Course Syllabus

PHY 4905     The Physics Learning Assistants Program   

Essential Information

Instructor (office) Sujata Krishna, Ph. D. (NPB 2249) Class Times Synchronous zoom on  Mondays p7,  1.55 - 2.45 pm
Email

sujatakrishna@ufl.edu

Responses can be expected within 2 working days. No response on weekends or holidays.

 Office Hours

Monday 1.00 - 1.55 pm

also available by appointment via email above.
Credits 1 Prerequisites Successful completion of the physics course in which you implement practice, or equivalent.

 

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  1. Engage with diverse students and  physics content in the PHY2004/2005 course using the Socratic method to enhance a deeper understanding of the relevant physics concepts.
  2. Provide effective feedback to students in the physics course 2004/2005, in a scaffolded fashion.
  3. Critically reflect on physics instructional techniques.

Course Description

The LA Model is characterized by three essential elements: Pedagogy, Weekly Preparation, and Practice. This course introduces new Learning Assistants (LA) to active learning. The course will use activities that support:

  1. Eliciting student ideas and helping all group members become active and engaged in the class. An emphasis will be placed on inclusion.
  2. Facilitation skills: Listening and questioning.
  3. Building relationships.
  4. Integrating learning theories with effective practices.

Expectations of Students

To achieve the learning outcomes, students are expected to:

  • Check eLearning for 'Announcements' in the course regularly.
  • Plan your engagement with course content for the week ahead.
  • Read any assigned articles.
  • Provide effective written and oral feedback to students in the physics course 2004/2005.
  • Engage with students in the PHY2004/2005 course in a small-group setting. You may be responsible for assisting a few small groups. 
  • Participate in coaching a subset of students from the Phy 2004/2005 cohort in study skills. 
  • Participate in peer observation in a constructive fashion.
  • This course requires time to do all of the above, and students should plan accordingly to spend 2 hours per week of study for this course in addition to the class times.

Required Materials

For the LA Course: There is no textbook to be followed for this course. There will be various learning activities based on readings and video-viewings. These materials will be provided to you by the instructor. 

For the implementation course: The required text is Physics: Principles with Applications by Douglas Giancoli, 7th ed, published by Pearson. As a LA you will have access to the e-textbook, homework and reading quizzes in Mastering Physics, at no cost to you. 

Grading

Grades will update weekly in Canvas.

Category

 Percentage
Attendance

10%

Prep sessions activities

20%

Engagement with groups in Group Work

50%

Written Feedback on Group Work

20%

Total

 100%

The following grading standards will be used in this course:

A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- E
85+  80<85 75 <80 70 <75 65 <70 60<65 55 <60 50<55 45<50 40 <45 40 <35 0 <35

Course Policies

Attendance Policy:You are expected to attend the weekly pedagogy-cum-preparatory session  as scheduled.  In addition you are expected to actively participate in the practice "Group Work" sessions scheduled for your Phy 2004/2005 course. These will be on the same day as this class, but in the regular class time for Phy 2004/2005.   Attendance is required during these sessions.Excused absences and allowances for make-up work are consistent with university policies in the undergraduate catalog. 

 (Links to an externalExcusGroup Work Policy: Physics is learned by doing. PHY2004/2005 students will have required in-class problem solving sessions with harder problems than they are expected to solve individually on exams. There will be at least 4, at most 6, group work sessions in class. Your group will be assigned after the add/drop deadline, and will be visible in eLearning - People - Groups. You will be required to provide written feedback to your groups on work they submit.

Feedback Policy: In addition to working with the groups assigned to you during the group work sessions, you will be providing written (ungraded) formative feedback to the groups after each group work session. This feedback must be completed, scanned and submitted by the due date following the group work.   

 Audio/Visual Recording: Class sessions may be audio-visually recorded for students in the class to refer back and for enrolled students who are unable to attend live. Students who participate with their camera engaged or utilize a profile image are agreeing to have their video or image recorded.  If you are unwilling to consent to have your profile or video image recorded, be sure to keep your camera off and do not use a profile image. Likewise, students who un-mute during class and participate verbally are agreeing to have their voices recorded.

If you are not willing to consent to have your voice recorded during class, you will need to keep your mute button activated and communicate exclusively using the "chat" feature, which allows students to type questions and comments live. The chat will not be recorded or shared.

As in all courses, unauthorized recording and unauthorized sharing of recorded materials is prohibited.

Communication Policy:All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions and chats.

http://teach.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/NetiquetteGuideforOnlineCourses.pdf

Academic Support

E-learning technical support: 352-392-4357 (select option 2) or e-mail to Learningsupport@ufl.edu. https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml.
Career Connections Center: Reitz Union, 392-1601. Career assistance and counseling. https://career.ufl.edu/
Library Support: http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/ask. Various ways to receive assistance with respect to using the libraries or finding resources.

Teaching Center: Broward Hall, 392-2010 or 392-6420. General study skills and tutoring. http://teachingcenter.ufl.edu/
Writing Studio: 302 Tigert Hall, 846-1138. Help brainstorming, formatting, and writing papers. http://writing.ufl.edu/writing-studio/
Student Complaints On-Campus: https://sccr.dso.ufl.edu/policies/student-honorcode-student-conduct-code/

Institutional Policies

UNIVERSITY POLICY ON ACCOMMODATING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students with disabilities who experience learning barriers and would like to request academic accommodations should connect with the disability Resource Center by visiting disability.ufl.edu/students/get-started (Links to an external site.). It is important for students to share their accommodation letter with their instructor and discuss their access needs, as early as possible in the semester. You must submit this documentation prior to submitting assignments or taking the quizzes or exams. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the office as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations.

UNIVERSITY POLICY ON ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT:  Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students should be sure that they understand the UF Student Honor Code at https://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/

COURSE EVALUATION: Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students/ (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.). Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/ (Links to an external site.)  (Links to an external site.). Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/ .

Software, Privacy, Accessibility

Student Privacy: There are federal laws protecting your privacy with regards to grades earned in courses and on individual assignments.  For more information, please see:  http://registrar.ufl.edu/catalog0910/policies/regulationferpa.html (Links to an external site.)

Privacy Policy: of  Mastering Physics (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.).

E-Learning Supported-Services Privacy Policies (Links to an external site.).

Accessibility Policy: Links to  Mastering Physics (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) policies.  https://accessibility.ufl.edu/

Health & Wellness

U Matter, We Care: If you or a friend is in distress, please contact umatter@ufl.edu or 352 392-1575 so that a team member can reach out to the student.

Counseling and Wellness Center: http://www.counseling.ufl.edu/cwc (Links to an external site.), and  392-1575; and the University Police Department: 392-1111 or 9-1-1 for emergencies.

Sexual Assault Recovery Services (SARS): Student Health Care Center, 392-1161.

University Police Department: at 392-1111 (or 9-1-1 for emergencies), or http://www.police.ufl.edu/ (Links to an external site.).

 

Tentative Schedule

This schedule represents our current plans and objectives. As we go through the semester, those plans may need to change to enhance the learning opportunities in the class. Such changes, communicated clearly, are not unusual and should be expected, and this syllabus will be updated accordingly.

Note to Experienced LAs: If you have already completed the pedagogy course once you will be exempted from the particular topics you have already covered. This will be done individually by the instructor during class. Alternative prep work and activities will replace the pedagogy for those weeks. 

Date Topic Scheduled Class Time 
8/31

1. Orientation

 Please use the Zoom link, meeting ID and password on the homepage for all class meetings.
9/7

UF Holiday - No class
9/14

2. Pedagogy: Effective Teachers

Prep: Draft GW1
9/21

3. Pedagogy: Know Your Student

Prep: Draft GW2

 

GW1 in p8

on Ch 1 & 2

Submit Feedback by Wed.

9/28

4. Pedagogy: Course Design
10/05

5. Pedagogy: Blooms Taxonomy & Eliciting Student Ideas

Prep: GW2 Readiness; Exam 1 Review Discussion

GW2 in p8

Submit Feedback

Exeam 1 Review (3 LAs)
10/12

6. Pedagogy: Academic honesty & culture

Prep: Proctoring readiness instruction

p8. Exam 1 Proctoring

 
10/19

7. Pedagogy: Scaffolding

Prep:  Exam 1 performance distribution discussion; Draft of GW 3
10/26

8. Mental Models

Prep: Draft of GW 4

 GW3 in Phy 2004 p8 + recording

9. Pedagogy: Revisiting IDEA

Prep: GW3 feedback to instructor; Exam Review 2 Preparation
11/09 10 Recording Sessions in Zoom

GW4 in Phy 2004 p8

Exam 2 Review (2 LAs)
11/16

11. Pedagogy: Peer Review

Prep: Exam 2 grade distribution; course evaluation

 p8. Exam 2 Proctoring
11/23

12. LA Presentations
11/30

13. LA Presentations
12/04 14. PER Literature + Course Evaluation Final Exam Reviews (2LAs)