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Re: [Phys-L] Semester length and course structure



Good evening,

Oh, the bean counters will make sure the number of hours meet whatever
the requirements are. My main worry is that just because we meet the
same number of *hours* doesn't mean that the same amount of *learning*
will take place. Brains get saturated, you know? Right now, most of
my classes are three 75-min sessions (plus a three hour lab for some
of them) a week. Those are either four or five credits. Then there
are the two credit classes, once a week for three hours. And my
evening Astronomy class is two three-hour sessions a week. I believe
the plan (although the new weekly schedule is still TBD) is to have
the individual class sessions longer, to make up for the missing three
weeks. However, I am 99% sure that these plans are being made by
people whose primary mode of instruction is only twice a week, so they
don't have as much to make up as we do. The fustercluck is yet to
come...

Yours,

Don Smith
Guilford College Physics Department




On Mon, Mar 5, 2018 at 6:39 PM, Todd Pedlar <pedlto01@luther.edu> wrote:
If you're doing twelve week semesters may I assume you're meeting the same
number of days per week as before? Was that 3 or 4 (and are you meeting
for an hour or 50 minutes)? (and are your courses 3 or 4 credit hours)?
If four, how are you going to satisfy your accrediting agency that the work
is sufficient to count as semester-long courses? There are minimum numbers
of course hours per credit that most accrediting agencies use - and I'm
thinking with a 12 week semester, even at 200 minutes per week you would
be pushing it...

Todd

On Mon, Mar 5, 2018 at 2:09 PM, Donald Smith <dsmith4@guilford.edu> wrote:

Good afternoon,

Thanks for responding. I am actually less worried about shortening to
the 12 (yeah, we're going to have to cut stuff, which is frustrating,
but for most of the classes, that's not a *qualitative* change, unless
we decide to do something radically different with labs...) than I am
about using the 3-week term effectively. We haven't been told yet how
many of the short terms are supposed to be for gen-ed or non-major
courses, so it's hard to start planning, but I am thinking that some
of the material we won't have time to put in the 12 week can slide
into the 3-week, with some pedagogical innovation/flexibility. For
example, we could do experimental optics, or electronics, or computer
modeling projects. I am also thinking about maybe something like
Oregon's "modules", where they teach the upper level courses in short
chunks that focus on techniques rather than subject -- so you learn
how to do separation of variables, and then you use it in E&M and
Quantum applications, etc. Then on to the next technique.

Anyway, I was just hoping to find others out there who have had to
make this transition and to hear their stories.

Yours,

Don




On Fri, Mar 2, 2018 at 2:43 PM, Bill Nettles <bnettles@uu.edu> wrote:
I'm not a person who curses, but this type of thing greatly vexes me.
Why does any sane educator think we can fit equivalent learning into 20%
less time? I feel sorry for you having to figure this out. Semesters were
16 weeks when I first started and now we're down to 13.5. I can't imagine
going to 12. Three week mini-terms are impossible in physics at the
undergraduate level unless you have highly-motivated A-level students!!!
Even then it won't involve senior level topics.

I'm sorry for the rant, but that action is worse than any physics
textbook errors which might be out there. At least we can correct those on
the fly when we encounter them.

Practically, you're going to have to leave out a lot of material. In the
introductory sequence, geometrical optics and magnetic fields are the first
to disappear. AC circuits probably wasn't there to begin with, but it's
gone, too, with a 12 week class. RC circuits, moment of inertia
calculations are next. It's really sad ... Of course, you could leave
everything in, pick up the pace, and leave 90% of the students in the dust
and hating physics. Sigh...

-----Original Message-----
From: Phys-l [mailto:phys-l-bounces@mail.phys-l.org] On Behalf Of
Donald Smith
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2018 8:01 PM
To: Phys-L@phys-l.org
Subject: [Phys-L] Semester length and course structure

Good evening,

This is perhaps a bit different from the usual type of question asked
here, but my college is about to switch from a 15 week semester to a
12 week semester combined with a 3 week mini-term in which students take
one, intensive, 3-credit class at a time. Does anyone here teach at a
school that has such a schedule? I would be interested to hear stories
about how you made it work for better physics instruction, or if you have
any horror stories that suggest what to avoid trying. I have some ideas
about short lab classes and computational physics projects, but I would
love to hear about what others have tried. If this forum isn't the right
venue for that conversation, I would welcome emails sent directly to me.

Thank you in advance,
--
Donald Smith
Guilford College Physics Department
http://class.guilford.edu/physics/dasmith
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@mail.phys-l.org
http://www.phys-l.org/mailman/listinfo/phys-l
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@mail.phys-l.org
http://www.phys-l.org/mailman/listinfo/phys-l



--
Donald Smith
Guilford College Physics Department
http://class.guilford.edu/physics/dasmith
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@mail.phys-l.org
http://www.phys-l.org/mailman/listinfo/phys-l




--
Todd K. Pedlar
Professor of Physics
Luther College, Decorah, IA
pedlto01@luther.edu
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@mail.phys-l.org
http://www.phys-l.org/mailman/listinfo/phys-l



--
Donald Smith
Guilford College Physics Department
http://class.guilford.edu/physics/dasmith