Week Twenty November 30 – December 6, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

 

Week Twenty November 30 – December 6, 2008

 

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of November 30 – December 6 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

 

Physics Project Update

 

On Wednesday, December 3, I attended what would be the last of the regular physics project meeting and this meeting focused on my work over the semester. I focused on three main areas, the teaching items I had done at UMCE and in the community, the research project I have been working on, and also on the role I had played as a “cultural ambassador”, in fact one of the only North Americans that most of the students at UMCE had ever met in person.

 

In the areas of teaching, I had worked at La UMCE in the areas of the Physics project, which included Mechanics, Mathematical Methods in Physics, Experimental Physics I and the Workshop on the Development of Scientific Thinking.  I had also been involved in the ECBI program, a large number of seminars, conferences and associated workshops all around the university.  I work directly with professors in the areas of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Information Technology.  I also worked at a number of local schools including Liceo Juan Antonio Ríos, Liceo Capitán de Corbete Pedro Gonzáles, Colegio Saint Gabriel de Providencia, Liceo Guillermo Labarca. All told, I did12 Demonstrations in Schools in Santiago, 10 Different workshops at UMCE and with Fulbright, 8 Different Presentations at Conferences, wrote 6 articles and Proposals about the work in science and technology education.

 

In the area of research I administered both pre-surveys and post-surveys at UMCE to over 50 students as well as over 80 students in the high schools.  My goal is to analyze the changes in attitudes along with content tests to see what kinds of impacts were made in these separate populations. My preliminary results indicate that there was a small change in attitudes, but I have yet to analyze it statistically to determine the effects over the groups and sub populations. This will be the focus of my work for the spring, and I hope that it will also result in other publications from this effort.

 

In the area of being a cultural ambassador, I feel that I have been a bridge between Chile and the United States, as well as achieved an understanding of what it is like to be a professor at the university and a teacher in local schools.  I have had a large number of opportunities to show the attitudes and abilities of a North American to the students, as well as a number of opportunities to collaborate and work with universities here, at UTEP, at the US Embassy and the Fulbright-Chile Commission.

 

After the meeting, I attended a student sponsored asado, where the students grilled out for the professors and we were able to interact in a much more casual way.  The students here are really great and I do hope that there will be a number of opportunities for inter-exchanges between UMCE and UTEP for both faculty and students in the future.

 

Final IT Video Project

 

On Thursday, December 4, I worked with the staff in IT to assemble a DVD from the Action Science Demonstrations that I had done at UMCE. We assembled 10 clips that can be used for introducing lessons in physics in Spanish, the main idea is to provide future teachers a resource that is in Spanish that they can use to engage their learners as well as a creative way to integrate physics content into the science classroom.  

Week Nineteen November 23 – November 29, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

Week Nineteen November 23 – November 29, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of November 23 – November 29 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Physics Project Update

On Wednesday, November 26, I attended the regular physics project meeting and the main part for me was to begin the focus on the evaluation instruments I have used, as well as the results for the initial surveys for the students in the areas of attitudes towards science and the use of technology in the classroom.  I am also preparing a guide for the faculty to follow so that if they want to replicate my study, they can have the methods in Spanish to follow for future groups of students, or if they can do a longitudinal study that might follow the students over time.  This has potential, as a large number of the students (approximately 65%) are in their first year in the physics department.

We also brainstormed on a number of possible open ended questions to ask students concerning their experiences in the Physics project, and over the methods that were used including constructivism, project-based assignments, the use of rubrics and the integration of software programs for modeling.

Thanksgiving Luncheon at US Embassy

On Thursday, November 27, I attended a luncheon at the home of Carol Urban, who is the Deputy Ambassador for the US Embassy here in Santiago, Chile. She had invited a number of the current Fulbright Scholars from the US, future and current Fulbright Scholars from Chile as well as staff from both Fulbright-Chile and the US Embassy. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings. In fact, on this day of Thanksgiving, this luncheon provided a chance to honor this traditional holiday in a nontraditional environment and setting. 

Many of my Chilean friends have asked me about Thanksgiving; to them it is a foreign holiday, meaning it is something they do not completely understand in its reasons, manners or traditions. In some ways, Thanksgiving day in Chile is a lot like me, overlooked at times, seen as something in the distance, something foreign, not connected or integrated into the life at hand.  Yet, in other ways, Thanksgiving is alive and well around the world, even in Chile, where American colleagues living abroad take the time to gather and to celebrate this holiday together. 

I have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, and I am truly thankful for the experience that I have been afforded with the Fulbright US Scholars program, which has given me the gift of immersion into another culture and into another language.  I am thankful of the support I have had from others, both here and back home, as an experience like this over 5 months requires cooperation and coordination from a team, not merely from any one individual.  I am thankful that I have been humbled in my days in Chile, and that I have also been allowed to grow and to flourish in new directions.  I am also thankful that I will soon be returning home, to reconnect with my family and friends, to reintegrate into the US society, and to be able to apply what I have learned in ways to benefit my university, community, state and nation.

 

Week Eighteen November 16 – November 22, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

Week Eighteen November 16 – November 22, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of November 16 – November 22 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Argentina Science Education Workshops

On Monday morning, November 17, I did a demonstration for a group of approximately 250 students and my demo was done on the physics of action science and included concepts in forces, motion, Newton’s Laws of Motion and simple machines. I performed for the group at the Colegio JJ de Urquiza, located opposite of the central plaza and established in 1850. I did the lecture and demonstration completely in Spanish. There was a lot of interest in the class as well as a large crowd that gathered that included both faculty and other students on the campus. The idea was to engage the students in a constructivist activity that would motivate them to work in physics and the concepts associated with their curriculum.

After a quick change, I went to the University of Concepción del Urugauy (UCU) and gave a workshop on the concept of the center of gravity and used a constructivist approach that centered on the aspects of engagement, exploration and explanation. The workshop was for 150 minutes and the physics faculty interacted with me in a brainstorm session and then viewed a small video clip of the use of the center of gravity in action sports. After this, I put students into groups of 3-4 members and had them do a hands-on activity on this concept using materials that are readily available in schools, such as cardboard, string, paper clips and pencils. After the activity, we had a discussion on the methods and the content and I finished with a short presentation on the constructivist method of teaching and learning.

On Monday afternoon, November 17, I did a demonstration for a group of approximately 250 students and my demo was done on the basics in physics of action science and included concepts in forces and simple machines. I performed for the group at the Escuela Normal M. Moreno, and I did the lecture and demonstration completely in Spanish. There was a lot of excitement in the group as well as a large crowd that gathered that included both faculty and other students on the campus.

After this and another quick change, I gave a workshop to approximately 50 teachers on the use of questioning strategies and inquiry demonstrations in science. I also had them do a hands-on activity, and we engaged in a group discussion on constructivist methods as well.

On Tuesday, November 18, I had a workshop with a group of supervisors and directors for schools on the ideas of Transformative Education, the use of Inquiry Science in the Classroom and the practical ways of being a constructivist in a traditional school setting. This was also the most academic of my workshops and lasted for 3 hours. I did engage the group in content presentations over items related to Problem-based learning, Action Science and Constructivist principles and applications. I also lead the group in an inquiry activity that focused on the use of simple machines in the construction of a catapult. The teams also engaged in a brief competition in this activity, which also demonstrated the differences of the constructivist classroom, with a student-centered approach, collaboration among teams, active learning, teacher facilitation and questioning as a basis for content discovery.

UMCE Survey Preparation

On Friday, November 21, I spent the day preparing for the final day of surveys with the students in Mechanics over the attitudes in science and computation. I also prepared materials for the data distribution in Excel and also to prepare for the statistical analysis that is needed to follow. My colleagues here have expressed a great interest in this information, as they have noted somewhat informally that the attitudes of students have changed, but are note sure if they have changed for the best. Also, the results of the content aspects of this will also be determining factors in seeing the state of change in UMCE over the use of technology in the facilitation and learning of concepts in physics.

Personal Transition to Work in Spanish

This week was by far the most intense and most independent time I have had as a Spanish speaker and educator here in South America. In addition to my work in UMCE, where I have developed cooperation and relationships with the faculty, staff and students, I was also placed in new environments in another country with people that I had never met, or only interacted with via email. I also was challenged to use seemingly all my abilities in mental, physical and bilingual aspects. In some ways, it truly was a final exam over my immersion process, and I think in many ways, I passed it well. In other terms, I think I can proceed and build on this experience and have to acknowledge that I have changed as a person and have in reality, increased my abilities to learn, but also to teach in Spanish.

Week Seventeen November 9 – November 15, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

Week Seventeen November 9 – November 15, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of November 9 – November 15 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Motivational Demonstration of Action Science at Colegio

On Monday, November 20, I did a demonstration at Colegio Saint Gabriel's de Providencia here in Santiago as part of Prof. Raul Ilufi’s class in Physics. My demo was done on the physics of action science and included concepts in forces, motion, Newton’s Laws of Motion and simple machines. I performed for 2 groups of students, each group of approximately 75 students, and did the lecture and demonstration completely in Spanish. There was a lot of interest in the class as well as a large crowd that gathered that included both faculty and other students on the campus. The idea was to engage the students in a constructivist activity that would motivate them to work in physics and the concepts associated with their curriculum.

Meeting at US Embassy

On Monday, November 10, I attended a reception at the home of the US Ambassador, Paul E. Simons that was put on for a visit to Chile by a group of Representatives from the US House. The group included 8 representatives from California, New York, North Carolina, Indiana and Tennessee. It was interesting to talk with these leaders and also to hear their thoughts about the role of the US in its interactions with Chile in the coming years.

More on the visit:

http://santiago.usembassy.gov/OpenNews/asp/pagDefault.asp?argInstanciaId=2&argNoticiaId=4238

Argentina Science Education Workshops

On Wednesday, November 12, I left for Argentina in order to participate in a series of workshops in the southern, central and northern parts of the country. The invitation to participate I a series of different events came at the request of Fulbright Chile and the Ministry of Education in Argentina, who are engaged in the 2008 Year of Science in the country. The program was put together mainly through ProFOR (Programa de Formación y Capatación para el Sector Educativo), who established the agendas and made the final arrangements on locations. I worked directly with their offices to set up my materials and to establish the agenda for the workshops that would be held in Villa Angostura (near Baroloche in Patagonia), Buenos Aires (the capital city), and Concepción del Uruguay, in the providence of Entre Rios 4 hours north of the capital.

ProFOR Web Site

http://www.me.gov.ar/profor/

Fulbright Argentina Web Site

http://www.fulbright.edu.ar/esp/index.asp

Argentina Science Education Workshops – Villa Angostura

On Wednesday, November 12, I arrived in Villa Angostura in the afternoon after a flight to Buenos Aires, a transport to another airport, for domestic flights and the final flight to Baroloche, and then via bus to Villa Angostura. In this remote and beautiful setting, a group of Science education professors from the University of Buenos Aires had set up a weeklong workshop for students who were in programs to become science teachers, in the areas of biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics. The group also had a series of master teachers involves, and had participants from many locations, including Ushuaia, Mendocino and Buenos Aires.

That evening, I did a demonstration for the group and my demo was done on the physics of action science and included concepts in forces, motion, Newton’s Laws of Motion and simple machines. I performed for the group of approximately 50 students, and did the lecture and demonstration completely in Spanish. There was a lot of interest in the class as well as a large crowd that gathered that included both faculty and other students on the campus. The idea was to engage the students in a constructivist activity that would motivate them to work in physics and the concepts associated with their curriculum.

The next day, I gave a workshop on the concept of the center of gravity and used a constructivist approach that centered on the aspects of engagement, exploration and explanation. The workshop was for 90 minutes and the students interacted with me in a brainstorm session and then viewed a small video clip of the use of the center of gravity in action sports. After this, I put students into groups of 3-4 members and had them do a hands-on activity on this concept using materials that are readily available in schools, such as cardboard, string, paper clips and pencils. After the activity, we had a discussion on the methods and the content and I finished with a short presentation on the constructivist method of teaching and learning.

Argentina Science Education Meetings – Buenos Aires

On Friday, November 14, I returned to Buenos Aires with members of ProFOR and went immediately to their offices for a luncheon meeting with staff members from the Ministry of Education. This conversation centered on my ideas and work in science education and on the use of specific methods of teaching science to both student and adult learners. After this meeting, I went to the offices of Fulbright-Argentina where I met with the Director, Dr. Norma González, and we spoke about not only science education, but the Fulbright experience. She also was a Fulbright scholar who went from Argentina to the US to receive both her Master’s and Doctoral degrees. Fulbright-Argentina is celebrating their 50th year with their program and we discussed the impacts that this programs brings into the lives of its participants.

Personal Transition to Work in Spanish

I have been working hard on my Spanish and this week I continued with a veritable immersion in the areas of speaking, writing, listening and reading in Spanish. It was also a time of engaging in both technical and conversational language all the time, so there was a great need to think on my feet and to demonstrate my command of the language to my new colleagues. In this manner, I felt like I really have progressed in my abilities and this type of transition, from one language in immersion, to another at a different place, is a skill that I think I can further develop when I get back to UTEP:

Week Sixteen November 2 – November 8, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

Week Sixteen November 2 – November 8, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of November 2 – November 8 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Physics Instruction at Liceos

On Monday, November 3, I worked at the 2 local high schools implementing the physics project from la UMCE. The first school, Liceo Juan Antonio Ríos, has approximately 15 students in the project. The second school, Liceo Capitán de Corbete Pedro Gonzáles, has 2 sections of students, the first with approximately 30 students and the second with 35 students. This was the final meeting with the students at the liceos, and we administered our post tests in the areas of attitudes towards science, attitudes towards computers and physics content knowledge in the principles of motion.

The experience at the liceos has been invaluable for me in order to understand both the similarities and the differences in the educational settings and systems between the US and Chile. The main similarities I see are in the type of student that is in these schools and the students we serve in El Paso, especially in the areas with higher Spanish speaking populations. There is also a great economic divide in the educational settings for students throughout the city, something that is also mirrored in El Paso, and in many areas around the US. Finally, I think there is a great tension between the ideas of a constructivist framework for teaching and learning and managing the business of the school, both here and in the US. The struggle to implement a student-centered curriculum within a traditional classroom setting is ongoing as well.

Student Conference on Pedagogy in the Natural Sciences

On Wednesday, November 5, I went with Claudio Perez to attend and to give a presentation at a Science Education Conference for students studying to be teachers in the Natural Sciences. The main thrust of this event was to uncover concepts associated with constructivism and how this methodology can be implemented in the mostly traditional teaching climate found in Chilean schools. The conference was attended by upwards of 100 students primarily from the universities near Chillán and Concepción. The students are all involved in programs that will lead them to be educators, primarily science teachers in high schools in Chile. The students were assembled for a week long conference in order to improve their knowledge, to increase their abilities and to enlarge their networks with other students and participating faculty members.

I was fortunate enough to participate in the event and deliver a presentation entitled “¿Cómo set constructivista en base a una formación conductista?” with my colleague and fellow constructivist, Claudio Pérez. We gave a talk that focused on our experiences in science education and the use of specific methods and techniques that centered on practical applications in the classroom. In interacting with the students within the talk, at lunch and in subsequent informal discussions, I was given the unique opportunity to actually participate in a practical manner as both a teacher and a learner.

Data Analysis of Surveys

I have continued to work on the data from both the pre-surveys and post-surveys from the Liceos and still have to administer the post-surveys to the students in Mechanics here at UMCE, with I hope to do on November 24. This is also part of my work with the Fulbright US Scholars program, as my research study is to understand how this type of approach, integrating constructivist methods and technology into classrooms in Chile, impacts both attitudes and content understandings.

Personal Transition to Work in Spanish

I have been working on a proposal to submit to a science education group here in Santiago, Explora that would be a chance to implement a program in which both Action Science and the Mathematical Modeling of physics would be integrated into schools here in Santiago as part of a pilot program. This proposal and corresponding materials have all been drafted in Spanish and all meetings on the topics done in Spanish as well.

Additionally I have been preparing my materials for my upcoming series of workshops in Argentina, which are being done at the invitation of Fulbright-Argentina and the Ministry of Education in Argentina. The plan is to give a series of workshops for both students, future teachers, supervisors and university professors. It promises to be both challenging and engaging, but also a great chance to see if I can apply what I have learned here in a new and unique setting. In some ways, this is truly a critical thinking exercise, something I try and impart on my students with great regularity, and it is a good reminder to me to experience this in another language in order to understand the obstacles and work needed to accomplish in order to achieve new learning that hinges on analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

Week Fifteen October 26 – November 1, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

Week Fifteen October 26 – November 1, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of October 26 – November 1 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Physics Project Update

On Wednesday, October 29, I attended the regular physics project meeting and each group went through the progression of their classes. The main thrust at this time was the need for each team to share the various evaluation instruments they are using in class in the online platform of Moodle. There was also an animated discussion about the importance of using evidence to base decisions concerning classroom materials and methods. This is something that I find very interesting and is also something that we at UTEP have been actively engaged in through the Teachers for a New Era (TNE) program, which purports that decisions impacting change in schools and in educational programs must be documented and well supported with evidence.

At UMCE, the discussion seemed to center around the lack of engagement of students in the use of constructivist methods and that the use of technology was not actually being implemented across the entire curriculum. This is an important discussion here, as I believe the use of technology and distance learning strategies would be beneficial in the long run to the academic program here for a number of reasons. Primarily, to integrate the technology of physics tools, such as Data Studio or Modellus, would help students to see how these tools can help them to solve all sorts of problems, not merely those in a specific content area in physics. Also, if more online materials were utilized across the department, then if there was a change in the schedule or a closure of the school for some reason, the facilitation of the material could still take place in real time.

Personal Transition to Work in Spanish

I submitted an article to a science education magazine here in Chile, and the article I wrote, along with some colleagues at UTEP, focused on the trip I took to Antarctica with students last year. The main thrust of the article is on the overall impacts of the program on students as well as the availability of K-12 products on the IPY-ROAM Web site that can be used by all teachers and students. This is very important in Chile, which does have a claim to Antarctica and has a great scientific history that spans the ages. This effort I believe is also of great interest in the schools, and with the development of our products into Spanish in the upcoming year, more materials will be made available to our local areas and partner institutions, whether they be in the US or around the world.

Week Fourteen October 19 – October 25, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

Week Fourteen October 19 – October 25, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of October 19 – 25 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Physics Instruction at Liceos

On Monday, October 20, I worked at the 2 local high schools implementing the physics project from la UMCE. The first school, Liceo Juan Antonio Ríos, has approximately 15 students in the project. The second school, Liceo Capitán de Corbete Pedro Gonzáles, has 2 sections of students, the first with approximately 30 students and the second with 35 students. We worked with the student teams on the process of using Modellus and Excel to solve physics problems that have elements of distance, time, velocity and acceleration. The student teams are doing very well and a number of the students are really engaged and leading the efforts for each class. Since this is not a standard part of the curriculum, these students are in this part of the course by choice and I believe are gaining from the experience, as both Claudio Pérez and I are as well.

This is also a great way to gauge the differences in the approach and curriculum as the university level and at the secondary level, which has been invaluable for me. My goal is to be able to take this approach and integrate it in a number of ways back at UTEP. I have two practical ideas that I think could be implemented directly as a result of this experience. The first idea I have is to develop a Master’s level science education course that would focus on physics instruction and to use this as one module within the class. The second idea is to use this approach in Spanish with students and teachers in both El Paso and Juarez, as part of the workshops for collaborations, such as Ciencia de Sabados.

Physics Project Update

On Wednesday, October 22, I attended the regular physics project meeting and each group went through the progression of their classes. The main thrust at this time was the need for each team to update their field notes on the progress within each of the units and to post all evaluation and content materials in the online platform of Moodle. There was also a general discussion of the need to post student products to use for future examples in class and as references for students. This is something that I strongly believe in and use quite effectively, I believe, back at UTEP. When you are able to show other students the types of products and work you are expecting and also share with them actual products that other students have developed, the frame of reference for the students expands and the quality of the work increases.

Mechanics Class

On Thursday, October 23, I attended the class on Mechanics in order to assist with the presentations on the Newton’s Laws of Motion. At the beginning, the students were lead through a series of open ended questions to get them to think about the ways these laws are manifested in their real lives. A following brainstorm activity gave the professors a good initial indication of some of the conceptions and misconceptions the group might have. From there, the students were presented with a problem they needed to experimentally work through that consisted of using a spring scale and various weights in order to calculate the amount of distance the spring actually moved. In this way, they would use this approach to discover the relationship that is also purported in Hooke’s Law. After the experience, the groups were ready to discuss the ideas and to receive instruction on the content. This idea matches so well with the approach I take in the classroom and I also believe to the fundamentals of constructivism, which really state that you first provide an experience before you provide the content and you allow the students the time to discover it on their own. This was also done in a 3 hour block and would be useful for both university level classes and a secondary block style class.

Personal Transition to Work in Spanish

I have been working hard on my Spanish and this week I continued with my work translating a couple of articles I am working on into Spanish with the hope of getting them published in a Spanish science education or technology journal. I find this a process I have to work at with great effort, and regular time, and have taken the steps that also come from the ideas of Publish and Flourish, in that you put in a regular time each day to write, not only to read and revise, but to write. As with all writing, I find having someone read it over and give ideas on edits important, and I have a network of people both here and at UTEP to help me in this capacity.

Week Thirteen October 12 – October 18, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

Week Thirteen October 12 – October 18, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of October 12 – 18 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Keynote Address at UMCE Conference on Pedagogy in the Natural Sciences

On Monday, October 13, I attended the Standards and Competencies for Technology Integration in the Preparation of Future Teachers conference and gave the morning keynote address on the topic of “Transformative Education” which had an emphasis on practical uses of technology in education, including problem-based learning, field-based research experiences and action science.

The focus of the conference was held as an extension of the project going on in Chile to better understand the standards, the TICs, like our TEKS, but specific for technology. Over 100 students attended the conference and faculty and a number of presentations were given by professors from both Chile and Brazil. A highlight of the conference was the presentations by students who used interactive white boards to demonstrate practical uses of software in the classroom in the areas of physics, math, chemistry and music. The programs used by the students included Excel, PPT, Modellus, C-Map tools, Hot Potatoes, Survey Monkey and Movie Maker.

Web site: http://www.teleduc.umce.cl

Physics Seminar

On Wednesday, October 15, I attended a seminar that was lead by Dr. Luis Barrera, who is an astronomer in the Physics department. He leads a seminar series with interested students where they share ideas and projects that relate to concepts in physics. He gave a talk on the history of the positron and the progression of ideas about particle physics. An interesting presentation was also given by a team of students, who were able to make an ordinary white board into an interactive “Smart board” using minimal items and a few freeware programs. The students used a Bluetooth download (free) to establish a Bluetooth wireless signal from their laptop, and then used a Wii game control from Playstation (about $40 US) to transmit the signal to the white board, where they used a regular Infocus projector to send the image from the computer screen. They also fashioned a mouse within a glove and were able to move items on the computer from the white board by clicking the fingers of the glove and using the glove as a mouse on the screen. This is something that could be done very practically and cost effectively in order to help transform any classroom wall into a Smart board.

Physics Project Update

On Wednesday, October 15, I attended the regular physics project meeting ad each group went through the progression of their classes. The main thrust at this time was the updates on midterm exams and the types of results they are seeing from the students. This constructivist team based approach is new in a department wide sense and each group has successes and items to revise in order to improve their parts. Each group also discussed the plans for the rest of the semester, and how the can better use the platform Moodle to share information and to interact better with students and colleagues.

Día de los Profesores

On Thursday, October 16, I attended a celebration in the Salon de Honor where the staff and students at UMCE celebrated the Día de los Profesores where teachers at UMCE were honored for their contributions and to identify professors who had made great accomplishments. The Rector also gave a talk in which he spoke about the coming year (2009) at UMCE which will be the year of technology, which bodes well for future UMCE/UTEP collaborations.

Personal Transition to Work in Spanish

I have been working hard on my Spanish and giving a keynote address at a conference was to me a huge step forward. In reality, I was very at ease and certainly felt comfortable with my content, but what surprised me was the ease at which I was able to talk about it with colleagues and students. I also had to field a number of questions from the audience, and this was also something that lead me to feel that I am progressing in the right direction academically. I have also taken on the task of translating a couple of articles I am working on into Spanish with the hope of getting them published in a Spanish science education or technology journal. In the past, I had to have great help in this area, but now I can move line by line, and translate the words and the meanings much more efficiently. As with all writing, I find having someone read it over and give ideas on edits important, and I have a network of people both here and at UTEP to help me in this capacity.

UMCE Notes

Día de los Profesores Web Story

http://www.umce.cl/enlinea/noticias/20081017_dia_del_profesor.html

Week Twelve October 5 – October 11, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

 

Week Twelve October 5 – October 11, 2008

 

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of October 5 – 11 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

 

Physics Instruction at Liceos

 

On Monday, October 6, I worked at the 2 local high schools implementing the physics project from la UMCE. The first school, Liceo Juan Antonio Ríos, has approximately 15 students in the project. The second school, Liceo Capitán de Corbete Pedro Gonzáles, has 2 sections of students, the first with approximately 30 students and the second with 35 students. In these classes, we worked with students on the use of Modellus in developing mathematical models for the project we have been doing concerning the velocity and acceleration of a skater.  Modellus has a free download version that is quite useful and robust for making mathematical models and is also available in both Spanish and English versions.

 

Previous to this work, we have helped the students to gather the data, and then use class time to calculate the velocity and acceleration on paper. We then showed them how to use vectors on the tangents of the curves as well. Next, we used Excel with the data in order to generate the mathematical equation that we could use in Modellus. Then, we could actually make animations from this material and insert graphics that could act in the manner of the data collected. This is a great way to integrate technology tools in a practical manner, and the students worked on this project with great energy and enthusiasm, the like of which I have not seen in all my interaction with these students to date.

 

Explora Meeting Conference on

 

On Tuesday, October 7, I attended a meeting with José Arrellano from Explora here in Santiago. Explora is a science education entity that partners with various educational institutions including university and governmental organizations in order to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.   We are currently exploring ways to collaborate and he is interested in using the ideas of action science as a bridge to work with students in the first and second years of high school, which would be equivalent to ninth and tenth graders back in the US.

 

Explora Web site: http://www.explora.cl

 

UMCE Notes

 

There have been a number of interesting people who have attended la UMCE over the years, which included the poet Pablo Nerudo, who attend la UMCE, but never graduate.  In the past, la UMCE was a part of the University of Chile system.  At some point, the pedagogical aspects were separated out and UMCE became its own entity. The school today is a primary point for the development of teachers in a number of disciplines including the College of Science, where I am currently working.

Week Eleven September 28 – October 4, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

 

Week Eleven September 28 – October 4, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of September 28 – October 4 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

UTEP Doctoral Program – Prospective UMCE Students

On Monday, September 29, I had a conference call with Dr. Josie Tinajero and Dr. Ana Macias about the possible future enrollment of students from UMCE into the TED Ph.D. Program. Part of my charge in being here at UMCE is to investigate the possible integration of faculty at this institution who desire to obtain their doctoral degree in our new Ph.D. Program in the Teacher Education Department.  The collaborations between UTEP and UMCE extend back to 2005, when members of the faculty attended a COE sponsored Digital Academy. 

The need for this cooperation and agreement stems from the fact that many UMCE faculty have completed an initial program of study (coursework) with a university in Madrid, Spain in order to get their doctoral degrees, but support was pulled without a large number completing their degrees. As a result of this conversation, the group agreed to bring the issues of discussing how such a model could be implemented at UTEP through both the institutional and department channels. Dr. Tinajero will discuss the university policies and Dr. Macias will work with the doctoral faculty to explore the concepts on transfer students.  Dr. Robertson will prepare materials to present to the faculty so that prospective candidates can be evaluated by the criteria of the program.

Presentations on Problem-Based Learning

On Tuesday, September 30, I attended student presentations in a class designed to increase scientific thinking in the context of Problem-Based Learning scenarios.  PBL is an inquiry-based approach that can be defined as both a curriculum and a process. The curriculum consists of carefully selected and designed problems that engage the learner in the process of acquiring critical knowledge, developing proficiency in problem solving, engaging in self-directed learning, and participating in collaborative teams.  PBL approaches give students the ability to retain facts though critical thinking by working through problems logically and making connections to the real world. PBL features open-ended and cooperative activities that deal with real world issues and scenarios.

Recently, I sat in on a class here at la UMCE where students proposed solutions (las soluciones) with a scientific emphasis to the goal of creating a new city. The scenario was modeled on a real world event of a volcano erupting near the city of Chaitén that happened in May of 2008, and caused the evacuation of town of approximately 4200 residents.  The students did a great job defining the problems and proposing their own researched and well-supported solutions to the problem of creating a new city.  The students posed questions, analyzed the issues, presented their findings and defended their positions with confidence and clarity.

Student Conference on Pedagogy in the Natural Sciences

On Wednesday, October 1, I went with Claudio Perez to attend and to give a presentation at a National Chilean Conference for students studying to be teachers in the Natural Sciences. The main thrust of this event was to uncover concepts associated with constructivism and how this methodology can be implemented in the mostly traditional teaching climate found in Chilean schools. The conference was attended by upwards of 200 students from 10 different universities across Chile.  The students are all involved in programs that will lead them to be educators, primarily science teachers in middle schools and high schools in Chile.  The students were assembled for a three-day conference in order to improve their knowledge, to increase their abilities and to enlarge their networks with other students and participating faculty members. 

I was fortunate enough to participate in the event and deliver a presentation entitled “¿Cómo set constructivista en base a una formación conductista?” with my colleague and fellow constructivist, Claudio Pérez.  We gave a talk that focused on our experiences in science education and the use of specific methods and techniques that centered on practical applications in the classroom.  In interacting with the students within the talk, at lunch and in 3 subsequent round table discussions, I was given the unique opportunity to actually participate in a practical manner as both a teacher and a learner.

UMCE Conference on Innovative Education

On Thursday, October 2, I attended the Congreso Nacional de Educación in Santiago conference, which focused on the use of pedagogical practices in the 21^st Century.  I gave a presentation entitled “Ciencia de Acción” to approximately 50 faculty and students in attendance, as well as attended the days events to hear of other approaches to the use of different teaching and learning strategies across many disciplines, including science, mathematics, technology, special education and elementary education.

In addition, my paper entitled “Ciencia de Acción de Dr. Skateboard: Educación Transformativa en Física” was accepted to be published in the peer –reviewed journal that is associated with the conference and is distributed throughout South America. This marks my second academic article accepted for publication that was written entirely in Spanish.

Faculty Meeting

On Wednesday, October 1, I attended the regular weekly staff meetings with the Physics department on the new physics project they are implementing this coming semester.  At this meeting, we discussed the issues of the physics units that are being developed in the areas of the workshop in scientific thinking that uses a problem-based learning approach, as well as the mathematical physics module.  The main focus at this time was on the evaluation methods that were being used as the students were moving into mid-terms, and the emphasis within the project in to use performance based activities that include group projects and presentations.

Personal Transition to Work in Spanish

I think this past week was quite a different experience for me, one that was both quite challenging and rewarding all at once.  I had long periods were I had to communicate with people I did not know, both students and faculty, in professional situations and presentations.  I think that my ability to communicate both in speaking and writing is improving greatly, although my skills in speaking do lag at times.  It is almost as though I can think of the right word, but can’t connect quick enough to say it. In the past, this would have been frustrating, but I am learning to take it in stride and keep on trying. This is surely an aspect of this experience that I can see as laying a foundation for my return to work at UTEP.

 

 

Week Ten September 21 - 27, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

Week Ten September 21 - 27, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of September 21 - 27 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

ISS from UTEP at UMCE

On Monday, September 22, Sunay Palsole, Director of Instructional Support Services (ISS) from UTEP was here in Santiago, and we visited on the campus of UMCE. We also attended meeting with the director of Information technology here at UMCE to discuss future collaborations and resource sharing. Afterwards, we visited with the Dean of the College of Science, Juan Vargas, to discuss some of the administrative mechanisms for helping interested Ph.D. students here at UMCE to effectively enroll in the new Ph.D. program in the Teacher Education Department.

Fulbright Chile Presentation for Doctoral Students

On Tuesday, September 23, I gave a presentation entitled “Choosing a Doctoral Program of Study That Works For You” to 25 Chilean Fulbright Nominees for Doctoral and Master’s programs. The goal was to share my experiences and knowledge with the participants and guide them on how to choose a Ph.D. program. I also included information on how to define their study objectives, how to choose the right professor that will chair their committee, and how to search for programs/professors. I also had the opportunity to give them information about UTEP top doctoral programs.

The audience was Chilean Fulbright Nominees. Most of them have already been approved for a Fulbright grant and now they are working in their applications to the US Universities. They are representatives of three of Fulbright Chile’s Programs:

1. The Equal Opportunities Scholarship. The grantees will do Ph.D. in 2009. The BIO (Beca Igualdad de Oportunidades) grantees will start a total immersion English training program from August 11th to October 20th.
2. The selected Master grantees.
3. The grantees selected for Ph.D. Programs starting in 2009 (Beca de Doctorado en Ciencia y Tecnología Fulbright-CONICYT y Fulbright Mecesup)

Meeting at US Embassy

On Wednesday, September 24, I attended a reception at the home of the US Deputy Director, Carol Urban that was held for a delegation of university presidents and chancellors from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). The group is visiting Chile from September 24-30 in order to meet with Chilean higher education authorities and attend the XV World Congress of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) that will take place next week in Viña del Mar.

US Embassy Story:

http://www.usembassy.cl/OpenNews/asp/pagDefault.asp?argInstanciaId=2&argNoticiaId=4145

Meeting with Dean Juan Vargas concerning possible Ph.D. candidates

On Thursday, September 24, I met with the Dean of the College of Science, Juan Vargas, to look over the materials related to interested Ph.D. students here at UMCE who desire to enroll in the new Ph.D. program in the Teacher Education Department. The main goal was to identify the top students who would be most ready to work to join the program and be integrated into a dissertation phase in due consequence. The resulting list of possible candidates was then shared with Dr. Tinajero and Dr. Macias in order to prepare them for a discussion prior to an onsite visit here and an evaluation of candidates to take back and share with the TED faculty. The goal of this effort is to have a small cohort of UMCE students joining the Ph.D. program within the coming year.

Personal Transition to Work in Spanish

I have had some interesting experiences this past week in my working world in Spanish, as the cross over to English as an international language was also very apparent. I have often felt that having 2 languages is a real benefit, and I know that to be true in El Paso. Yet, I have come to see how that is a big push here in Chile, as in many ways, the need to learn English and apply that skill to the international community is very apparent in the education system. It also seems that it is ripe for future collaborations with our university and specifically, the Department of Teacher Education, with our incredible strength and skills in bilingual education. I think faculty in this area should really look to see how they might also come to Chile to aid in this transition and to study the impacts of their approaches.

UMCE Notes

School is back in full swing after the break around the fiestas patrias, and many of the classes are getting ready for mid-terms over the next few weeks. The work is really starting to pick up as is the atmosphere on campus, as spring unfolds all around.

Here are a few news items that appeared on the UMCE Web site concerning my work here in Santiago.

El Mercurio Story
http://www.umce.cl/enlinea/noticias/20080922_dr_skateboard_mercurio.html

Strategies for Teaching and Learning
http://www.umce.cl/enlinea/noticias/20080911_estrategias_innovadoras_fisica.html

Week Nine September 14 - 20, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

Week Nine September 14 - 20, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of September 14 - 20 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Physics Project in El Mercurio

On Sunday, September 14 I was in the Education section of the Mercurio, the oldest newspaper in Santiago and was featured for my work in the local schools, along with Prof. Claudio Perez.
The article can be accessed online here:

http://www.mer.cl/modulos/catalogo/Paginas/2008/09/14/MERSTVS025AA1409.htm

Fiestas Patrias – National Holidays

This week, the classes were suspended for students, professors and staff as a break for celebrations of national independence (fiestas patrias), that happened on September 18 and 19, 2008. It was really like spring break in September, a unique experience for me.
The 18th and 19th of September are marked as such to commemorate the independence of Chile from Spain, and although there is some dispute as to whether it happened for real in 1808 or 1810 (actual independence came in April of 1818), there is no debate on the days themselves. Chileans circle these days in red on their calendars in the beginning of the year and plan their festive times to come filled with the national dance, la cueca, grilled meats (asados) on open flames, a flavorful wine-sangria type drink (chachi) served in a horn, and of course, the ever-present and flavorful empanada.

Many people celebrate the days with family and friends; others diverge on Parque O’Higgins in Santiago for the national parade, some head to the shore, some to the mountains, some even head out of town to Buenos Aires. Whatever the plan, it includes getting ready to party and to celebrate the national days of independence, to kick off the cold of winter and embrace the coming of spring, and to acknowledge the identity and unity of an entire nation.

Week Eight September 7 - 13, 2008

Week Eight September 7 - 13, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of September 6 - 13 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Meeting at US Embassy

On Wednesday, September 10, I attended a reception at the home of the US Ambassador, Paul E. Simons that was hosted by the Washington, DC think tank, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This group is best known for its creating the interfaces that spawned the communication of the Internet, and lead to Tim Berners-Lee’s development of the World Wide Web. DARPA is the U.S. Department of Defense central research and development organization with the mission to conceive, develop, and demonstrate advanced technology that would lead to new military capabilities. I did make some contacts, as I did think that the work we are doing at UTEP, both in Engineering and Homeland Security, might be ripe for some type of collaboration in the future.

More on the visit form DARPA:

http://santiago.usembassy.gov/OpenNews/asp/pagDefault.asp?argInstanciaId=2&argNoticiaId=4105

Physics Project in El Mercurio

On Sunday, September 14 I was in the Education section of the Mercurio, the oldest newspaper in Santiago and was featured for my work in the local schools, along with Prof. Claudio Perez.

The article can be accessed online here:

http://www.mer.cl/modulos/catalogo/Paginas/2008/09/14/MERSTVS025AA1409.htm

Physics Instruction at Liceos

On Monday, September 8, I worked at the 2 local high schools implementing the physics project from la UMCE. The first school, Liceo Juan Antonio Ríos, has approximately 15 students in the project. The second school, Liceo Capitán de Corbete Pedro Gonzáles, has 2 sections of students, the first with approximately 30 students and the second with 35 students. I did another brief demonstration at each school, followed by data gathering for the physics experiments. We set up instrumentation with the student teams who gathered data with both traditional materials such as tape measurers and stopwatches as well with motion sensors. This was done in order to get data from the movement so that the student teams can construct data driven computer models.

Class Schedules at UMCE

This week, the classes were suspended for students, but professors and staff did have to attend and work on campus. There was also concern throughout the city for the 11 of September, which marks the date of the military coup of Pinochet in 1973. This day is marked often with conflict and demonstration throughout the city. This month also features the coming celebrations of national independence, that happen September 18 and 19 and is 2 days of national celebration.

Data Analysis of Student Attitudes in Science and Computers

I have continued to input my survey data from both the classes at UMCE and from the 2 liceos, and should have a solid set of preliminary data from which to draw my comparison studies. I am inputting everything in Excel at this time, as it is just pre-test data, but will be able to use SPSS to analyze the statistics once the post-tests are done. The goal is to have data pre and post in the areas of attitudes, efficacy, technology use and content information in physics for the students at UMCE and hopefully have the pre and post in the areas of attitudes and content information in physics for the students at the liceos. We have also worked on the data analysis for the content area pre-exams for the students here at la UMCE, and have established baseline scores for the groups.

Week Seven August 31 – September 6, 2008

UTEP-UMCE News – Dr. Bill Robertson, Fulbright Scholar, UTEP Assistant Professor

Week Seven August 31 – September 6, 2008

The following is a summary of the activities that I have been engaged in during the week of August 31 - September 6 as they relate to the work I am doing here at UMCE as part of my Fulbright Scholarship.

Presentation at Campus Santiago de la Universidad de Talca

Last week, I participated as part of a panel at the American Academy of Science and Technology, an initiative in partnership with the US Embassy and the University of Talca. On the US Embassy Web site, there was a story entitled, “Panel of U.S. and Chilean Experts Discussed Innovative Strategies for Science Education”. The 5 panelists, including myself, met with students and educators on August 29, at the American Academy of Science and Technology, at University of Talca’s Campus Santiago. The article has some good text on both my projects and UTEP. It is available in both English and Spanish, and can be accessed at the following URLs:

English (http://www.embajadaeeuu.cl/OpenNews/asp/pagDefault.asp?argInstanciaId=2&argNoticiaId=4075)

Spanish (http://www.embajadaeeuu.cl/OpenNews/asp/pagDefault.asp?argInstanciaId=1&argNoticiaId=4074)

Upcoming Presentations for Spring Semester at UMCE

I recently submitted 2 papers to be considered for the upcoming presentations at UMCE, and was notified that I was accepted for both. The conference will be here in Santiago from October 1-3 and will focus on innovative uses of technology in teaching and learning in science education. I will be participating as part of a panel on the use of technology in science education and will also be delivering a presentation on a paper that I submitted and was accepted for publication. The paper is entitled “Ciencia de acción: Educacion transformativa en fisica” and was written in Spanish. The paper will be published in a peer-reviewed magazine here in Chile and should appear in the spring.

Faculty Meeting

On Wednesday, September 3, I attended the regular weekly staff meetings with the Physics department on the new physics project they are implementing this semester. At this meeting, we went over the use of evaluation and diagnostic tools as a way of gaining information on the make up of a class and their understandings of concepts. I was able to talk a bit about how we use online tools, such as those in WebCt and Blackboard, to get assessment data rapidly online. I also spoke about the need for the department to perhaps standardize some instruments, and put them online so that they could be used by all the faculty without being a burden in terms of time for professors. I am going to try and do this with the instrument I have been using and see if I can make it work in their online platform Moodle. I think this will help the department to better understand the attitudes and efficacy of their students and hopefully serve as a model for future content driven assessments across the department.

Physics Instruction at Liceos

On Monday, September 1, I worked at the 2 local high schools implementing the physics project from la UMCE. The first school, Liceo Juan Antonio Ríos, has approximately 15 students in the project. The second school, Liceo Capitán de Corbete Pedro Gonzáles, has 2 sections of students, the first with approximately 30 students and the second with 35 students. We worked with the student teams in order to develop an active hypothesis that they can use to construct a computer model to simulate movement in a straight line. I worked with Prof. Perez in facilitating the group discussions to get students to come to consensus on a single line of investigation, which we will implement in the following week.

Changes in Class Schedules at UMCE

Last week, there were some changes to the class schedules as student protests fueled a few days of change on the campus. From what I can best determine, this happens each September as the days of remembrance of past political conflicts rise to the surface. The month also features the coming celebrations of national independence that happen September 18,19 and are 2 days of national celebration.

Data Analysis of Student Attitudes in Science and Computers

I have continued to input my survey data from both the classes at UMCE and from the 2 liceos, and should have a solid set of preliminary data from which to draw my comparison studies. I am inputting everything in Excel at this time, as it is just re-test data, but will be able to use SPSS to analyze the statistics once the post-tests are done. The goal is to have data pre and post in the areas of attitudes, efficacy, technology use and content information in physics for the students at UMCE and hopefully have the pre and post in the areas of attitudes and content information in physics for the students at the liceos.

Personal Transition to Work in Spanish

I have had a bit of an upswing in both my pursuits in writing and speaking, especially in my communication among the faculty and the students. I think that having to deliver a lot of materials in Spanish as well as write both presentations and articles in Spanish has been starting to pay off. I am also beginning to understand the cadence of the language here, which is often faster and very different than Spanish in El Paso. Although I know I have a long way to go, I am seeing some positive results from my persistence and from my immersion. Having a couple of great mentors has helped as well, and I can better how I can help to mentor others at UTEP once I return.

UMCE Notes

The faculty in Science has recently put up some information on the new Observatory facility and has posted a blog that is for the students in Physics and the entire college.

http://observatoriumce.blogspot.com/