I heard a snippet of Stephen Joyce on the radio this morning saying that the government may link funding of tertiary education to graduate employment – i.e. the amount of money given to The University of Waikato to support its teaching would be linked to the success of its graduates in securing employment. On the […]
Continue readingTag: teaching
Hands on science
Yesterday we had a one-day symposium here at the University on ‘Science in the Public’ – we brought together nearly 30 people from across the country (OK – across the North Island to be precise), all of who were involved in science communication in some manner. It was a fascinating day as we learned about […]
Continue readingPatience in experimenting
I’ve spend most of today in our new teaching lab, grappling with a piece of experimental equipment. Over the break between our A and B semesters (i.e. now) we’re moving our 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate physics lab out of one room and into another. It’s a small part of a large plan to use […]
Continue readingThe essence of physics
Exams are looming, and I’ve had a constant stream of students coming to me this week asking me questions. One question I’ve had has been asked by two students independently, relating to an example calculation done in a text book. The question goes like this: "I’ve been going through this example, and I get the […]
Continue readingIt never works when you need it to
A couple of weeks ago my wife mistook an old glass jug of ours for a pyrex one and poured boiling water in it. The result was quite pretty, with a jigsaw of cracks across the jug rendering it incapable of holding any fluid ever again, boiling or otherwise. That’s thermal expansion for you. Glass […]
Continue readingThe context doesn’t change the laws of physics
No, I didn’t stay up to watch the New Zealand v Slovakia game last night. Based on the grand sample size of one match each, NZ is as good as England. Not sure who that compliments / insults, though for you UK readers (I know there are some), the public reaction here to a 1-1 […]
Continue readingWhat equation do I need?
With A-semester exams looming, the students here at Waikato are becoming a little more focused on their work. That inevitably means that I get more of them coming to me after a lecture, or knocking on the door of my office. And that is good. One of the most common questions I get, usually in […]
Continue readingLots of flashing LEDs
A sure-fire way to increase the value of any piece of electronic equipment is to add some superfluous flashing red, yellow and green LEDs to it. (Light Emitting Diode.) They serve no use, but their presence is somehow comforting (especially in sci-fi films) and gives the impression that the equipment is busy doing something useful. There […]
Continue readingWhy you need to proof read
I’ve just supervised a test for a group of second year students. On looking at their answers afterwards, it was rapidly clear that there was a problem with one of the questions. Specifically, I had given the value of Boltzmann’s constant as 1.38 times 10 to the power 23 Joules per Kelvin, instead of 1.38 […]
Continue readingAlison’s recent bioblog entry made interesting reading/listening for me – Dan Meyer talking about how traditionally-phrased physics and maths problems tend to hinder students from working things out and grasping what is important – instead it teaches ‘learned helplessness’. Real world problems don’t come in neat little packages that you can do in a few […]
Continue reading