Calling All NYC Metro-Area Physics Teachers

Do you teach physics or physical science? Would you like to be part of a teacher-led Physics Study Group? We are proposing to establish one. We are practitioners of a curriculum and pedagogy known as Modeling Instruction, developed collaboratively by university and high school physics educators over the past 20 years.

What is Modeling Instruction? Robert Karplus came up with the idea of modeling in 1969, and it has been developed into a comprehensive approach by Hestenes and many others. Examples of scientific models are the sphere model for the Earth and the particle model for the Solar System.  Other types of models are analog models, in which features of one system are used to understand a second system, and mathematical models, in which two (or more) quantities are related together by means of an equation, a graph, a table of numbers or a computer program.

Modeling Instruction, in brief, focuses on developing carefully-selected scientific models through student experiments and structured questioning and discussion. Modelers, beginning with Karplus, have done extensive research on the most common student misconceptions arising in the course of model development. Modeling teachers draw upon a variety of powerful strategies to help students develop and test their own models, thus working through the key misconceptions and learning how to apply the models successfully in problem solving.

Links about Modeling Instruction:

http://modeling.asu.edu/

http://modeling.asu.edu/modeling/Mod_Instr-effective.htm

http://modeling.asu.edu/SuccessStories_MI.htm

Proposed activities: We are proposing that The NYC Physics Modeling Group focus on the following types of activities.

• Professional Development that focuses on pedagogy, led by teachers actually using it

• Curriculum which is not textbook-specific and is implemented by all levels of physics teachers, from Physics First to Regents Physics to Advanced Placement Physics

• Ongoing conversation with peer teachers on how to incorporate and implement inquiry teaching into the physics classroom and laboratory settings

• A sustainable cohort of other New York City area Physics teachers open to discuss and support each other on implementing and adapting curriculum to their own classroom realities

If you’re interested, please respond to the survey at

http://tinyurl.com/4nu88nk

If you supply your name and email in the survey, we will be in touch with you shortly. We hope to schedule an initial organization meeting and workshop sometime before June.

Fernand Brunschwig, Chairman, NYAS Steering Committee, Science Education Initiative (Empire State College and Columbia University Teachers College)

Nathan Finney, Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science, & Engineering (CSS-MSE)

Seth Guinals-Kupperman, High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College (HSMSE)

Mark Schober, Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science, & Engineering (CSS-MSE)

Andrew Stillman, Program Officer for Digital Instruction, New Visions for Public Schools

Fernand Brunschwig

I’m a professor of physics and science education at Empire State College since 1972, and at Columbia Teachers College since 2007. I grew up near Philly and have lived in Cambridge, MA; Lugano, Switzerland; Rome, Italy; Berkeley, CA; Long Island and now NYC. I LOVE thinking & talking about physics and related stuff and have LOVED teaching almost all my life – ever since the summer I tutored a younger girl in high school chemistry so she could ace a make-up exam and graduate on time.

In my spare time I go bird watching, walking on the Upper West Side, and on interesting trips with my wife; hang out with my family (2 boys, 25 & 27); photograph stuff, play with PhotoShop and post photos on web; bicycle; play squash; play with my computer, and of course enjoy engaging with all the wonderful people and activities at the NY Academy of Sciences!