New Compadre Portal collection resources

Project Based Learning Online

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:18:44 EST

This is the home site for PBL-Online.org, which provides comprehensive resources on the Project Based Learning model of instruction. Registered teacher-users have access to free templates for creating project-based activities, including assessment planning, project mapping, checklists, rubrics, and standards. Projects are stored in a database that may be searched by author, keyword, grade level, or topic. Background information on the Project Based Learning method and related research are also provided, along with strategies for implementation in the K-12 classroom. ***NOTE: Of particular interest is the capability for teachers to collaborate online in creating and sharing new projects for inclusion in the PBL-Online library. This web site was developed by the Buck Institute for Education specifically for use with the Project Based Learning Handbook,available for online purchase.

NoteStar: A Research Tool for Project Based Learning

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:54:56 EST

This resource is a free tool that helps students organize data, notes, and citations obtained from project-based investigations and research. By dragging the NoteStar icon to the toolbar, users can save citations and other digital data with one click. The tool also allows them to create personal notations for future reference or sharing with partners. The tool is available only to registered teacher-users, who will do the initial set-up. Students use a password to access their accounts, but are not required to disclose personal information. The teacher can monitor any student's progress at any time. This resource was intended for use with ThinkTank, a related cost-free tool that helps students develop and narrow research questions. Outlines created in ThinkTank can be exported to NoteStar. NoteStar is part of the collection of online tools available through 4Teachers.org. ***PLEASE NOTE: Some of the pages within this resource are sponsored by commercial vendors. The Physics Front neither endorses nor recommends products for commercial sale.

ThinkTank: Research Organizer Tool

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:42:37 EST

This resource is a free tool to help students develop and narrow research questions for project-based learning. ThinkTank allows students to create an outline of topics and subtopics, narrow their choices, and export topics to NoteStar, a related cost-free tool. ThinkTank is part of the collection of online tools available through 4Teachers.org, founded to support integration of technology in the K-12 classroom. SEE RELATED ITEMS ON THIS PAGE for a link to the full set of tools. ***PLEASE NOTE: Some of the pages within this resource are sponsored by commercial vendors. The Physics Front neither endorses nor recommends products for commercial sale.

Rubistar: Creating Rubrics for Project-Based Learning

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:05:43 EST

This resource is a free tool to help K-12 teachers create quality rubrics in a short amount of time. A rubric is a scoring tool that lists criteria for a project or investigation. Rubrics clarify what is expected of the student and promote self-evaluation skills. Templates are available for multiple types of projects, including science investigations, verbal presentations, and multimedia. Users may also choose from a variety of rubrics submitted by other teacher-contributors. Users must register to access RubiStar. RubiStar is part of the collection of online tools available through 4Teachers.org, founded to support integration of technology in the K-12 classroom. ***PLEASE NOTE: Some of the pages within this resource are sponsored by commercial vendors. The Physics Front neither endorses nor recommends products for commercial sale.

4 Teachers: Project Based Learning Checklists

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:10:48 EST

This web page contains customizable student checklists for written reports, multimedia projects, oral presentations, and science projects. The checklists are organized for three grade bands: K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. The purpose of the checklists is to help students stay on track during a longer-term investigation, and promote their skills in responsibility and self-evaluating. 4 Teachers is funded by the ALTEC project, founded to support integration of technology in the K-12 classroom. ***PLEASE NOTE: Some of the pages within this resource are sponsored by commercial vendors. The Physics Front neither endorses nor recommends products for commercial sale.

4 Teachers: Family of Tools

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:39:58 EST

This web page is a collection of 15 cost-free tools designed to help K-12 teachers use technology in all phases of instruction and assessment. The tools offer time-saving ways to monitor student research and writing, evaluate student performance, and create online lessons, classroom calendars, customized rubrics, tests/quizzes, exportable note-taking organizers for students, and more. 4 Teachers is funded by the ALTEC project, founded to support integration of technology in the K-12 classroom. ***PLEASE NOTE: Some of the pages within this resource are sponsored by commercial vendors. The Physics Front neither endorses nor recommends products for commercial sale.

ALTEC: The Advanced Learning Technologies Project

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:23:27 EST

ALTEC is a growing project founded to support K-12 teachers in the integration of technology in the classroom. The ALTEC network of more than a dozen partners offers free online tools and resources, professional development, interactive venues, tips for effective use of digital materials, and monthly newsletters on emerging technologies. Of particular interest for K-12 teachers is the collection of tools developed by ALTEC partner 4Teachers.org, offering ready-to-use quizzes, rubrics, checklists, research organizers, and exportable note-taking for students. Materials are free for K-12 teachers in public or non-profit school districts. Some fees may apply to users from private, commercial, or for-profit institutions. ***PLEASE NOTE: Some of the pages within this resource are sponsored by commercial vendors. The Physics Front neither endorses nor recommends products for commercial sale. This project is part of University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning.

Multiple Modes of Reasoning in Physics Problem Solving, with Implications for Instruction

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:31:22 EST

Problem-solving is an important part of physics teaching, learning and assessment. It is widely assumed that the way that experts solve problems, and students should, is by systematic application of basic physics principles. Model solutions are laid out this way, and teaching of problem-solving usually consists of `going over' such solutions step by step. However, while this does represent the physics structure of the final solution, it does not adequately reflect how people actually think when tackling problems. Real cognition is complex. This study was prompted by students trying to `map across' result features recalled from previous cases instead of working from basics. Since our instruction emphasizes the power and generality of basic principles, our first response was to re-emphasize principles, but we found that experts in fact draw extensively and effectively on rich compiled case knowledge. We investigated cognition in detail for geometrical optics. Research methods included analysis of written solutions, reflections on thinking, and interviews. Cognitive modes emerged from the initial research stages, and were then used to code individuals' problem-solving pathways. Learners and experts alike used multiple modes of cognition, significantly principle-based reasoning, case-based reasoning and experiential-intuitive reasoning. Case-based reasoning using pre-compiled knowledge played a pervasive role in conjunction with, and sometimes in conflict with, principle-based reasoning. The implications for instruction are that it should reflect what we know about cognition and expertise, and hence include teaching case-based as well as principle-based reasoning. We are doing this in optics, by using cases and variations, identifying topic knowledge schema `sub-assemblies', and modeling their use in problems.

Teaching Physics Using Virtual Reality

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:57:16 EST

This web site provides pedagogical material to use with Real Time Relativity, a virtual relativistic world simulator. Included are a lab using the software, student evaluations, and web resources for teaching relativity.

The Moon: A Resource Guide

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:28:44 EST

The guide covers the scientific understanding of the Moon as a world, the appearance of the Moon, and tips for observing the Moon. It is written for educators, amateur astronomers, and anyone with an interest in the Earth's natural satellite. It also suggests a few ways to learn more about the Moon in popular culture and historical events. This resource list is part of a series of guides for educators from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, which is dedicated to improving the public understanding of astronomy and advancing science literacy. These materials are available online at http://www.astrosociety.org/education.html

Physics Suite Peer Instruction Problems: Kinematics

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:36:13 EST

This page contains ten Peer Instruction problems on kinematics, designed to be presented in the classroom. Each problem involves a question, usually multiple choice, that is carefully constructed to engage student difficulties with fundamental concepts. In the first step, students consider the problem individually and contribute their answers using personal response systems. Students then collaborate with team members and vote again on the correct response. Topics covered include displacement, velocity, average velocity, speed, and interpreting position and velocity graphs. This problem set is part of the Physics Suite collection, containing sample problems, peer instruction problems, and alternative homework sets. SEE RELATED ITEMS ON THIS PAGE for background information on the Peer Instruction teaching method and tips for implementing it in the classroom.

YouTube Videos of Sound Phenomena

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:55:12 EST

A page linking to sixteen YouTube and Google Flash videos dealing with sound. Information on how to download and convert the videos is also provided.

Strings, standing waves and harmonics

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:08:59 EST

This website from the University of New South Wales contains basic information about how stringed instruments produce sound. The site discusses plucked string sound and bowed string sound, standing waves, and harmonics. There are many helpful animations and pictures to illustrate concepts.

PhysicsCentral: Fiddle Physics

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:07:46 EST

This PhysicsCentral article describes the physics behind violins. The article discusses the mechanics of violin construction and how violinists produce sound. It includes labeled pictures of violin parts, animations of how the violin bow works, and other helpful images.

Breaking Glass with Sound

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:06:58 EST

This video from MIT TechTV demonstrates how to break a glass using sound. The demonstrator determines the resonant frequency of the glass and plays a tone of that frequency with a function generator. The video page has a description of the phenomenon beneath the video.

Science Fiction Stories with Good Astronomy and Physics: A Topical Index

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:23:24 EST

This is a selective list of some short stories and novels that use more or less accurate science. They can be used for teaching or reinforcing astronomy or physics concepts. Both traditional "science-fiction" and (occasionally) more serious fiction that derives meaning or plot from astronomy or physics ideas are included. Almost 200 stories in 40 subject categories are listed.

Science Fiction Stories with Good Astronomy and Physics: A Topical Index

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:21:46 EST

Equatorial Coordinates Model

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:05:30 EST

The Equatorial Coordinates model displays the position of a star in equatorial (Right Ascension/Declination --- RA/Dec) coordinates. The horizon is shown along with the four cardinal directions (N, E, S, and W). The Latitude slider changes the latitude of the observer which is shown by the change in the (teal) celestial pole relative to the northern horizon. The position of the star can be changed by using the Right Ascension and Declination sliders. Once these coordinates are selected, pressing the play button will put the star, celestial grid, and the equatorial coordinates in motion to simulate the 23 hour and 56 minute motion of stars in the night sky. Equatorial Coordinates model is distributed as a ready-to-run (compiled) Java archive. Double clicking the ejs_astronomy_EquatorialCoordinates.jar file will run the program if Java is installed. You can modify this simulation if you have EJS installed by right-clicking within the plot and selecting "Open EJS Model" from the pop-up menu item.

Context Rich Problems Online Archives: Magnetic Force and Field Problems

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:22:02 EST

This page provides a set of 6 context-rich physics problems relating to magnetic force and field, appropriate for the second half of a two-year high school physics program. The problems give students practice in applying Ampere's Law and Faraday's Law to simple, yet realistic situations. Context-rich problems are carefully constructed to promote problem-solving skills through the context of real-life scenarios. Students work cooperatively to: 1) visualize the problem, 2) decide together upon a strategy, 3) apply physics concepts to solve the problem, and 4) evaluate/test the solution. Problems are formulated so that they cannot be solved in a few steps by copying a pattern. SEE RELATED ITEMS ON THIS PAGE for more information about how to implement context-rich problem solving in the introductory physics classroom. This resource is based on the research results of the Minnesota Physics Education Research group. See Related items on this page for a link to the full collection.

Context Rich Problems Online Archives: Circuits Problems

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:11:47 EST

This page provides a set of 6 context-rich physics problems relating to electric circuits, appropriate for high school introductory physics. The problems will give students practice in applying Ohm's Law and evaluating realistic electronics design diagrams. Context-rich problems are carefully constructed to promote problem-solving skills through the context of real-life scenarios. Students work cooperatively to: 1) visualize the problem, 2) decide together upon a strategy, 3) apply physics concepts to solve the problem, and 4) evaluate/test the solution. Problems are formulated so that they cannot be solved in a few steps by copying a pattern. SEE RELATED ITEMS ON THIS PAGE for more information about how to implement context-rich problem solving in the introductory physics classroom. This resource is based on the research results of the Minnesota Physics Education Research group. See Related items on this page for a link to the full collection.