Physics Worksheet Based Activity

By Georg Rieger, University of British Columbia

At a Glance

Discipline

  • STEM
  • Physics

Instructional Level

  • College & CEGEP
  • University

Course

  • Physics First Year

Tasks in Workflow

Social Plane(s)

  • Individual
  • Group

Type of Tasks

  • Solving problems
  • Analyzing
  • Reading

Technical Details

Useful Technologies

  • EdX

Class size

  • Medium (50-99)
  • Large (100-250)

Time

  • Brief segment of class period (< 20 mins)

Instructional Purpose

  • Application & knowledge building
  • Consolidation & metacognition

Overview

After completing some reading and reading questions at home, students scaffold the concepts involved in the question and then they apply equations that they have seen in class to answer complex physics questions. In groups of 2-4, they are able to check with each other their reasoning and check their work until they reach the numerical answer given on the worksheet. After class, each individual student answers a similar question with new values on EdX. This activity benefits the students as it employs a resource model for instructing students, that focuses on guiding students through the reasoning phase of problem-solving rather than correcting final answers.

The aim of the activity is the application of concepts and math to solve complex problems.

Instructional Objectives

  • To make students more comfortable with scaffolding complex problems and applying mathematical concepts and equations to physics situations.

Workflow & Materials

Document

Activity Workflow

Contributor's Notes

Georg Rieger

Georg Rieger

University of British Columbia

Benefits
Challenges
Tips
Benefits
  • They build resources of a complete set of notes through these worksheets that contain step-by-step reasoning to respond to complex questions.
  • The questions they ask as follow-up related to the concepts involved in the questions become more specific.
Challenges
  • Time is required for the instructor to prepare and print the worksheets.
Tips
  • Print the worksheet for the students and place it near the entrance so that they can take it at the beginning of class. This will save time and ensure that each student has a copy.