Lee Trampleasure's Blog – Page 8 – Science education and more…

January 4, 2013

Why I’m pledging off quickly Sharing those great images with embedded text on Facebook.

Most of us have probably done it. We see a great quote or other statement embedded in a photo on Facebook, Google+, or other social networking site. Maybe it’s political, maybe it’s insightful, maybe made us Laugh Out Loud. A quick click of the Share button and all our friends can read it…well, most of them. Maybe we have a...

Accessibility/Computers and the web Comments: 0

December 3, 2012

Results of online grading survey

Last week I posted a survey of online grading practices. I announced the survey through several email lists I participate in [1], as well as on my Facebook “wall”. The survey was open for five days, and resulted in 164 responses. I make no attempt to pass this survey off as statistically accurate representation of all teachers/schools–the respondents come from...

Computers and the web/Grading software/Science Education Comments: 3

November 28, 2012

Survey of teacher use of online grading systems and their implementation

If you teach at a middle school or high school, please take a couple minutes to answer this survey. I will post results here in mid-December 2012. (Apologies for the multiple scroll bars.) I’ve reached the capacity of the free Survey Monkey site (100 responses!), so I’m making a copy of it. If the survey don’t appear below, it means...

Computers and the web/Grading software/Science Education Comments: 3

September 10, 2012

How to assocaite .cls (class) files with GradeMachine in Windows 7

If you are installing GradeMachine in newer versions of Windows (7 for sure, I’m not sure about XP), the program will not automatically “associate” the .cls (class) files with GradeMachine — the result is you cannot double-click on a .cls file and have GradeMachine open for you. The following steps, in Windows 7, will correct this problem, and let you...

Grading software Comment: 1

May 18, 2012

Grading labs: A faster method using pre-printed return address labels.

Grading tends to be the biggest time consuming task for teachers. For those teachers who want students to complete lab write-ups that truly reflect discover and learning, providing feedback on labs can be an even more daunting task. This year I started using a system that has significantly sped up grading the mechanics of the lab, allowing me to spend...

Modeling/Physics/Science Education Comments: 3

April 21, 2012

Newton’s Laws and shopping carts falling out of truck

Watch the following video, the try to answer the questions below it: What is happening to the truck and the carts when the carts start following off the truck? What causes the carts to fall off the truck? While the truck is moving, the left row of carts doesn’t fall off the truck. Can you explain why they don’t? At...

Physics/Science Education Comments: 0

March 15, 2012

Modeling Instruction: Review of acceleration lab

I’ve been using Modeling Instruction in my physics class for the past five years, and keep wondering how to handle the problem of students who miss the whiteboard sessions (where students share their results and we reach class conclusions). These sessions are critical for student growth, as this is where they are challenged to look for patterns in their data,...

Modeling/Physics/Science Education Comments: 0

February 5, 2012

Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol workshop at AAPT conference

At the AAPT Winter Conference, I attended a workshop on the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) (emphasis on “reformed teaching” not “reformed protocol”). Below are my notes on that workshop. [This workshop runs 8:00-5:00 on Sunday, and I’m live blogging this so, if you’re reading during this time, reload the page for the most up-t0-date content.] Intro question: What does...

Modeling/Physics/Science Education Comment: 1

July 12, 2011

The value of multi-modal trips

In transit lingo, “multi-modal” trips are those that use different modes to get to a destination. A common version is bike to bus/subway/rail, either taking the bike on the vehicle or locking it before one gets on. Today I had a wonderful trip that was multi-modal by accident. The “out” trip was planned as multi-modal: I live in Berkeley and...

Bicycles/Environment Comment: 1

June 5, 2011

Reflections on 900 miles on a bicycle

[I wrote this back in August of 2010] Well, I’ve been back for a week, so it seemed like time to write reflections on my Portland to Berkeley bicycle trip. Why? Why did I do it? Was it turning 50, the old “mid-life crisis” reaction? Maybe, but probably only a small amount. I’m pretty satisfied...

2010/Bicycles Comment: 1