Version 1.2 13 Feb 2003 by Philip A Turek
Describe the teaching and learning activities an observer would see if they walked into your classroom and their effect on the students.
Within my Physical Science and CP Physics courses students engage in hands on learning activities on a frequent, regular basis. This week small groups of students measured the calories contained in a peanut, explored static discharges with an electrophorus, and measured and graphed the effects of heat on temperature as water changes phases. Fridays are "question day", when I provide extensive in-depth answers to any science related question that we do not have time to explore on other days. Usually half of the questions relate to our current unit of study while half span subjects from cosmology to evolution. My fellow teachers and I jointly plan and prepare demonstrations and experiments as a team. For example, this week we coordinated using liquid Nitrogen for demonstrations in four different science courses. The effect is each year we successfully persuade some physical science students to continue studying science.
The quiet chatter in my AP Physics course is from students teaching each other how to solve particular problems. From the way I handle my occasional errors students have learned not to become distressed over their own mistakes, but to persevere optimistically in solving any problem. Last year 90% of them passed the AP Physics exam. For enrichment, these students use Satellite ToolKit software on Fridays to study orbital mechanics.
The learning in my classroom continues beyond the end of the school day. I typically spend one hour every day helping students with their homework. I am also the advisor for the school's space settlement design team. Boeing engineers volunteer their time to come and guide my team through the aerospace proposal process. Here students take on the roles of managers and engineers to explore in-depth potential future careers. Experience shows that many of them will go on to become successful engineers and managers.
Copyright © 2003 Philip A Turek. Used by permission.