Proposal Title
Session Type
Presentation
Room
PAB 150
Start Date
10-7-2013 1:15 PM
Keywords
space, astronomy, first-year physics, engineering education
Primary Threads
Curriculum
Abstract
It's a truism among those who work in science outreach that the two aspects of science that get people really excited are space and dinosaurs. It seems reasonable to assume that at least some science and engineering students were attracted to our fields because of their interest in these topics. But concepts related to space and/or astronomy don't usually make it into first-year physics textbooks, despite the relevance to the typical first-year curriculum. The students won't all end up being astronomers or aerospace engineers, but can we use their interest in space to help them find fist-year physics more relevant and interesting? What would that look like? Can we extend the "space" hook to other subjects, like chemistry or computer science or even biology? This presentation is intended to be an exploratory discussion combined with a brainstorming session.
Media Format
flash_audio
Space, the Initial Frontier
PAB 150
It's a truism among those who work in science outreach that the two aspects of science that get people really excited are space and dinosaurs. It seems reasonable to assume that at least some science and engineering students were attracted to our fields because of their interest in these topics. But concepts related to space and/or astronomy don't usually make it into first-year physics textbooks, despite the relevance to the typical first-year curriculum. The students won't all end up being astronomers or aerospace engineers, but can we use their interest in space to help them find fist-year physics more relevant and interesting? What would that look like? Can we extend the "space" hook to other subjects, like chemistry or computer science or even biology? This presentation is intended to be an exploratory discussion combined with a brainstorming session.