Group items tagged

"Physics 4 Kids is a great resource packed full of basic lessons covering different key concepts of physics. You can use this resource to expand students knowledge of physics and to also initiate them to those physics concepts you are planning to teach them in class. Physics 4 Kids provides students with  guided tours that they can use by themselves to learn about physics. To make things easier, the site embeds visual aids and video tutorials to enhance students understandings. Some of the core physics ideas the site covers include: motion and mechanics, electricity and magnetism, modern physics, light and optics and many more. "

"Be impressed with what physics based puzzle apps can do to help your kids excel when it comes to understanding physics. Puzzle apps make learning physics fun. Let your kids' creativity soar when they become tiny physicists to solve their physics apps and puzzle apps. Physics apps are the answer to making an otherwise boring subject exciting. Pique their interest by reinforcing the information they learn in school in a fun way. Kids love puzzle apps, so getting them to learn required material will be easier than ever. Try the best physics based puzzle apps on the market and watch kids learn with ease."

"In a new report, 24 researchers from eight different countries gathered to create a consensus on the impact of physical activity on kids' health. They focused primarily on studies that examined the health of children aged 6 to 18, and analyzed the effects of exercise on children's fitness, health, cognitive function, motivation, and mental and social health. The report defines physical activity as "an overarching term that consists of many structured and unstructured forms within school and out-of-school-time contexts, including organized sports, physical education, outdoor recreation, motor skill development programs, recess, and active transportation such as biking and walking." In short, they found that exercise was beneficial for nearly every aspect of a child's wellbeing: physical health, cognitive ability, motivation and psychological wellbeing, as well as social inclusion. First, exercise leads to improved cardiorespiratory fitness, which in turn improves brain development and intellect, they said."

"The science is clear: If you get kids moving throughout the school day, they will do better academically. That's the case being made in the article "Building a better brain" just published in the Globe and Mail. The article quotes Harvard Medical School's John Ratey, an internationally recognized expert in neuropsychiatry: If you want to raise test scores, we have documented evidence - big time evidence - that the key is to include fitness-based activity in the day. Not only do schools need to start incorporating physical activity into every school day, they need to make sure that their students are physically literate, so they have the skills necessary to participate and enjoy that activity. And we know that kids who are physically literate have the confidence to move and will seek out opportunities to be physically active."

"The inclusion on iPads in the physical education has great potential, although there are two main limitations for its use. The first limitation is the way that administrators and school district authorities overlook the technology needs of physical education(PE): they are either unaware of the technology possibilities within PE or they experiment financial restraints. In the study conducted by Gibbone, Rukavina and Silverman (2010), the authors reported budget restraints as the most profound barrier to technology integration in the physical education learning environment. The second limitation to the use of iPads in PE is that most physical educators may not know how to implement technology into the curriculum without taking away from activity time (Pyle, & Esslinger, 2014)."

"AS A PHYSICS professor, I have two jobs. The first, obviously, is to help students understand physics. That makes me something of a coach. But I want to talk about my second job: evaluating what students understand about physics. You might call this grading them. Evaluating a student's understanding of a topic is like taking a measurement. However, it requires measuring something that is difficult to see. It's not like I can stick a ruler into a student's brain to determine the size of their physics stuff. Now, most teachers use indirect means, usually a multiple-choice test or an exam in which students work through a problem. These are poor measures of student understanding. Someone could simply guess, or flub the answer through a silly mistake. So how can I accurately assess a student's understanding of physics? Until someone invents a way of reading a student's mind, I must do something else. I use a combination of written tests and video assessments."

"Let me go ahead and say it. I think you should consider switching from your current introductory physics textbook to Matter and Interactions (by Chabay and Sherwood - published by Wiley). Matter and Interactions is a calculus-based, first-year physics curriculum. But wait! It's not just any ordinary physics textbook. No, this one is different."

"To help fill this gap in K-12 STEM education, Harvey Mudd created its first MOOC for middle and high school teachers. Middle Years Computer Science (MyCS) walks a teacher through the lesson plans, activities and exercises of a curriculum developed to appeal to students with a broad range of interests and no prior CS experience. Schools that have been using it have found it to be easy to use, accessible and engaging for their students. Our second MOOC offering, How Stuff Moves, supports students in their first course in calculus-based physics, a fundamental building block to further physics study in college. The course provides lectures, demonstrations, problem sets, worked solutions to every practice problem and concept tests- a wealth of resources to help students master the material, whether they are considering taking a high school AP physics course or their first mechanics course in college."

"As schools and districts attempt to continue improving student learning opportunities, there's a frightening trend emerging that might not have the intended consequences. In an effort to provide students more time with math and reading and other core area subjects, schools are cutting back on physical education courses, and recess opportunities are shrinking for students at the elementary levels. The dangerous trend of giving physical education the backseat to other 'more important' areas of learning might not yield the intended results. Here are five reasons why we need more physical activity in our schools and not less..."

PhD in Physics Admissions 2020. Candidates who wish to pursue PhD in Physics can see the list of Admission options for PhD in Physics

"I have written before (HERE) about the importance of not just moving more, but developing physical literacy skills with students.  This was pre-pandemic. And if anything the limited activity many had during the COVID-19 pandemic increased these challenges leading to what many are seeing as a health crisis. In the world of education, we rightly emphasize intellectual growth, but the significance of physical health cannot be overstated. We are intentionally trying to do this differently in West Vancouver Schools. We are looking at the whole school environment to get students moving more often throughout the day.  For us physical health is not just about sports or fitness; it's a comprehensive approach encompassing mental and emotional well-being, community involvement, and personal development."

"Physics and Mathematics are extremely important subjects. Actually, that's a bit of an understatement. Physics and Mathematics allow us to peer out into the cosmos and understand the inner workings of the universe. At once, they show us our  insignificance and our remarkable potential; they give us a hint of the vast possibilities that exist-of what we could (and may) one day accomplish. They allow us to see the world and to see ourselves anew. That begins to scratch the surface of these subjects. No one can deny their importance; however, it is also a fact that many people don't know where to begin investigating these topics…what books to study, what themes to begin with. On top of this, many feel intimidated by physics and math-they seem to think that they are things which only the sharpest individuals are able to understand. But nothing could be farther from the truth. True, these subject areas might not be the easiest that you will ever happen across, but they are far from impossible. So. If you want to be a physicist or a mathematician,  or if you just want to understand the subjects, here's where to start. Huge thanks to the wonderful Moinak Banerjee for his work on this."

"Chances are, if you have a smartphone or tablet, you've played Angry Birds. While Candy Crush Saga might currently top the charts, Angry Birds is the best selling app of all time. From an educator's perspective, what's exciting about Angry Birds' popularity versus something like Candy Crush is that getting good at Angry Birds means skillfully - and often unconsciously - using conceptual physics knowledge. It's something video games have been doing for years, but Angry Birds brought it to a mass audience, sneaking a bit of science into many students' digital diets. Here are five other games for the Angry Birds fan that do an even better job of integrating physics and problem solving into addictive, just-one-more-try experiences."

"There's a ton of buzz in the education world about how dwindling school budgets and pressure to improve test scores are taking time away from recess and physical education so that students can spend more time in the classroom. Despite more time in the classroom sounding like something that would drive academic performance, research shows a strong connection that reduced physical activity limits a student's ability to learn. With growing rates of childhood obesity and its associated issues, there's more reason than ever to make sure to include some physical movement into the classroom. The handy infographic below takes a look at some of the statistics about classroom movement (or the lack thereof!) Do you incorporate movement into your classroom on a regular basis? How? Have you encountered resistance or other issues getting the time allocated? "

"Students in Cathy Hunt's art classes are constantly blurring the lines between physically created art and digital creations. In one project, students created fish out of clay using old pinch-potting techniques. But the project didn't stop there. They then took photos of their creations and used digital tools to paint on the photos, adding color and design without fear that an unknown glaze would ruin their vision. Once they designed their fish, they developed a storyline featuring their creations for a stop motion animation created by the whole group. When the project was completed students had artfully blended the physical world with the digital one, using the best of both, and creating a finished product that can be put online and shared with the world. The impact of that project goes far beyond a shelf full of clay fish."

"A large review recently published in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute confirms what we've been hearing for years: Sitting can be fatal. + It's been linked to cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. In this latest meta-analysis, Daniela Schmid and Michael F. Leitzmann of the University of Regensburg in Germany analyzed 43 observational studies, amounting to more than 4 million people's answers to questions about their sitting behavior and cancer incidences. The researchers examined close to 70,000 cancer cases and found that sitting is associated with a 24% increased risk of colon cancer, a 32% increased risk of endometrial cancer, and a 21% increased risk of lung cancer. + The really bad news: You can't exercise away the habit's harmful effects. "Adjustment for physical activity did not affect the positive association between sedentary behavior and cancer," the authors write. Even participants who achieved the daily recommended levels of physical activity were at the same risk as those who spent their day sitting. "[The results] indicate that the increased risk of cancer seen in individuals with prolonged time spent sedentary is not explained by the mere absence of physical activity in those persons," the researchers say. + S"

"The Super Bowl isn't just a football game. It's an opportunity to discuss physics. Let's look at some of the interesting physics concepts that go with the game."

"Simple Physics is an iPad app that presents users with fun and challenging engineering problems. The app has twelve challenges that progress in difficulty as you move through the app. The premise of each challenge is the same. The challenge is to create a structure like a bridge or staircase that can support a given amount of weight. You're given a budget for materials for each structure and you have to stay under that budget. When your structure is complete, test it to find out if it will wor"

"There are several evolving spaces in which we are seeing the blending of the digital and physical successfully fostering critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity."

"Project-Based Learning and Physical Education"