Journaling: Connecting the World to the Classroom
JOHANNA HOPP
J.
University of Wisconsin – Stout
“Everywhere you look, physics is happening. You
just need to open your eyes in a new way to see it.”
~Syllabus Statement
Introduction
One common course objective in an introductory physics classroom is to help
students connect their lives with course content. In this project, a journal
writing assignment was used to engage students in exploring how they see
physics outside the classroom. Survey Summary
CLASS Results
v 82% Agreed/Strongly Agreed that journaling connected them to the world
outside of the classroom
Personal Interest Category (6 questions):
v 71% Agreed/Strongly Agreed that there was a benefit of doing the
assignment.
Example Question: I think about the physics I experience in everyday life.
²  4/6 questions show pre/post shift consistent with faculty experts
²  2 significant v 67% Agreed/Strongly Agreed journaling helped understand physics.
²  Negative shift occurred in 2/6 conditions (both significant)
v 67% Agreed/Strongly Agreed journaling helped gain an appreciation of
physics.
Real World Connections Category (4 questions):
Assignment Objectives
Example Question: To understand physics, I sometimes think about my
personal experiences and relate them to the topic being analyzed.
²  3/4 questions show pre/post shift consistent with faculty experts
²  1 significant Survey Details
v To help students realize physics is a part of their life.
= Strongly Disagree
v To help students appreciate the physics that happens around them.
= Neutral
= Strongly Agree
²  Negative shift occurred in 1/4 conditions (significant)
25
v To help students gain a deeper understanding of physics through
observations and connections to their own world
Student Comments
Assignment Description
v Students “observe” something happening in their environment and describe
the physics involved.
²  Real-life observation
²  Movie or TV
²  Remembering something from the past
Number of Students
20
v Effective. Can’t stop thinking about it now.
v Great idea, not only it gets us talking about more physics, can also express
daily life experiences and it's gotta be pure entertainment when you read
them as well. 15
10
v I liked it because it gave me a chance to teach my son some very basic
things relating to physics. v It was a useful assignment but it became difficult to think of entries after
awhile. 5
²  A “made-up” situation
v Weekly Assignment
General Conclusions
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Question Number
² 3 Entries / Week
v Students
1.  The assignment objectives were clearly laid out at the beginning of the semester.
² Introduction to Physics (PHYS 211)
² Conceptual-based ² 42 students
2.  The assignment helped me to gain a greater appreciation of physics beyond the course
alone.
v Achieved Objectives – students found assignment engaging with the “outside
world”, and beneficial to understanding physics.
v Journaling is an effective way to expose students to course material
v Overall positive shift in student beliefs and attitudes
3.  The assignment helped me with my understanding of physics.
Extensions
4.  The assignment helped me to “see physics” in the world beyond the classroom.
Assessment Tools
v Self-Designed Survey
5.  I benefited from this assignment.
6.  I enjoyed doing this assignment.
v Compare Introduction to Physics and College Physics I
²  Examine the effectiveness of and the attitudes towards the assignment
based on level of physics course
7.  I saw the benefit of doing this assignment.
²  Likert scale survey examining attitudes and opinions about the
assignment
²  Opportunity for students to give open-response comments
v  Colorado Learning Attitudes About Science Survey (CLASS)
²  Measures student beliefs about physics and about learning physics
²  8 Categories – 2 of specific interest
1.  Personal Interest
2.  Real World Connections
²  Part of Phet Project and PER@C (University of CO)
Conceptual Based vs. Algebra-based Sample Journal Entry
February 5: As a friend and I were walking to class my friend stepped on a
patch of ice, slipped and fell. The physics involved is the reduced friction
that my friend experienced when he went from the sidewalk (higher
coefficient of friction) to the ice (lower coefficient of friction). With a lower
friction, his foot (an object in motion) continued to stay in motion, moving
forwards. His foot was now traveling faster than his top half. His center of
mass ended up outside his base and he tipped over, falling backwards.
v Compare effectiveness to Elementary Physics Project (service learning project
with some similar objectives)
Acknowledgements
Support for the project was provided by: UW Stout Provost Office and the UWSystem Office of Professional and Instructional Development.
This project was part of the Wisconsin Teaching Fellows Program.