Physics for freshmen
Dr. Leon Lederman, 1988 winner of Nobel Prize in Physics discusses teaching physics first
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article about the Missouri Physics First program, which encourages and trains high school science teachers to teach an introductory, hands-on physics course for freshmen.
❝Physics drives chemistry and biology," said Sara Torres, director of a program at the University of Missouri in Columbia that trains future ninth-grade physics teachers. "To understand chemistry, you need physics, and to understand biology, you need chemistry. So it makes sense to teach physics to ninth-graders.❞
The counter-arguement is that students need to use higher-level math to understand physics.
❝Those students don't have a sound enough basis in math skills," said Gwen Thomas, the secondary science curriculum coordinator for St. Louis Public Schools.❞
Since the intro course wouldn't replace a higher-level math-based physics course that many to most (depending on the district) students wouldn't take anyway, I love the idea of an introductory physics course for all students. This would help them see a need for that algebra they're learning, expose them to an area of science they might not see otherwise and help them better understand other branches of science.
Rock and roll the Mother Nature way
I wonder what all the kids will be talking about at school today? (Hint: 5.2) Enterprising teachers across the Midwest will be bringing up the 1906 San Francisco earthquake anniversary, the Missouri quakes of 1811-12 and some good earth science lessons. Some might even tackle how a 5.4 is 10 times greater than a 5.2
Here's a well done YouTube (albeit long) on the New Madrid quakes of 1812 and predictions:
Get outside! (Improve your science scores)
The No Child Left Inside Coalition advocates for more outdoor education, citing research showing improved science scores (pdf) among other benefits. As our students are now taking a science section of the MAP, I thought this was especially relevant.
I believe the school tagging the monarch butterflies at 4:20 is the fifth grade at The College School. Let me know if I'm wrong.
Come rain, SNOW, sleet, or shine, the Science Fair must go on!
In spite of the anticipated snow day tomorrow, our school's beloved science fair will go on. Yes, we'll trek those projects up to school in however much snow we get. Of course, we could take them up today if we were organized enough to be finished....
Participation may be emphasized over winning and that pizza party is motivating, but the competitive kids know that some of the projects get to go to Queeny Park, the world's largest regional science fair. It really is impressive.
Hear, hear for well run science fairs that motivate
students to learn more about their world and teach
them how to do so scientifically.
Zebra fish? It may have worked for her, but my daughter has something else in mind for the science fair
Science Fair time is coming up, so we have every intention of working hard over the winter break on those projects. Sigh.
❝Girls won top honors for the first time in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, one of the nation’s most coveted student science awards❞
The NY Times highlights how well girls did this year at the Siemens.
❝Isha Himani Jain, 16, a senior at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pa., placed first in the individual category for her studies of bone growth in zebra fish, whose tail fins grow in spurts, similar to the way children’s bones do. She will get a $100,000 scholarship❞.
The other important science award is the Intel, formerly the Westinghouse. The St. Louis Science Fair Honors Division is a qualifier for the Intel.
The 2007 Greater St. Louis Science Fair Honors Division second and third places were awarded to girls. This isn't a sweep but it does demonstrate that girls do science too.
❝Three-quarters of the finalists have a parent who is a scientist.❞
My kids don't have that going in their favor. Does having friends with scientist parents count?
My daughter has known what she wanted to do for her science fair project for a long time. My son? No clue.