March 2010

We say “pshaw” to learning styles

March 23, 2010

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a very long time, but as any faithful readers might have noted, I’ve been a bit in-absentia for the past several months.   I was off busy making some money to support my blogging habit, but I’m happy to report that I’m back, and working on ramping up [...]

Read the full article →

An ethnography of particle physics (Beamtimes and Lifetimes)

March 22, 2010

I’ve been telling everyone about this wonderful book that I finally got around to reading — Beamtimes and Lifetimes by Sharon Traweek.  It’s a really interesting read — an honest-to-goodness ethnography of particle physicists at SLAC.  Sharon Traweek is an anthropologist and she spent years in participant-observation at SLAC and at a Japanese accelerator, and [...]

Read the full article →

I guess I really rock…

March 17, 2010

A few posts ago I noted that, apparently, I rock, as my picture was featured as part of the Exploratorium’s website for their Rockin’ Science Series. And now, I have confirmation, as I was just interviewed for the findingEducation’s Educators That Rock! series.  They did a very nice interview with me, about my love for [...]

Read the full article →

Water bottle xylophone (repost)

March 16, 2010

If you fill a glass bottle partway with water, and hit it with a spoon, you’ll hear a pitch. If you dump out some of the water, and hit it again, you’ll get a higher pitch. Less water, higher pitch. That’s because the frequency of sound is related to how quickly the sound wave can [...]

Read the full article →

USA Science & Engineering Festival – October in DC

March 10, 2010

Sorry I neglected to write a post with real content last week, but I have one in the works!  Stay tuned.  For now, though, here’s a note about an science festival event in DC that they’re trying to create some advance buzz on.  I’m a big fan of science festivals — bring science to the [...]

Read the full article →

Speaking of Physics… The Art of Science Communication

March 2, 2010

I recently wrote a guest editorial for the American Physics Society’s Forum on Education newsletter, on my experiences as a science educator and communicator: As a young physicist, I’ve had the immense good fortune to work with several expert communicators, like David Kestenbaum, to learn the best ways to bring science to diverse audiences. I [...]

Read the full article →

Facing Facebook…?

March 1, 2010

I’m working on an abstract for the AAPT.  What do people think about this idea? Facing Facebook:  Social media in and out of the classroom Your students are already using tools like Facebook and Twitter.  In fact, they’re often using them when you’d rather they’d be doing something else (like paying attention in class). How [...]

Read the full article →