September 27, 2015 180: Day 24: Fundraising for the whole school SHCP’s annual Walkathon fundraiser develops community, not just funds. Categories 180/Education and schools Comments: 0
September 22, 2015 180: Day 21: Final suggestions/tips for buggy collision challenge. Last blocks with buggies: Here’s another close up of the target sheets I use with my students. The complete the top, then find where on the row of four metersticks they need to place their prediction. I give not help at this point, and often ask “Are you sure it’s in the right place?” (even when it is). I try... Categories 180/Modeling/Physics Comments: 0
September 21, 2015 180: Day 20: “One train leave a station at 2:30, and another train leaves… Here’s a classic physics problem: One train leaves a station at 2:30 at a speed of 40 m/s, and a second train leaves another station at 50 m/s. The stations are 40 km apart, and the trains are heading toward each other. At what time and position will the trains collide? These days, many teachers use this as a chance... Categories 180/Modeling/Physics Comment: 1
September 18, 2015 180: Day 18-19: Introducing Motion Maps OK, I’m cheating a bit, but I do teach the same classes on Thursday/Friday this week. I tried a new technique this year for introducing motion maps. I stood at the board and asked a student to call off every second. I started a car moving at the base of the boards (my new classroom has floor-to-ceiling whiteboards), then draw... Categories 180/Modeling/Physics Comments: 0
September 16, 2015 180: Day 17: Short period, a quiz, and Ahmed I’m getting so used to 80 minute blocks that I’m not sure how to handle a 40 minute period when it gets thrown at me. Today was a 40 minute period day (five classes in one day, how did I ever handle this?), and I threw a quiz at my students in which they had to use Desmos to plot... Categories 180/Science Education Comments: 5
September 15, 2015 180: Day 16: Whiteboards are improving The first few whiteboards always take longer than I want. Often, student’s aren’t prepared (haven’t already analyzed the info with their group), don’t understand how to back up their conclusions with evidence, and don’t get how to translate words like “rate” or “speed” into simple English sentences that don’t use those words. But today they are doing better (paradigm lab... Categories 180 Comments: 0
September 14, 2015 180: Day 15: Empathy for teachers slow to picking up technology No photo or classroom activity today; instead a reflection from a training on our school’s LMS (Schoology): One of our tech folks was leading a brief afternoon gathering for questions from teachers new to Schoology. Mr. Vito Ferrante, our Director of Educational Technology and an Instructor of Mathematics–whose job it is to help teachers learn to use our computers–made a... Categories 180 Comments: 0
September 11, 2015 180: Day 14: Evaluating data from all classes I’m a big one on looking at large quantities of data. In each of my physics classes, I have seven to nine groups. In the Buggy Lab, that provides enough data that whiteboard sessions go fairly well, with: at 3-4 groups going in each direction two groups starting at extreme positive or negative locations three to four starting at medium... Categories 180/Modeling/Physics Comments: 0
September 10, 2015 180: Day 13: How a fire drill should be run All schools need to run fire drills to comply with local laws, and to practice ‘just in case’ (when I as at Berkeley HS, we did have a ‘case’). Some do it well, others not so well. Today was a drill at my new school, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, and I would give my school an A (OK, maybe a... Categories 180 Comments: 0
September 9, 2015 180: Day 12: Mini whiteboards for sketching during group lab design; combining high- and low- tech This year I’m having my students use shared Google docs for their lab write ups (developing their procedures, recording their data, etc.). One student starts the document and shares it with the others, so everyone is working on the same document.The problem with Google Docs is most of us can’t draw on a computer (while touch screen devices may offer... Categories 180/Modeling Comments: 0
