Teaching Definition and 373 Threads

Hi, I graduated undergrad in December, and plan to start grad school in the Fall. In the off semester, I thought it would be fun to try to teach myself special/general relativity because my undergrad didn't really do it. I have looked at a few books, and I have really liked the explanations...

I have never taught an AP class, and this year is my first year where my students will be taking the AP Physics 1 test. I took a look at the sample questions they have released and it got me scared and nervous. What are you doing to prepare your students for the AP test? Anything different...

Here in about a week and a half I will begin teaching 3 lab courses. I am very nervous! If you have been a lab instructor for a mechanics lab, about how much time did you spend lecturing the material? Were you nervous at first? I know I can go through the material myself without an issue, but...

I will get my PhD in Nanotechnology on June 2016 and I want to know if I can teach physics in college or at least in high school with this degree.

I know a lot of scientific facts and formulas and laws, but not much about the process and experiments conducted to figure it out. For example, I don't know how exactly did Copernicus figure out the heliocentric model. Damn, I don't even know, looking into the sky how did they even figured out...

I'm wondering what the minimum educational attainment is for teaching at a community college (particularly in a STEM field)? And is there such a thing as "tenure" at a community college that is equivalent to tenure at a "regular" university? Lastly, is it easy to procure a teaching position at...

I've noticed that the pay for part time Math lecturers at CA community colleges appears to be pretty good, ~$45+/hour. My wife mentioned that most CC/college lecturers she's known have to spend more time preparing for and maintaining classes that they're paid for, which leads to them making...

Hey, I am a freshman in High School and I have a very superior IQ but I am in normal classes. This is due to ADHD and I used to be lazy in school. Anyways, algebra 1 is VERY boring. I want to teach myself geometry, algebra 2, Pre Cal, and Calculus because I love math. Also I feel like it will...

well,, i still have one and a half year to go,, so you might think that this is a little bit early but this is really a concern for me,, i really don't know what should i do after i graduate,,, I'm majoring in physics and I'm going to be honest I SUCK AT TEACHING ! I'm considering having masters...

So I'm going to be eligible to teach high school students sooner rather than later, and I have a few questions on how to round out my undergrad to go into the job market with the best chances of getting to teach the classes I want. Bear in mind I'm not limited to one city or state so I already...

After 20 years of being a locksmith, I have decided that I want to get a college degree and I'll be starting next year! As part of my degree, I will be doing two chemistry courses which will cover: - Intermolecular forces, chemical equilibrium, energy considerations and chemical reactivity...

The school in which I teach is going to pilot a tablet for each student in a class next year. My physics class is going to be part of this pilot. Currently they are looking at ipad/surface/chromebook. Does anyone have input good or bad on any of these for use in class as well as with labs...

Hi guys, I know that if we consider a basic atomic model ( not considering quantum mechanics here) that an atom is mostly empty space ( 99.99999%) or something like that. But how about the space between the atoms? Would it be appropriate to tell middle school students...8th graders... that...

Some of the social sciences suffer from "physics envy". This malady causes educators to inject an unnecssary amount of mathematics into the curriculum as a way of gaining scientific letgitimacy. Sadly for most undergrads, the math actually gets in the way. I wrote a paper in which I describe the...

Hello everybody at the forum. My name is Alejandro, and I am a spanish telecommunication engineer, currently working as technologies teacher. My passion has always been physics, and I even thought seriously of studying a physics degree instead of my telecommunication degree. But now, at my 35...

This old blog entry is being reposted here for archival purposes because the blog system is being removed. TabletPCs for Science and Science Teaching (Message originally posted by robphy on May20-06 at 06:45 PM.) Although the http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/tabletpc/default.mspx (see...

Hello, Just a bit of background, I'm preparing to go to Durham University in the UK, (I'm a UK student, did GCSEs, Alevel etc. Only mention in the vague chance there may be someone who has studied at Durham / studied in the UK and can give me more detailed advice / information) I am really...

Hello all, as a recent graduate and a new teacher, I am living in Honduras and teaching the sciences in a high school setting. I did not study to be a teaching by got my bachelors in Spanish and Physics. I am working at a bilingual school and my resources are extremely limited. My question is...

I have an M.S. degree in electrical engineering from Univ. of Minn. and have been a practicing engineer for almost 30 years now. I've about had my fill of engineering and I'm seriously considering switching career to teaching high school physics and math. Assuming for the moment I have...

So, I want to teach calculus to my math club. I know that differentiation and integration is easy. But how do I teach the CONCEPT of DERIVATIVES and INTEGRATION to people who only learned algebra 2? Algebra 2 people because that's the bare minimum of mathematics you need to learn calculus...

Good evening all, first post here, and I'm hoping I've come to the right place to find some answers. I'm a math teacher at a small private school, and I've been debating about what to do for my Honors Geometry class next year. I have this strong desire to use Euclid's Elements as our primary...

I'm pretty bored (in high school) and have been interested in physics for a long time , so i searched the web on teaching my self physics and came across this article ( http://www.squidoo.com/garagephysicist ). I'm wondering if it's a good guide or...

Hey guys was wondering what you thought about teaching english the summer between graduate and undergraduate. I've been accepted to a PhD program in engineering for fall 2014. However I don't know what to do with my summer. I was thinking that spending my time traveling teaching English might...

Where do they find these people and why are they being set free on our kids? http://news.yahoo.com/substitute-teacher-taped-spouting-bizarre-conspiracy-theories-high-135248463.html We ban crackpot like this in this forum. Zz.

Has been talked about at this site. I am seeing a lot of articles about it in the oridnary press. Here one today. http://www.economist.com/news/international/21595476-technology-and-fresh-ideas-are-replacing-classroom-drilland-helping-pupils-learn-time?frsc=dg|a

“Before we can teach a kid how to academically excel in school, we need to teach him how to have stillness, pay attention, stay on task, regulate, make good choices,” said Larochette. “We tell kids be quiet, calm yourself down, be still. We tell them all these things they need in the classroom...

Hi Physics Forum! I want you guys to help me out. I want to learn physics the hard way. Let me explain. I'm currently finishing my sophomore year at Colorado School of Mines. I am majoring in Engineering Physics. I'm doing great in school. I've signed up for SPS and APS - Physics Today should...

I've been learning about the properties of light in school without quantum mechanical aspect of it. Now that I'm in college I'm looking to learn quantum mechanics and know about light in a different perspective. Now this troubles me:- I've been taught about light in the following way - Some...

Do post-docs typically write their own grants and choose their own reserach direction within their field? Can you offer to teach a new course if you can import a well-known framework from another university? How free are you to engage in this kind of autonomy as a postdoc?

I believe many users here are teachers now or they were in the past and some might be working as professors at universities. I think if you teach a certain subject you understand it well day after day and you realize that you are learning new things and the concept is becoming fundamental as...

I am a junior in high school enrolled in an AP Physics B course, and as you are probably aware the curriculum consists exclusively "classical physics". I understand the value of easy calculation in teaching physics without calculus, but I am concerned as to whether or not an education in...

I'm in class watching my professor teaching us about convolution. However, he keeps doing this by creating graphs and stuff. Is there a method through which I can solve convolution problems without having to draw the graphs?

Hopefully this is the correct stack exchange for this, if not feel free to tell me where to move it where it would be more appropriate. So I am a teaching assistant and masters student in the math dept. at a large state university. I was holding a discussion section this morning for the...

Hello all, I'm looking for advice from people in any physics/astronomy/astrophysics graduate program. If you're short on time, please feel free to skip to the last paragraph; I would really appreciate any help. I did my undergraduate degrees in physics and math, and if you don't mind me...

Has anyone here worked with Fanuc robots? At my shop, we use RJ 2 or 3 controllers on all of our MIG welders. I sometimes have to make small moves in the robot's point positions. This is generally done by putting the robot's coordinate system in "Tool", finding the axis I need, and then...

particularly in math or physics? what's the pay? full time, part time. do they work year round?

Hello all! I'm a 3rd year grad student getting his PhD in Physics, primarily astro-particle theory. I have a huge passion for physics but as I ever so slowly tip toe my way to this degree my mind looks down different potential paths I could take after I get it. One path, which has always...

Hello, I am a self-learner. I am teaching myself calculus through different sources on the net, but I feel I book is handy. Can you please suggest me a book on differential & integral calculus which: (a) I can self-learn (b) Has a lot of examples (c) Clears out the concepts through...

Hey, I'm a 16 year old at high school and I feel as if my Physics and Mathematical concepts are lacking in depth. I've tried reading the Feynman Lectures, but I always get lost on the mathematical portions. What would you suggest for me to build up a solid base in both these fields so I can...

Just wondering what anyone else thinks about one of the physics professor's at my university teaching a mathematical methods course strictly from notes. He did not assign a textbook. Most of the material I have not seen before. Is this common? This course was restructured halfway through...

Hi all, I have an interview question and trying to figure out how to answer this. What is the difference between calculus based physics, trig based physics, survey physics, conceptual physics, and astronomy courses? How should the teaching methods you follow be different for each...

So, after quitting my physics Ph.D grad program last semester, I got my physics teaching license with the aim to be a high school teacher. Teaching and tutoring were my favorite things in undergrad and my one semester in grad school, so I've decided to do it for a living. I have a few months of...

As a new PhD in physics I am exploring all the options I have. It seems like teaching in a community college is rewarding, relaxed, and well paying (given that you are at certain parts of the country). Anybody taught at community college a full time instructor? How was it? How busy were...

So I watched this video from Sal Khan, basically he was talking a lot about reformation of education and how the standard lecture-type classroom model of education dates back to Prussia in the 1800's and how it follows a sort of assembly line-esque format, push kids to learn a subject by a...

i'm currently 27 and still living at home. i'd like to start a career as soon as possible. it is extremely stressful living at home. after this spring term i will have the 30 credits i need to get state certified for teaching physics. does it pay to complete the physics degree in any way? i...

So I've just finished my first year in physics and survived :) I have 3 or so months all to myself, so I figure I can spare a little bit of time to study some maths and physics in preparation for second year (the first semester course is purely quantum mechanics). I have Fundamentals of Quantum...

So I love the Physics of Superheroes, I use it a lot when I teach. Today I did a lesson on work and energy using scenes from Spider-Man (climbing the wall for Work - > Gravitational PE, swinging from the top of the building for Gravitational PE -> KE) and Spider-Man 2 (stopping the train for KE...

Apparently a few schools in Louisiana, which are private but have state funding, are teaching Creationism vs Evolution as competing theories. http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/here-is-what-louisiana-schoolchildren-learn-about The article has a link to another one that explains that the...

Are there any people in recent history who never went to university to learn physics and just taught themselves using the internet and books? Is it really possible to get a solid understanding of physics just from reading and practice? I guess it would be a bit hard to test certain...

Hey everybody, I would just like to say thank you in advance for the help, and I'm new to PF. I am currently attending a community college with physics as my major. I am two more semesters away from my associate's degree. I am interested in high school teaching, and hoped some people here...