Affective Deminsions of Reading

I know that I am a slow reader, but I still regard myself as a good reader. Most days I find myself reading news articles, scientific articles, or textbooks but I occasionally get the chance to sit down and read a good fiction novel. It wasn’t always like this, I used to read for fun far more than I do today, but the overwhelm amount of text required for some courses at the university level leave little time for reading for pleasure. An excellent way to foster your reading is to develop an interest in the subject you are reading about.

When I was young, before my elementary school years, my mother would read to me, and I would try and follow along with the words. It was exciting and it seemed like it was the cool thing to do. It made me want to read more. In kindergarten, the cool thing to do was read. We had a tiny little library in the class room and everyone would rush over to their favorite books during reading time. Reading in middle school was pretty much the same experience. Among my friends, reading fantasy action adventures were the thing. This changed about the time I got my first serious assigned reading. To Kill a Mocking Bird was required in my Junior High English class. I could not get into the book; I had absolutely no interest in it. When we were allowed to pick our own literature in high school, I picked Insomnia By Stephen King. It was my first big trip back into reading for fun. After that I started reading a lot more again, mostly on breaks between classes and to kill time wherever I could.

In order to foster a climate where students can enjoy reading about physics, they have to first develop an interest in the subject itself. In my methods class, we learn that teaching science in a learner-centered way requires that the teacher create fun lessons that play on students current interests. By building a student’s interest in physics by using their current interests as a step stone, the students will be more engaged by the scientific texts.

Introduction

Hi, I'm Joseph McCormack. I come from Price, Utah in Carbon County. Price is a rather small town and jobs are centered around mining (hence the name "Carbon" County). Among our numerous coal mines, there are three power plants in Carbon County and the surrounding areas. Price is also the home of USU Eastern, or, formally, the College of Eastern Utah. Price's main tourist attractions are the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum, located in downtown Price, and Nine Mile Canyon. Nine Mile Canyon is located south of Price and is home to various Native American hieroglyphs.

I am currently enrolled at USU in the Secondary Teacher Education Program. I plan to become a high school physics and chemistry teacher. For the Fall 2011 semester I will be completing Level 2 of the program. I am currently finished with all of my major and minor coursework and I am concentrating on my teaching coursework. I am hoping to be admitted into student teaching this Spring and to be be finished with all of my coursework at the end of this school year.

My interests include physics, math, and some of the other sciences. I really enjoy thinking and reading about philosophy (especially philosohpy of science). My past times include reading, seeing movies, and bike riding.

To me, physics is everything. Any of the hard sciences can be derived from physics. The first thinkers thought about physics and great mathematical achievements were brought about to solve problems in physics. In order for Newton to further his work on gravitation, it was necessarily for the development of calculus (Which is attributed to Newton but highly disputed). Physics is the study of all things physical, in motion or standing still. From the smallest for of matter to the largest galaxies and the universe at whole.

I was drawn towards teaching students physics because I knew that I wanted to do something with physics. After attempting research, I realized that it was not for me, so I decided to try teaching it. I became a TA in the physics department and found that I enjoy teaching and helping the students learn the subject that I find so fascinating and influential. To me, literacy is ability to interact, comprehend, participate in, function efficiently, and adapt to new information in your ever changing culture and society. I hope to help my students on their goal to literacy in this new informational world.

Instructional technology and physics standards

First off, I will address the use of wikis. Wikis can provide a very convenient way for students to review material presented in class. I, as a teacher, would post a copy of the lecture material that the students would be able to review wherever they have access to the internet. It will be used as a supplement to the course text book. The students will also be able to discuss topics and ask questions through the wiki. This will allow students to address each other in a manner quite like the blackboard discussion area.

Utah Physics Standard 1:
Students will understand how to measure, calculate, and describe the motion of an object in terms of position, time, velocity, and acceleration.


In order to master this standard, it is important for student to be able to collect and analyze data. In order for students to start the planned lab for this section, the students will need to complete a pre-lab worksheet that can be found on Google docs and would have a link to the worksheet on the class wiki. Using instructional architect, I have found a resource that lets students manipulate graphs to gain a better understanding of how the data is plotted and what it means.


http://prisms.mmsa.org/review.php?rid=669


Utah Physics Standard 3:
Students will understand the factors determining the strength of gravitational and electric forces.


This standard requires students to research the importance of gravitational forces in the space program. I will start the students in the right direction to meet this standard by providing various links in the class wiki. I would also utilize the NASA resources from the YETC. The students will be able to gain an understanding of the usefulness of physics during this lesson. 


Utah Physics Standard 5:
Students will understand the properties and applications of waves.


The properties of waves can be rather confusing when learning from a text book or online notes. In order to better help students, I will provide a Prezi linked into the class wiki. The Prezi will be used as a walk though to give a clearer explanation of the properties of waves by taking it one step at a time and presenting the information one piece at a time.  

Just an introduction...

I started my studies at USU Eastern (Utah State University College of Eastern Utah)... or what was then known as The College of Eastern Utah (This was before the USU/CEU merger). My coursework included a two semester series of physics. As the school year proceeded I became more and more interested (and challenged) by the subject. When it came time to pick my major, physics was my calling. Alas, at the time, only that two semester series of courses were offered at the school. I had to find somewhere else to continue my education.

I moved to Logan in August of 2008 to study physics at the university level. Upon doing some quite interesting problems and research within the physics department, the politics in the background just bored, and more often, frustrated me. In my studies, I ran into an opportunity to teach a low level physics lab. Seeing the students struggles with problems and concepts, help each other, and over come their worries brings about a feeling accomplishment in oneself. I found teaching to be a lot more exciting and rewarding than the research I expected to earn a degree in.