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.
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