TVDSB Western

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TVDSB Western
Andre Lachance Biology Todd Macuda Psychology Nick
Payne Chemistry Spencer Seiler Lets Talk
Science Tom Stavracky Physiology Patrick
Whippey Physics Astronomy
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Students in First Year Classes

• Biology 1500
• Chemistry 1500
• Mathematics 1800
• Physics 1200
• Psychology 2500
• Physiology 230

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University vs School
Moving from the Minors to the Majors Rules are
the same, but

• Faster Pace
• Bigger Volume
• Self-Directed

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Support Services

• Department Help Centres
• Demonstrators and Tutors
• Student Development Services
• Four study skills counsellors
• Many short workshops on study skills
• Office of the Dean of Science
• Three academic counsellors
• Services for Students with Disabilities
• Student Health Services.

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Most First Year Students are doing FineMark
Distribution 2001-2002 ()
E.G. 47 of the students in First Year Biology
had a final mark between 70 and 100
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The Weaker Student 1

• Overwhelmed by workload.
• Poor time management.
• Unaware of the time commitment required.
• Does not know math from grades nine-eleven
  syllabus.

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The Weaker Student 2

• Poor study skills
• Knowledge is a (disconnected) collection of
  facts.
• Unable to structure knowledge.
• Unable to organize knowledge.
• Uncommitted to the discipline.
• Some engineers I hate mathematics.
• I am dropping this course because I dont like
  it.

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Typical First Year Lab Course

• 2 or 3 lecture hours
• 3 laboratory hours alternating with
• 2-3 tutorial hours

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Workload 1

• 2 hours of study for each hour of class
• Major Exams
• 1 hour of study for each mark it contributes to
  the final.
• 24 hours per week outside class plus
• 12 hours per major mid term and final

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Workload 2Science Students are busy!
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What Math do you really need for Physics?

• Sines cosines and tangents.
• Pythogoras theorem
• Solve equations in 2 or 3 unknowns
• Exponentials and Logs

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Overheard in the Help Centre

• Need a calculator for 70/5
• Need a calculator for 10-3 x 10-5
• (an Honors Physics student, sigh)
• 0.01/0.01 1?. How did you get that sir?

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Study Skills

• A textbook is not a novel.
• Does not know how to reduce this

One 4 x 6 file card
to this
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Weak Understanding

• Knowledge is an unconnected set of facts.
• Unable to structure knowledge
• Unable to organize knowledge
• Unaware that understanding has levels
• Level 1 Student
• Level 3 Patrick Whippey
• Level 10 Richard Feynman

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Level 0.5

• I Know but

What is F?
What is m?
What is a?
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Difficult to do Remedial Work

• No Time.
• Pace ramps up at midterms
• Does not slow down
• Few Resources
• We dont do Math from grades 9 to 11.
• Fanshawe Math Centre
• Wheable

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Comments from Maaike FroelichStudy Skills
Counsellor

• Need to take ownership of their learning.
• Cant learn Math by watching someone else do it.
• Some are getting hooked on Tutors

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How well are students prepared?

• Most thrive and prosper.
• We have adjusted to their knowledge base
• Physics sets less challenging questions on
  average than 10 years ago.
• Physics is moving slowly to a more conceptual
  approach for most courses.

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What can Secondary School Science Teachers best
do?

• The same as you have always done!
• Emphasize Math in grades 9-12.
• Emphasize the concepts of your discipline.
• Teach the content of your discipline.
• Give them a peek at the deeper levels of
  understanding.
• Command, Cajoule, enCourage, Coach,.

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The New Way

• You have to emphasize
• Group work,
• Critical Thinking skills
• Problem solving
• Creative Thinking
• Open-Ended Inquiry
• We do this too, but not in first year.
• Over four years we do all these things.

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Problem Solving

• If Pat Whippey had to beseech you to change one
  thing it would be to instruct your students to
• Show all the steps in the solution.
• The problem is entrenched in Elementary School.

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Example Grade 6

• This is driving two of my colleagues crazy.
  Their children are making errors, but refusing
  parental suggestions to Show Your Work

Find the perimeter. Do your calculations on a
rough piece of paper and write the answers below
15.7
6.5
4.2
14.0
12.0
14.4
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Physics Decision StepsIt works for ALL
problemsThis example is from Mechanics

• Pictorial Model
• Sketch
• Frame of Reference
• Physical Model
• Free Body Diagram
• Apply Newtons Second Law
• Mathematical Model
• Solve the equations

Details http//www.physics.uwo.ca/ugrad/probsolv
/index.html
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Conceptual Physics

• Each container is full to the brim with water.
• Rank them according to their total weight, light
  to heavy
• (A) (1) (2) (3)
• (B) (3) (2) (1)
• (C) (2) (3) (1)
• (D) All the same.

We are introducing some questions like this in
all our physics courses. Details
http//www.physics.uwo.ca/ugrad/p021/lectures/lect
ures.html
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Evaluation
Some Questions 1
Teach Less Better? Yes!
Content versus Process?

• Knowledge
• Inquiry
• Communication
• Application
• We do all these, but not all at once in the same
  course. First year science is mostly 1 and 2

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University or College? This is a complex question.
Some Questions 2
Will these students be as well prepared as
others? Yes
Are these insights unique to Western? No
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Suggestions for Physics Teachers

• Encourage your staff to be lifelong students of
  the art of teaching.
• Join Science Teachers Association Of Ontario.
  Attend the Annual Conference.
• Join American Association of Physics Teachers.
• Subscribe to read the Physics Teacher
• Attend the Ontario Association of Physics
  Teachers meeting in London 22 24 May 2003

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Other Suggestions

• Nurture contacts between Western and the TVDSB.
• Support discipline meetings between us.
• Need recognition from both our employers that
  this is important.
• Get involved with Science Olympics
• Get involved with Science Fairs

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You are looking for solutions to

• Crowded curricula
• Lack of equipment
• Crowded classrooms

? So are we ?
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Thank You

• Andre Lachance lachance_at_uwo.ca
• Todd Macuda tmacuda_at_uwo.ca
• Nick Payne noggin_at_uwo.ca
• Spencer Seiler sseiler_at_uwo.ca
• Tom Stavraky tom.stavraky_at_fmd.uwo.ca
• Patrick Whippey pwhippey_at_uwo.ca

Download http//www.physics.uwo.ca/news/conferenc
es/index.html