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2010

The make-believe world of real-world physics, at Spring 2010 Meeting of the Chicago Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Chicago State University (Chicago, IL), Saturday, April 24, 2010:
talk_1603.pdf
That physics describes the real world is a given for physicists. In spite of tireless efforts by instructors to connect physics to the real world, students walk away from physics courses believing physicists live in a world of their own. Are students clueless about the real world? Or are we perhaps deluding ourselves and misleading our students about the real world?
Peer Instruction, at Spring 2010 Meeting of the Chicago Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Chicago State University (Chicago, IL), Saturday, April 24, 2010:
talk_1604.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Peer Instruction
Peer Instruction, at Program on Effective Learning and Teaching, Universidad Diego Portales, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), Wednesday, April 14, 2010:
talk_1617.pdf
Education is more than just transfer of information, yet that is what is mostly done in large introductory courses -- instructors present material (even though this material might be readily available in printed form) and for students the main purpose of lectures is to take down as many notes as they can. Few students have the ability, motivation, and discipline to synthesize all the information delivered to them. Yet synthesis is perhaps the most important -- and most elusive -- aspect of education. I will show how shifting the focus in lectures from delivering information to synthesizing... Read more about Peer Instruction
Subcellular surgery and nanosurgery, at Biomedical Photonics Workshop of the IEEE-Photonics Society Boston Chapter and Boston University, Boston University Photonics Center (Boston, MA), Tuesday, April 13, 2010:
talk_1508.pdf
We use femtosecond laser pulses to manipulate sub-cellular structures inside live and fixed cells. Using only a few nanojoules of laser pulse energy, we are able to selectively disrupt individual mitochondria in live bovine capillary epithelial cells, and cleave single actin fibers in the cell cytoskeleton network of fixed human fibro-blast cells. We have also used the technique to micromanipulate the neural network of C. Elegans, a small nematode. Our laser scalpel can snip individual axons without causing any damage to surrounding tissue, allowing us to study the function of individual... Read more about Subcellular surgery and nanosurgery
Memorization or understanding: are we teaching the right thing?, at Campus-wide Lecture, Clark University (Worcester, MA), Wednesday, April 7, 2010:
talk_1616.pdf
Education is more than just transfer of information, yet that is what is mostly done in large introductory courses -- instructors present material (even though this material might be readily available in printed form) and for students the main purpose of lectures is to take down as many notes as they can. Few students have the ability, motivation, and discipline to synthesize all the information delivered to them. Yet synthesis is perhaps the most important -- and most elusive -- aspect of education. I will show how shifting the focus in lectures from delivering information to synthesizing... Read more about Memorization or understanding: are we teaching the right thing?
Subcellular surgery and nanosurgery, at Physics Colloquium, Clark University (Worcester, MA), Wednesday, April 7, 2010:
talk_1615.pdf
We use femtosecond laser pulses to manipulate sub-cellular structures inside live and fixed cells. Using only a few nanojoules of laser pulse energy, we are able to selectively disrupt individual mitochondria in live bovine capillary epithelial cells, and cleave single actin fibers in the cell cytoskeleton network of fixed human fibro-blast cells. We have also used the technique to micromanipulate the neural network of C. Elegans, a small nematode. Our laser scalpel can snip individual axons without causing any damage to surrounding tissue, allowing us to study the function of individual... Read more about Subcellular surgery and nanosurgery
Optical Hyperdoping: Transforming Semiconductor Band Structure for Solar Energy Harvesting, at Third-Generation Solar Technologies Multidisciplinary Workshop: Synergistic Chemistry-Materials-Mathematical Sciences Approaches to Addressing Solar Energy Problems (San Francisco, CA), Monday, April 5, 2010:
talk_1613.pdf
Harvesting solar energy at the terawatt scale requires technologies that can be produced inexpensively using Earth-abundant materials. Although technologies built from Earth-abundant materials exist for converting solar energy to electrical energy or chemical energy, none are yet cost-competitive with fossil fuels. Meeting the challenge of harvesting solar energy with Earth-abundant materials such as Si and TiO2 will require transformative approaches to increase efficiency, lower manufacturing cost, and reduce material requirements. While these materials have been widely studied, we bring a... Read more about Optical Hyperdoping: Transforming Semiconductor Band Structure for Solar Energy Harvesting
The scientific approach to teaching: Research as a basis for course design, at 2nd Annual DTI Spring Conference, Community College of Denver (Denver, CO), Friday, April 2, 2010:
talk_1612.pdf
Discussions of teaching -- even some publications -- abound with anecdotal evidence. Our intuition often supplants a systematic, scientific approach to finding out what works and what doesn't work. Yet, research is increasingly demonstrating that our gut feelings about teaching are often wrong. In this talk I will discuss some research my group has done on gender issues in science courses and on the effectiveness of classroom demonstrations.
Confessions of a converted lecturer, at 2nd Annual DTI Spring Conference, Community College of Denver (Denver, CO), Friday, April 2, 2010:
talk_1611.pdf
Almost 20 years ago, Harvard physicist Eric Mazur had an “aha” moment about his teaching practice that forced him to rethink the traditional unidirectional teaching model. Mazur described his early approach to courses as “not how you teach it, but what you cover. I realized education was not merely a transfer of information. It was about how well students could assimilate information and transfer it to their own experience.” Mazur decided to radically change his teaching methods by punctuating short lectures with questions back to the students. After students have thought about and responded... Read more about Confessions of a converted lecturer

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