tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.comments2024-01-18T20:07:59.873-05:00Newton's MinionsTatnall Physicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comBlogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-13054440663404183352023-07-21T08:50:36.028-04:002023-07-21T08:50:36.028-04:00Great work. 👍 Great work. 👍 Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-42053545496540560192019-08-21T07:46:10.725-04:002019-08-21T07:46:10.725-04:00Super cool!Super cool!Martinhttps://www.jobsinchildcare.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-76013029738896032642016-01-05T14:55:28.516-05:002016-01-05T14:55:28.516-05:00I hadn't; it's really interesting, though....I hadn't; it's really interesting, though. Looks like a good review application of voltage dividers as well. Sounds good for the second term - thanks for the tip!Tatnall Physicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-11159505660550544762016-01-05T12:28:17.543-05:002016-01-05T12:28:17.543-05:00Have you considered doing activities with 555 time...Have you considered doing activities with 555 timers? They require some understanding of RC circuits, they give students practice in reading pin diagrams, and there are a lot of cool and fun applications. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-78659041812245572532015-03-16T16:56:49.103-04:002015-03-16T16:56:49.103-04:00Sure - here you go: http://www.glowscript.org/#/us...Sure - here you go: http://www.glowscript.org/#/user/jgates/folder/My_Programs/program/ARaceTatnall Physicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-26554599339831545342015-03-16T11:50:54.194-04:002015-03-16T11:50:54.194-04:00Do you have a link to your GlowScript version?Do you have a link to your GlowScript version?Brian Vancilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03244092875317888985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-61130775478387234162015-02-07T08:35:25.333-05:002015-02-07T08:35:25.333-05:00Interesting! They would, I think, though we didn&#...Interesting! They would, I think, though we didn't check. The Hall effect sensor shouldn't be vulnerable to orientation like an accelerometer would be.<br /><br />I did find (accidentally) an Android compass app that gives the strength of the magnetic field, in microTesla. It seemed to be at least plausibly accurate - certainly qualitatively better than my B field sensor was when I tested it.Tatnall Physicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-69101616305892292252015-02-07T08:13:19.859-05:002015-02-07T08:13:19.859-05:00I always get frustrated with physical compasses be...I always get frustrated with physical compasses because they really only measure the direction of the field in the horizontal plane. Way up here in MN, for example, the earth's fields has a huge vertical component. Do phones help with that?Andy Rundquisthttp://arundquist.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-22880148881491132862014-12-08T07:50:41.084-05:002014-12-08T07:50:41.084-05:00Thanks! Lots of credit to the kids for ideas, thou...Thanks! Lots of credit to the kids for ideas, though. It was initially hard to give up some of the friction labs that I had lovingly crafted over the years, but this is much more productive and engaging for students.Tatnall Physicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-88662266484849089962014-12-07T20:28:43.248-05:002014-12-07T20:28:43.248-05:00Thanks for this post, it was very inspiring. You a...Thanks for this post, it was very inspiring. You are clearly doing some very cool stuff in your classes!<br /><br />Mark Skinner - Physics teacherAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-76082117267038764472014-12-05T16:54:40.331-05:002014-12-05T16:54:40.331-05:00I told them to come up with a situation that they ...I told them to come up with a situation that they could model or about which they could make and test a prediction; the situation must include friction. That was about it. I did give them guidelines about the posters: http://www.wikiphys.org/index.php?title=IFL_Presentation and gave each group some feedback about formatting and such after they presented to the class; they then revised their posters. I like the presentation on the projector, followed by revision, followed by printing and displaying them in the school. This was the first time that I've done that order, and I'm pleased with the results.Tatnall Physicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-75758752973965969592014-12-05T13:59:21.207-05:002014-12-05T13:59:21.207-05:00Wow! What kind of prompt did you give them that l...Wow! What kind of prompt did you give them that led to such creative experiments?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-62641920529299563922014-11-30T08:02:47.199-05:002014-11-30T08:02:47.199-05:00Glad that you find it useful!Glad that you find it useful!Tatnall Physicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-54560227510234657602014-11-30T07:09:36.597-05:002014-11-30T07:09:36.597-05:00Great!
thanks for this...Great! <br />thanks for this...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-29887753284987570432014-02-05T20:32:05.380-05:002014-02-05T20:32:05.380-05:00The calculus is hairy here, with the rational func...The calculus is hairy here, with the rational function. I just hate having a whole technique where kids don't have a real scenario to analyze. At the end of the day, though, there just aren't many situations where the force is a known function of time, so it's the easiest technique that you'll never use.Tatnall Physicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-31295177583287755682014-02-05T16:14:26.103-05:002014-02-05T16:14:26.103-05:00Nice. I've tried a couple of variable-mass lab...Nice. I've tried a couple of variable-mass labs. My students have a lot of trouble with the analysis, even with a lot of hand-holding. I'm not sure it's worth it in my situation.Marchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16211856148999643127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-5122240217321546272013-11-18T23:10:46.782-05:002013-11-18T23:10:46.782-05:00Thanks for reading and for the kind words. I'v...Thanks for reading and for the kind words. I've been at it for about 10 years. The tech always has to serve the pedagogy, but I find that some polling software (can take more time than it's worth) and data acquisition software - Logger Pro - are the biggest bang and most versatile. Tatnall Physicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-86549645337993780682013-11-18T12:57:43.549-05:002013-11-18T12:57:43.549-05:00I love your blog and am really excited to explore ...I love your blog and am really excited to explore more of it. I really like how you've integrated student work into your blog. This post has wonderful visuals and is very clearly laid out. I'm currently in a graduate certification program, taking a technology in the classroom course en route to become a high school biology/science teacher. How long have you been teaching? How has the integration of these physics software programs been in your classroom?<br /><br />Keep posting!David Lambhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12086192125480218914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-72132892953117043922013-09-16T21:51:03.684-04:002013-09-16T21:51:03.684-04:00Thanks - I took that one this summer, and took lot...Thanks - I took that one this summer, and took lots of problems from it, too :)Tatnall Physicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-32851075407788799612013-09-16T17:45:10.320-04:002013-09-16T17:45:10.320-04:00Great practical! There are some awesome variations...Great practical! There are some awesome variations on this in the MIT Relate Mechanics MOOC course HW problems that are real brain benders if you want to provide some extra gristle for the highly motivated.Gonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13907156621630518166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-47710016922739153962013-09-16T07:34:12.019-04:002013-09-16T07:34:12.019-04:00Having the smaller overall number of standards led...Having the smaller overall number of standards led me to use essentially a 5 pt scale: Proficient, P-, Developing, De-, Not Proficient. That means that there's considerable variation possible. With binary (yes/no) grading, you'd need more stds for sure. I like the interview idea, but time's always the issue, isn't it? :) Kelly's model uses the stds to get you up to 90%, and then the exam takes over. I use the stds as 80%, final exam as 20%, but the scores on the exam have been tracking very closely to the stds scores since I switched to SBG - a good sign!<br /><br />We end a couple of weeks before (American) Thanksgiving, with about 25 95-minute classes (every other day), so about the same amount of time.Tatnall Physicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-32748457711720758242013-09-15T23:39:02.487-04:002013-09-15T23:39:02.487-04:00Those are some very compelling reasons for keeping...Those are some very compelling reasons for keeping the # of standards low. I'm pretty much on the same page I think. For term 1 last year, I had about only 8 standards. It was nice, but some of the students were distraught with the gap in % as a result of granular standards. For example, some students made only one or two small errors on one standard in their assessments, and the grade would drop by maybe 6% because of the granularity. Of course they were used to getting a grade that was 78/79 points or something like that. Therefore I used short interviews to determine their % in a range. So for the example above, the student's assessments puts them in the range of 94% to 99% and the interview determines the final %. It worked okay, other than the time required to interview 30 kids per class!<br /><br />When does Term 1 end for you, roughly how many hours per class? In Vancouver term 1 is roughly 40 hrs.<br /><br />cheersDoug Smithhttp://www.physicsoflearning.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-85645362309612872013-09-15T08:42:18.888-04:002013-09-15T08:42:18.888-04:00Hi - thanks for the comment! For honors physics in...Hi - thanks for the comment! For honors physics in term 1, there are 10 standards - each box is one standard. The feedback is more granular, with the core skills, proficiency indicators, and narrative comments, but the grade itself is for the whole model. I like this because it keeps a holistic focus, requires more built-in retention checks (reassessing can't just be cherry-picking the skills that you had an issue with last time), and reduces the number of standards to track (and to make reassessments for).Tatnall Physicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09436753600662471697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-61126981246415906922013-09-14T14:29:56.076-04:002013-09-14T14:29:56.076-04:00Hi,
I'm always interesting in improving and t...Hi,<br /><br />I'm always interesting in improving and tweaking my SBG scheme, and I have a question for you. Take the honors physics for example, Term 1. Do I read your standards to be that there are 25 standards, corresponding to the Core Skills? And the proficiency levels help guide how the students are assessed in terms of mastery or level of achievement?<br /><br />thanksDoug Smithhttp://www.physicsoflearning.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6550984149903805046.post-38238111332233262172013-08-18T20:52:40.401-04:002013-08-18T20:52:40.401-04:00Great job calling attention to the teacher-centere...Great job calling attention to the teacher-centered mindsets that too often permeate all sorts of audiences in our society, and leveraging the media attention to point to the highly engaging, massively productive use of whiteboards in more student-centered environments. Thanks for collecting the great posts in one place! #modelon #whiteboardon !Dan Garrison, Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08998161411486542326noreply@blogger.com