Cavic Physics

A world of teaching Physics and Astronomy

Category: science ed (Page 2 of 2)

High School Astronomy: 5 Free Resources for Teachers

June 7, 2017 /

When I first began developing the curriculum for my high school Astronomy course, I realized that there are very few resources out there. Many things I found on the Internet were geared towards elementary. Anything more in depth was geared towards college. Through some searching and adapting, I found a few indispensable things for my classroom.

1. MinutePhysics

Oh, how I love MinutePhysics. Simple, engaging, and brief. These short videos often work as lead-ins to more in depth discussions in my classroom.  Some of my favorites to show in class are:

Why is the Solar System Flat? I show this one when we learn about solar nebular theory and the structure of the solar system. This comes after we do a lab to simulate the formation of planets from an accretion disk. Watch below to see what you think!

His very first video was What is Gravity?, which is a classic even if it isn’t as polished as later videos. Why is it Dark at Night? is a great video to use during a Cosmology unit.

There are hundreds of videos to chose from, and they are all excellently done.

2. APOD

I wrote an entire post about using APOD in the classroom, but it’s simply too good to leave off this list. Read that to see more detailed on how I use this resources in the classroom.

APOD is a great resource for high school Astronomy classes!

The main reason I love APOD is that my students learn something new every single day from it – even on test days or whatever other distraction the school has planned. The Astronomy Picture of the Day is often related to current events, which is great to show students how Astronomy is relevant right now.

You can also search through the archive of pictures to find the perfect image to illustrate whatever you are trying to teach. They have an archive that goes back to 1995.

3. Twitter

I love including current events in my class. APOD is one way I do that, another is Twitter. Usually at the beginning of the year, I will find news articles and tweets to share with students. After the first quarter, I put this responsibility on students. While all regular news outlets have accounts, I like to find Astronomy specific accounts.

NASA runs several accounts to share information. I recommend NASA Astronauts, International Space Station, and NASA History Office. There are many more official accounts, from each individual space center to astronauts’ personal accounts.

There are also great accounts by individuals. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield runs a wonderfully curated account, with posts ranging from news stories to things about his everyday experiences. Chris tends to be a class favorite. Emily Lakdawalla, senior editors at the Planetary Society, also shares a wealth of great information and insight.

I tend to assign students a day, and on that day they share something they found on Twitter. I have also tried having students create an account and share, reply, and generally engage with real science on Twitter. Both are excellent ways to bring real experiences into the classroom.

4. McDonald Observatory Outreach

For more traditional resources, McDonald Observatory out of The University of Texas at Austin runs an excellent site. They have lesson plans, labs, course outlines, activities, etc. This was pretty instrumental in helping me get started developing my course.

I used the Scale Solar System activity in the first week of school to give an introduction to the course. I like the Observing the Moon activity as an introduction to observational astronomy also at the beginning of the school year. This activity on Kepler’s Laws is also one that I still use.

Many of the resources here are excellent and can be adapted to fit your course and style.

5. VCPS Curriculum Map

Last, and probably the most important, is this Volusia County curriculum map. My school district does not have any set curriculum or guide for Astronomy. This made planning a bit difficult in the beginning. I organized the order and structure of my course based on this map. The state standards are also helpful to demonstrate that your course meets state guidelines. Even if you are not in Florida, this map is immensely helpful!

I hope you find these resources useful, as they were all instrumental in setting up my course.

5 Tips for Blended Learning in a Science Class

May 13, 2017 /

Blended learning is one of the new trends in education, but this trend isn’t all talk. However, blended learning in science classrooms can be a little tricky. Here are five things I have learned in my blending learning endeavors that have greatly impacted student achievement.

1. Immediate feedback assessments

The biggest pitfall of assessments is the lack of feedback. Students take a test and wait days, weeks, or even months with state assessments for their results. This model does not support the learning process.

Enter online assessments. These can be done through your learning management system and provide instantaneous feedback. I have given pre-tests to my students through Canvas and used that data to drive how to break students into groups and where to go with instruction. It is amazing to have this data the moment they are finished with the assessment.

With most LMSes now, you can even secure your tests to make sure responses are genuine. Timed assessments, access codes, password protections – all of these things help remove the threat of cheating. I also like using online assessments for free response questions – even though I still have to grade them, virtual rubrics make scoring a breeze.

Remember that blended learning does not use technology to simply replace pencil-and-paper work. The advantage of using online assessments is the immediate feedback both the student and teacher receive.

2. Personalized learning menus

This is perhaps my favorite review method, and it makes blended learning in science classrooms so simple. I discussed how I use this for AP exam review earlier, and it can even work for introducing new content. Students are given a choice of several different assignments, with a goal of how many to complete or how many points to earn. I like weighting the assignments differently to give more complex assignments an incentive to complete. This strategy gives students choices in their learning and allows them to pick what helps them most.

Choice board as a learning menu

Here is an example choice board that I made for my AP Physics 1 class. Students had to make tic-tac-toe through the middle but had the choice on which path to take. Choice boards are one way to create a learning menu. I created this board using Blendspace.

With learning menus, the assignments can vary from practice problems to videos to labs. I like including a small group lecture so students that benefit from having a real person working with them get a chance to have more guided direct instruction. This is also a great strategy if you only have a few computers available – perhaps only one or two of the items are technology based.

3. Reinforcement videos

This one can go hand-in-hand with the learning menus, but it’s a good one. Sometimes it just helps to have something explained by more than one person. While showing videos all the time isn’t the best teaching method, assigning videos to help reinforce concepts can be extremely beneficial.

I like assigning videos for homework when I feel like my class needed further explanation. Including these videos on a work-at-your-own-pace assignment can help students get the reinforcement they need or provide extension opportunities for your ahead-of-the-curve students.

Khan Academy is always for videos. I am also a fan of Crash Course and Flipping Physics.

4. Virtual lab notebooks

I am still experimenting with virtual lab notebooks as part of my blending learning endeavors. However, I have used Canvas, Google Docs, and OneDrive’s collaborative document integration. Students can submit their lab work online, work on lab reports together, and the teacher can track who added/edited in the document.

Virtual lab notebooks enhance the laboratory experience by allowing for a more collaborative data analysis phase, as well as being closer to what students can expect in college and career.

5. Virtual lab experiences

Virtual labs are excellent tools for a variety of reasons, and they are such a natural place to include blended learning in science classrooms. Whether you don’t have the equipment, the topic is too abstract, or just to reinforce an idea, virtual experiences enhance the learning process in a profound way.

I love using the PhET simulations from https://phet.colorado.edu/. I often create inquiry-based labs using these. Many are being converted to HTML5 so they can be used on mobile devices as well.

Perhaps my favorite PhET is the Energy Skate Park. Students always have so much fun while exploring energy!

Another example of a virtual lab I use is the Photoelectric Effect from PhET. My school does not have the equipment available to perform this lab, and students often have trouble understanding it without a visual. However, the virtual lab for this is the perfect resource to give them a laboratory experience without the supplies.

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Dina Cavicchia, creator of Cavic Physics, is a Physics teacher from Orlando, Florida. She has taught Physics for ten years. Her teaching experience includes AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, Honors and Standard level Physics, and Honors Astronomy. Her passions include all things space, science advocacy, and teaching science through collaborative learning. Connect with Dina on Twitter. Check out Dina’s Physics and Astronomy resources available on Teachers Pay Teachers.

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