EET Workshops Implementation Sharing Template s3

EET Workshops Implementation

Name: Michael J. Polashenski

Position and school: Physics Teacher - Mountain Lakes High School

Title of the EET Chapter on which you based your Project or Activity:

Life in Extreme Environments

Dataset Used:

Datasets > Oceanic Hydrothermal Vents > Global Vent Distribution – InterRidge, EPR image observation file

Tool Used:

GeoMapApp

Project/Activity Question(s) and Goal(s):

Students were required write a report and give a presentation relating this chapter to what they learned in AP Physics this year. Students were required to access at least one authentic database and use to it graphically display relevant information.

Brief Description of the Project/Activity (What did students do?):

This chapter was one of ten chapters that my AP Physics students were allowed to choose from either individually or in pairs. Students worked sequentially through the chapter downloading the necessary software and accessing the relevant databases to draw conclusions. As students had questions I individually assisted them. A number of students obviously spent a significant amount of time at home working on this project as well. Students were then asked to write to post graphs and screen shots online to our AP Physics class’s assignment folder. They were then required to write a synopsis paper discussing what they learned and how it related to the physics that we learned this year. They then gave a short (5 minute) presentation to all of the AP Physics students. This was an end-of-the-year project for this class following the College Board’s AP Physics examination in early May. In place of their final exam, these students were then required to give 20 minute presentations to my other introductory physics classes.

Number of Students (With how many students did you carry out the project/activity?):

2 students investigated the activity in detail with presentations then given to about 30 students. Time Spent on the Project/Activity (How many hours or class periods did the project/activity take?):

Individually students spent ten class periods (45 minutes each) followed by a 20 minute presentation given to another class.

Your Reflections on the Project/Activity:

 How do you feel the project/activity went with students?

The students enjoyed it and were actively engaged the entire time. I was impressed with their short presentations and look forward to hearing and seeing their full presentations next week.

 What sorts of questions did student ask? What insights did they have? How proficient are students in using the dataset and/or tool of the EET chapter?

The main questions students had involved downloading the software and accessing the databases. But once those were in place students seemed self-sufficient and based on their short presentations seemed at ease with using the datasets and tools.

 How will you carry out this project/activity differently in the future?

Although my physics students worked independently this year, I would really like to integrate this with some of our other classes. Ideally I would like to pair one of my physics students with a student from Earth and Space Science or Environmental Science. Initially this was my plan for this year but it did not work out for logistical reasons.