Author Archives: Ian

About Ian

Physics professor... science education researcher and evangelist... foodie and occasionally-ambitious cook... avid traveler... outdoorsy type (hiking, camping, whitewater kayaking, teaching wilderness survival skills to high school students, etc.)... amateur photographer... computer programmer and amateur web designer... and WAAY too busy!

clicker resources posted

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Ian

At Stephanie Chasteen’s urging, I’ve posted a collection of my various writings about using clickers effectively to my web site. Beware: Some are more polished than others, and some are a little frayed around the edges. I hope you find … Continue reading →

Posted in Educational Research, Learning & Teaching, Pedagogy, Physics Education Research, classroom response systems | 3 Comments

AAPT Talk

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Ian

A quick note: Last week I gave an invited talk at the AAPT (American Association of Physics Teachers) summer conference, entitled “Key factors in teachers’ success or failure adopting clicker pedagogy.” The somewhat self-explanatory prezi that went with the talk … Continue reading →

Posted in Educational Research, Learning & Teaching, classroom response systems | Leave a comment

shaving yaks

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Ian

This post has little to do with teaching and learning, specifically, but… If you don’t know the meaning of the term “yak shaving”, you should: Seth Godin’s explanation Wiktionary’s definition (For me, writing this post is not an exercise in … Continue reading →

Posted in Me | 5 Comments

the best clicker question I used last term

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Ian

Context: a “conceptual physics” course with 50+ students enrolled, and 40-45 in attendance any given day. (I don’t take attendance in any way, and offer no credit of any kind for clicker question responses. I do not want to frame … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning & Teaching, classroom response systems | 3 Comments

bad planning

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Ian

I strongly recommend against contracting mono halfway through a semester in which you’re teaching two new three-credit courses (okay, one new and one thoroughly re-conceived and redesigned). Reflecting upon one’s teaching takes a back seat to “Survive tomorrow morning’s classes!” … Continue reading →

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