Fall 2009: Homework Week 1

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Fall 2009-Day 2
Instructional Strategy of Homework

Shadow Explorations:

Use your cardboard to cut out a shape with which to explore shadows with a friend or family member. Post the questions you explore and your findings on the discussion board by midnight Wednesday and submit here as well.

1. Observing: Look at the sky daily. Enjoy what you see. If you see the moon, record what you see.


2. Drawing and Explaining:

Draw a diagram that represents how a pin hole camera works. Write an explanation in words:

Begin your explanation by describing your observations of the phenomena that you are explaining. What is a pin hole camera? A sketch of a pin hole camera would be good to include. What did you look at? What did you see?

Next state the ‘powerful ideas about light’ that we have developed in class. These are the physics principles that you can use to explain what you saw.

Then apply those general ideas to the specific phenomena that you have observed. A ray diagram would be helpful here with some words to help someone who does not already understand this to do so.

Finally hand this explanation to a friend or family member to read and see if they understand what you mean by what you have written.


3. Listening: Interview two people about their understandings about light. If possible, one should be a student of the age you would like to teach and the other should be an adult. Report: a. brief description of your interviewees (gender, estimate of age) b. your “protocol” (questions you asked) c. example responses for each individual as accurately as you can d. summary of your findings Post your report of the interview on BlackBoard. Read what your classmates have posted to get a sense of what people know about light.


4. Reading: Read: Iwasyk, M. (1997). Kids questioning kids: ‘Experts’ sharing. Science Children, 35(1): 42-46.

This journal is not available on line back to 1997. However, you can access a reprint of this article (without the pictures) online at the American Association for the Advancement of Science website:

http://www.aaas.org/programs/education/about_ehr/pubs/inquiry.shtml

in the book: Inquiring into Inquiry Learning and Teaching in Science

Click on Part II: What Does Inquiry Look Like” Read pages 68-76 of the pdf file (pages 130-138 of the book). Check to make sure that the title of the article you find is the same: “Kids Questioning Kids: 'Experts' Sharing”

Please use the following format:

Your name Physics 111 Reading Reflection 1 Iwasyk, M. (1997). Kids questioning kids: ‘Experts’ sharing. Science Children, 35(1): 42-46.


5. Writing:

Describe experiences inside or outside of school in which you learned some physics and enjoyed the process. Then identify aspects that fostered your learning. How do these compare with the list of aspects that foster science learning that we generated in class? Post your description on BlackBoard.