Introduction to Modeling Workshops at NSTA in Reno

Yesterday, I lead two short workshops on Modeling Instruction at the National Science Teachers Association area conference in Reno, Nevada. About 30 people attended the first one, and about 20 the second (about half of whom had been at the first one as well). As in many good physics activities, this included going outside (the floor in the conference room was carpeted, so the balls didn’t bounce well on it).

• In the first workshop, I introduced the Bouncing Ball lab, which offers an introductory activity that focuses on developing students’ understanding of lab design and data analysis.
• The second workshop introduced the Buggy Lab, that helps students develop a model for constant velocity motion.

Here are my PowerPoint slides: PPTX format with video links on in PDF format.

Here are some images: