Physix Curriculum Map a la Mr. Le Nadj!

Students love Modern Physics topics. Unfortunately, most introductory Physics courses eschew Special Theory of Relativity (STR), General Theory of Relativity (GTR), and Quantum Mechanics (QM) because of their perceived difficulty.

For the past four years, I have been introducing more and more of STR early on in the year/semester. But, this year I used STR as a means of introducing classical Physics concepts such as kinetic energy. The mind map below summarizes the gist of this approach. It is important to mention that the Modeling Approach serves as the backbone and the glue that holds this teaching method together. Thus, the use of many abbreviations that only modelers would know.

Physix a la Mr. Le Nadj! Curriculum Map

In future posts, I shall address each of the branches. I shall also give samples of presentations material, examples of students reactions/reflections, and typical artifacts that assist in making the case for such a pedagogical approach.

Please, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments area so that readers like you would benefit from them personally or their students indirectly. Thank you

Dedicated to the memory of my beloved father (RA).

Initial Forays Into the World of Modeling in Physics Instruction

Introduction: I was fortunate to be accepted to participate in the Modeling Workshop that was conducted by the North Central region of Michigan via COOR ISD this summer. 

Goal: Since I was teaching a summer course at the same time that the workshop has been conducted, I thought I would put some of what I have learned to the test immediately to gain more hands-on experience with the modeling approach to instructing Physix before the following academic year begins.

Philosophy: I think one's success with new approaches to instruction would have higher chances of success if one allows the new methods (Modeling approach in my case) to seamlessly blend with her/his way of doing things. In other words, one has to own her/his Modeling way.

The Nadj! Approach Constant Velocity Particle Model: 

1) I like starting my Physix units by having students analyze art pieces and extract preliminary Physix concepts out of them. In this case, the students were shown a visual art piece (see image below) & a video that shows the Berlin philharmonic under the directorship of maestro Herbert Von Karajan conducting playing the last movement of Beethoven's 9th symphony. Students were to compare & contrast the two art pieces Physix-wise, a class discussion ensued, and the idea of motion and movement emerged naturally from the experience.

2) Couple of Clickerims were given to prep the students for the Constant Velocity Particle Model lab.

3) Following is a sequence of pictures that shows some aspects of the modeling process.

Task Board that explains to students what their respective boards must contain.

One of the group's set up for the CVPM lab (notice the little tabs for time calls.)

   

Student sets her iPhone to videotape the motion of her group's buggy.

CVPM lab run of one of the groups.

Boards set for whiteboarding sessions! :-)

4) The students' engagement, the ideas they had to generate, the details they had to wrestle with, the whiteboarding session that ensued, and the levee of understanding reached were all a marvel thing to witness.

This is just a snapshot of what had transpired this summer and hopefully more Coolisms will emerge as I become more familiar with the method and the wonderful outcomes it seems to readily yield.

Thank you for reading this blog post and I encourage you to comment about similar experiences you had, suggestions you may offer, or pedagogical ideas this may have triggered in your mind. Please, commit your thoughts to the comments area. 

Model away, Model all the way! :-)    

Physix in Images 2013-2014

First: I apologize for the lack of activity in my blog.

Second: There were precious moments in Physics (3 sections) & Astronomy (new section) and I thought instead of blabbering about them I should just let some pictures convey the extent of the fun as well as learning.

The Smiles of Pride! :-)

Tip of the Hat to Sir Isaac Newton!

When Physix meets Art; only Coolism ensues! :-)
A Cool Student PhysArt Project

Nothing beats the connectedness between Physix concepts!
Mechanical Systems (spring/mass) in Series/Parallel to contrast with Electrical Systems In Series/Parallel

Students love it when Experts present their work!
Dr. Brian McNamara discusses his work on Supermassive Black Holes & Exploding Galaxies!

Star Gazing Extravaganza wraps up a Cool First Year of Astronomy, look at the wide smiles! :-)

Optics meets Art! Backyard of our classroom with the Physix room acting as a Camera Obscura!

iPad used to generate Motion Diagrams. How cool is that?

Physix of Motion meets Art! iPad used to generate the corresponding Motion Diagram.

Testing Hypotheses about Combinations of Human Electric Generators (Take I)

Testing Hypotheses about Combinations of Human Electric Generators (Take II)

Taking the concept of Combinations of Human Electric Generators to its Ultimate Finale!

Students getting close & personal with Optics, Lens Equation Lab!

Physix meets Art, slide from a student's project presentation!

Physix meets Art (refer to previous image!)

Astronomy Lab on Plasma & Light Spectra, Sweet! :-)

Astronomy class experiencing Motion Diagrams (look closely to see the blue dots!)

Third: I hope the above excite you to share your own cool images from last year of Physics or Astronomy.

Thank you for taking the time to view/read the post and I hope you would be kind to leave some comments.

Thank you and take great care! :-)

Cool Physix & Astronomy Apps to Consider

I thought starting the academic semester/year with a bunch of Physix Apps and strategies for acquiring them might be the best gift I give my fellow Physix teachers and instructors the world over.

So, within this PDF file I listed all the Apps I currently own, which I hope you can acquire as many of them as possible to make your educational experience with your students a richer experience at least as far as mobile devices technology is concerned.

Please, keep in mind that most of the apps were free when I first got them but some either were removed from the App store or a price was added to them.

Mr. Le Nadj! suggestions regarding app acquirement:

1) Check the app store every two weeks or so and search for new apps dealing with specific topics you are interested in.

2) Sift through the junk by setting the search criteria to be Free & the display to be based on Ratings so that you get the free apps that got the best ratings.

3) Download the chosen app(s) even if you may not think you would need it right away because they may either disappear or become pricy. You still can delete them if need be.

Happy Educational App Year! :-)

iDevice Physix App of the Month

In my article "iPad & weightlessness" in Volume 50, Issue 5, May 2012 I mentioned that I used the free app AccelGraph to take the acceleration measurements. Unfortunately, that cool app (which I still have and enjoy) has since been removed from the App Store for unstated reasons.

So, here is an alternate app that should do the job equally well and it is my choice for the Physix App of the Month.

a-logger

My students and I used this app on numerous occasions with iPhones and iPad and it operated quite well each time. One of its strongest features is the ability to set it to do delayed recordings that start any time in the future. In an upcoming blog (ISA) I will share examples of how my students and I used the app to extend and deepen our understanding of motion and its properties.

If you have used another app that accomplishes the same tasks, share its name and how you and your students used it to further your investigation of the Physix of motion. Thank you