Welcome to GigantePhysics!
You are most welcome to my website.
I teach physics at a public high school in Kentucky, USA. Through this site, I wish to share my lessons and my ideas about teaching physics.
When I was a physics student at university, I knew full well that, though I could muddle through the mathematics, I understood very little of the physics. My goal now is to make sure, as best I can, that my students are not similarly blinded by "formula-hunting" to the point where they cannot explain what is happening physically in the scenarios I present. I want my students to ask questions such as, "Which way does the static friction arrow go?" or "How do I show velocity when the time intervals are less than one second?" rather than, "What formula do I use here?"
Modeling Instruction pedagogy is the foundation of my lessons, but I carry graphical problem solving much farther. During each unit of study, my students learn to draw color-coded arrows and to shade in regions inside the trend lines of motion and force graphs in order to answer simple questions. Then, I present them with a series of more complex scenarios to analyze.
You will find example graphical analyses here; and a summary of the diagrams, graphs, and their annotations here.
My guiding principle:
At the high school level, physical analysis of a scenario is best accomplished through graphs, diagrams, and verbal explanation. To help students develop robust mental pictures, I teach them to draw the mathematics on graphs and diagrams.
I teach physics at a public high school in Kentucky, USA. Through this site, I wish to share my lessons and my ideas about teaching physics.
When I was a physics student at university, I knew full well that, though I could muddle through the mathematics, I understood very little of the physics. My goal now is to make sure, as best I can, that my students are not similarly blinded by "formula-hunting" to the point where they cannot explain what is happening physically in the scenarios I present. I want my students to ask questions such as, "Which way does the static friction arrow go?" or "How do I show velocity when the time intervals are less than one second?" rather than, "What formula do I use here?"
Modeling Instruction pedagogy is the foundation of my lessons, but I carry graphical problem solving much farther. During each unit of study, my students learn to draw color-coded arrows and to shade in regions inside the trend lines of motion and force graphs in order to answer simple questions. Then, I present them with a series of more complex scenarios to analyze.
You will find example graphical analyses here; and a summary of the diagrams, graphs, and their annotations here.
My guiding principle:
At the high school level, physical analysis of a scenario is best accomplished through graphs, diagrams, and verbal explanation. To help students develop robust mental pictures, I teach them to draw the mathematics on graphs and diagrams.
Invaluable Resources:
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I hope you find something of benefit and perhaps even inspiration at GigantePhysics. If you have a question or comment, please contact me and tell me what you think!