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Less Physics Mo Problems

Why am I writing this personal entry? Well, it is not an attempt to gain any sympathy. It attempts to show what is possible if a clear intention and goal serve the learner's needs.  In May of 2022 just near the end of another fantastic school year, I do not remember what happened. But, I was unable to finish the school year and was unable to teach the following year.  Why? On May 21st, 2022, I fell down a flight of 16 stairs (luckily carpeted) from the 2nd to 1st story of our home.  I was found at the bottom of the stairs. I was found foaming at the mouth. This would lead to a 2-month hospital stay which included an induced coma because my seizures would not stop, several rounds of lumbar punctures, and relearning basic physical movements like something as simple as being able to roll in the hospital bed. Simply put, when I was admitted to the hospital, I was diagnosed as being “critically ill.” Please take a moment and read those words: critically ill. They are not terms that are

Keys to Great Learning


Every teacher has that activity that they look forward to. The activity they know will not simply get students engaged in what’s going on but take risks in their learning. Some teachers have more than one activity. But if you think of the one experience that is really out of the norm, you can usually pinpoint it.
This activity for our physics class is marble coasters. It’s the type of activity that disrupts my whole classroom space. It causes students from other classes to peek in as they walk by and wonder what is going on. It causes my AP Physics students to be jealous of my Physics students.
In marble coaster construction, students use pipe insulation and other materials to construct a rollercoaster for a marble that must have a minimum number of required obstacles. The 2 major requirements are the number of obstacles and that the marble travel the track successfully. What is interesting is that with minimal instruction, students are in groups and off and running.

There are many reasons that I feel this is such a successful activity but I’d like to highlight a couple that I think are key:

Out of Seats
For this activity, not only are students out of their seats, they are standing on tables. Getting students using our space in different ways helps not only add novelty to the activity, it helps add that mindset shift and adds space to think differently.

Learning through Play
There is so much great physics in this activity. But, it doesn’t feel like traditional learning. There is piece of paper driving the learning. It is the joy of putting something together using simple materials that is driving the activity while the science concepts are the reason why their design will or won’t work.


Collaborating with others
School is a social environment. Many students enjoy being social. Harnessing that in a task that doesn’t feel like work but allows for many to collaborate is a great thing. Of course there are limits to this. The biggest obstacle is group size. Due to the amount of space and class size, many times group size can be too big in this activity. That’s when some are able to go along for the ride without truly participating. I can see situations in which giving students roles and checks could help with this issue. The goal, thought would be finding that peak group size.



Iterate on failures without overwhelming setbacks
There is a lot of credence given to the idea of failing forward. But many times failure can seem like a lot to overcome. It can feel like starting over. If recorded as a grade, failure can be demoralizing rather than a motivator for improvement. The ability to tinker, manipulate, and change on the fly makes students more likely to try different things and take some risks implementing new ideas. If they fail, it’s ok because it is not about scrapping the whole thing.

Bring prior knowledge to bear
This marble coaster activity usually takes place before any formal explanation of conservation of energy. So, it is up to students to bring their experience with how roller coasters work to the activity. That means that there will be discussions on what would or wouldn’t work and why based on past experiences. These ideas can help drive instruction. They can also lead students to try things out and observe what happens. Seeing is believing and these shared experiences are a powerful foundation upon which to build content understanding.



All learners can participate
A major component of our physics course is finding a way for all learners to have opportunities to learn. The greatest activities allow all learners, regardless of ability, to work side by side on the same task. Letting all learns see that they each have a role in the groups success and can contribute. This is important for all learners to see both those who excel at traditional school environment and those who may have traditionally been taught in a self-contained environment. Inclusion matters and is important for all learner and educators to observe.

So I guess I’ve given myself a quick check for the activities that I look to create for my learners. These questions may not work for every situation, but thinking about them could get me making some meaningful changes to some outdated activities or get students to take more ownership of ones I currently do.



I would ask you, what are some of your great activities in the classroom and what are the hallmarks of these activities that you believe are 

Oh, and here are highlights from this year’s marble coaster.


Comments

  1. I have seen this activity talked about in many place. You are the first person to talk about its use as a starter for energy. That is an appropriate use of this activity. You can then reference it as the students learn about energy and it can drive the entire unit. It give a common experience. IT can also be used to tap and assess prior knowledge. Do you do anything like that with it?

    Usually people talk about this activity as a capstone to an energy unit but it does not actually show any knowledge of physics.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Students take physical measurements and calculate theoretical Gravitational and kinetic energies at each location assuming no dissipated energy. Also calculate minimum velocity required for loops and hills using centripetal acceleration. Then measure final velocity, determine final kinetic energy and calculate energy dissipated.

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    Replies
    1. I am confused. If you use it before you have studies conservation of energy, how do they do those calculations? Have they had physics before?

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