Session B19: Invited Session: Inspirational Approaches to Teaching Physics and History of Physics

The Use of Theater and the Performing Arts in Science Education and the Teaching of History

Over the past 15 years there has been a surge in the general field of the interaction of STEM and the arts including theatre, music dance and the visual arts leading to STEAM. There seems to be no limits to the amount of creativity and diversity of subject matter especially in areas of biography, major science events, scientific and technical innovation, the benefits and dangers of modern science, and science as metaphor. For the past 15 years, I and my colleagues have been running a science outreach series under the title Science \& the Performing Arts at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. The objective is to bring science to students and the public in ways that are engaging, instructive, and artistic and always, content-driven: the medium is the arts; the message is the joy of science. This has resulted in over 120 science and performing arts programs which have been documented on the website http://sciart.commons.gc.cuny.edu/ . The author co-taught a course titled Staging Science, http://sciart.commons.gc.cuny.edu/staging-science/outline-of-the-course-staging-science/ with Marvin Carlson, Professor of Theatre at CUNY. An excellent book, Science on Stage: From Doctor Faustus to Copenhagen by Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, can be used to develop a customized courses on Science, Theatre and History for both science and non-science majors. The book's appendix includes an annotated listing of plays on such subjects as quantum mechanics, chaos theory, evolution, genetics and morality and responsibility. The talk will include many examples how courses on science and theatre can actively engage students and enhance active participation and learning.   

Bruno, Galileo, Einstein: The Value of Myths in Physics

Usually, historical myths are portrayed as something to be avoided in a physics classroom. Instead, I will discuss the positive function of myths and how they can be used to improve physics education. First, on the basis of historical research from primary sources and significant new findings about the Catholic Inquisition, I will discuss how to use the inspirational story of Giordano Bruno when discussing cosmology. Next, I will discuss the recurring story about Galileo and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Finally, I will discuss how neglected stories about the young Albert Einstein can help to inspire students.   

Teaching Physics to Future Presidents

We present Berkeley's ``Physics for Future Presidents'' course. Created by Prof. Richard Muller, this is an introductory course aimed at preparing our students to make decisions in a physical, technological world. Organized around large topical areas like ``Energy,'' ``Gravity and Force,'' ``Nuclei and Radioactivity,'' and ``Invisible Light,'' we can cover in some depth the scientific issues involved in large-scale energy production via renewable and non-renewable resources, satellites including capabilities and limitations, nuclear power production including risk and waste, UV exposure including discussion of the ozone layer and cancer risk, etc. Although only a small bit of algebra is used, it's a deeply quantitative course. The class is structured around (1) traditional text readings and homework for basic material (2) demo- and discussion-based lectures and (3) readings and essays based on current articles and events. This third component raises student engagement and improves their reasoning {\&} skeptical skills. It also makes the course challenging for both STEM and non-STEM students, and for future teachers.   

Composing Science

The course Scientific Inquiry at California State University was developed by faculty in biology, physics and English to meet ``writing proficiency'' requirements for non-science majors. Drawing from previous work in composition studies, the position that we take in this course is that we should be engaging students in writing that replicates the work that writing does in science, rather than replicating the particular structural conventions characteristic of scientific writing. That is, scientists use writing to have, remember, share, vet, challenge, and stabilize ideas, and our course requires students use writing to achieve those aims, rather than produce writing that obeys particular conventions of scientific writing. This talk will describe how we have integrated findings from composition studies with a course on scientific inquiry, and provide examples of how scientific communication has resulted from this dialogue.   

How Things Work: Teaching Physics in the Context of Everyday Objects

How Things Work is an unconventional introduction to physics, a course that starts with whole objects and looks inside them to see what makes them work. Effectively ``case-study physics,'' it is designed primarily for non-science students who are unsure of the role of physics in the world and are looking for relevance in their studies. How Things Work is essentially the generalization of context-based introductory courses (Physics of the Human Body, Physics of the Automobile, and Physics of Music) and demonstrates that when physics is taught in the context of ordinary objects, these students are enthusiastic about it, look forward to classes, ask insightful questions, experiment on their own, and find themselves explaining to friends and family how things in their world work. In this talk, I will discuss the concept and structure of a How Things Work course and look briefly at how to teach its objects and assess what students learn from it. Although this course focuses on concepts rather than on calculations, it is rich in physics and requires that students think hard about the world around them. It also teaches problem solving and logical thinking skills, and demands that students face their misconceptions and failures of intuition. Lastly, it is actually quantitative in many respects, though its results are usually more words than numbers: your weight, the battery's voltage, or the acceleration due to gravity.