Paths to Learning Physics in Physics 121-2-3

Students in this class come from many different backgrounds, have many different learning styles, and have many different reasons for taking this class. At the University of Washington we want everyone in this diverse population to learn and to appreciate physics. To this end, we provide many different learning opportunites. Some are required, and some are optional, but all are aimed at our primary goal -- that everyone in the class learns some physics (preferably while enjoying themselves!).

The course design is a cooperative effort of many faculty, each of whom is deeply concerned with providing the most effective learning experience for every student. Each element of the course, described individually below, is essential to your mastery of physics. The lecture, tutorial and laboratory components are carefully coordinated, but are not necessarily synchronized. Research has shown that presenting material in cycles, so that the same topic is approached more than once from different viewpoints, is a very effective means of encouraging deeper understanding and long-term retention of ideas.

Lecture: Lecture is a place to learn from someone who has thought about the material and used it in real life, plus a chance for the entire class to ask questions (and hear the questions of others). You should read the text and do the smartPhysics pre-lecture before coming to class, since lecture will complement the text, and not repeat it. Lecture will contain a guide to what is important, an overview of concepts, applications to real life, connections to other courses, and numerous demonstrations. Lecture is also the place where quantitative aspects will be developed -- understanding where equations in the book come from and how to apply them to solving problems. Lectures will also utilize interactive "clicker questions" for you to stop and engage in the material as it is being presented. Please be considerate of others' learning by not having side conversations in class (unless instructed to discuss a specific physics problem as part of lecture).

Tutorial: Tutorial is a place to concentrate on concepts. You will work in small groups with a TA to find your own answers to questions, frequently with small experiments. Tutorial and lab are excellent places to bounce ideas off your colleagues. Make sure you don't let one person in your group answer all the questions while you just watch and observe. The point of tutorials is to become actively engaged with the material -- research has shown that active engagement significantly enhances your learning. Don't be afraid to tell someone else to be quiet while you think, and please honor someone's request for you to hold your tongue for a minute while they figure something out for themselves.

Laboratory: Lab is a place to actively engage with the physical phenomena -- to make predictions, make measurements, and compare them. Make sure both you and your lab partner understand everything you are doing. If you disagree, or if neither of you know the answer, please ask the TA for help. However, note that there is only 1 TA for 11 different lab groups. You won't finish the lab if you stop cold everytime you aren't sure -- ask your neighbors or go on to something else after letting the TA know you need help. Lab works best if you read the lab and any associated readings before coming to lab, as well as do the pre-lab. This is especially important if the lab preceeds coverage in lecture or tutorial. Lab reports are graded by your lab TA, who can give you feedback on your understanding. If you are unclear on why you lost points on something, ASK!

Study Center: The Study Center is a good place to do your homework and talk through the material with your peers and the teaching staff. The Study Center is staffed many hours from Monday through Friday, 9:30-4:30. Note that if you come in right before tests or homework due dates, there is likely to be a line for getting help. If you come in during less popular time slots, and you can get more personal attention. If the TA and Professor are busy, talk to your peers -- often you will each bring one piece of the puzzle to make a whole. You will each learn more that way, as well. When you ask questions, let the instructors know what you've been thinking so they can approach the problem in a way that makes sense to you. Also, remember that the Study Center Staff may not have seen your specific problem before, and the last question they answered may have been for a different course, so please give them a chance to think it through.

Go-Post: The Go-Post Chat Room is a place to post questions about the homework or class material to anyone in the class, and to test your understanding by answering others' questions. The professor will check it occasionally as well. Please give guidance and advice, but not specific solutions, when answering others' queries. The Go-Post will also be used to post files (such as exam solutions) that have restricted access to students registered in the class.

smartPhysics: The smartPhysics prelectures give you a different point of view on the material from the text and instructor, as well as a chance to figure out what part of the material is particularly confusing before coming to lecture. The prelectures tend to be very dense, covering a full lecture of material in 15 minutes, but you can work through them slowly, and you may be surprised at how straightforward they sound when you revisit them. The smartPhysics checkpoints, which are questions based on the prelecture, help both you and your instructor know where to focus attention during lecture, and the results are sent to her an hour before class. Use the "briefly explain your answer" part of each problem to acquire practice coherently explaining your reasoning, a necessary element for performing well on exams.
Pretests: Pretests probe your understanding of the material to be covered in tutorial during the coming week. The results are reviewed by the tutorial teaching staff at their weekly preparation session (after they take the pretest themselves!) to help them know where to place their efforts. Pretests also benefit you by highlighting the important concepts of the coming week's tutorial. Similar questions often will appear on exams. This aids the physics education research and teaching staff in assessing the efficacy of tutorial and lecture in teaching concepts.

Tutorial Homework: Tutorial homework is an opportunity to work with the concepts introduced in tutorial to ensure understanding. The solutions are not published. If you read through the homework before coming to tutorial, it can help guide you to what is important in tutorial itself. Tutorial HW is handed in and returned in tutorial. It is graded by your tutorial TA, who can give you feedback on your understanding. If you are unclear on why you lost points on something, ASK!

Required Lecture Homework: Required lecture homework is designed to have you work with the material presented in lecture and in the text. It is administered through the WebAssign system on the world wide web. You do not really understand the material until you can do the homework problems. You are not prepared for exams until you can do the homework problems without consulting more than a formula sheet. Start early, and come to the Study Center and office hours with your questions. Don't just try random numbers in WebAssign until it accepts your answer. Do, however, keep track of non-significant figures through intermediate steps, since WebAssign checks for 1% accuracy when checking your answer. If you don't understand a problem, ASK. You are welcome to work together on the homework. However, you should do the first run through and the final solution on your own.

Supplemental Problems: The text has MANY problems at the end of each chapter. Supplemental homework problems give you a chance for more practice with the material. The way to convince yourself that you understand the book and lecture is to do problems. Unfortunately, we don't have the person-power to grade extra problems, but they are strongly recommended. Come to the Study Center if you have difficulty. Note that the odd-numbered problems have answers in the back of the book.

Reading the Text Book: You should read the book before the associated lecture. The relevant sections are posted in the syllabus. If something is confusing, make a note of it and move on -- ask questions in class if it is still confusing. If you don't feel comfortable asking in class, come to the Study Center, post questions on the Go-Post, and/or ask questions through the "Lecture Thoughts" checkpoint on smartPhysics.

Talking with the Professor: You are strongly encouraged to visit with the professor regularly during office hours or by appointment. Get used to the idea of seeing the Professor outside of class during the quarter; it will pay off for you in many ways as the years go by! This will not happen unless YOU take the initiative, and now is a great time to start. Interacting with students is the best part of our job -- how many careers do you know of where you actually get paid to be curious and to talk to people?

Tests: Studying for tests, taking them, and then having someone carefully grade them is another way to learn the material. Typical homework problems involve just one or two sections in the book. Exam problems will be more general, incorporating multiple ideas. Think about these connections as you are studying. Also, as you are doing problems, keep track of the notes and formulas that you need. In this way, you can make a more useful note page for use during the exams. Pick up your midterms and learn from your mistakes. If you don't understand why you lost points, ASK! Graders occasionally make mistakes, too.

It has been said that no physics makes sense until you have seen it three times. There are over a dozen ways to interact with the material listed above; hopefully at least three of them will work for your style of learning. This class will require a major time investment, but we hope you will find it worthwhile. It is a real treat to understand the inner workings of the physical world!!