I got a new comment on an old post asking an interesting question about thermodynamics: I have a question that bears somewhat on this issue of keeping cars parked in the sun, cooler. You all know those accordion folded/aluminized shades you can put up inside the windshield and back window. Seems to me putting them… Continue reading Greenhouse Physics and Car Shades
Category: Science
Active Learning Experiment: The First 1.6 Weeks
As mentioned a while back, I’m experimenting with “active learning” techniques in my intro courses this term. Specifically, I’m doing a variant of the “Peer Instruction” method developed by Eric Mazur and others. There are a few complications imposed by our calendar/ class schedule, but I’m giving it a shot, and I thought I’d report… Continue reading Active Learning Experiment: The First 1.6 Weeks
Statistical Significance Is an Arbitrary Convention
In typical fashion, no sooner do I declare a quasi-hiatus than somebody writes an article that I want to say something about. For weeks, coming up with blog posts was like pulling teeth, but now I’m not trying to do it, it’s easy… anyway, that’s why there’s the “quasi-” in “quasi-hiatus,” and having been reasonably… Continue reading Statistical Significance Is an Arbitrary Convention
Quantum Computing with Microwaves
It’s been a while since I did any ResearchBlogging, first because I was trying to get some papers of my own written, and then because I was frantically preparing for my classes this term (which start Wednesday). I’ve piled up a number of articles worth writing up in that time, including two papers from an… Continue reading Quantum Computing with Microwaves
Academic Poll: Essentials of Physics
While I was out in Denver, Joss Ives had a nice post asking what courses are essential in a physics degree?. This is an eternal topic of discussion in undergraduate education circles, and I don’t really have a definitive answer. It’s an excellent topic for a poll, though, so here you go: Which of the… Continue reading Academic Poll: Essentials of Physics
Poor Man’s Clickers, or Re-Inventing the Flat Tire?
As previously noted, I’m planning to do more active-learning stuff in my intro mechanics courses this fall (starting next Tuesday), and as a result have been reading/ watching a lot of material on this (which, by the way, includes far too many slickly produced sales videos and not nearly enough “here’s an example video of… Continue reading Poor Man’s Clickers, or Re-Inventing the Flat Tire?
1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann
Back when I reviewed Mann’s pop-archaeology classic 1491, I mentioned that I’d held off reading it for a while for fear that it would be excessively polemical in a “Cortez the Killer” kind of way. Happily, it was not, so when I saw he had a sequel coming out, I didn’t hesitate to pick it… Continue reading 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann
Project Shiphunt
I get a lot of publicist-generated email these days, asking me to promote something or another on the blog. Most of these I ignore– far too many of them are for right-wing political candidates– but I got one a little while back promoting a program airing tonight, called Project Shiphunt, which included a link to… Continue reading Project Shiphunt
New Paper Dance: “Investigating Systematic Uncertainty and Experimental Design with Projectile Launchers”
The week before last, I finished writing up a pedagogical paper I’ve been meaning to write for some time, and sent it off to The Physics Teacher. A couple of days ago, it occurred to me that I could probably post that to the arxiv. So I did, just before I left town for an… Continue reading New Paper Dance: “Investigating Systematic Uncertainty and Experimental Design with Projectile Launchers”
Do You Really Need a Graph for That?
As long as I’m picking on education research papers in Science, I might as well call out the one immediately after the paper I wrote up in the previous post. This one, titled Graduate Students’ Teaching Experiences Improve Their Methodological Research Skills, is another paper whose basic premise I generally agree with– they found that… Continue reading Do You Really Need a Graph for That?