Prof. Jeff Saul / Instructor Sherry Savrda / TA Frank Mackey
Class schedule and location
TTH 4:00 => 6:45 PM in Trailer PC1/PL1 (TR 514), Room 101.
The tan trailer w/brown trim between Commumications blding. and Classroom
Blding. 1
Course description
Content: This is a four credit-hour, physical science course that is designed for pre-service and in-service K-8 teachers. This course will look at three topics from the Florida State Benchmarks in Science Education: Properties of Matter, Heat and Temperature, and Force and Motion. The SCALE-UP (Student Centered Activities for Large Enrollment University Physics) sections are experimental versions of the course that do not cover the same material as other PSC 1121 classes.
Philosophy: This course is being taught according to the National Standards in Science Education (as written by the National Resource Council). We will provide you with the opportunity to acquire a good physical understanding of the course material. The course philosophy is that it is hard to teach science without the experience of doing science. Thus the approach we will use is to set up the classroom as a scientific community investigating the course material. This course places significant emphasis on both qualitative and quantitative physical reasoning.
Approach: The course will emphasize activity-based learning using cooperative groups. You will learn physical science through your own experiences doing experiments and solving problems. Class sections will require students to be responsive, to think, and to perform hands-on tasks. Activities will be followed by class discussions on group results. You are required to keep a class notebook with notes on the activities, your group's results, the class discussions, and your own reflections.
Collaborative Work: Scientists and engineers work in groups as well as alone. Social interactions are critical to their success. Most good ideas grow out of discussions with colleagues. This course encourages collaborative teamwork, a skill that is valued by most employers. As you study together, help your partners to get over confusions, ask each other questions, and critique your group homework and lab write-ups. Teach each other! You can learn a great deal by teaching.
While collaboration is the rule in technical work, evaluations of individuals also play an important role in science and engineering. Celebrations are to be done without help from others.
Textbooks:
L.C. McDermott, Physics by Inquiry, Volumes 1 & 2 (John Wiley & Sons,
New York NY, 1996). You will not need the PCS 1121 lab manual and/or course
packs.
Assignments
Readings: There are no assigned readings.
Homework: Homework will be assigned as we go through
the semester, 1-2 assignments per week.
Laboratory: You will be offered hands-on, inquiry-based
activities during the class period that allow you to uncover various aspects
of a physics concept.
Labs will vary in length and complexity. Some labs will have homework follow-ups.
Notes: You must keep a lab notebook to keep notes on class activities, observations, group findings, class discussion, and reflections. Your lab notebooks will be collected at each of the three tests. This will count towards your participation and effort grade (see below).
Tests
Tests consist of questions pertaining to the previously covered material.
You will receive notes including a list of objectives for each test. A comprehensive
final examwill cover all of the course material.
Grade Requirements
Grades will be assigned based on your overall, weighted class average using the weighting scheme presented below:
Weighting scheme
| Task | Weight |
| Celebrations of Knowledge (3)* | 30% (10% each) |
| Homework | 25% |
| Projects (3) | 15% (5% each) |
| Final Exam | 15% |
| Participation and Effort | 10% |
| Attendance | 5% |
| 100% |
*similar to a test
Break-points
| Minimum Score | Grade | Maximum Score |
| 85 | A | 100 |
| 75 | B | 84 |
| 60 | C | 74 |
| 50 | D | 59 |
| 0 | F | 49 |
If everyone in the class does well, grades are not curved downward. Everyone has a chance to get an A. Plus and minus grades may be assigned.
There usually is a "gray area" between two letter grades in the
final distribution. Two people getting the same weighted average grade could
get different letter grades, a C and B, for example. The higher grade depends
on your attendance, your interactions in class, and whether your test and
homework erformance
show improvement..
Resources: Free help is available from the physics TAs in the physics learning
lab in MAP 418.