They’re just systematically figuring out how to beat the computer by figuring out the rules, via hypotheses and experimentation.
How Videogames Blind Us With Science
At one point, Steinkuehler met up with one of the kids who’d built the Excel model to crack the boss. “Do you realize that what you’re doing is the essence of science?” she asked.
He smiled at her. “Dude, I’m not doing science,” he replied. “I’m just cheating the game!”
How to be a good TA over at Built on Facts.
Disclaimer: I never did recitations as a TA in grad school, though I did tutor students (for a whopping 8 bucks an hour). I had just gotten out of the navy, where I had logged somewhere around 2500-3000 classroom teaching hours, so it’s not like I needed to acquire any lecturing skills. I did labs, which involved only a few minutes of lecture time, and then a lot of Q&A. I didn’t want the repetition of six or so recitation sections, and I knew (from being a student and having done undergraduate TA-ing as well) that labs didn’t always go the full three hours. So, does any of my advice or criticism really apply?
But what do my students say in their confidential evaluations? My scores are always pretty high, but the single most common good thing they have to say about me is this:
He speaks English.
Yeah, I got that a lot, too, as a TA. Which just goes to point out that student evaluations more-or-less follow Sturgeon’s law. 90% of them are crap. The student’s judgments are not always objective, nor do they usually give constructive feedback. They can like or dislike you, and give evaluations accordingly, based on criteria other than teaching quality. And that’s what many of them are — statements of whether the student like you, rather than your effectiveness. I remember one teaching evaluation in which the student complained about how I blocked the board some of the time and he couldn’t read it. He sat near the front in the left-hand row (as viewed from the back of the classroom). I’m right-handed and bigger than a breadbox. It’s physically impossible for me to not block part of the board, and the part I will block will affect those on that side of the class a little more. Basic geometry, really. But it didn’t stop the student from whining about it mentioning it.
Back to School, Nifty Sayings & Bless Your Heart
Richie’s Nifty List of 5 Sayings You Can Probably Use Without Getting Fired
[…]
At a recent summer workshop, we decided that you can say just about anything as long as you end your statement with “Bless her heart” or “Bless his heart.” Now before you go off being a naysaying unbeliever just try saying these little ditties aloud and you’ll see what I mean…
“Oh my, she’s dumber than a bag of cat hair, bless her heart.”
“Oh my goodness, his classroom management skills are absolutely horrible, bless his heart.”
“She certainly gained quite a bit of weight over the summer, bless her heart.”
Your math teacher, Darth Vader. (Boy, is he strict!)
The ability to calculate the length of the hypotenuse is insignificant next to the power of the force.
I have to add — I would have noted that Vader’s board skills leave something to be desired, but he might have found my lack of faith to be disturbing.
Fall 2008 Schedule
Teachers Registration: Now – Sept. 8 (or until full)
Physicist Registration: Sept. 9 – Sept. 15 (or until full)
Teachers adopt physicists: Sept. 16 – Sept. 23
Discussion forums open: Sept. 29 – Oct. 17This effort is led by Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor society, and aided by American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers. Technical support is through the ComPADRE Digital Library.
I did this two years ago, and a colleague did it last year; it sounded like the format had evolved to be a little more interactive. When I participated, I was given a list of questions, the students chose a subset to ask, and it was done through email via the teacher. Now it looks like there is a discussion forum, with more freeform interaction.