Re: [Phys-l] Any thoughts on summer physics curriculum?

["Thomas O'Neill" <oneillth@jmu.edu>]

Steve,
  Might I suggest a program in the Zoological Physics?  I started with the book Zoological Physics : Quantitative Models of Body Design, Actions, and Physical Limitations of Animals by Boye Ahlborn of the University of British Columbia.  The book could use some further editing but is a great start on Biophysics that high school students can relate to.

  I also used material from the Physics of the Human Body course (PHYS 340) as taught at the University of Virginia by Prof. Baessler.  The course is sort of Physics for pre-meds.

  You might just emphasize sensory systems which is a great opportunity to visit Light and Sound to whatever depth you wish.  I have also found that the sections on Medical Diagnostics are very popular with my high school students (although I normally teach at a Virginia Governor's School which is like a magnet school).  I teach a course for seniors (after one year of Physics) that is called Biophysics but emphasizes the material that I have outlined.

  Contact me off-list if you wish further details.



---- Original message ----
> Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 19:22:23 -0800
> From: Steve Temple <stemple@srcs.org>  
> Subject: [Phys-l] Any thoughts on summer physics curriculum?  
> To: phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
>
> I teach in a summer program that is dedicated to the teaching of  
> underrepresented populations in STEM related fields. The students that  
> I teach during this summer program come from schools around the  
> Oakland/San Francisco/San Jose area. They range in ability from  
> students taking Calculus based AP Physics to students who have yet to  
> take physics. They are all in the 11th grade, so their abilities vary  
> enormously. In the past, I have put together a program that attempts  
> to differentiate the curriculum so that the more advanced students can  
> be challenged, while the lower level students aren't overwhelmed. I  
> have had some good success in teaching the physics of rocketry. This  
> allows me to teach some basic kinematics and Newtonian dynamics to the  
> more basic level students, while teaching more advanced subject matter  
> such as air resistance and the conservation of momentum for an object  
> with a changing mass. Again, it has been successful, but not entirely.  
> At times it is too advanced for some, while not at all for others. I  
> have been playing around with the idea of changing the curriculum not  
> so much because I feel it isn't serving the students needs, but more  
> because I am beginning to get bored. I want to mix it up and try  
> something different. I was thinking about doing a unit (I have five  
> weeks) on the physics of music, or something involving electric  
> circuits (solar, or wind power would be fun!), but I am worried that  
> without the background, the students who haven't had physics would be  
> lost. I have always taught kinematics and mechanics before waves and  
> electricity, but I wonder if that is just due to convention. Obviously  
> there is a historical reason for teaching mechanics first, but for a  
> summer program that aims to get students excited about science, I am  
> curious if anyone has any ideas about this. Any thoughts would be  
> appreciated. 
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THO

Thomas O'Neill
Physics Teacher in Residence
James Madison University
Shenandoah Valley Governor's School