Helen Reynolds

Delighted to share another summary- a profoundly thought-provoking book.
A must-read for those interested in the the bigger picture of transforming learning.
Thanks to @P_A_Kirschner for his help with the summary.
Download summary and book here:
itsalearningcurve.education/cogsci-book-...

Those were the days!

5 years ago I sent them the picture of the cup and find something that wasn't a cup and do the same.

The cat won, obvs.

Force arrows still the best way to show forces act ON objects.

#iteachphysics

Brilliant transition from centre of mass to torque in APC Physics!

We (I) cut a wooden spoon at the centre of mass, and lo! Unequal masses!

They got another one + a ruler + made some measurements +assumptions, and lo!! Equal masses! No one has every got it spot on before.

#iteachphysics

What a great question!

For parents If you would like to find out what cognitive science has to say about the best learning strategies to help your child learn, then here are some excellent places to start: 🧠 How do we learnAn introd…

I've got a page for resources to help parents get to grips with how their children learn, and how they can help.

Looking for any more suggestions?
itsalearningcurve.education/for-parents/

I've started a CogSciPhysics group on LinkedIn... let me know if you're interested.

If you've replied and not had an invite my sincere apologies - please reply/message and I'll sort it out

#iteachphysics

I'm not sure it's so relevant in the UK... APC has lots of calculus derivations.

There were some in Advancing Physics (Billy for capacitors)... not sure what there is now.

On the Benefits of Naming Equations I asked my students how they’d found the APC exam a few years ago and one student said: “It was fine. Question 1 was Billy squared and Question 3 was an easy Charlie”. What? Well,…

Name your equations.

Trust me, it's a game changer.

#iteachphysics
itsalearningcurve.education/on-the-benef...

Extremely useful litmus test, not just in the context of multiple intelligences from @carlhendrick.substack.com

... and the phrase:
Comfortable Fictions: The Myth of Multiple Intelligences open.substack.com/pub/carlhend...

Would seem like an eminently sensible idea to me. I hope there are data somewhere to show it?

What proportion of physics departments in the US do it?

That is so cool!! Not that getting a PhD isn't cool, but yay for all those kiddos who will benefit from his passion for physics!!
Brilliant!!

Excellent! Will add you to the list.

Fantastic, will do!

Great!! Super excited... will add you to the list!

It's a Learning Curve

Calling physics teachers!

I'd like to get together an online 'group' of people who teach physics AND also have an interest in cognitive science.

If that's you, let me know (DM or via my website)! I'd love to talk specifics, share ideas, discuss issues.

#iteachphysics
itsalearningcurve.education

Another summary! This time the marvellous Mental Models by Dr Jim Heal and Rebekah Berlin delving deep into developing students thinking, what it means and how to do it.

AND updated Cogsci Reading List - now up to 74 books.
itsalearningcurve.education/cogsci-book-...

Ah, gotcha! That is a big step, and yay! So helpful if it can all be joined up!

If you need any ideas about that I'd love to help!

Interesting!
Are you also talking about content with MS science teachers? Like doing free body diagrams, basics of reflection refraction, current and p.d?
They can do a lot in the 3/4 years of MS (we've had a knowledge-rich curriculum in our 5-8th grade for 4 years and it's awesome!)
#iteachphysics

Cogsci In The Classroom ” Ok, fine. But what do you actually DO?” I get asked this a lot, so this page is for ‘THIS is what I do*’. I’ll put it in phases, where a ‘phase’ was abou…

Want to introduce some cogsci practices into your classroom but not sure what that looks like?

Check out some easy+no cost ideas here (specifically for physics but adaptable!):
itsalearningcurve.education/cogsci-in-th...

#iteachphysics

This kind of thing doesn't really help.

YouTube video by Veritasium The Most Persistent Myth

The Most Persistent Myth... 'that (fill in the gap...) will revolutionize education'.

@veritasium.bsky.social , please you could you update your excellent video to include AI?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEmu...

Capturing Session-to-Session Dynamics of Learning and Forgetting: Testing the Limits of Knowledge Tracing Models - International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education The development of intelligent tutoring systems and other educational technology necessitated the implementation and development of computational models of student learning. At the foundation of these...

Thanks
@carlhendrick.substack.com for shining a light on something that has bothered me about the 'mastery' model assessment.

It has to factor in forgetting...

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

#iteachphysics
#cogscisci

Yay!! See you there!

Yep, good call!

Best intro to a book about physics stuff...

So Planck should have had two constants... 🤷

#iteachphysics

Exacerbated by the fact that potential/field/circuit mean completely different things in the 'real' world.

Following on from the 'a physics teacher needs a large number of explanations for things' post, which are the topics/concepts that need the MOST?

Mine are:
#1 - potential
#2 - field
#3 - anything to do with circuits.

#iteachphysics

I think there might be an element of mistake... but unfortunately if it doesn't seem to the student that it's an alternative then it really isn't?

It's pedagogical content knowledge, or lack there of. You need to have a bunch of analogies/think of it like this in you back pocket.

Yes!! Of course! Great resource.

There's a lot of talk of checking for understanding, but explaining it well/differently in the first place is how that understanding happens!

We Asked 100 Students What They Wish Teachers Knew Here's What They Said When students are asked to reflect on their learning experiences, they often offer candid and thoughtful feedback. In a recent Study.com survey, we asked 100 students what they wish their teachers understood about their needs, challenges, and learning preferences.

Unsurprising but reassuring.

And I think that 'being able to explain it differently' has a place of great importance in physics.

My students have said that they notice this, or rather the lack of it, especially in math(s) and physics.

#iteachphysics

teachinglicense.study.com/resources/st...