OPTYCs Tandem Conference 2023 Abstract Detail Page
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| Proposal Title: | I don't have time for demos! |
|---|---|
| Abstract Type: | Workshop |
| Abstract: | Physics instructors face several impediments to doing physics demos in class, i.e. showing that class what those equations mean in real life examples. We can find most any apparatus desired to teach any physics course in commercial catalogues. Dwindling budgets make procurement of such apparatus difficult at best. Large enrollments make small classrooms rare at larger colleges and universities and even some high schools. While we will aim to select apparatus for this workshop to class sizes of around 25, we can discuss how to scale select demos up for larger auditoriums if requested. Teachers and instructional resource managers must make use of increasingly smaller budgets while still meeting the educational needs of our instructors and students. Fortunately it is often cheaper to construct apparatus in-house, and of equal or superior quality, to that obtained commercially. While you're at it, you may as well scale up the apparatus, giving the audience an improved view. I will show several examples of apparatus which are more flexible and impressive than their commercial counterparts, constructed at Syracuse University, and even some not found in catalogs, but certainly in every introductory physics textbook. We will also discuss why to do demos, and effective strategies for doing so. We will also see many demos and even build a few simple ones to take home. Now, you won't have any excuses for leaving demos out of your teaching toolbox. |
Presenter Information | |
| Primary contact: | Samuel Sampere |
| Institution name: | Syracuse University |
| Co-presenter(s): | Dale Stille, David Sturm (both pending) |
