Physics Alive

Reimagining: Final Exam Week

During final exam week, student activities groups across the nation provide experiences that will help reduce student stress. But in this episode, the spotlight is pointed at the high stakes, cumulative exams themselves, and the flurry of late semester assignments that generate these stress loads. Let’s reimagine final exam week. Are traditional final exams really a meaningful and appropriate way to end the academic year or can we create a finale that sends students off in grand style? Let’s consider some alternatives and why we might want to try something new.

 

Articles and web links from the episode:

 

Sleep and Final exam performance

• To Study or to Sleep: How Seeing the Effect of Sleep Deprivation Changed Students’ Choices

 

Two-stage exams

• Physics Exams that Promote Collaborative Learning

 

Kelly O’Shea’s Collaborative Lab Practicum

 

Epic Finales

• Should Colleges Rethink Final Exams in the COVID Era? Some Profs Try 'Epic Finales'
• Final Exams or Epic Finales
• Experiential Education on the Edge: SETI Activities for the College Classroom

 

Karinda Barrett’s Concept Mapping finale

 

General alternatives to traditional testing

• Berkley Center for Teaching and Learning
• And many others!

Math Shame and Anxiety

In this episode, I explore the shame and anxiety brought on by math. I think this is widespread experience, from those individuals who struggle to understand “simple” mathematics to those who struggle to understand “complex” mathematics. Sometimes, shame can be motivating, but largely I think it is debilitating. The shame message is unconsciously passed on by media, peers, and even faculty.  In the world of education, we can reframe our responses to students' challenges with math, recognize and acknowledge the pervasiveness of shame and anxiety, and help construct healthy mindsets and confidence.  We can begin to undo generations of math shaming.

 

Articles and resources mentioned in the episode:

• "Americans Need to Get Over Their Fear of Math" by Sian Beilock
• "The Myth Fueling Math Anxiety" by Sarah Sparks
• Liberation Math, website by Angela Vierling-Claassen

1.  

Biological Physics, Scale-Up and Modeling with Dawn Meredith

Dawn Meredith, Professor of Physics at the University of New Hampshire, has been an integral member of the Physics Education Research community since the late 1990’s and she has been a principal investigator on 8 PER grants. In this honest and down to earth conversation, we discuss not only the ideas and methods that have worked well, but also what hasn’t worked and why. There is just as much for the education community to learn from crash landings as from the soaring successes. But don’t worry; Dawn has a lot of successes to share as well! So settle in as we take a tour through important books, Scale-Up, Modeling physics, rounding cows, the mingling of biologists and physicists, and we discover why trees can get so tall.

Today's Guest: Dawn Meredith

Learn more about Dawn Meredith and her work:

• Dawn’s UNH Website

Episode Notes and Resources

Articles mentioned in the episode:

• Rounding off the cow: Challenges and successes in an interdisciplinary physics course for life science students
• Reinventing Physics for Life Science Majors

Find Dawn’s resources on counter-current exchange, the flow of sap, and other materials at:

• The Living Physics Portal

 

Interactive Video and Pivot with Peter Bohacek

Pivot Interactives are complete learning modules for students that are available online. Many of them center on interactive video, which is a video where students can observe an event and then engage with the video by changing variables and taking measurements. These can be a great teaching tool during a regular school year, but during a global pandemic they stand out as a way to provide remote labs in a meaningful and valuable way. Today I’m speaking with Peter Bohacek, high school physics teacher and co-founder of Pivot Interactives. Learn all about how they work, the best ways to use them in the classroom, and the research that supports their efficacy.

Check out Pivot Interactives!  Made by teachers FOR teachers.

• www.pivotinteractives.com

You can also find helpful information through Vernier

• https://www.vernier.com/product/pivot-interactives/

Enjoy their 30-day free trial

• https://app.pivotinteractives.com/request-trial

Read the research education paper by Bohacek and Vonk

• Developing model-making and model-breaking skills using direct measurement video-based activities

Today's guest: Peter Bohacek

Peter Bohacek is a co-founder of Pivot Interactives. He’s been in the physics classroom since 2000 and has a love of discovering ways that technology can help students learn science. Peter began using interactive video with his own students in 2010. The results were so promising, he was compelled to further explore and expand the capability of these videos.

A Meditation for the New Semester

A short guided meditation for the new semester. A call to embody the breath and create distance between common teacher thoughts of expectations, stress, to do lists, perfectionism...and that still quiet place inside of you that already knows everything is perfectly okay and that you are free to be imperfectly you.

 

[07:20] - Go to the beginning of the meditation.

 

Please visit www.physicsalive.com for more information about the podcast.

Biomimicry in the Classroom – An intersection of physics, engineering, biology, and problem solving

“Biomimicry is a practice that learns from and mimics the strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges — and find hope along the way.” This is the introduction on the Biomimicry Institute’s website. “The goal of biomimicry,” they continue, “is to create products, processes, and policies — new ways of living — that solve our greatest design challenges sustainably and in solidarity with all life on earth.” Biomimicry is just as much physics and engineering as it is biology. Plus, it’s solving real challenges in our world while also encouraging entrepreneurship. In this episode, find out how bringing biomimicry into the classroom can bring Physics Alive.

Show notes

Examples of biomimicry discussed in this episode

• Classic biomimicry example
  – The kingfisher and the bullet train
• A newer biomimicry example
  – The mantis shrimp, Helicoid industries, and impact resistant composites
• Youth Design Challenge winner
  – The Texas Horned Lizard and the moist brick
  • See their video pitch
• Global Design Challenge finalist
  – Emulating mycorrhizal networks to increase food access to vulnerable populations 

Resources mentioned in the episode

• Youth Design Challenge - for middle and high school students
  https://youthchallenge.biomimicry.org/
• Global Design Challenge - for university students and young professionals
  https://biomimicry.org/globaldesignchallenge/
• Online database and search engine of over 1700 biological strategies
  https://asknature.org/
• Biomimicry design curriculum for high school
  https://biomimicry.org/biomimicry-and-science-hs-curriculum/
• Biomimicry toolbox
  https://toolbox.biomimicry.org/
• And many more educator resources:
  https://biomimicry.org/education/

The three essential elements of biomimicry

• It emulates something in nature
• Deep sustainability mindset
• Reconnecting to nature

Questions? Reach out to info@biomimicry.org

 

Todays's Guests

Rosanna Ayers

Rosanna directs the Youth Design Challenge and the development of resources and programs to support educator interactions with the Biomimicry Institute. As a Science Coordinator, Rosanna supported the implementation of Next Generation Science Standards in 20 school districts. She has nearly 20 years of experience as a classroom educator, a college instructor and a county office administrator for science. Rosanna holds a K-8 Teaching Credential along with a supplemental authorization for Business in Secondary education. Rosanna has a bachelor’s in International Business, a Masters in Educational Leadership and School Development and an Administrative Credential for K-12 education.

 

Michelle Graves

Michelle is responsible for maintaining, expanding, and improving the Global Design Challenge and Launchpad programs of The Biomimicry Institute. Introducing people to the natural world, helping them understand the interconnectedness of living systems, and inspiring them to value a healthy planet has been her lifelong passion. Michelle holds a bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology, and a master’s degree in marine biology.

Let's Code Physics with W. Brian Lane

Have you ever wanted to bring coding into your classroom?  Or maybe you’ve introduced some computation, but you want to move to the next level? Let’s go code some physics!  In this episode I talk with W. Brian Lane, the creator of the YouTube channel Let’s Code Physics.  We talk about his videos, the online coding platforms he recommends, and how to get started coding in the classroom.  We also talk about the workshops and exercise sets available through the PICUP community, and then branch into a different topic: replacing lab reports by asking students to write a letter home.

 

Check out the YouTube channel Let’s Code Physics. A few video series include:

 

• A Journey through Modern Physics
• VPython for Beginners
• Coding for High School Physics
• Computational Problems for Intro Physics
• Euler-Cromer for Beginners
• Tracker for Beginners

 

Online coding platforms

 

• Glowscript
• p5.js

 

PICUP – Partnership for Integration of Computation in Undergraduate Physics

• Learn more at Compadre.org/PICUP

 

Resources on the website

• Schedule of events: webinars, workshops, recordings
• Collection of peer-reviewed exercise sets
  • Ready for classroom use, with starter code and lead-in code
• PICUP Slack channel. People post on this multiple times a week with questions and answers

 

How can I build more confidence in my ability to teaching coding in physics?

• Start with an existing code. Don’t start with a blank program.
• Play with the code like it was a lab experiment. Know how “the equipment” works. 
• Think about your goals for incorporating computation in the class. What are you hoping to accomplish?
• Scaffolding process
  • You and students start by reading code. 
  • Then learn to use code.
  • Then modify code.
  • Then add code.
  • This guides you toward the end goal of being able to write code from scratch.

And now for something completely different: 

• Article: Letters home as an alternative to lab reports
  • or here

2021: Resolutions and Podcasts

In this first episode of 2021, I share a few New Year’s teaching resolutions, and I offer some education-related podcast recommendations.

 

My teaching resolutions for 2021:

1. Don’t depend on content. Do depend on what students want to learn.
2. Don’t grade unnecessarily. Do offer meaningful work.
3. Do help students learn how to learn.
4. Give more attention to the students I’ve withheld attention from in the past.

 

Education podcast recommendations

1. Teaching in Higher Ed
2. EdSurge Podcast
3. Science Modeling Talks
4. Learning about Teaching Physics
5. The Physics Teaching Podcast
6. Cult of Pedagogy
7. Lab Out LoudDead Ideas in Teaching and Learning
8. Lessons Earned

Sector Vector with James O'Brien

Board games in the classroom? Absolutely! In this episode I talk with Interim Dean and Associate Professor James O’Brien, co-founder of 4^th Law Labs, a company dedicated to making education more accessible and more enjoyable.  We discuss the games Sector Vector and Resistile, gamification of education, and an innovative collaboration that brought physics and industrial design students together.

• For full episode notes, go to physicsalive.com/vector

• See Brad play the Physics Alive theme on his handpan
• Or watch the unboxing of Sector Vector

 

Episode Notes and Resources

 

4thlawlabs.com/

4thlawlabs.com/sectorvector

Sector Vector is for sale now. Enter coupon code: Vect0r (note: zero instead of o)

 

Conference papers:

• Teaching Vectors To Engineering Students Through an Interactive Vector Based Game

• Resistance is Futile: A new collaborative laboratory game based lab to teach basic circuit concepts

• It’s All Fun and Games until Somebody Learns

 

Where to find more info:

• The Web: www.4thlawlabs.com
• Instagram: 4thlawlabs

 

Today's Guest: James O'Brien

 

James O’Brien is the Interim Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and an Associate Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Springfield College in Western Massachusetts. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Connecticut in 2010, and his research focuses on theoretical and computational astrophysics, cosmology, and gravity. He serves as the Vice President of the International Association of Relativistic Dynamics. His passion for teaching has lead him to pursue educational pedagogies through gamification of education. He’s a member of the company 4th Law Labs and helped to design Sector Vector and Resistile, two competitive tabletop games, which engage students in an exciting atmosphere to help facilitate learning of essential physics concepts.

 

Science Communication, Glaciers, and a Podcast with Kate Hruby

Kate Hruby is a self-proclaimed physics doubter turned physics enthusiast. She sails boats, plays with flubber, has great insights about education and science communication, and hosts a fun and informative podcast called Go Forth and Science.

Kate graduated from the University of New England in 2016 with a B.S. in environmental science and from the University of Maine in 2019 with a Masters in Earth and Climate Science. She is currently Chief Mate for the company Deep Sea Wilderness, where she is part of a team of experienced scientists and sailors providing students with live-aboard marine science, sailing and environmental education experiences on the Salish Sea off the coast of Washington state. This year she also started a podcast called Go Forth and Science, where she and her guests tell tales of science and adventure in the world around us. In this episode we talk about the learning experiences that made her education great, the super cool physics of flowing glaciers, why we and our students should learn a bit about glaciers, and we get the inside scoop on her podcast.

For a full set of show notes, go to http://www.physicsalive.com/goforth

Links discussed in the episode:

Let’s talk about teaching

• Kate: "Science is fun and interesting, and we should be talking about it in a fun and interesting way."

What has Kate found to be the most effective ways to learn?

• Hands on activities
• Field trips
• Have students teach the class

Let’s talk about glaciers

Flubber: makes a great glacier. 

• Check out a recipe.
• Or watch a demonstration.

Where can we go to learn more about glacier physics?

• UMaine Geodynamics
• British Antarctic Survey
• Google flubber glaciers
• For example: A model presented on Science Friday
• or a model on the National Park Service website
• Glacier PhET
• And of course the first few episodes of the Go Forth and Science podcast
  • It’s Super Cool Part I
  • It’s Super Cool Part II

Let’s talk about the podcast Go Forth and Science

Find the podcast at:

• Website: www.goforthandscience.com
• Instagram: goforthandscience
• Twitter: goforth_science
• Facebook: goforth.science