Spring 2014 Day 1

April 1, 2014
Daily Schedule

* Before Class
* 9:30 - 9:40 Introducing the Course, Staff, and NSF Project
* 9:40-10:15 Exploring Physics Learning in the Context of Light
* 10:15-10:30 Documenting Initial Ideas with Diagnostic Questions
* 10:30-10:50 Exploring Light and Shadow Phenomena Outside if Sunny or Cloudy
* 10:30 or 10:50-11:15 Exploring Light and Shadow Phenomena Inside
* 11:15-11:25 Writing
* 11:25-11:30 Providing Course Information
* 11:30-11:50 Reflections

Exploring Physics by Emma Grobart (Student)

Exploring Physics helps develop a conceptual understanding through investigation of everyday phenomena, specifically focusing on what happens when light from the Sun shines on the Earth. Through hands on, activity-based learning, you get the chance to explore, question, predict, discuss, and observe the wonders of science and how it relates to our world. This method of learning is a unique way to approach not only the way in which you can teach in the classroom, but also how you can view the world around you.

This involves five explorations: the nature of light phenomena, the nature of thermal phenomena, the influence of light and thermal phenomena on local weather and global climate, the nature of astronomical phenomena (such as the phases of the moon), as well as a reflection on science and teaching.

Identifying Resources
The first thing I remember learning about light is in my first grade class when we learned about color. My teacher started off by taking a red transparent sheet and a yellow transparent sheet and asked us what we thought would happen when she put them on top of each other. To our surprise, we saw the two colors combine to make orange. She then gave each table red, yellow and blue transparent sheets to explore what other combinations could be made.

The reason why this experience is so memorable to me is because the subject was introduced to in a way that allowed me to work with my peers and physically play and explore color. The interactive and visual elements of the activity are the reason why this memory stuck with me. The teachers demonstration at the beginning of the activity also helped pave a better understanding and showed us an end product to look forward to making ourselves.

Other students in the class had stories that involved hands on, interactive activities that connected powerful ideas to the everyday lives. Some of my favorite stories involved changing the environment or using materials and props to demonstrate how light worked. An example of how changing environment created a memorable experience was a story where the student and his class went into the woods and talked about how the sun affected the lighting in the forest. Two examples of how using materials and props to create demonstrations of light were where a class used a slinky to show how light waves work and where students used light to heat food.

Developing Powerful Ideas Based on Evidence
This section discusses six powerful ideas, “Light leaves a source in all directions,” “Light can be envisioned as rays traveling in straight lines,” “There are two kinds of shadows an object blocks light from shining on a nearby surface (ground, wall, table…); an object blocks light from shining on the backside of the object itself,” “Shadows are the absence of light,” “Light bounces off of objects, such as someone’s nose, in many different directions,” and “For someone to see something, light has to get to the person’s eyes” will be discussed. Refer to Table 1.

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Light leaves a source in all directions. In this activity, you will see how light travels in all directions. To do this, you have to be in a dark area, with one source of light to show how and where the light travels. It is helpful to have a board at the back of one side of the light bulb to show how light can be blocked. When the light bulb is turned on, it may seem obvious that it lights the room up, but to get students to really dig into the powerful idea, have them really observe and state that they recognize the light is traveling in all directions. Make it clear that the evidence is that when the light bulb is turned on, it illuminates the space around it in all directions.
Light can be envisioned as rays traveling in straight lines. To demonstrate that light travels in a straight line, there must be a barrier that has a straight side to show how light travels to it. To show how light travels in a straight line, take a ruler to the edge of the light bulb and line it up with the straight side of the barrier. You can then see that the ray leaves the bulb and reaches the edge of the shadow on the paper in a straight line.
There are two kinds of shadows an object blocks light from shining on a nearby surface (ground, wall, table…); an object blocks light from shining on the backside of the object itself. The barrier not only helps demonstrate that light travels in a straight line, but also the two forms of shadows. The first kind of shadow is the shadow product seen on the board. The second shadow is found on the back of the object itself where the light is blocked. You see the shadow existing on the paperboard as a product, and on the object itself as the “dark side” where the light does not reach. Shadows are the absence of light. This got me thinking. If darkness is the absence of light, then are the inside of our bodies filled with shadows? Technically yes! For me, this was a powerful concept because it gave me a new prospective on how we perceive ourselves.
Light bounces off of objects, such as someone’s nose, in many different directions. The next two subsections go together hand in hand. To demonstrate this, have someone stand in front of the classroom. There does not necessarily need to be a light shining towards them, but there needs to be light in the room that reaches the volunteer. Ask the students if they can see the volunteer’s nose. Next, ask them why they are able to see the volunteer’s nose. Their response should lead them into the next subsection.
For someone to see something, light has to get to the person’s eyes. Once students get an understanding that light is bouncing off the volunteer’s nose have them think about how we are able to see the volunteer’s nose. If the light were off, we would still be able to see it? Make sure they understand that for them to see the volunteer’s nose, the light has to bounce off the nose and get to their eyes.