Matt Harding

My white lie/white t shirt for spirit week....

Thanks, been a weird summer!

YouTube video by Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. Miller-Meeks Congratulates Outstanding Iowa Teacher on Major Award Nomination

...from 4 days before they ended the award?

youtu.be/0vwPbXm2348?...

Hoop Bumpers for Bumper and Launcher Kit - Vernier Replacement hoop bumpers for , which are included with our Dynamics Cart and Track System with Go Direct® Sensor Carts and .

Pro tip of the week from AP1 APSI, Vernier sells just the hoop springs for the dynamics carts as a set of two (different K's) for under $20 www.vernier.com/product/hoop...

Iowa City physics teacher named finalist for 2025 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching Matt Harding is one of five state finalists for the 2025 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), the highest honor for K-12 science, technology, engineering an...

If my only prize here is the rec letter from my amazing student, I'll feel pretty fulfilled. www.thegazette.com/stem/iowa-ci...

4-panel comic. (1) PERSON 1: This stick is one meter long. PERSON 2 WITH SHORT HAIR: Cool. PERSON 3 WITH WHITE HAT: That’s a nice stick. (2) PERSON 1: This rock weighs one pound. PERSON 2: I’d believe it. PERSON 3: Looks like a normal rock. (3) PERSON 1: This battery is one volt. PERSON 2: Seems fine. PERSON 3: Might need a recharge. (4) PERSON 1: This capacitor is one farad. [2 and 3 leaning away attempting to shield themselves] PERSON 2: *AAAAA! Be careful!!* Person 3: Put it down!!

Farads

xkcd.com/3106/

...something about introducing a unit of pressure, and the kids calling them Pedro's and me saying something about naming units after dead guys, guess your had to be there...

Congratulations, very well deserved!

Looks a bit, uh, unstable....

Congratulations, very well deserved!

Sonny and Shadow, 12 year old rescues, they still think they're puppies, tho.

@nquarderer.bsky.social welcome to #springerspanielPhysicsdadsofbluesky see also @malmeida.bsky.social

It's not as valuable if it's a test where they're all more or less nailing it, but N2L/UBFPM is always a scorcher every year. I also shake up the seating chart on this day/start of new unit, so they're talking to someone new about it, as well. Some do come in later and go over their test 1:1 w/ me

Try a different school? Previous school, 3 or 4 missing per period, weeks to track down make ups. Now, consistently 100% in class on test days. But yea, otherwise, alternate "less desirable" exam?

They have to rely on their ability to make sense of the problems with the help of their partner. These are some of the best discussions I get during a unit. No one has the confidence from knowing they got it right, it's all down to their ability to use the tools and explain their reasoning.

In this mode, they get a blank copy of the test the day after to work on with a partner, so it's still fresh in their minds, & they've got some skin in the game, so they're motivated to figure out if they got it right or not. They don't know their score, they don't know the correct answer.

Reassessment is separate, this is just a better way for me to hand back tests. If they just got their test with the score, they would note the score and not necessarily take on board any other feedback I gave.

Think I stole it off someone in the old Google Hangout PLC days, that was with baby 2 sleeping on my shoulder, so 2013 era?Maybe it was Fran or Casey or Leah? You and Frank are definitely my default "if it's a good idea I probably stole it from"s, so if nothing else, gratitude for the other things:)

So much easier to do this at my new school because attendance on test days is almost always 100%.

All they have to go on is their reasoning, they don't know if they missed it or not, they only know why they chose that option on the day. Discussions are so much better than me handing them back the test, them only caring about the score, and not being engaged in my explanation of correct answer.

Of the many great ideas I've stolen from @kellyoshea.bsky.social , one of my favorites is giving the Ss blank copies of the test/quiz to go over in groups the day after. Some of the absolute best discussions of reasoning, especially if they don't know their scores or what they missed.

Wymer retired last spring, I didn't want to be the oldest guy in the department, so it was time to move on after 24 years:)

7 years ago west split, and a new school opened in North Liberty. I'd been coaching soccer there the past two years, and they finally needed a physics teacher this year, so here I am:) #thepurplepalace

Loving the incline intro lab for UBFPM (N2L), a much easier lift in terms of pre lab discussion and data collection as compared to Modified Atwood Lab. #iteachphysics #modphys

Yay! Scrolling down the #iteachphysics and following all those names I've been missing at that other place:) Hat tip to my practicum student for suggesting this might be where all the cool kids had gone!