an excellent way to get students interested in physics – the “weirdness” of relativity and quantum mechanics captures the imagination. This presentation discusses how to teach the subject in a way that encourages this interest. This year’s session will focus on teaching quantum mechanics in a way that is interesting to students and avoids common misconceptions.