Unit I - Preconceptions in Mathematics

SOCS-I

I really like the examples presented and the idea of voting especially the "make sense" idea, but the way it's presented still seems a bit cookbook to me and too teacher-centered.

Explaining the "at rest" condition of an object

SOCS-I

Love using multiple scenarios to help students develop the concept of force being both active push or pull and passive support or resistance to motion, especially using light reflected off table.  (Minstrell)

Two Approaches to Learning Physics

SCOC-I
How do I get my students to realize that physics is more than formulas?  By involving them in the process.  Don't tell them formulas and procedures, let them create their own.
(Hammer)

Learning and Instruction in Pre-College Physical Science

SOCS-I
Learning that students hold on to misconceptions even after doing well in science class gives me the goal of asking questions instead of just revealing formulas and showing how to use them.
(Mestre)

Arons 2.1-2.7

SOCS-I

An ongoing goal I have is to increase kinesthetic experiences in my classroom. Having students move to match the motion depicted in a graph is a great way to do this. (Arons)

Arons 1.1-1.12; 1.17-1.18

SOCS-C
We must help students understand the concepts of area, volume and proportional reasoning rather than just showing them how to use formulas.  If students don't understand these fundamentals, how can they be expected to understand physics?
(Arons)

How We Teach and How Students Learn - A Mismatch?

SOCS-C
New instructional methods are certainly important, but I feel the curriculum issue is just as important. Students need time to really learn and that is not possible with the breakneck pace required under current curriculum expectations.
(McDermott)

Force Concept Inventory

SOCS-I
After reading about common misconceptions Physics students even after a traditional physics class it becomes obvious that a new method of teaching must be embraced to make sure students are actively participating and learning.
(Hestenes, Wells, Swackhammer)

Wherefore a science of teaching?

SOCS-I
The information about short term memory and long term memory reinforces the importance of allowing wait time.  I also plan to be more cautious asking students to use mental math with new formulas.
(Hestenes)

Pretest

Our first assignment for the modeling workshop was a pretest.  I've taken this one before, but it's been a few years.  I remember feeling very anxious the first time I took it.  I had been teaching Physics for several years so I felt like I knew the material.  It didn't take long before I was feeling pretty humbled by the questions.  I think my score the first time around was somewhere in the low teens.

This time around I knew what to expect, but it's easy to see (and remember) how confusing the questions can be.  Someone who is unsure of the answer can easily get bogged down reading through all the possible responses to find the correct one, especially because there are so many "common sense" answers mixed in.  I like that each question makes the students think about the Physics concept and confront the misconceptions.  I love that students can't just rely on some formulas and their calculators to guess their way to the correct answer.