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Re: [Phys-l] Student engagement--GAIN



A quick note from a retired HS instructor who gained insight from a coupla Priscilla Laws Workshops and generally was looking for better ways to do things.

d,v,a,t equations are GARBAGE ! ! ! ! ! ! You might work up to them eventually - but until the students have a THOROUGH understanding of velocity time graphs. (and position time graphs too of course).
Sonic Ranger exercises are where it starts. Matching, predicting etc.

The velocity graph of straight line segments solves most 'd,v,a,t' problems that Rick is concerned about. Finding the area of rectangles and triangles is the analysis they need. The 'smart' ones will even use the trapezoid area 'formula', but that's unnecessary gravy.

How many college profs are willing to lower their teaching style to using geometry instead of the usual dvat formulas?


(Oh, and teaching momentum before KE works really well too - but that's for another day)

Rick writes:

The only GAIN I'm interested in from pre-College courses, is that I start
seeing some students who know some basics (say understand velocity and
acceleration)--so that we don't have to start from scratch.