On January 23 I posted (Re: Physics first) a long description of how Rex
Rice, a high school physics teacher near St. Louis, uses Modeling
Instruction successfully in his ninth grade physics course for regular
students (i.e., not honors students). I noted that "Rex Rice will probably
lead a regional modeling workshop in St. Louis this summer. UM-SL and 17
other universities in more than a dozen states have applied for Eisenhower
or other funds to hold modeling workshops."
Good news: the University of Missouri at St. Louis got funded, so
Rex Rice WILL lead a 3-week modeling workshop in July. Below is information
about modeling workshops being held this summer.
cheers,
Jane Jackson
************************************
2/8/00. Over a dozen universities nationwide are holding regional
Modeling Workshops this summer. The workshops are for high school physics
teachers, and some are also for physical science teachers. We recently put
complete information about each workshop site on our web page: http://modeling.la.asu.edu/modeling.html . Please look at it if you are
interested in physics courses that are student centered, structured
inquiry, modeling-based, and coherent.
The CPU Project is complementary to our project; their summer workshop
schedule is at http://cpuproject.sdsu.edu/ (We have a link to that web
page.)
Modeling Instruction and CPU are similar curriculum designs, in which
students construct models of physical phenomena. The difference is that the
CPU units, as presently designed, focus primarily on helping students
develop conceptual models, whereas the Modeling materials do include
significant mathematical modeling. Consequently, at schools where students
take a qualitative physics or physical science course prior to a more
quantitatively-oriented physics course, CPU would be better suited for the
first course and Modeling for the second.
Generally speaking, a teacher can receive financial support and/or a
tuition waiver at the workshop if he/she teaches in that state. Most
workshop sites will accept out-of-state teachers if they can't fill all the
slots with in-state teachers.
REGIONAL MODELING WORKSHOPS NEXT SUMMER:
The following sites have received Eisenhower or other funding to hold
regional modeling workshops. They (and their leaders and tentative dates)
are:
U of Arizona (Ingrid Novodvorsky, Phil Gilbert) July 5-28 (2nd semester
content)
Arizona State Univ (Sheila Ringhiser, Dawn Harman): July 12 - Aug. 4 (mechanics)
Arizona State Univ (Jeff Hengesbach): June 7-30 (2nd semester content)
Northern AZ Univ (David Thompson, Lynette Burdick) (math & science): May 29
-June 16
University of Michigan at Dearborn (Mark Davids:lead teacher): June 26 - July 21
Univ of Akron (Lou Turner, Gene Easter): July 10 - 22
California State Univ at Fresno (Brenda Royce, Jerry Bodily): June 26 - July 7
Univ of Hawaii (Gheri Fouts & Consuelo Rogers): July 17 - 22.
Univ of Missouri at St Louis (Rex Rice & Mark Schober): July 5 - 21
U of No. Carolina at Greensboro (Patty Blanton, Mike Turner, Nina Morley,
Michelle Halley)
Univ of Tennessee at Knoxville (Ellis Noll, Mark Anderson): June 12 - 30
Mary Washington College in Virginia (Rich McNamara, Tim McLeod, & Katie
Wallet):
July 10-28
Univ of Wisconsin at River Falls (Michael Crofton): June 14 - 30
The following universities have applied for Eisenhower or other funds to
hold modeling workshops next summer and are waiting to hear:
Univ of Central Florida (Art Woodruff, Jane Nelson)
Vermont Technical College (Jim Hildebran, Bryan Lloyd): 2 weeks in July,
after July 4.
University of New England, in Maine (Jamie Vesenka, Roger Benatti, Jeff
Steinert): 2 weeks in August (14 - 25?)
Columbus State University in Georgia (Janice Hudson, Tim Burgess): July 17
- Aug. 4?
Jerry Loomer is working with Black Hills State University in So. Dakota to
submit a proposal for Eisenhower funds for a modeling workshop from July
3-28.
**********************************
Jane Jackson, Dir., Modeling Workshop Project
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics, ASU, Tempe, AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331. http://modeling.la.asu.edu
Genius must transform the world, that the world may produce more genius.