Hey guys, bring a pencil and a whiteboard next door. I want to show you something cool. [Wave them over to the lab. At the front table, there are two tracks set up to make one long track (half of which is a ramp). Two carts and some extra masses (blocks) are at the ready.]… Read More Building the Momentum Transfer Model
Hey guys, I want to show you something cool. Bring your new packet and a pencil and come next door. Make sure the stools are out of the way or someone’s going to get themselves killed in this experiment. Stand on the other side of the table. Don’t stand at the end there; you’re going… Read More Building the Unbalanced Force Particle Model
Hey guys, I want to show you something cool. [As they came in, you discussed the uber-important catching the cart with the student sitting near the end of the ramp.] Whoa, that was pretty cool, huh? Want to see it again? Of course you do. [Let the cart go down the ramp again.] Cool. Okay, so… Read More Building the Constant Acceleration Model
Hey guys! [Turn on hover disc. Wait a moment. Turn it off.] Something new! Let’s look at it! I want to show you something cool. Let’s all sit on the floor right here. [Get everyone sitting in a circle in the middle of the room on the tile floor. Turn the hover disc back on.… Read More Building the Balanced Force Particle Model
Today was my first day of whiteboarding with one of my Honors Physics classes. My plan was to use The Mistake Game from the very beginning this year. I suspected it would help set the tone of normalizing mistakes and make students more comfortable. Brief interlude about the general structure of whiteboarding in my class.… Read More Whiteboarding with Mistakes
EDIT: For the latest version of my objectives (including the ones for my regular classes), see the 2013 school year post, Physics Objectives 2013. — Here are my updated objectives for the year. For information on how I use them, read about conjunctive standards-based grading or check out my SBG cheat sheet. I limited myself to 5… Read More Honors Physics 2012 Objectives
John challenged us to share our course syllabi. Here is my latest (possibly final?) draft for this year. I would call this more of a course reference sheet than a syllabus since it doesn’t talk about what we’re going to learn. It’s more about how we’re going to learn it. My document’s genealogy goes back… Read More Honors Physics Course Information Handout
So, you’ve decided to take Honors Physics. I’m so excited for you! You probably already know that it’s going to be challenging, and you might be a little nervous since you don’t know what to expect yet. What should you know before you get there? You should know that you learn by making mistakes. You… Read More What should I know going into Honors Physics?
My Honors Physics exam is a Big Deal. Most of my students do their best work of the semester, and the test itself is the most difficult they’ve seen. It is their final opportunity to demonstrate mastery, depth of understanding, and creative thinking. The final preparation for this test is therefore very important. For the… Read More Physics Exam Review: Recitation Problems
I want to do a better job of teaching my students how to practice physics. When I tell them which skills need work (see the SBG tag for more details), I want them to have some ideas about what it looks like to practice those skills. We say practice, not study: practice definitely means there’s… Read More How to Practice Physics (By Really Trying)
Physics! Blog! 