I enjoy teaching at all levels, from introductory to graduate-level courses. I also enjoy working one-on-one with graduates and undergraduates in my laboratory. The first course I taught at the University of Pittsburgh was Physics 0110, a noncalculus-based introduction to physics. For these students, physics is a huge obstacle between them and their goals.
Physics 0110 probably ranks among the most unpopular courses in my department to teach. However, I would say that at this point it is one of my favorite courses. I enjoy the challenge of explaining to students how the laws of physics apply in their everyday lives, and how understanding physics is important for their professional development.
Over the years I have learned a great deal about what does motivate these students, and I have strived to use it to help generate an appreciation for physics, which they usually admit has more relevance to their chosen profession than they initially assumed.
Peer Instruction
In 1997, I was the first faculty in my department to use the active learning method known as Peer Instruction. In this method, I lecture briefly and then ask the class a question or “Concept Test.” Students are first asked to think about it themselves, and then they are asked to discuss their answers with their peers. The instructional value of Peer Instruction is that it forces students to think in class, something that they otherwise are not required to do. By being forced to work with newly introduced concepts, students are much more likely to retain that understanding after the lecture.
Video
I have incorporated video into my classroom activities, and have made several that relate specifically to Physics 0110. The videos serve several purposes, but usually they are designed to realign students’ attitudes toward physics. Sometimes, they are even more targeted. For example, I urge students not to view physics simply as a collection of facts and formulas but something deeper and more interconnected. And yet it is hard to get students to shake the belief that simply knowing enough facts and formulas will get them through the course.
Some examples of teaching-related videos are available from these sites: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=phys0110 or http://epsilon.phyast.pitt.edu/site_pages/multimedia.html
XCREDs
XCREDs are extra credit assignments that encourage students to apply and think about physics outside the parameters of traditional problems.With XCREDs’ help students learn that physics is all around them, just waiting to be noticed. Each XCRED is worth 0.5% but the real benefit is the cementing of knowledge and the opportunity to apply physics concepts in a larger context.
XCRED: Art and Physics
This project asks student to create some form of art that relates to physics. I have received many wonderful responses over the years. They have included sculptures, poems, newspaper articles, drawings, crossword puzzles, paintings, songs, live performances, videos, Web sites, and others. More than one might imagine, the act of creating these helps to cement knowledge of the related physical principles as it reinforces students’ understanding.
XCRED: Physics of walking
What activity could be more “everyday” than walking? And yet there is an enormous amount of physics involved in this seemingly mundane act. An extra credit question asks students to explain why it is that we swing our hands when we walk. It turns out that the main reason is to counter the angular momentum associated with the swinging of our legs.
Summary
Teaching introductory physics to a captive audience is a challenging activity. And yet I know that physics is intrinsically interesting—that is why I have chosen it as a profession. In teaching Physics 0110, I have strived to transfer some of my own excitement and wonder at the predictive power of a few equations. By keeping students engaged during lecture, and providing enjoyable and rewarding learning activities outside the class, I keep my students open to learning and applying physics to the world around them.
|
