The Statistics class has just started lessons on probability. So I presented to the students how probability pertains to my research. I thought this would be a good time to show them they may use these lessons in the future. I discussed some background on the atom, mostly by posing questions to the students to see what background they have. They were all knowledgeable in the subject, but I wanted to make sure everyone was on the same track. I also discussed a little about carbon nanotubes and was pleasantly surprised that most students remembered the definition of nanoscale. I moved my focus onto the electron, quantum levels, and wave-particle duality. I also showed them what an infinite well is and a wavefunction. I concluded with the probability of finding the electron. Next time we will go to the computer lab so they can simulate this theory.
This lesson was intended for the students to find out if there is a correlation between air pressure and windy weather. The students were given data from the Lawrence High School weather station from December 2010 and a worksheet. They were asked to plot the data with a scatterplot with a calculator and in Matlab. Then find the correlation and variablility values and to generate a residuals plot. The students had an easy time plugging the data into the calculator and Matlab with some help. But when asked what the data means they had a hard time. They seem to be conditioned to finding an answer and not sure what to do when asked what it means.
This lesson incorporated Matlab and their current curriculum that deals with the Normal model. I first extended their lesson a little by showing them the function that is used for the normal model and I also quickly brought up the concept of integrals and variance. The next step was to bring the students to the computer lab and have write their own code to plot the Normal curve. Then they were to vary the parameters to see how the mean and standard deviation affect the curve and spread and what this means in terms of probability. We have previously learned about vectors and which is needed to write the code. The overall code needed is very short although I found a big challenge in getting the students to get started without a lot of repetitive instruction. Even though they were given the instructions before we went to lab, most students were immediately asking what to do and also at each step of the way. I am looking for any suggestions or activities to help me to get the students to build independent and critical thinking skills.
The students were very attentive when I mentioned that one of the samples problems were from a pratice AP exam. Of course it is hard to guage the whole class when only a few students repsond to questions. They did appear to be taking notes and I still need to review their journals to see what they noted and if they understood the concepts. I will review the subject again next lesson and give them a problem to solve for another assessment.
This week I introduced random variables and experiments to the students. I had them perform different experiments stressing some initial rules including that they must define it first and then list all the possible outcomes. Next they would need to map the outcomes to a random variable then perform the experiment. They need several trials in order to see an accurate distribution and they did not get to finish. They will finish next lesson and I will post an update on my perceptions on their understanding. They were able to recognize the definition of a probability, outcome and the range of possible probabilities. I think that the students need a good reason why mapping is important before they could understand how to use it. I think it was a good lesson because they had a hands on activity. We will finish next lesson and summarize their results to see if they understood the probability mass function.
Today the students were introduced to the simulation program Matlab. The previous class we discussed simulation, computation and visualization. They could identify in the code that it was a sinusoidal wave with variables for the amplitude and frequency of the wave. One student asked me if the period is the same as the frequency so we discussed the difference. They all debugged and plot the signal much faster than I had anticipated. So then they were asked to alter the code parameters along with the given reference sheet as a guide. Some students changed the plot colors, lines of the plot, and others changed the frequency and amplitude to see how this affected the wave. Some students have experience coding so the teacher thought next time we might give the students an assignment to write their own code involving the plotting of histograms. I think this would be a good assessment to see if they can write their own variables, vectors and plots. There was just one thing that I forgot to mention to the students was when they name their file not to put a space in the name because the code will give an error when you try to run it. I have all the students code on a thumbdrive and if we have time I may put some bugs in it for the future for any students who finish early on an assignment in the computer lab.
This lesson I began by talking about notetaking and introducing the format that the GK-12 group have agreed upon to use at the Lawrence High School. As an exercise I showed the students an interesting 10 minute video related to my research entitled Smart Bridges. It can be found at //www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/smart-bridges.html. I explained that the students were expected to take notes and write questions during the video. The students had many questions after the video such as “how do you begin to build a bridge that has it’s platforms in water?”. I tried to answer all the questions and the other ones I asked the students to write down in their journals so I could research some information for them.
I reviewed the students journals and most students had very good details such as: piezoelectric, using electric current, carbon nanotubes as nanoskin, and where the bridges in the video were located. I did notice I forgot to mention to the students that they should reference where the video came from for future references. I will review this notetaking step with them next class.
Today I did a critical thinking activity with the students that involved a closed cylinder with strings. The students were to analyze how the strings were attached inside. The were split up into groups and everyone got involved. I then had them sketch how they thought it looked inside. There were a few different ideas. One student tried to explain his thoughts using silly bandz. He had guessed correctly and so did one other group. The next activity involved guessing what is in a black box, but they all had different boxes. We discussed how they came to their conclusions. Next we discussed communication and how important it is to be able to discuss with different audiences your findings. The activity was to have the class help me write a procedure to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. At first they said that is so easy, everyone knows how to do that. I explained it is the importance of knowing how to explain something you know how to do to someone who doesn’t know. And also some companies need procedures for everything including the extremely simple tests because they have certifications such as ISO 9000.
Quickly they realized how specific and technical you need to be in order to explain things correctly and efficiently. I related the procedure to having a business, “would you want your employees wasting all your peanut butter on one sandwich” or “if a customer asks for extra cheese and they have to pay for it, what do you relate the normal serving to”. The students decided to make the sandwich based on the serving size on the containers.
For an assignment, the teacher asked them to post on their blog a procedure of something they like to do or do well.
Today I handed out the student journals to each student which helped to learn more of their names. I explained the expectations for the journal content and how the notetaking skills would be helpful in college. I also gave a more detailed introduction of myself to the students. I spoke about the program and my background. I told them about the semiconductor equipment business and how chips are made. I brought in a cleanroom suit for the students to try on, they had fun with that. I also brought in a silicon wafer for the students to see. The students had a lot of questions of how chips are made and how the silicon wafer is made. I asked each student to write in their journal and tell me what they would like to do in college or their dream job. I read over all the journals and was amazed at how most students had figured out what they wanted to do and exactly how to achieve their goals. Most students wanted to be a mechanical engineer, electrical or computer engineer. There were a couple who had more than one career choice and one student had four choices. One student wanted to be a peditrican and a couple wanted to be nurses. Several were really passionate and told me why they made that career choice and how it would feel to achieve it.
Today I introduced myself to AP statistics class. I discussed what the program is, what I will be doing throughout the year and a little about myself. Several students were interested in engineering and computer science. I mentioned that we will be doing statistic activities involving Matlab programming and a couple of students seemed interested. They asked me some questions about the relavance of statistics to my research and possible relavance to their future majors. They also worked on an activity called ‘Distracted Driver’ that dealt with a study that focused on whether people were more distracted talking on a cell phone or with a passenger in their car. One observation was that they overall didn’t like reading the directions but this is important for the AP stats exam because the teacher said last year that one section was 6 pages long. They will present the results of their group findings on thursday.
Uncategorized | barbaradeschamp | 
March 9, 2011 3:13 pm | 
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