A 16-year-old German high school student has written a paper that purports to have solved two mysteries that were beyond the intellect of the great Isaac Newton.
Shouryya Ray, an Indian-born student who won second prize this month in the math and informatics category for Germany's Jugend Forscht student science competition created formulas to answer the following questions that have puzzled scientists for centuries:
How do you account for air resistance in calculating the trajectory of ball thrown out at an angle?
Precisely how does a ball thrown against the wall rebound?
Because Ray's paper was a school-based project and was submitted for a contest, it is not subject to the publication process and peer review that professional work typically goes through. That has led some experts in the field to reserve jugement of the work until they've seen it for themselves.
However, everyone who has commented about Ray's paper has said it is an achievement that very few high schoolers could duplicate.
I want to share a project that has helped my improve my students' writing ability as well as help foster creativity and develop a passion for writing itself. It involves students writing a full-blown screenplay. Using computers~ my students spend an afternoon or two aweek writing a screenplay. They are required to follow the exact format of a screenplay~ which I teach using a video from Discovery Education. Once they have the format down~ they come up with a genre and a...
Greetings!
I want to share a technique that has really helped my students not only learn the required material but also practice public speaking skills and build confidence. It comes down to one word:
Teach.
That's right. I believe teaching is one of the best ways to learn anything. Think about a subject you had to learn in order to teach it. You probably flipped through the teacher's guide for math or science~ trying to understand the material. But it...
Classroom management styles can greatly differ. Some rule with an iron hand; others are fairly lax. Most teachers are somewhere in between.
It wasn't until I met one of my early mentors~ Rafe Esquith~ the nationally recognized teacher based in Los Angeles~ that I began to look at my management styledifferently.
He told me that~ at the start of each school year~ he mentally divides his students into three categories. The "ones" are those students that totally get it...
Editor's Note: Today's guest post comes from Dr. Matthew Lynch, an assistant professor of education.
School-based management is another means of increasing parental involvement in the educational process. Proponents of this approach believe it is better for schools to create a managerial group, which possesses most of the decision-making power to influence the learning process of students at schools, rather than this power residing...
Greetings~
I want to talk about what I think is one of the best ways to improve as an educator. It boils down to two words:
TAPE YOURSELF.
Or rather have someone videotape you teaching. Tape yourself in action for at least 10-20 minutes then sit down and watch it. You will be amazed at how much you learn! I have taped myself a few times this school year and~ though I think I have improved in some areas~ Ilearned things about myself I would have never seen without...
You have to try this idea!
Let your students write on their desks using dry erase markers. Yes~ that's right. Ditch the pencil and paper and let them write~ draw and create on their desks or tables. Don't worry it comes off.
I tried this a year ago and was amazed at how much more engaged my students became when I let them work math problems on their desks. I was tired of wasting time getting paper out and sharpening pencils so I said "just write on your tables using...
Greetings~
I want to share a creative way to motivate and focus your students during math instruction. I call it Kung Fu Math.
First~ I created a series of belts or levels that the students aspire to and have them write it in their notebooks.
Then~ I tell them that everytime they get a math problem correct they earn a tally or "notch" towards the next stripe or belt. Everytime a student earns three notches they move up a stripe or belt (my...
With so many curriculum demands on teachers today~ do we have time to add career exploration(something popular back in the 80s)? I think young people need to be exposed to different career choices and careers can be incorporated into the subjects being covered. For example~ if you are covering the ancient Egyptians~ you could share the work of an archaeologist. Having kids discuss the different characteristics needed to be an archaeologists~ perhaps go on a dig using a chocolate chip cookie...
I want to share a new way to go over homework. I use my CPS remote control system and have students punch in their answers to random questions. The class has its homework out~ then students click in their answers~ with the option of revising them as they go along. I quiz them on just a few questions from each page to check understanding--in my opinion you can get a sense if the students "got" the homework without going over every problem. The CPS system then grades the homework~ and I...