http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/
(You can download a more printer friendly version of the entire syllabus here)
Steve's office: Duane F-419 (in the Duane physics tower, fourth floor)
Office hrs: By app't.
Phone (303) 492-4938
e-mail Steven.Pollock@colorado.edu
My role as instructor will be to facilitate your engagement with the material, provide resources for you, and give you feedback and direction. Please make use of my office hours
Web
page www.colorado.edu/physics/phys4810 You're there...(check in often!)
Course intro:
Nobody thinks clearly, no matter what they pretend. Thinking’s a dizzy business, a matter of catching as many of those foggy glimpses as you can and fitting them together the best you can. That’s why people hang on so tight to their opinions; because, compared to the haphazard way in which they’re arrived at, even the goofiest opinion seems wonderfully clear, sane, and self-evident. And if you let it get away from you, then you’ve got to dive back into that foggy muddle to wrangle yourself out another to take its place. --- Dashiell Hammett
As we muddle along, this class is designed to be engaging, provocative, and enjoyable. The class will largely depend upon your input. You will help create and direct the class.
The required textbooks
1) E.F. Redish, Teaching and Learning Physics. If you don't want to buy the Redish book, an older (draft) version is available online here.
2) Introductory Physics Text, (any one you like, e.g. R. Knight)
3) Weekly readings handed out or online.
Student responsibilities:
• active participation
• weekly homeworks (readings, reflections, physics problems, and fieldnotes
• fieldwork (interacting with students, 1-2 hrs/week)
• final project (project of your own design)
Class Schedule:
Week 1: 8/29 Introduction
Week 2: 9/04 Identify fieldsite(s) and get started there!
Week 4: 9/19 Identify area of interest for project - Turn in 1 paragraph description
Week 8: 10/17 Outline of project due
Week 12: 11/17 (just before break) Rough cut of final project due
Last week of class: project due.
Student Work:
There will be 3 forms of regular work in this course: (1) readings/reflections, (2) physics content/homework analysis, (3) teaching/ fieldnotes.
Readings: (Tuesdays) Each week we’ll be discussing readings. The tentative schedule is on the following page. We’ll be reading both from Redish’s book Teaching Physics with Physics Suite and original sources that are on the course web page, electronic reserves or handed out a week in advance.
Each week you are expected to write a paragraph summary of each paper/ reading, and to list out 3 questions, or points of interest that the paper brought up. These will be handed in and returned to you.
While I will lead the first week or two of readings, it will quickly be handed over to you to lead the discussions for the class. We will have students sign up to lead the discussion once or twice over the course of the term. These weeks you should be prepared to present a 5-10 min summary of the paper, and bring in some points of discussion for the class.
Physics content: (Thursdays). We’ll be covering the introductory sequence of physics (E/M) at the same time we are reading about student learning. Our class will roughly parallel the 2nd semester of calc- based physics, 1120. (http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys1120/). Our tentative schedule of topics is listed below. Each week you are expected to review the relevant sections in an introductory textbook, preferably from R. Knight (or Giancoli, or whatever text you prefer). Each week you are expected to pick 3 problems from the CAPA assignment for 1120 (you will be given CAPA access).
For the homework,
Physics homework is due Thursday in class.
Teaching/fieldwork :
You are expected to spend a minimum of 2 hrs a week teaching in, working in, or studying educational environments. You have a variety of options where you might consider doing your fieldwork. You are encouraged to work in any environment suited for your examining educational practices in physics. See me about arranging for placements of your design. Each week you will be expected to send in ethnographic fieldnotes describing your experience. These should be no shorter than a page or a page and a half (and no more than a few pages). The format for these notes is described below .
Final Project: a final project of your choosing will be due at the end of term. The format of the final project is described here.
Fieldnotes:
Fieldnotes will serve as a key source of data for you for your final projects. In general, you will be acting as participant-observers, documenting educational environments you are engaged in. However, depending upon your projects you may simply observe environments. Both forms of observation are valid; though, it should be clear which role you are in. Your fieldnotes should be written within 24 hrs of your observation and turned in to me on a similar time-scale. Your fieldnotes should not be less than most of a page and should not be more than 3 pages (single spaced). A more detailed outline for fieldnotes can be found here.
I may wish to make use of your fieldnotes for purposes of researching this course - if you prefer that I do not use yours in this way, no worries, but please visit this link!
Grading: This class will not emphasize grades, but rather learning, and formative feedback. Nonetheless I am obliged to provide you with grades in addition to credit. I anticipate everyone will be able to do well. In general, I emphasize effort and learning.
30% - readings / participation 30% physics content / participation 40% final project.
Sundry Information / Thoughts:
Ethics: You should not cheat in this class. Frankly it will be easier if you do not and you’ll learn more. If you cheat you’ll fail. Collaborative work is encouraged. Citing your partner’s work and sources that you draw from is necessary. Do not palagarize. If you are concerned about what this means, speak to me. More information is at:
http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/
Accommodations for disability:
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities (303-492-8671, Willard 322, www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices).
More Ethics: Go Vote.
From my 1120 website:
I firmly believe that we can take individual actions that will make the world we live in a better place. One obvious thing YOU can do is vote . Here is a link to some information if you haven't registered. I know it's so easy to blow this off, and yet almost equally simple to register and vote. The number of young people voting has gone down over time, but it's YOUR life and YOUR future that are impacted. Take a stand! Convince your friends to participate! I would never consider suggesting which way you should vote - but WOULD ask that you use the powers of critical thinking, reasoned argument, inference by evidence, and basic logic you learn in physics and6apply them to issues of political significance. (Which means, among other things, don't just listen to your parents, or one TV channel) Dig a little, think about what matters, make rational and ethically sound decisions. Argue and discuss, groupwork helps everywhere in life, not just in physics class. And then vote, it's empowering!