Well, not quite the next day, from a calendar perspective but the next one here.
I am reviewing comments from notes strewn about my office and one set that expresses a bit of that which I learned over the past five years.
Any language creates an approximation.
The approximations have three sources.
This is not so much a post as a way of discovering how this blog thing works. So let’s see where this page really ends up.
I am exploring some ways that may allow me to connect with these younger students. While I am no longer teaching, I find the subject and process very interesting.
One of the topics of interest is the use of games to explore. I have, therefore, decided to try one
Kerbal Space Program OK, so it isn’t quite a game, but its a start.
Are you like me, do you have ‘great’ things to say until you sit down with a pen and a blank sheet of paper; or a keyboard and a text box? I have been told the only way to overcome that is to start writing. So, here goes.
For the past five years I taught physics, electronics and statistics. During that time I found students were seldom interested in my presentation; only in the test and the grades. What I took away from this was, I had assumed they were as interested in learning as I was; they weren’t. So, I tried things to allow them to get involved. I encouraged them to build things. That helped. At the heart of much of this was a lack of math background. I thought (and still think) computational thinking is an answer. The computer programming and problem solving skills of my students was generally not strong. This is where I start my ‘thinking out loud’.
I wrote all of that a few years ago. It is now 2023. I am still ‘thinking out loud’ on these posts, and, I hope I am now acting on these concerns. I look forward to your comments.