Background: At this point in our fellowship, we were learning about writing for understanding. We had also run through something resembling our lesson study, and were becoming very aware of our students’ difficulty expressing coherent conclusions, specifically the relationship between two variables studied in a lab. We decided to focus on the quadratic relationship between velocity and kinetic energy, and the students’ ability to verbalize and utilize this relationship. We worked with Kelly Gamez, who teaches Algebra and Physics through Modeling, and believes strongly in emphasizing proportional reasoning skills.
We developed a paper square activity that involved measuring and proportionally comparing areas, as well as writing and verbalizing relationships. We also focused on the Modeling materials that promote these skills. While Charley was already a Modeler, Amy had not yet been to a Modeling workshop, so there was some disconnect between these ideas and the reality of her classroom.
The ultimate realization was that this IS a HUGELY important skill, but one that should be emphasized throughout the curriculum, rendering certain activities useless at this late point in the year.
Lesson 2:Understanding and verbalizing relationships between variables is a critical skill in physics. Some critical skills need to be taught early and emphasized often. By the time your lesson study rolls around, maybe they should already have some of those skills!
Links to Evidence and Supporting Documents: An activity created during our lesson study
Describing the Relationship Between Variables
Background: At this point in our fellowship, we were learning about writing for understanding. We had also run through something resembling our lesson study, and were becoming very aware of our students’ difficulty expressing coherent conclusions, specifically the relationship between two variables studied in a lab. We decided to focus on the quadratic relationship between velocity and kinetic energy, and the students’ ability to verbalize and utilize this relationship. We worked with Kelly Gamez, who teaches Algebra and Physics through Modeling, and believes strongly in emphasizing proportional reasoning skills.
We developed a paper square activity that involved measuring and proportionally comparing areas, as well as writing and verbalizing relationships. We also focused on the Modeling materials that promote these skills. While Charley was already a Modeler, Amy had not yet been to a Modeling workshop, so there was some disconnect between these ideas and the reality of her classroom.
The ultimate realization was that this IS a HUGELY important skill, but one that should be emphasized throughout the curriculum, rendering certain activities useless at this late point in the year.
Lesson 2: Understanding and verbalizing relationships between variables is a critical skill in physics. Some critical skills need to be taught early and emphasized often. By the time your lesson study rolls around, maybe they should already have some of those skills!
Links to Evidence and Supporting Documents:
An activity created during our lesson study
Modeling documents used in teaching linearization
A document created by Amy Speegle to reinforce the reason for linearizing graphs
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