Do the readings for each class before class.
This is a "flipped" class. We'll be working on and practicing thinking, doing, and figuring out stuff in class. Standard familiarization and memorization learning methods aren't enough. This means you'll need to read some of the text before each class -- equivalent to about half a chapter in a standard text. You can find links to the readings on our Schedule Page on the NEXUS/Physics site on the open web.
We expect you to have
read all the assigned texts before lecture and to make some sense
of them. If you are confused
by something in the
reading, formulate a good question and bring it to class. You'll
be using the readings more as reference than things to know right
away. If you find yourself
stuck, don't just skip over it. Spend some time trying to figure
it out. If you can't, formulate a question for class, and go back
and look at it again after we've worked with it in class. But don't
worry. You can expect to look at the readings again in preparation
for doing your homework and again when your studying for the quiz.
It should make more sense each time. If still stuck, feel free to
catch your instructor or TA in Course Center or in post-lecture huddle
room sessions.
Attend every class.
This class is about doing, not just about learning facts or equations. In lecture we'll be doing some lecturing, but a lot of answering questions using your phones or laptop -- group problem solving, and holding class discussions. You will get credit for some of this, but that's not the point -- the point is that the doing is where the real learning takes place.
A major part of doing science is learning to hold a scientific conversation -- how to solve a problem through interaction and exchange of ideas. This class is structured to help you develop this essential skill. And we will be doing it in almost every class! (As well as in recitation, labs, and homework.)
Prepare for the Tuesday quizzes
Most weeks will begin with an on-paper 10-point quiz. These will be short answer questions, but you will typically need to figure the answers out. They will often be a variation of questions we've have in the previous week's lectures, items from the readings, or something building on the previous week's recitation or homework. These are "formative assessment" -- we learn from our mistakes and these are set up so that each point you lose can help you understand how you need to refine your thinking. We'll try to have 12 quizzes so we can drop the lowest two.
To prepare for a quiz, a brief review of the previous weeks readings, clicker activities, and homework solutions is recommended. Don't try to memorize but make sense and learn our ways of figuring stuff out. A good activity is to try to organize the material we've learned around a few key foothold ideas and anchor equations.
Do a brief on-line activity associated with the reading before class.
There is often a brief reading quiz on Canvas associated with the readings. Most of these will involve using an online simulation to explore the ideas discussed in the readings. This should both help you to make sense of the reading and to get familiar with simulations that we will be using in class. These will be due at midnight the night before class and will be worth a few points. If you forget to do it, you can get half credit by doing it after class (but NOT during class or the day after).
Be there for our Thursday Walls & Whiteboard Activities (WAWAs)
To make learning to hold scientific conversations happen, in some weeks, you will be often working on tasks together in class. Here's how this works. When we begin a WAWA:
- Break up into groups of 3 or 4.
- If you are near a wall that can be written on, move your group to the wall and find a marker and eraser.
- If you are not near a wall, students in front of the long tables should rotate their chairs to face the students behind it and one student from each group should be designated to pick up a whiteboard, a couple of markers, and an eraser
- Write your first name on a corner of your wall or whiteboard so the other students (and your instructors) can learn it.
- At the end of class, the designated student should erase and return the whiteboards to their storage location.
Keep up!
We know that you're busy, and we know that in many other classes
you can let things slide and then catch up for an exam. In this
class that can be hard. Each class builds on the last, and
on the homework from previous weeks. If you miss too much you may
find yourself lost. In addition, your grade is based on the accumulation
of points in many different categories throughout the semseter. For
details see How is my grade determined?
