A seemingly simple either/or question about which shape Optimus Prime should transform into becomes, when guided by the instructor, a four-part, back and forth, edge-of-your-seat drama with a nailbiter conclusion. Topics covered include angular acceleration and momentum, moment of inertia, alternative axes of rotation, function optimization, and the semantics of “disk” vs. “cylinder.”...
Science education equipment has made amazing leaps forward in the last 5-10 years. It’s easy to get graphs that are of near professional quality. Has any learning happened, or is it just "magic data"? In this presentation I propose that, for intro physics students, using less prefect data collection and/or analysis leads to more learning.
Teachers know that students are engaged by active learning, but creating active learning environments and opportunities takes time, expertise, equipment, and supplies. It is challenging or impossible to do as often as we would like. We will explore interesting ways to engage students with MORE active learning and “doing science” throughout the learning cycle, without these constraints or added...
Implementing active learning techniques in teaching introductory physics courses creates a positive learning environment and is proving to promote better understanding of the concepts via in-depth discussion among peers with support from the instructor and teaching assistants. This talk focusses on the active learning methods adopted by me in teaching physics for pre-health students at the...
The Parker Sochacki Method (PSM) or Power Series Method of solving systems of differential equations offers a very simple, powerful, general, fast (time proportional to order squared), and effectively symplectic method for solving systems of ordinary differential equations (odes), by treating all functions as Taylor series, and equating coefficients. It comes with a priori absolute error...
Every year, the Department of Energy brings a select group of K-12 STEM teachers from across the country to Washington DC for 11 months. These Einstein Fellows are placed in a federal agency or on Capitol Hill to provide teacher perspective in the Federal space. I will talk about the application process and my experience of being an Einstein Fellow.
The schlieren and shadowgraph techniques allow one to observe otherwise invisible phenomena in transparent gas, liquid or solid materials. These optical methods are very sensitive to changes in the refractive index of the media under observation. For example, the variations in air density in the convection plume of a candle's flame results in an impressive display of laminar and turbulent...
Physics programs introduce students to scientific computing in various contexts and at various levels. In this talk, free resources and curricula are discussed for teaching computing to physics students in the following contexts: as part of a regular physics course, in a stand-alone physics course (Computational Physics), as a separate course requirement (Introductory Programming), and in...
For many students, “calculus” is an intimidating word, while at the same time they find 1D motion with uniform acceleration to be intuitive and easy to visualize. Using a spreadsheet creates an opportunity to demystify this math connection for all students while adding a new skill and enhanced capability to the physics curriculum. Solving for any single unknown in a 1D motion problem is...
We are used to seeing variations in size and proportions among humans and animals, often without thinking much of it. What limits their sizes? Why is it that the tallest man or woman is not taller than 8 feet? And, while at it, why aren’t more of them? What challenges would a much taller person (or shorter) face in their day-to-day living? What about efficiency – how does food consumption...
OPTYCs: An Update on Current Activities
The Organization for Physics at Two-Year Colleges is actively developing and providing professional development and other activities designed for two-year college physics faculty. This presentation will describe the ongoing activities and will include a preview of upcoming events. Information about how to get involved will also be provided.
A recent restructuring of the curriculum at UVa resulted in the creation of a new physics course -- one unlike any previously taught in our department. PHYS 2720: Problem Solving and Special Topics in Classical Physics, currently being taught for the first time, aims to bridge the gap between introductory physics, which students may have taken in a variety of settings, and the core courses of...
Improving elementary science education through collaboration between elementary and secondary science teachers has shown to be effective through the workshops of Science Overdrive, a Virginia 501c3. Teachers worked together to develop hands-on and active learning lessons that meet K-8 Virginia standards. Secondary teachers bring activity ideas, a depth of knowledge and passion for the content,...
Special science language plays a big part in our lives. We often do not notice how confusing our language can be until either you or someone else just doesn’t understand the words being used. The reason for this talk is to show you one way of teaching science-word-using to students in a fun and easy to remember way.
The idea for this talk came from the book Thing Explainer, by Randall...
The UVA Physics Bridge program is designed to increase the participation rate of people from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in advanced study of Physics. Promising students from under-represented groups often come from unique learning backgrounds and, moreover, often come from institutions with non-standard Physics curricula. These effects can contribute to talented...
VSGC is a coalition of five Virginia colleges and universities, NASA, state educational agencies, Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology and other institutions representing diverse aerospace interests. It acts as an umbrella organization, coordinating and developing aerospace-related and high technology educational and research efforts throughout the Commonwealth, and connecting...
The introductory physics courses at the University of Virginia Physics Department are undergoing a massive change. A concerted effort has been made in the past several years to implement a more modern approach to teaching, including implementing various active learning practices.
A higher demand on students' focus and attention in the active learning environment requires a higher degree of...
It’s commonly received wisdom in physics teaching that practical demonstrations make a lecture course more exciting for the students. But how do we present demonstrations in a way that encourages students’ active engagement with the topic? How do we move from merely showing a demonstration, to getting students to ask questions and make predictions? How do we choose demonstrations that will...
I will discuss our experimentation with two smart telescopes which have recently become commercially available. These instruments, the eVscope and the Stellina, are controlled using cellphone apps. Setup time is remarkably short and the imaging capabilities of these instruments are very impressive. I will discuss our testing of these instruments in an undergraduate research project and in our...
