Final Report

I'm sitting here at the Alumni Conference for my Fulbright Program and I realized that I never shared my results. Mea culpa! Here it is: Final Product

A few quick footnotes...
-My deadline was the end of August. I didn't get the final post-test data until November/December, and didn't analyze it until the holiday break. So the report shared above does not include this data, but it does discuss the results of the surveys that the students completed, the pre-test data, and my observations about the schools I visited, the teachers I worked with, and the educational system in general.

-My mentor Julio and I finally got the chance to discuss the results and implications via Skype in early 2013. We discussed the particularly low conceptual gains and what might be responsible for these results and may pursue this avenue of research in the future.

To sum it all up, the original question I set out to answer was:

Can values-affirmation reflective writing activities help reduce the gender gap in conceptual gains in high school physics students?

It remains unanswered because the conceptual gains were so low that statistically there was no difference between the control group and values affirmation groups. This is disappointing, but I hope to continue this thread of research.

Thank you to everyone for your support and interest! ¡Un abrazo!

Time Flies

The pictures below pictures are obviously dated. They're from my homecoming when my wonderful family (including my dog Emma) came to meet me at the airport.

We had a great summer, and now the school year has started and life is crazy all over again. It's been good getting back into the swing of things and working with my own class, but at the same time I miss my friends from Argentina and the lifestyle there. I especially miss cortados, I haven't been able to teach the local shop (https://www.facebook.com/adirondack.coffee) how to replicate the Argentine brew. Maybe someday they'll get it right. 

I had high hopes of keeping up with this blog after I got back, but between family, life, writing my report, etc., it never came to be. I've been doing a lot of work getting ready for the new school year, and I'm going to be trying out some new stuff. I considered continuing this blog, but to be honest it seems like I might as well start anew with a completely different theme. 

I struggled with the decision to start a new blog. On one hand, I feel like blogging is sometimes very narcissistic. On the other hand, I've learned a lot of reading blogs written by other physics teachers and I feel like it's the least I can do to share some of my experiences. So... if you're interested in following along, you can see my new blog at Duck Duck Physics. I promise, I will write something very soon!

Before signing off, I want to thank those of you who took the time to follow my adventures in Argentina. It can be difficult to convey the experience I had, but I was really touched by the number of people I have spoken with since returning home who took the time to keep tabs on me. I can't wait to go back and continue the work I started there. ¡Saludos!

p.s. If you're interested in the results of my project and want to know how things turned out, stay tuned. Sometime this fall I will get the final set of data from my mentor in Argentina and I will be happy to share my findings.

Home again, home again... and reflections

After about 40 hours of travelling, I finally made it home. It was a long trip, but I had a fantastic sendoff in San Luis and a great welcoming committee in Saranac Lake. The other people on the plane (all 5 of them) were amazed to see my family (including the dog) all decked out in red, white, and blue with welcome home signs. 

Despedida with friends

Settling in at home wasn't as easy as i expected it to be. For one thing, it took a me a while to get used to using English again. That means I was definitely immersed when I was in Argentina, but it has been a little bit challenging to get my brain to work in this mode again. I also dove right back in to parenthood, but things have changed a lot since I left! That certainly took some getting used to. I've also been surprised by cultural things- I miss some things about Argentina, like frankness, the greetings, and some of the other customs. And the hot dogs here have nothing on choripan!

People have asked me some interesting questions since I left San Luis. Here are the most common:
-Was it worth it?
-What will you miss the most about San Luis? Argentina?
-Was it hard being away from your family?
-What seems the strangest to you now that you're home?

For the record, my answers are (in order):
-Yes. Different from what I expected, but one of the most meaningful experiences I have ever had.
-My friends. Cortados in blocke cuatro. Speaking Spanish all the time. Alfajores!
-Incredibly.
-Only shaking hands when you meet someone. In Argentina it's always more- usually a kiss on the cheek.

I'm hoping to keep up with this blog now that I'm back, but given the demands of parenting, the report I'm working on for Fulbright, getting ready for next year, and relaxing a bit, my posts will probably be less frequent. Thanks to everyone who has followed along, I hope you've gotten as much out of reading my entries as I did by writing them.

Proof!

Last week, on the spur of the moment during a visit to Santa Maria, Guillermo invited me to help introduce the topic of free-fall.

Action Shot

Below is a video that shows me in action, bumbling Spanish and all!

(I know the camera starts out sideways, but it switches soon after, so bear with it)

Farewells!

So I have officially started saying goodbye and tying up loose ends before I leave on Wednesday night. This includes packing (ugh) and finishing up the data collection for my project. I only have one school left, and should finish on Wednesday morning, leaving me just enough time to enter the data before I leave that evening. Earlier this week I went back to a school to observe a class, but Emiliano ended up letting me help run part of the class. It was challenging, but a really good experience in the end.

Emiliano showing off his parting gift

The exceptional students of San Luis Gonzaga

This was actually the second time he's given me the same type of chance, and I really appreciate it. Not teaching every day is actually one of the things I miss most about being here- watching from the sidelines just isn't the same!

Aleluya 4th year students

Their teacher Daniel with his new shirt

Aleluya 6th year students

And finally, here is an awesome video that I recently saw. It has some of the coolest footage of the northern-southern lights I've ever seen. Well worth the 2 minutes of your time.
http://vimeo.com/44801709

Dixie Flag in Argentina?

This post has nothing to do with physics, but everything to do with cultural (mis)understanding. In my position as a Fulbrighter, I am not only sharing knowledge and teaching methods, but am also an agent of cultural exchange.  At the risk of opening a massive can of worms, I am going to throw my $0.02 out there in an effort to help clarify some things that Argentines might not be aware of. Before I start, I want to reiterate the disclaimer from above- the following is my opinion, and nothing more. If you have a different view of things, I would be happy to discuss this issue with you. Feel free to leave a comment, but please keep things appropriate. This preamble may seem a bit over the top, but this is a contentious issue and I think it's better to be prepared. I'm also going to do my best to provide a translation so that all my readers can understand. Be patient, I'm sure there will be minor errors!

Este entrada no tiene nada que ver con la Física, sino es sobre (mal)entendimientos culturales. En mi posición como Fulbrighter, no solamente estoy acá para compartir conocimiento y métodos de enseñanza, pero también soy un agente de intercambio cultural. Al riesgo de abrir la caja de Pandora, voy a decirles mi opinión en una oferta para aclarar algunas cosas que unos Argentinos no conocen. Antes de empezar, quiero repitir otra vez el descargo de responsibilidad de arriba- lo que sigue es solamente mi opinión, y nada más. Si vos tienes una interpretación diferente, me alegraría discutir este tema con vos. Sientes libre para dejar un comentario, pero por favor, debe ser apropriado. Por favor, tienes paciencía, porque estoy seguro que hay errores!


About three weeks ago I was visiting a school and I saw a student pull a notebook out of a backpack. I did a double-take, because there was a familiar image on the front of it.

Hace tres semanas estaba visitando una escuela y ví un alumno sacar un cuaderno de su mochilla. Miré de nuevo, porque había un imagen familar sobre el frente del cuaderno. 

Company Logo, copied from website.

What caught my eye was that it was adorned with an emblem that looked awfully similar to the rebel flag. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Civil War in the US, this image was the icon of the Southern states who seceded from the Union (it was actually their second flag, but this is the one that is commonly remembered). Since the Civil War, this flag has become an symbol of Southern Heritage. I grew up in Tennessee, and it was a frequent sight (for the record, I also see it flown in New York from time to time). In Tennessee it was frequently displayed in the back of pickup trucks, sometimes with the slogan "heritage, not hate."

Lo que me llamó la atención es que el cuaderno tenía un imagen que me aparecío muy similar a la Bandera de Los Rebeldes, cual también es conocido como la Bandera Dixie. Por esos de ustedes que no conocen la Guerra Civil de Los Estados Unidos, este imagen era el icono de los estados del Sur que se separaron de la Unión, que se llamaba La Confederación (de verdad, ésta era su bandera segunda, pero es la que es más conocido). Desde la Guerra Civil, esta bandera ha se vuelto un símbolo del Patriminio del Sur. Cuando era niño, vivía en el estado de Tennesse, que está en el Sur de Los Estados Unidos. En este lugar, esta bandera era una vista frequente (también debo decir que la veo en el estado de Nueva York a veces). En Tennessee, unas personas la exponen de la parte atrás de sus trocas, a veces con la frase "patrimonio, no odiar." 

I finally got around to doing some research to see if there was a connection between the emblem and Confederacy. I found the website for the company: John L. Cook. It seems to be a company that makes clothes and some school supplies.

Últimamente tenía la oportunidad para hacer una investigación para ver si existe una conexión entre el imagen den cuaderno y la Confederación de los Estados del Sur. Encontré el website para la empresa: John L. Cook. Parece que es una empresa que hace ropa y útiles.


I wasn't the only one who noticed the Dixie Flag here in Argentina, another blogger found this interesting as well. While this person recognized the flag for the symbol of the Confederacy, and was astonished that it had been appropriated as the symbol of a popular brand here in Argentina, in my opinion he or she missed something important about the reasons for the Civil War.

Yo no era la única persona que comprendí la Bandera Dixie acá en Argentina, un otro blogger que también la encontró muy interesante. Mientras esa persona dío cuenta que la Bandera como el símbolo de la Confederación, y le asombraba que había sido apropiado como símbolo de una marca popular acá en Argentina, mi opinión es que el o ella faltó algo important sobre las rázones porque empezó la Guerra Civil de Los Estados Unidos. 


If you go back and look at the articles of secession for the civil war (few people have actually read these), you will find that yes, on the surface the states claimed economic factors as their reasons for seceding. However, their economies were based on slavery- without slaves the southern economy could not function. Hence, abolishing slavery would be ruinous to the southern economy. So the economic argument for secession doesn't hold water- in my opinion it's just a thinly veiled excuse- the real reason to secede was to keep the institution of slavery intact. This is what I believe, but I wasn't the one who originated the idea. I was lucky enough to have an incredible US History teacher. who was an expert on the Civil War. He provided my class with the opportunity to look at primary and secondary sources and decide for ourselves. It comes as no surprise that he was also an outspoken critic of the "Heritage, not Hate" claim, as the Dixie Flag represented the Confederacy, which was in turn based on slavery, which ultimately was based on the subjugation of one race for the benefit of another.

Si vas a ver los articulos de secesión para la Guerra Civil (poca gente lo han hecho), vas a encontrar que si, es la verdad que unos estados reclamaban factores económicos como sus rázones para separarse de la Unión. Sin embargo, sus económias eran basados sobre la esclavitud- sin esclavos la económia del Sur no podía funcionar. De ahí, el paro de la esclavitud hubiera sido un desastre para la económia del Sur. Pues, el caso de que la secesión era para rázones económicos no tiene sentido- mi opinión es que es solamente una escusa apenas velada- la rázon verdadera para separarse era para guardar la institución de la esclavitud. Éste es lo que yo creo, pero yo no era el creador de esa idea. Tenía suerte de tener un profesor increible de la Historía de Los Estados Unidos cuando yo era un alumno en colegio (y también tenía otros profesor buenos, pero eso es un cuento para un otro día). Él era un experto de la Guerra Civil. Él le dío a mi clase la oportunidad para ver fuentes primarias y secundarias para que pudimos decidir para nosotros propios. No debe ser una sorpresa que el profesor también era crítico franco de la afirmación que la Bandera Dixie represente "patrimonio, no odiar," como la bandera representaba La Confederación, que era basado en la esclavitud, la natura de cual últimamente es la subyugación de una raza por el beneficio de una otra.


There is a long history of disagreement about the meaning of the Dixie Flag. You can read a lot about it if you take the time to do some searching. I would encourage you to do your homework- read articles that are researched and supported, not the drivel that many take as gospel. Look for the primary sources- the articles of secession themselves, etc. Don't take my word or anyone else's for it- decide for yourself.

Existe una historía muy larga de desacuerdo del significado de la Bandera Dixie. Puedes leer mucho sobre este tema si tomas el tiempo para buscar. Te animo completar esta tarea- debes leer articulos que son investigados y apoyados, no la basura que mucha gente cree como si fuera evangelio. Buscas para fuentes primarias- los documentos de la secesión, y más. No debes creer lo que yo digo, ni las palabras de otras personas- necesitas decidir para tu propio.


For the moment, I'm going to end by saying that I was astonished to find that image here in Argentina. Clearly, it has been taken out of context, and is not meant to represent the same things that is stands for back home. However, its appearance here presents a unique opportunity for meaningful discussion. I'd love to hear what y'all have to say.

Por el momento, voy a terminar por decir que me asombraba encontrar el imagen de la Bandera Dixie acá en Argentina. Es cierto que lo está siendo usado sin el contexto que es necesario, y no es intentado representar lo que significa en los Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, su aparación acá nos da una oportunidad para una discusión positiva. Me encantaria oir lo que ustedes piensan.

Bonfire!

Tonight I went to a celebration of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which has been a tradition at the Aleluya school since its founding. You can read more about the tradition here: http://www.slideshare.net/fmsiempre/aleluya-13465235

The students basically build a giant figurine out of wood and paper mache over a two week period, and then perform a ceremony involving dancing and pageantry as they affirm the most positive aspects of human nature. The sculpture is then lit, as a way of sacrificing all of our worst attributes. This is the way I understand the ceremony, which I found to be very interesting.

Nearing the end of the construction phase in the school gym

This year's sculpture was a Minotaur. After construction was completed, the final product was transported to the military base for the ceremony. The ceremony used to take place on the school's campus, but eventually as the school and city grew it got too dangerous.

5th year physics students after class today

6th year students in front of the Minotaur they constructed

5th year students before the start of the ceremony

The 4th year B class, all decked out in their makeup for their performance.

A video of one of the dances.

The 10m tall sculpture went up fast!

Quite a pyre!

As always, I was impressed by the work that went into the ceremony. The students put a ton of work not only into making the sculpture, but also into choreographing the dances that were done by each group.

Argentine Rockets and Quotes

Today I got the chance to see some rocket launches when I visited a school called Normal Mixta. It was really fun to hang out with the students in a more informal setting.

Mounting the rocket onto the launcher

Close-up of the rocket

Troubleshooting a broken pump

All set for launch

I shot some video. Nothing spectacular, but it gives you an idea of what was going on. By the way, I shot one of the videos using the high-speed setting on my camera. Pretty neat.

Normal speed

High Speed

Headed back inside. Notice the unicorn mural- JC that's for you!

Some of the students from Normal Mixta

This afternoon I went to visit a nearby public school. It was my first visit to a true public school, and it was really interesting. I found the students to be very engaging and interested in what I was doing.

Group Photo

Quote of the day: A student in a class I visited today spoke excellent English. After completing my questionnaire, she told me that she wrote in English so it would be easier for me. I was just looking through the results, and two things caught my eye.

First of all, one of my questions is whether or not males anturally tend to be better at physics than females. I was not suggesting that there is a difference, rather I was looking to see what students' impressions were. Next to the question this student wrote "What's wrong with you? Not cool!"  I was thrilled to read this, and can't wait until next week when I can explain my intentions in person.

Also, at the end in the comments section she wrote: "...your Spanish sounds funny but we like you anyway." I'll take it so long as they can understand me and vice versa!

Other notable heartwarming quotes:
"I think that making these tests is a great idea, since nobody thinks about their values anymore (that sucks) and I hope we have another of these tests soon."

"I really like the idea of trying to improve physics education here, because some of my classmates and I find it to be a difficult and tedious subject."

"Welcome to Argentina, I hope that it treats you well and that my questionnaire helps with your project- I am happy to help. Good luck! Take care!"

Emilliano and I

Thanks everyone!

Thank You's

Yesterday I went back to visit Santa Maria. The students were working on problems with accelerated motion, and I enjoyed chatting with them and lending a hand. In case I don't make it back before I leave, I also gave the teacher his parting gift: an I heart NY t-shirt. He was really excited about the shirt and said that it's true, he loves NY! The kids thought this was hilarious since he hasn't been there, and we all got a kick out of it. They'd already received the little trinkets I brought to hand out, and were happy to see their teacher get something too. 

Guillermo showing off his new shirt

We also took a group shot together. The girls were really enthusiastic, as nearly all of the students here have been when I've visited their classes.  

Up close and personal. Not the best shot ever, but at least we're smiling! 

I'm going to talk a little bit about things I've seen at different schools. I'm not going to go into specifics, but some of these things are quite different from what I am accustomed to in the US. I am not trying to say that one system is better or worse than another, just trying to give my loyal readers and idea of what the education here is like.

First of all, every day when a teacher arrives in the classroom they have to fill out the logbook for the class. There is a section for each subject, and the teacher flips to their section and then fills in the day's date and the topic of the class. They have to state whether it is lecture or practicum (I would have so much trouble trying to decide how to code my classes!), and then sign the entry. The idea is that an administrator can check over the logbook to make sure that the teacher covered all of the topics that she was supposed to teach. I am not sure how often this happens, maybe it's like the curriculum mapping that I've done in the past- I don't think that the work I did has ever been used.

There is a difference in the level of equipment that the students have with them in the classroom. I haven't seen any graphing calculators, and many students scramble to borrow calculators from friends before the test starts. However, on the flip side, the students are generally more prepared in terms of having writing utensils, erasers, whiteout, scissors, and glue than their American counterparts, who have been known to show up without even something to write with.

In most schools the physics classes meet twice a week, for about 80 minutes each time. There is some flexibility to this, sometimes it's an 80 minute period and two 40 minute periods. At one school the class only meets once per week. It is rare for a class to have a separate lab period. In the classrooms there is basically no lab equipment, the students have to move to a separate laboratory to do experiments. When computers are needed, students usually bring theirs in from home. Same with cameras... I helped one class use their cell phones to take videos that we used for 2-D analysis of motion with good success, but this took a week's worth of advance planning to pull off.

Classrooms typically have a chalkboard, though a few have whiteboards. It is possible to use a LCD projector, but they have to be reserved ahead of time. It's something we take for granted in the US, but I just had a conversation about using a projector with a class and learned that the deciding factor wasn't the projector, but the screen. The only option is to project the image onto the green chalkboard, and that was rejected. So we're going to use the computer lab instead. This will be my first visit to the computer lab, so I'm excited to see what it's like.

I observed a test being given today. I usually try not to visit on test days because I would rather observe teaching, but we were working through an intermediary and I didn't know it was going to happen. This was an interesting experience. The teacher didn't have any tests to give the students. He asked them to get out sheets of paper, and then dictated the questions to them. This took a good chunk of time, but seemed normal for the students. I suppose it saves on preparation time and copies, but I am not sure that it's the best use of class time. During the test, the students were asking lots of questions. At first the questions were about the problem descriptions, but then they drifted into the realm of "how do I do this problem?" Eventually the teacher announced that no more questions would be answered. I probably would have said that only questions about the descriptions would be answered rather than issue such a blanket statement, but that's just me. It was an eye-opening experience for sure.

In front of a primary school in San Luis. Neat mural!

I've also started recognizing students on the street. It's nice to feel like I finally know more than a handful of people here. I am so ready to see my family again, but at the same time I feel like I'm hitting my stride here. It's hard to feel torn in two directions, but hopefully the teachers will continue what I've started after I leave.

you don't want to miss this one

Classic Gosling vehicle, truck model, about to collide with a vulture, which came from Smart Notebook. 

Yesterday I was visiting a school and the teacher invited me to give an example problem. I started off as I always do, with a story, which, like many good stories, was accompanied by a drawing. Now, as those of you who have been my students can attest, my art skills plateaued at roughly a 6th grade level. As such, my drawings are frequently a source of humor for my students. One went so far as to take photos of my terrible drawings as they happened and put together an end-of-the-year slideshow. I'm going to pepper this post with images from earlier this year so you can see for yourselves. Don't be fooled- though the images are chuckle-inducing, there is a deeper theme to come. On a side note, I like to think that my drawings help my students feel better about their own artistic abilities. If nothing else, maybe the artwork helps keep them from falling asleep!

Armadillo, close cousin of the turtle. The dotted line denotes the system we chose in class.

Now my example problem involved cars. I can draw a car or a truck very quickly, but they're not great. In fact, sometimes it's difficult to tell which way the car is supposed to be moving unless I add wind to the back and headlights to the front. But it's what I've got, and I drew it in all its glory in front of a class here, doing my best to explain that I am a horrible artist. Then the funniest thing happened- the students didn't think it was that bad! In fact, they thought it was better than the cars that their own teacher occasionally draws! What are the chances that I would visit the one class in the world with a teacher whose artistic talent is a match for my own? I am sure that he's better than me at animals, which are my biggest downfall. 3-D boxes are my bread and butter, but for some reason I draw more cars, people, and animals than anything else.

Poor fellow stumbling over an extraordinarily massive spiky rock

Anyway, I drew my car and the problem went pretty well. As I was showing the solution the teacher stopped me and explained that he always makes his students solve for the variable in question before substituting, as most good scientists tend to do. I don;t know why I didn't in this case- I'm used to doing so, but I spaced out. Not a good example to set! Anyway, we motored through the example and then the students got to work on a problem of their own.

Duck

I walked around the room and looked over the students' work. I talked with one group about how to convert units when moving from hour*hour to s*s, and then I ended up at the back of the room, where a student was looking lost. I asked her how she was doing, and then we talked about how she might start the problem. I knelt down next to her desk to point something out and she quietly confided to me that she wasn't really any good at physics. I reassured her and said that my own students have difficulty with these sorts of problems, and then we had a discussion about what she needed to find and how she might be able to go about it. We quickly touched on the idea of converting the given numbers to different units, but the bell rang before she was able to really start the problem. I've seen this happen before, and when it does I'm always worried that the next time she goes to start the problem, she'll have lost the train of thought and feel lost all over again.

Dog. I can never get the front legs right, though this poor fellow has other  issues. My rabbits and horses suffer from similar maladies.

In hindsight, I wish I had responded more strongly to her statement about her aptitude for physics. Maybe I was worried about my ability to express myself adequately in Spanish. Maybe I didn't want to draw attention to her and cause her more discomfort. Mainly, I wish I had said more. I should have explained that physics ability isn't something that comes naturally, and that most everyone has to work at it. It just takes some of us longer than others.

Turtle with balloons to reduce the normal force. The R was for his name- Rodney perhaps? He had a twin brother, who didn't have balloons. I make good use of the clone feature of the Smart software.

I remember going to my first national physics teachers conference during my first year teaching at Saranac Lake. It was a big deal for me- I had successfully applied for a grant from the local Teacher's Center to help cover the cost of attending, and I was presenting on the use of a Reflective Writing exercise to help students learn physics. My talk went better than I had expected, despite the scheduling conflict with another talk that seemed to draw most of the potential audience. It actually worked out since what I did during my talk worked out better with fewer people. Anyway, on the way home from Seattle I was stuck in the airport for a couple of hours because of nasty weather. I struck up a conversation with a guy from North Carolina who asked what I'd been in town for. We got to talking and he explained that when he had tried to ask someone else who attended the same conference (you can usually spot the attendees of a physics conference by their nifty bags or clothing), the person he'd asked had blown him off and left to sit with other conference-goers. We ended up having a really good chat, and at the end of the conversation he complimented me on my ability to explain things in a way that made sense, and also thanked me for spending the time to chat with him.  After I returned I told my advisor about the experience, and he was really excited for me. At the time I was just happy that he was proud of me, but lately I've realized that when I look back on that particular conference, that conversation was what stuck with me the most.

Squirrel in a tree (think National Lampoon's X-mas Vacation)

What I'm trying to explain, in a very long-winded and roundabout fashion (how else did you think I was going to generate enough text to justify including all of my pictures???), is that while I am obviously not the physicist out there pushing the boundaries of experimental knowledge, maybe I'm not meant to be. Maybe I'm the teacher who is around to listen to people and answer their questions when nobody else notices. I don't know if I was able to help that student at all, but at least she was able to tell me how she was feeling. I can only hope that the next time I'm put in that situation I'll react more strongly. I think that this experience belies the reason I'm pursuing the line of research I'm working on here- I think that anything that can be done to bolster a student's belief that they have the possibility to succeed is well worth my time and effort. Hopefully my findings will help prepare other teachers to follow my lead.

3 weeks and counting

I just looked at a calendar and I'm going to be leaving for Buenos Aires in 3 weeks. On one hand, that means I'll be reunited with my family, which I cannot wait for! On the other hand, that means I need to tie up all the loose ends with my research project in a very short period of time. Being sick this week has been a real bummer, both in terms of my mental state and my productivity. I had to postpone two school visits, and I'm really going to have to push to get everything done before I leave. I have faith that it will all come together, but it's going to take a lot of work.

It's funny that when I see 3 weeks, it seems like such a short time. Yet I'm here for 3 months, which means that 3 weeks is roughly 25% of my time here. So it's still a significant chunk, despite how close it looks on the calendar.

Back home the school year is winding up. If any of my students back home are reading this, good luck with the rest of your exams! Let the countdown begin. 

Ask and ye shall receive

Earlier this week I went to visit another school, Colegio San Luis Gonzaga. Like some of the other schools I have visited, it is a private Catholic school for girls. I learned that Gonzaga is the oldest school in the province of San Luis, and it has an excellent reputation. Though I had a great visit this morning, that isn't the topic of this post. Rather, I wanted to comment on the way that my visits have evolved here.

About a week ago I wrote to a friend that I was a little bit frustrated because I hadn't been as successful as I had initially hoped in visiting schools. Soon after I received responses from not one, but two teachers that I had been hoping to work with. I now have a standing invitation to come help out at the university school, and I've been invited to give a physics lesson at Gonzaga next week. There is also talk of having me come visit the English classes to give a presentation as a native speaker, which would be neat too. I spent Monday afternoon at Aleluya helping a teacher with a lesson involving video analysis, which is something I have a lot of experience with. It's a really powerful tool for teaching physics, because the students can capture their own videos and analyze the physics behind them. Talk about a solid connection to physics in the real world!

The Ah-ha moment of the day came when I was meeting with some of the administrators at Gonzaga. We were discussing my project, and they asked what other schools I had visited. I rattled off the short list, and said that I'd been hoping to visit others but it hadn't panned out. The preceptora (I am almost positive that that was her title, but if you happen to be reading this please accept my apologies if I got it wrong) offered to contact her husband, who works at another school here in town. By the time the Director of Gonzaga's secondary school had finished showing me around, she had set up an appointment for the following morning for me to meet her husband and the physics teacher at his school. She also offered to contact any other school that I might be interested in visiting.

My mentor at the university has been great helping me meet local physics teachers, but the ones that he knows seem to be teachers who also work at the university or teachers who have gone through his master's program. There are a load of other schools out there, and I am thrilled to have an "in" so I can get a broader perspective on how physics is taught in the public sector. I am really impressed by the way this worked out. Now all I need to do is kick this sinus infection and I'll be back in business!

Problem Solving at UNSL

This afternoon I was invited to visit a physics class in mechanics here at the Universidad Nacional de San Luis. The class was working on solving problems using a technique called IDEA, which was adapted from the original methodology which was referred to as GOAL in English.

No matter what you call it, the technique is the same: provide a framework that students can use to solve problems. The relevant steps are:

 I   Información                     G    Gather Information about the problem
D  Desarrollar un plan         O    Organize an approach to solve the problem
E   Ejecutar el plan              A    Analyze the problem
A  Aprender del esfuerzo     L    Learn from your efforts

[pulled from manuscript in development (Benegas & Alarcón) and GOAL]

This was actually the second time that I have seen this methodology in action- I also observed its use as part of the SCALE-UP program when I was in Chile last month. The structure of this class varied a little bit from what I saw in Chile, but the general theme is the same.

 The students all work together in small groups. They use whiteboards or paper to show their work, which they share with their classmates at the end of the period. In SCALE-UP, the group members have rotating responsibilities, which were not present in today's class. Rather, the instructor told me that what usually happens is that each group member has a different colored marker so the contribution of each is readily visible. We didn't have enough markers today for that to happen, but I think it's a great idea.

Another thing that is worth mentioning is the layout of the boards. When I observed Dr. Alcarón in Chile he had taught his students to divide their workspace into 4 equal parts, one for each step of the problem-solving process. I have never gone to this extent with my students before- they just need to separate the sections. The board below from today's session is more what I am used to- the work is shown in an orderly fashion, but without being formally divided into sections. The color-coding helps the different parts stand out. I really liked the boxing of the answers, but then again that's my M.O.

Now, while this ad hoc approach allows for more space to be used to actually solve the problem, there is one serious drawback... it gives short shrift to the final step because students almost always run out of space and don't have enough room left to write down their reflections about the process. I would also like to see a more formal description of where a diagram or sketch goes, but maybe I just feel like this is lacking because I wasn't present for the original discussion that introduced the problem solving process. As my students can attest, I love my diagrams, no matter how poorly drawn they may be!

I also took some videos of the students as they presented. Don't expect any sort of high quality- I have the hands of a sturgeon when it comes to this type of thing! Nonetheless, it should give you an idea of how the discussion process runs in the classroom.

A few caveats: this class wasn't at full strength, apparently there was a concert going on that took its toll on attendance! So the participants may have been the more motivated end of the spectrum. This also isn't what happens in class every day, there seems to be a rotating cycle of class types for each unit. Also, it is college level physics with college students, so it looks a little bit different than a typical high school classroom. That being said, today's material wasn't that much harder than Regents physics, and it was easier than the course I've previously taught in advanced physics. Basically, the conclusions that can be drawn from this class can be applied to high school classes.

I had a god time this afternoon. I learned some new slang and got to interact with students, which has been frustratingly absent from my life here for the past week because of exams and some poor communication. I was also psyched to visit a class that was embracing reformed teaching methods wholeheartedly. I would love to go back and see what their other sessions and labs are like.

Asado

Last weekend I had the chance to eat asado not once, but twice! Asado is a common dish in Argentina, and is usually cooked on Sundays. It is basically a distant cousin of bbq, but the similarities end there. Asado is cooked over coals, usually in an elevated fireplace. The fireplace might be outside, in its own outbuilding, or in a garage. Around San Luis the coals are usually from wood, but in other places they use charcoal briquettes.

Jorge tending the grill

Before cooking the raw meat is seasoned with salt and other spices. There are almost always several different cuts of meat... matambre is my favorite, it is a type of thin flank steak cut from the belly. Costillas are ribs, which are sometimes called asado as well. Lomo is tenderloin, vacío is a flank steak, and a bife can either be a T-bone or a rib-eye depending on where it is cut from (bife de chorizo or bife de costilla). There is almost always sausage (chorizo) and blood sausage or sweetbreads if you're into that sort of thing. These names seem to vary a little bit depending on who you talk to, but it gives you a general idea of what can be on the menu.

Most asados include at least 2 but perhaps as many as 5 different cuts of meat. I was told that the seasoning and cooking of the meat isn't nearly as important as the quality of the cut, which defines the overall taste. People seem to have a butcher that they trust to get them good meat, otherwise it isn't worth going to the trouble of preparing everything.

Asado!

The meat tends to have a lot of fat and isn't really trimmed at all before being tossed on the grill. This is one of the reasons that it tastes so good, but it's much different than a typical Sunday afternoon bbq in the states. Another reason is that the majority of the cattle here are grass-fed. Argentines are serious about their beef and eat a lot of it- sometimes beef is on the menu twice a day.

Chopping garlic

On Friday night I went to a weekly gathering of guys with a professor from the university. I've tagged along before, but never for the main event until now. There was asado, as always, but the main dish was actually something called bagna cauda, which is akin to fondue. The dipping sauce is made from cream, milk, a ton of diced garlic, anchovies (later filtered out), and finely chopped walnuts. There was a wide variety of food to dip: chicken, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, bread, cabbage, celery, etc. Very rich!

The crew

Bon appetit!