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Pomona
College Workshop Provides HS Physics Teachers with
Experiments for their Classrooms
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As concern continues to mount about U.S. competitiveness in
math and science, Pomona College will host its Fourth Annual
Physics Teachers Workshop on February 11, 2006, providing
Southern California high school physics teachers with both
updates on advances in physics and hands-on experiments
designed to meet the time and budgetary constraints of a
typical high school. Since the program began, 67 area
teachers have participated in the free workshops.
Focusing on “Transferring Information with Light,” the
workshops include a demonstration measuring the speed of
light and two hands-on lab activities:
• The "Communicating with Light Lab" is a series of station
activities introducing the physics of transmitting "voice"
information using electromagnetic signals or light. Students
explore various aspects of electromagnetic communication
from processing to transmitting to receiving. Topics covered
in this lab include: signal modulation, signal switching,
signal analysis, fiber optics, reflection, refraction,
critical angle and signal conversion. The stations all
relate to the topic of electromagnetic means of
communication and require that the instructor connect the
stations of activities into the central theme of
communication. Class sets of laboratory kits will be
available on loan from the Pomona College lending library.
• The "Diffraction of Light Lab” is a direct and tangible
experiment of the wave and diffraction properties of light.
Diffraction is at the root of many technologies, scientific
techniques and common visual phenomena. Using a laser
pointer, teachers examine diffraction patterns from a range
of objects. The diffraction from metal meshes gives
quantitative confirmation of the wave nature of light.
Teachers will then measure the track spacing on CDs and DVDs
and the width of their hair using the wave model of light.
Finally, students are asked to apply their experience of
light diffraction to electron and X-ray diffraction images
of matter. Class sets of laboratory kits will be available
on loan from the Pomona College lending library.
According to David Tanenbaum, an associate professor of
physics at Pomona College, “Most students get their first
introduction to physics in high school classrooms, and we
realize that many high school teachers have only minimal
budgets and facilities. Our goal is to excite teachers and
give them additional tools to excite their students. We hope
the hands-on experiments will do that.”
To augment the workshops, Pomona College established a
branch of the successful CNS Institute for Physics Teachers
lending library in 2005, which allows teachers who have
participated in one of the Pomona/CIPT workshops to borrow
full classroom sets of supplies for many of the laboratory
and demonstrations. Approximately 15 area teachers used lab
materials in the library’s first year.
The 2006 Pomona College workshop is co-sponsored by Pomona
College, the CNS Institute for Physics Teachers and the
National Science Foundation. Breakfast and lunch will be
provided. Five and one-half in-service credits will be
awarded for participation. The event will be held at the
Pomona College Millikin Laboratory, 610 N. College Ave.,
Claremont, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For a more detailed
schedule, call (909) 621-8724.
Pomona College is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts
institutions, offering a comprehensive program in the arts,
humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Its
hallmarks include small classes, close relationships between
students and faculty, and a range of opportunities for
student research. Visit Pomona College on the web at
www.pomona.edu. |
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