Today is homecoming, so classes are shot and students are excited.

AP Physics: Friction

I decided not to take the time for a lab on friction, so I collected some data with a force sensor and motion detector and asked students for observations. I used the motion detector to help connect what the force was doing to what we know about momentum so far. Students pretty readily recognized the force of friction changed when the block when from being at rest to being in motion.

Afterwards, students took their second quiz. Last year, I had very few students complete retakes, so this year I’m giving them at least two in-class attempts at each learning target to try and normalize reassessment. So far, I’m hearing a lot of talk from students that suggests they are much more comfortable with reassessing than last year’s students.

Physics: Multiple Representations

Students worked on a Modeling worksheet to practice translating between position vs. time graphs, motion maps, and descriptions of motion. Overall, students did well and I think this helped reinforce the value of what came out of yesterday’s discussion. In the class where I see the most struggles with math skills, several groups chose to shuffle themselves today, and ended up needing much less support from me than usual. For the first time, however, I had some students who made graphs showing multiple positions for a single point in time. I need to probe their thinking a little more and think about how to address that when we go over the problems on Monday.

Chemistry Essentials: Density

Students worked on a Modeling worksheet connecting particle diagrams and density. I got a little nervous when a very large group gathered around the para who assists the class, but they had some good discussions. I do need to think about how that will impact whiteboarding on Monday when 1/3 of the class worked as part of the same group.