Integrating Practices and Core Ideas into Introductory Physics Courses

Transcription

1 Integrating Practices and Core Ideas into Introductory Physics Courses James (J.T.) Laverty April 12 th, 2014 MIAAPT Spring 2014 Workshop

2 Outline Science as a process Recent changes in K-12 Changes at MSU Framework for change Let s try it!

3 Science isn t just content Science is more than a body of knowledge. It s a way of thinking; a way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility.

4 Currently (Censored)

5 Mitochondria How many people remember this piece of knowledge? Has this piece of knowledge ever helped you?

6 Same Problem in Physics Energy is neither created nor destroyed. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. What goes up must come down.

7 Useless Knowledge Knowing things is not the same as being able to use things. Knowing the results of Science isn t particularly helpful if you can t do anything with them.

8 Big Questions! How do we teach our students to do physics? How can we determine if our students are able to do physics?

9 Things are starting to change K-12 Framework Next Generation Science Standards Science classes should merge: Disciplinary Core Ideas Scientific Practices Crosscutting Concepts

10 Disciplinary Core Ideas Essential to the study of the discipline Required to explain lots of phenomena Provides a way to explain those phenomena and/or to learn more about them Energy Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

11 Scientific Practices What do we want students to be able to do with the core ideas? Constructing Explanations Developing and Using Models

12 Crosscutting Concepts Concepts that exist across Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Engineering Cause and Effect Systems and System Models

13 MSU Physics Held meetings to generate Core Ideas & Practices for introductory courses. Subcommittees for Introductory courses: Calculus-based Algebra-based Labs

14 Physics I Core Ideas? Essential to the study of the discipline Required to explain lots of phenomena Provides a way to explain those phenomena and/or to learn more about them

15 Core Ideas - Mechanics Energy is conserved Forces cause changes in momentum Torques cause changes in angular momentum Exchanges of energy increase total entropy

16 Core Ideas E&M Charges generate fields Fields affect charges Charge is quantized and conserved Energy is quantized and conserved Light as waves and particles Measurements depend on reference frames

17 Scientific Practices Engage in evidence-based arguments Construct and use models Communicate science effectively Evaluate solutions for reasonability Solve problems with mathematical and conceptual reasoning Design and execute experiments

18 Now What?

19 How does this help?

20 Example

21 Example: Practice & Core Idea Practice: Construct and Use Models Core Idea: Energy is Conserved

22 Example: Practice Statements Develop a representation (graphical, mathematical, textual, computational, etc.) that describes the relevant elements of the system and defines the boundary between the system and the surroundings. Explain when elements that are not included in a model become important enough that the model no longer can be used to make accurate predictions.

23 Example: Knowledge Statements Energy comes in three forms: kinetic, potential, and mass (rest). Energy cannot be created or destroyed. The total change of energy in any system is always equal to the total energy transferred into or out of the system. The availability of energy limits what can occur in any system.

24 Example: Performance Expectation Identify the non-negligible elements of a non-idealized (real world) system and develop a representation of the energy in the system and exchanges of energy with the surroundings to describe a phenomenon.

25 Example: Evidence Statements Define the objects included in the system of interest. Identify the simplifying assumptions used to generate the representation. Construct a representation that reflects the values (quantitatively or qualitatively) of all of the relevant energy forms and energy exchanges for the system and agrees with the simplifying assumptions that were made.

26 Example: Assessment Item Pinewood Derby! Exam question Homework question Clicker question Lab Etc.

27 What would you like to do?

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29 Core Ideas - Mechanics Energy is conserved Forces cause changes in momentum Torques cause changes in angular momentum Exchanges of energy increase total entropy

30 Core Ideas E&M Charges generate fields Fields affect charges Charge is quantized and conserved Energy is quantized and conserved Light as waves and particles Measurements depend on reference frames

31 Practices Engage in evidence-based arguments Construct and use models Communicate science effectively Evaluate solutions for reasonability Solve problems with mathematical and conceptual reasoning Design and execute experiments

32 Performance Expectations Identify the non-negligible elements of a non-idealized (real world) system and develop a representation of the energy in the system and exchanges of energy with the surroundings to describe a phenomenon. Design an experiment to verify claims about simple circuits, explaining the reasoning for each measurement and predicting the data results. Given a proposed mathematical solution that relates electromagnetic forces, fields, energy and/or charges, identify an extreme/limiting case that has an intuitive solution, evaluate the given expression in the context of the chosen case, and compare the intuitive answer to the simplified expression to determine if the original expression is viable.

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38 Why Teach Science? To create future scientists Produce citizens who can evaluate scientific information Produce better policymakers

39 Traditional Instruction Fast paced Broad number of topics Shallow coverage of topics Disconnected Why?

40 PERL Big Ideas Core Ideas in Physics 1. Systems 2. Energy 3. Momentum 4. Entropy Scientific Practices 1. Modeling Systems 2. Designing Experiments 3. Arguing from Evidence 4. Using & Reasoning with Mathematics & Computation

41 Mechanics: Science of Motion p Systems E S

42 Thank You James (J.T.) Laverty