North Carolina Physics and Physical Science
Modeling Workshops Summer 2008

The North Carolina Modeling Instruction Workshops provide professional development opportunities in physics, physical science and chemistry content and research-based, reform-oriented pedagogy for teachers in North Carolina through a Math-Science Partnership grant.

Learn more about modeling and hear what teachers have to say about it.

The project has been approved by the NC State Board of Education.
Full funding is contingent upon final letter of award.

When
June 16 - July 3 - Modeling I: Mechanics
June 16 - July 3 - Modeling I: Physical Science
9:00 am - 4:00 pm each day, five days/week
and three weekends (Friday and Saturday) during the school year

Who
High school physics, math, and science teachers are welcome to attend.

A key factor in the success of this project is the community of learners comprised of teachers, administrators, high school and college students, and college faculty. We invite principals, district science coordinators and other administrators to visit and observe the modeling workshop for a day and to discuss the program with participants. Please invite your principal or other administrators to attend (stipends provided).

Modeling is a strategy that keeps students active and engaged while constructing physics concepts from the ground up. Dee Dee Whitaker, High Point, NC

Where
NC State University, Raleigh, NC

Participants receive

• Model-based instructional materials for an entire year
• $150/day stipend plus lodging and meals
• Sub pay for all sessions during the school year
• 12.0 CEU for completing all summer and school year workshops
• Support of a coach, an experienced modeling instructor who will visit your classes and help you successfully implement the program.

Future Workshops
Workshops in physics and physical science (depending on interest) will be offered this summer. Our intention is to offer workshops in physics, chemistry and advanced physics in summers 2009 and 2010 in the Western and Eastern parts of the state.

Sponsored By
The Science House at NC State University, and Watauga, Buncombe, Durham, Martin, and Caldwell county school districts. Funding provided by the NC State Board of Education.

For more information
Scott Ragan (919) 515 - 6118
Matt Greenwolfe
Patty Blanton

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What is Modeling?

Physics Modeling Workshops are a structured inquiry approach to high school physics teaching that incorporates computer technology and insights from physics education research. Emphasis is placed on the use of basic models and modeling in mechanics. Participants develop skills in fostering scientific discourse and presentation and in assessment of student learning.

Goals:
Physics Modeling Workshops are intensive 3-week courses with these goals:

• To train teachers in the use of a model-centered, constructivist method of teaching and at the same time to improve their content knowledge in mechanics.
• To integrate computer courseware effectively into the physics curriculum.
• To establish electronic network support and a learning community among participants.
• To help participants to make better use of national resources for physics education.
• To strengthen local institutional support for participants as school leaders in disseminating standards-based reform in science education.

Type and amount of work expected:
Each participant will be expected to

• Design and carry out a series of investigations that use the Modeling Method.
• Practice Socratic questioning techniques that will enable them to teach physics using the Modeling Method.
• Keep a daily log book of problems solved, labs done, personal notes and reactions to activities and readings, and expected student difficulties and ways of addressing them.

It is the finest example of constructivist teaching in the U.S. It has changed my life and the way I teach. Don Yost, Sacramento, CA

Background:
The Modeling Method of High School Physics Instruction has been under development at Arizona State University for more than a decade under the leadership of David Hestenes, Professor of Physics. It is recognized as an exemplary K-12 Science program by the U.S. Department of Education.

The program cultivates physics teachers as school experts on the use of technology in science teaching, thereby providing schools and school districts with a valuable resource for broader reform. Although infusion of technology into the classroom is a key component of this program, it is secondary to pedagogical reform and improving content knowledge of teachers. The project goals are fully aligned with the National Science Education Standards as well as the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.

The Modeling Method corrects many weaknesses of the traditional lecture-demonstration method, including fragmentation of knowledge, student passivity, and persistence of naive beliefs about the physical world. Unlike the traditional approach, in which students wade through an endless stream of seemingly unrelated topics, the Modeling Method organizes the course around a small number of scientific models, thus making the course coherent.
More details can be found at the ASU site.

Teacher Quotes:

I have for a long time intrinsically felt that modeling was the way to learn...and teach, but was never able to complete the full loop necessary and have both research and colleagues to support this view.
Oleg Moiseenko, Chapel Hill, NC

There is no doubt that the EPC modeling workshop I just finished this summer is one of the very best workshops I have ever taken. I learned a wonderful new teaching strategy to help me help my students better understand the concepts of Physics. Each minute of class time is well-planned and we, the teachers, became like our students. We experienced the models, labs and "whiteboarding," just as our students will. This gave us a great perspective on how to implement this teaching style in our classrooms. We also received a wealth of resources to use throughout the year. The staff and my fellow students were all genuinely interested in our purpose. It made for a wonderful experience and I am looking forward to returning during the school year and next summer.
Linda Martin, Winston Salem, NC

The Modeling workshop has been one of the best workshop experiences I have had in a long time. Not only did I have the opportunity to refresh and rebuild my physics skills but I also was introduced to an innovative way to teach physics to my students. Modeling is a strategy that keeps students active and engaged while constructing physics concepts from the ground up.
Dee Dee Whitaker, High Point, NC

The modeling workshop was fantastic. The integration of constructivism and hands-on completes the circle for me. One will learn the concepts and for some reason conceptual learning goes into long term memory very well. The only problem is that I do not have modeling methods that address my curriculum; chemistry, weather, human body, and genetics. The efficacy of modeling is making me look and try to think up methods to use it. The thing that so struck me was how it really solidified in my mind the beginnings of calculus, which I had only memorized before. Now I fully understand what the slope of a tangent line of a point on a curve means.
Kent Autry, Charlotte, NC

The workshop helped invigorate me in my career. I have taught for seven years, and was thinking about a career change. This workshop has gotten me excited about what I do again. The strategies taught were great in order to engage students and make them accountable and in charge of their learning experience. I have had success with this in the past, but I think Modeling will really help! The focus shifted the classroom to the greater good and learning in a critical thinking realm, instead of just teaching toward a test. I like how Modeling helps students make long term connections with their experiments and experiences and not just a short term recall for the unit exam. Modeling helps students have confidence in making a conclusion and sticking to it. The process also makes students explain why they think what they do. This can aid teachers in correcting misconceptions and help students directly see their errors. Last, it would help students prepare to speak in front of an audience with conviction.
Keith Sweeney, Charlotte, NC

I am continually amazed at how the modeling method manages to give students
1) the opportunity to confront their misconceptions about physics head on,
2) the ability to analyze their data in an in-depth, consistent way in order to construct appropriate models, and
3) the skill and confidence needed to interpret their results (as well as others') in a scientifically critical way.
Jim Stankevitz, Wheaton, IL

An important objective of education is to move students along the road towards self-suffiency. I feel that the modeling method does this better than anything else I have seen.
Louis Turner, Massachusetts - formerly Ohio

The project gives the teacher the knowledge and practice needed to develop or adapt other materials to the modeling method. The teacher is not restricted to particular topics or materials from the workshops because the modeling method is a WAY to teach, not an independent topic to teach.
Art Woodruff, Sanford, FL