Update on both classes

In Mr. Ambrose's physics class, they just got back their first test today. Some of them were happy with how they did, but some of them would like to have done better. I've let them know that tutoring will be available from NSBE, and some of them do seem interested in it. A few of them may find it very helpful to get caught up.

So far, they've gone through one-dimensional kinematics. The next thing they're going to be doing is going over vectors, in preparation for two-dimensional kinematics. I was talking with Mr. Ambrose about how to get the concepts illustrated, possibly through some kind of lab or activity.

In Ms. Colwell's algebra class, they're getting ready for a test tomorrow. I was helping some of them work problems in class, and I noticed something interesting. Many of them really do have the right idea, and can do the problems if you ask them what each step is, but they seem to lack confidence. That may be something that practice would remedy. It's a big problem, though, since I can see it holding many of them back. They're given an equation to solve, and they know what to do, but they don't feel confident that they're doing it right.

Recently, they've been working on solving equations, on functions (also on recognizing what is and is not a function), and on word problems - taking a problem and formulating the equation, then solving it. It seems to me that they do need more practice on word problems, as well as solving equations, but most of them understand what a function is pretty well.

Uses for Math

So far, I've mostly been observing in Ms. Colwell's Advanced Algebra class and occasionally helping a student with their individual work in class, but today I had a short presentation put together, which I gave to both her third hour and fourth hour classes. It was titled " What’s math good for, anyway? A true story of an engineer on vacation, a desperate customer, and a literal back-of-envelope calculation." It was about a drive-train calculation that I did on an envelope, in a parking garage in Milwaukee, on my cell phone with a customer. I'm not sure if the students followed all of the math, though it wasn't anything really beyond algebra, but at least they got to see that math has some actual uses in real life. I tried to engage them in the presentation by asking them questions and showing them that they already know at least some of the stuff that I was using as a practicing engineer. Ms. Colwell seemed to think that it was of some use to them - breaks up the usual routine and shows them something new. As an assignment, she asked them to take a few notes on what I had to say and include them with their homework when they turn it in tomorrow, so I know they were at least half listening. Some seemed more interested than others, of course - not everyone has the same level of interest in the same things.

I'm going to e-mail her a copy of the presentation so she can have it for her files - it might come in useful in the future as an example for an advanced math class.

Physics Experiment

The physics class did an experiment on Friday & analyzed the data today. On Friday, we went outside and measured off how far we were from the wall of the school, and clapped two pieces of wood together. The idea was to synchronize the claps with the echo, time how long 20 claps took, and use that data to calculate the speed of sound. The class also calculated what it should be based on the air temperature for the day.

Everyone's value was a little high, but some people were closer than others. One set of lab partners got a value of 335 m/s, where we'd calculated 333 m/s - extremely close! The farthest value was the teacher's - he measured over 400 m/s for the speed of sound. One of the students asked about eliminating that piece of data from the set when calculating the average for the whole class, which started an interesting discussion of when you can or can't eliminate data points - and how do you know?

The whole class seems very bright and interested in the subject - it's a joy to help out with them. They'll be starting on kinematics next, and Friday when I'm there Mr. Ambrose is planning to do another lab.

Starting out the semester

Well, it's the start of the semester and the beginning of a new experience working with the TA partnership program. I'm looking forward to it - I'll be working with one of the math classes (advanced algebra) and one of the physics classes, spending Monday and Friday mornings at the school.

Thus far, I've met with both teachers - Thomas Ambrose and Doriane Colwell - over at the high school, and have gotten a bit of an idea what they intend to cover in their classes.