The discussion surrounding the recent post about jobs continues to bubble along nicely, both in the original post, and the follow-up. I love it when a plan comes together. There’s been a lot of discussion of following the advice in the Katz letter and seeking non-academic careers, but Jeff F. (who I know from my… Continue reading Wanted: Non-Academic Physics Types
Category: Education
Educational Cartoons!
Friday’s a good day for lightweight blogging, so here’s something fun, via Roberto Alamino: A big collection of physics flash animations from the University of Toronto. It includes everything from three-body graviational motion to the Stern-Gerlach experiment, to how to use an oscilloscope. Our DSL has been a little slow this morning, so I haven’t… Continue reading Educational Cartoons!
Why They’re Leaving
Inside Higher Ed had a piece yesterday about leaks in the science pipeline— that is, reasons why so few students end up majoring in science, math, or engineering these days. The hook for the article is some Congressional hearings on the subject, but the author lists some possible explanations related to the structure of academia… Continue reading Why They’re Leaving
Something New Under the School-Choice Sun
Harry Brighouse at Crooked Timber is enthusiastic about something that appears to be that rarest of rarities, a new idea in the education funding debate: instead of giving the best students money to move to different schools, let schools bid for the best students. Betts suggests this: first fund the schools equally on a per-student… Continue reading Something New Under the School-Choice Sun
Excellent Teaching Advice
I’d be remiss in my academic-blogging duties if I failed to point out this Inside Higher Ed piece on teaching core courses. Like many articles published in academic magazines, it’s aimed directly at English composition, but the main points can be extended to intro classes in other disciplines. In particular: 10. Don’t compare students’ attitudes… Continue reading Excellent Teaching Advice
Still Life With Lecture Props
In the lecture hall yesterday, from left to right: A dewar of liquid nitrogen, a tube of racquetballs, a squeaky dog toy, a handful of yellow balloons, a vase of flowers, an inflated red balloon, an insulated glove, and a 4-liter jug of liquid nitrogen. The dewars, the vase, the glove, and the dog toy… Continue reading Still Life With Lecture Props
Is Our Students Learning?
Over at Inside Higher Ed, there’s an article by Laurence Musgrove on whether student writing has really gotten worse in recent years. He suggests a good mechanism for how faculty might be fooled into thinking so: […] I think the main difference between students then and now exists mostly in our heads, since in many… Continue reading Is Our Students Learning?
Stop Thinking in Terms of High School Physics
p>Gordon Watts has some thoughts on a subject near to my heart: the ways we drive students out of physics. For the past 6 years I’ve taught various versions of the introductory physics survey course. It covers 100’s years of physics in one year. We rarely spend more than a lecture on a single topic;… Continue reading Stop Thinking in Terms of High School Physics
Ask a ScienceBlogger: Teaching Science
Every Child Left Behind
Via coturnix, the tremendously depressing resignation letter of a public school teacher in North Carolina. It’s a rotten note on which to discover what looks like a pretty good blog. The racist comments and inappropriate sexual remarks desribed in the letter are really pretty disturbing. I wish I could say it was surprising, but sadly,… Continue reading Every Child Left Behind