1. WHO WANTS TO BE A PHYSICIST?
PEDAGOGY LEARNS FROM PRIME TIME
By Marcia Goodrich
Robert Weidman may never be a stand-in for Alex Trebek or even Regis Philbin, but his new brand of lecture gives introductory physics almost as much pizzazz as a prime-time game show.
In PH2100, University Physics I-Mechanics, he teaches physics to would-be engineers. Like anyone instructing a class in one field to students majoring in something else, Weidman faces the ongoing challenge of keeping everyone awake and learning the material.
Watching the chairs in Fisher 135 fill with a couple hundred slumping undergrads, it looks like he's got his work cut out for him. Then the lecture begins, and all that changes.
Part of the class's success is that Weidman, an associate professor of physics, loves the material and knows it so thoroughly he could probably teach it in his sleep. He now has additional help from a nifty new teaching tool.
At his direction, all the students pull out what look like small TV remotes, known officially as fixed ID transmitters. When he puts a multiple choice question up on the lecture hall's big screen, each student responds by pressing a button on their transmitters while pointing them at receivers mounted near the ceiling; little red lights flash on the receivers with each hit. This is the personal response system, or PRS, a rather dull name for a pretty exciting innovation.
The PRS system processes each student's answer. According to a graph displayed on the screen, over 80 percent of the class got the question right, so most of these students did their reading or were inordinately lucky.
This is the only question on which students are graded, Weidman says later. It's mainly to get them to read the assignment and take attendance. The more intriguing conundrums come in mid-lecture.
First, he asks students to pick the definition of "impulse," which in physics is something totally different from an impulse in real life. Nevertheless, this class visitor was one of only a third of the students to click the right answer, a triumph which was to be remarkably short-lived. The resulting surge of victory endorphins, however, was enough to sustain her through the entire hour.
Weidman spent some extra time explaining what an impulse was, since the PRS results showed that most of the class was temporarily stymied. Soon, though, they were on track, and as Weidman posed more questions, the percentage of right answers rebounded.
There's a lot of chattering going on as students try to get their minds around each puzzle, and that's just fine with Weidman. "The big ingredient with PRS is peer instruction," he says. "They can often converge on the right answer. If the results are miserable, I'll ask them to convince their neighbor and then re-poll the class."
As the period winds up, Weidman asks everyone to predict the results of an experiment. Suppose you had two balls of equal volume and mass, each hanging from a string. One is really bouncy and one is not. Suppose you pulled them back an equal distance and let them fall toward two similar blocks of wood. What would happen?
I can tell you right now what won't happen, since I missed this question despite spending an hour in PH2100 supposedly learning how to figure it out. The wood and the balls won't behave the same.
What actually happens is that the bouncy ball knocks the wood right over, while the bounceless ball splats into the wood block without knocking it over.
Weidman says later it's OK to get this question wrong. In fact, it's expected. "One of our goals is to address common misconceptions," he said. "Most students have a medieval, or in some cases, an Aristotelian way of thinking." Questions and demonstrations like this help them develop a more rational, Newtonian approach to problems.
With the PRS and a terrific new text, "Physics for Scientists & Engineers: A Strategic Approach" by Randall Knight, Weidman minces no words about this new frontier in education.
"I won't go back," he says. "This is the way to teach introductory physics."
Associate Professor John Jaszczak has also taught courses using the PRS for the last two summers. He first heard about the PRS from Professor Sue Bagley (Biological Sciences) and education chair Brad Baltensperger, and then checked out how it was working at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
"Those profs said the same thing: 'I can't imagine going back,'" Jaszczak says. "Most people say that physics was the worst class in their college career, and that shouldn't be, especially not here. Most of our students are intrigued by the way the world works."
It's too early to measure if the students are actually learning more. Weidman has overhauled the entire PH2100 course, an endeavor that is costing him 70-hour work weeks, and the PRS is just one change among many. The litmus test will be if class veterans demonstrate a better grasp of physics fundamentals as they advance through other science and engineering classes.
The anecdotal evidence is positive, however. Complaints are virtually nonexistent, and both Jaszczak and Weidman have had students ask if they can take other courses with the PRS. The answer is, pretty soon. The system will be used in four physics classes this spring, and has been incorporated in at least one World Cultures class. "We hear other departments have it or are considering adopting it as well," Jasczcak said.
Meanwhile, he is already sensing a sea change. "I've heard about a lot of investment by NSF in physics education research for many years," Jasczcak says. "It seems like it's finally all coming together."
_______________
2. OPEN FORUM WITH MROZ DEC. 16
President Glenn Mroz will host an open discussion forum on Thursday, Dec. 16, from 2 to 4 p.m. in Memorial Union Ballroom A.This is an opportunity for members of the MTU community to ask questions. Mroz does not plan to give a formal presentation.
As in the past, release time will be provided for the hourly staff with the approval of their supervisor. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
_______________
3. GIVE NOW: CAN-A-THON ENDS THIS WEEK
UAW Local 5000 is collecting donations of nonperishable food items during its 13th Annual Can-A-Thon through Friday, Dec. 10.
All donations will be given to the Salvation Army and the St. Vincent DePaul Society for distribution locally.You can drop off your canned goods, etc. on the first floors of the Administration Building, Dillman and the J. R. Van Pelt Library; the third floor of Walker; and at KRC, the SDC, the ATDC and the Memorial Union manager's office.
"Your contribution is greatly appreciated in helping those in need," UAW representatives said.
_______________
4. ANDERSON: ADDING DIVERSITY TO RESEARCH
Associate Professor Chung-Jui Tsai (SFRES) got a big surprise from the National Science Foundation after she submitted a recent research proposal.
"They told me that I wasn't asking for enough money, and they added $114,000 to the grant," said Tsai.
Tsai's four-year, $2.1-million award focused on plant biotechnology, but it also funded related outreach and education projects, including a Summer Youth Exploration and scholarships for participants. The NSF did its own analysis and decided that the proposal hadn't budgeted enough to fund the Summer Youth portion of the project, so they beefed up the grant.
Tsai credits staff from Corporate Services, the GEM Center and Educational Opportunity for their help. It's not often that a funding organization gives you more support than you ask for.Chris Anderson, the educational opportunity executive director and special assistant to the president for diversity, notes that government agencies now expect to buy more than good science. They also want to see that there will be a broader impact.
"To be funded now, federal and state agencies often require many proposals to have a strong outreach, education and/or diversity component," Anderson said.
That can involve culture shock. Some researchers have thought they could write around the requirement and continue doing business as usual. However, they soon discovered NSF and other major funders take diversity and outreach very seriously, Anderson said. This is where Educational Opportunity and other MTU offices have been able to help. "We've had success with a number of proposals," she said.
Among them is the Sustainable Futures Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship, known by its acronym, IGERT. Michigan Tech and Southern University, in Baton Rouge, La., will operate the program beginning this fall. Working closely with the investigators, Educational Opportunity staff and Anderson helped write the proposal, which yielded a $3.6-million NSF grant.
"We approached Chris Anderson in Educational Opportunity and Joan Chadde and Kristine Bradof with the GEM Center for Science and Environmental Outreach because they all have a strong track record of developing programs of outreach and education," said David Hokansen, manager of the Sustainable Futures Institute.
To pass NSF muster, researchers must take these requirements seriously. "NSF is not looking for you to go into the high schools and just make presentations," he added. "They are looking for research that will have a true effect on education; they are looking at outcomes, such as improved test scores. The key is the impact that we have."As part of the IGERT, NSF is supporting eight PhD students, primarily in engineering, with the goal of improving diversity at MTU and encouraging more students from underrepresented groups to enter the field. Of the students, three are women, two are African American and one is Puerto Rican."
IGERT has strong diversity and outreach components, as well as its important focus on sustainability. The NSF and the IGERT partners in the grant, MTU and Southern University, were very satisfied with how the overall proposal turned out," Anderson said.
Educational Opportunity also collaborated with the Department of Education to bring in two $183,000 "No Child Left Behind" grants, which will be used to enhance science education in rural school districts and in districts with a high proportion of minority students.
"We try to build the number of teachers that we work with who have contact with a diverse student body," Anderson said. "Not only are we improving education for students who have been disadvantaged economically or educationally, but the teachers learn about Michigan Tech and promote Michigan Tech to their students."
In addition, Educational Opportunity was instrumental in organizing the Educators Professional Development Institute Series, said Brad Baltensperger, chair of the Department of Education. The two-year program ends in June, when it will bring secondary teachers from throughout the state to MTU.
The institute is achieving far more than its primary goal of educating educators. It has helped make high school teachers from all over Michigan more aware of MTU. It has introduced them to the MS in Applied Science Education program, encouraging a number to enroll.And, this summer, the institute will bring a diverse group of middle and high school students, aka prospective undergraduates, to attend a Summer Youth program on campus with their teachers.
"Only an office like Educational Opportunity could make that possible," Baltensperger said.
The best collaborations happen when an investigator works closely with Educational Opportunity staff from the beginning, since a good proposal takes time to put together, and there are many ways that outreach and education can be accomplished.
"I often write the sections that describe the diversity perspective, how diversity objectives will strengthen the outcomes of the proposal," Anderson said. "John Lehman, the youth progams director, contributes to the outreach sections, and we help make connections with schools, school districts and diversity organizations, particularly when partnerships are required in the grant guidelines.
"That's how we market MTU's programs as well and help accomplish the University's goal of increasing the diversity of our university community."
Tsai said that approach has worked for her.
"One thing we heard was that the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is in our back yard, and we are well situated to reach that population," Tsai said. "NSF really liked the idea of involving American Indians in the outreach. When we have Family Science Night, we hope to be able to reach tribal children through the schools."Without the participation of Educational Opportunity and other staff who specialize in outreach, such as Valorie Troesch (Corporate Services) and Joan Chadde, the program might never have happened, she added.
"They really do a good job," Tsai said. "Their help could be better utilized."
_______________
5. HELP YOUR NEIGHBORS: GIVING TREE IN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
Educational Opportunity is hosting a Holiday Giving Tree and cultural display. The campus community is invited to donate items to the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home for Abused Women and Children, Little Brothers/Friends of the Elderly, the Copper Country Humane Society and Saint Vincent de Paul.
The donated items will either be used to decorate the tree or placed nearby. In addition, they would welcome any items for display that represent the winter traditions or cultures from any part of the world; those items will be returned to the owner in mid-January.
Stop by the first floor of the Educational Opportunity Building/Alumni House to enjoy the display through Jan. 21, and consider making a donation for the Giving Tree and/or loaning an item for the cultural display.
._______________
6. THRIVENT GIVES $50,000 TO SUPPORT SERVICE/LEADERSHIP ENTERPRISE
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is providing a $50,000 grant to to establish a pilot Service and Leadership Enterprise at Michigan Tech. The grant, given to Lutheran Campus Ministry at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, is under its Youth Leadership Initiative.
In the pilot program, Lutheran Campus Ministry and Thrivent will sponsor student teams, supervised by Michigan Tech faculty and the LCM project manger, to solve a technical problem of human or societal need. The initial project will be to design ecologically low-impact dwellings to be built on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
The design would honor cultural heritage, use concepts and construction techniques that maximize energy efficiency, explore alternative energy sources, and employ regional natural building materials appropriate to the equipment and skill level available on the reservation.
The vision of this program is to train a new generation of student leaders to find appropriate solutions to human needs in diverse cultural settings.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a nonprofit Fortune 500 financial services organization helping nearly three million members achieve their financial goals. It sponsors national outreach programs and activities that support congregations, schools, charitable organizations and needy individuals.
Lutheran Campus Ministry at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church has committed to raise an additional $12,500 over the two-year program. A star quilt, made by a member of the Lakota Nation and given to students four years ago as a gift for work done for the reservation community, is being raffled to help support this program. Only 250 tickets are available; the raffle will be held Dec. 12. For more information contact Bucky Beach at 482-5410 or Janet Metsa at 482-5665.
_______________
7. PAC OK's NEW SENATE CONSTITUTION
REFERENDUM EXPECTED IN JANUARY
The Presidential Advisory Committee, formerly the University Senate, approved revisions to the senate constitution Dec. 1 that will address problems with the definition of its constituency.
The senate constitution excludes union members, so after the tenured and tenure-track faculty voted in September to form a bargaining unit under the auspices of the American Association of University Professors, the faculty senators were effectively excluded from senate membership.
At the request of President Glenn Mroz, the senate organization is continuing to function as usual under its new name, the Presidential Advisory Council, until the constitutional problem is addressed.
The proposed constitution changes the definition of faculty and professional staff, so union membership does not preclude membership in the senate's constituency. It also allows two of the six at-large senators to be staff.
Under the current constitution, only faculty may be at-large senators.
It does not change provisions for voting units, in which faculty alone may vote on certain proposals, primarily those dealing with academic issues.
A referendum on the new constitution is expected in January.
_______________
8. BUSINESS STUDENTS DESIGN GIRL SCOUT WEBSITE
Students in Associate Professor Chelley Vician's (SBE) System Analysis and Design course have redesigned the Girl Scouts of Peninsula Waters website and developed a virtual training solution. Their bill was paid in Girl Scout cookies.
The project was the result of an agreement between SBE Dean Keith Lantz and the Girl Scout council, which serves Houghton and most of the Upper Peninsula. Lantz agreed to let the class forego the customary fee for such information systems services in consideration of the Girl Scouts' nonprofit status.
"It [the project] is clearly an excellent opportunity for students to work in a real-world scenario with strong resource constraints," Vician said. "It is a wonderful opportunity to apply information systems skills and knowledge" while enhancing the visual aspects of the Girl Scouts' website.As a result of their efforts, the students-and Lantz--will be among the first Upper Peninsula residents to sample the new Girl Scout cookies in April. The Girl Scouts have contracted with a new bakery this year to provide the cookies.
"Michigan Tech has enabled Girl Scouts of Peninsula Waters to expand and enhance its online communication opportunities for our girl members and adult volunteers. This would not have been financially possible without the support of Dean Lantz and Dr. Vician," said Jean Barnes, CEO of the Girl Scout council. "We are thrilled to be able to let these students be among the first in our jurisdiction to enjoy the delicious Girl Scout Cookies that will be available to the general public in the spring of 2005."
The redesigned website and virtual volunteer training opportunities will be available in early January. The website can be accessed at http://www.gspw.org.
_______________
9. TEACHING AT TECH--KNOWLEDGEABLE, RESOURCEFUL, SKILLFUL AND WISE BEYOND THEIR YEARS
by William Kennedy, director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development
II recently gave a talk to a group of students about trends in higher education teaching methods. I built this talk on themes developed in Richard Felder and Rebecca Brent's excellent two-part article entitled "The Intellectual Development of Science and Engineering Students."*
Part one of the article reviews various models of the intellectual development of college students and discusses their applicability to engineering education, while part two proposes instructional models to maximize the intellectual development of science and engineering students.
At the end of the talk a student asked me my views on the appropriate goals for an undergraduate education in science or engineering. I responded that I would hope to craft a rich and diverse learning environment that enables students to become more knowledgeable, resourceful, skillful and wise beyond their years.
Embracing the cognitive achievements of our predecessors should be a requisite part of an educational experience. In my view, however, we have grossly overemphasized the rapid acquisition of disparate and disconnected arrays of information and verified mastery of these constructs using measures that favor those with good short-term memory and organizational skills.
Aristotle taught that knowing your stuff was only a third of the battle, but we have largely failed to heed his warning.
Encouraging students to become more resourceful is a challenge that many curriculum committees sidestep in spite of rhetoric about the half-life of textbook knowledge and the increasing pace of change. Teaching students to ferret out new understandings and new methods is surely a byproduct of programs using problem-based methods like senior design or Enterprise, but I wonder if we shouldn't weave more of this into all of our courses.
An effective scientist or engineer needs to be skillful and sensitive in ways that go beyond mastery of the cognitive content of their domain. Effective scientists and engineers must be able to write proposals, disseminate results, frame consequential questions, communicate with colleagues, craft compelling arguments, and interpret findings and associated concerns and caveats to a wide range of audiences. Am I alone in wondering how we can possibly expect one 14-week course in direct communication instruction to provide sufficient theory, practice, and opportunities for refinement in writing, speaking and graphic communication?
Similarly, I am alarmed when students who have taken a statistics course in one domain seem to be amazingly unable to see how the same principles can be applied to a host of other domains. At the end of the day, encouraging skills development is a messy and time-consuming business that can easily sap all of our energies.
In the end, creating an environment that encourages students to grow in wisdom may be our most important goal as educators. Dietrich Bonhoeffer observed that the wise person will "seek to acquire the best possible knowledge about events, but always without becoming dependent upon this knowledge. To recognize the significant in the factual is wisdom." Felder and Brent write, "At a high developmental level (which few reach before graduation), they recognize that all knowledge is contextual, gather and interpret evidence to support their judgments from a wide range of sources, and willingly reconsider those judgments in the light of new evidence."*
To work toward these loftier and more enabling goals, Felder and Brent advocate for 1) variety and choice of learning tasks, 2) explicit communication and explanation of expectations, 3) modeling, practice, and constructive feedback on high-level tasks, 4) a student-centered instructional environment, and 5) an attitude of respect and caring for students at all levels of development.I commend the articles to your attention. They may change how you think about teaching and learning.
* Journal of Engineering Education, October 2004, pp. 269-291.
10. "WINDOW TO PARIS" AT NEXT CLUB INDIGO
By Joe Kirkish
Mu Beta Psi music fraternity presents as the final Club Indigo for the year a whimsical fantasy. It is the 1995 "Best Foreign Film" award-winning satire, "Window to Paris."
What would you do it you lived in a dingy, cramped apartment in Russia, woke up one morning, and to your amazement saw, in place of the brick wall, a French window that opened to the Eiffel Tower and all of Paris beyond it?
In this light-hearted Russian satire, Communist East meets free-wheeling Capitalist West as a young music teacher and a group of his students and friends take advantage of their discovery and sample everything that the City of Light has to offer. Well, almost everything, because they discover that there's one hitch; the window will close and the wall will return--at an unspecified time.The pleasure in this captivating film, called by one critic "Just about as good as a movie can be!" lies in watching what happens when the delights and perils occur for socially and economically deprived souls with a sudden burst of freedom; it brings unexpected bliss in the joyful pursuit of happiness beyond their normal imagination--and the consequences that result from it.
The movie will be shown on Friday, Dec. 17, at 7:15 p.m., preceded by an all-Russian buffet provided by chef Erik Karvonen of the Eagle River Fitzgerald restaurant at 6 p.m. Cost for both is $15; for the film alone, $3.50. Reservations should be made for the buffet's limited seating by calling the Calumet Theatre, 337-2617.
11. CHEMISTRY COLLOQUIUM FRIDAY
Professor James P. Reilly from Indiana University will present a chemistry colloquium, "In Pursuit of 'Relentless' Proteomics," Friday, Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. in Chem-Sci 101.
For more information, contact Haiying Liu, hyliu@mtu.edu, 487-3451.
