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Bungee Physics

Last week, Paul, Ed, and I did physics. This is such a rare event that it deserves note. We actually developed a theory, collected data, compared theory to data, came up with new ideas and tested them. We only wish kids everywhere could have the same experience. This investigation was prompted by Ewa Kedzierska’s presentation […]

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Reconnecting with Ton Ellermeijer at WCPE

I recently attended the modestly named World Conference on Physics Education in Istanbul. One of the highlights of the meeting was connecting with my old friend Ton Ellermeijer and meeting his colleague, André Heck. Some of the most innovative developments in educational technology have been made during the last 25 years at the AMSTEL Institute […]

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U.S. Does Poorly in Math and Science. Again.

Today yet another international comparison reaffirmed that the United States is failing to prepare its students to compete successfully in the new flat world. PISA, the Program for International Student Assessment, was administered to 15-year-old students last year by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). This is a highly respected group whose conclusions […]

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Certainty

From xkcd: http://xkcd.com/263/ Question: How can we trust ourselves (or scientists) to know the truth about anything? Answer: We look at the evidence. Scientists back up their claims with evidence.  If the evidence doesn’t fit the claim, then the claim is rejected and revised.  New evidence can result in changes to long-held understandings about how the […]

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