So, it's Wednesday, and due to our schedule, I don't teach AP Physics 1 today. So, instead of a teach180 entry, I've decided I'll use this time to write about something I can't fit into a typical #teach180 post.
Here's a post I started in November, and never posted. I think it's worth posting, and I have some questions at the end:
At a professional development meeting last week, Dr. Lori Wilfong spoke about how to teach vocabulary effectively. As an AP Physics teacher, I didn't know if it would be helpful, but I played along. I went through a few exams, looking for the words that I thought would be most powerful for an AP Physics student. Dr. Wilfong separated vocabulary into three tiers, and I used those tiers to guide my thinking. I didn't include any tier one words, which only have one meaning and that they'll probably know before entering the class. And I only included the most important tier three words, those words that are the specialized vocabulary of the subject matter. I looked for mostly tier two words, words that take on different meanings depending on how they're being used. I think the list is very powerful, and I think that students who consciously tried to know and use these words correctly would be at a great advantage.
Here's my list:
- acceleration
- angular
- applied (force)
- area (under a graph)
- average (as in average speed)
- balanced (forces)
- beat (frequency)
- center of mass
- change in
- charge (electric)
- circuit
- coefficient (of friction)
- component (of a vector)
- conductor
- conservation (of a quantity)
- current
- derive
- displacement
- dissipated
- distance
- elastic (energy)
- emf
- energy
- exert
- frame of reference
- field
- force
- frequency
- gravitational mass
- harmonic
- horizontal (as opposed to straight)
- impulse
- inertia
- inertial mass
- instantaneous
- interaction
- junction
- justify
- kinetic
- linear
- longitudinal wave
- loop
- magnitude
- mechanical energy
- moment of inertia
- momentum (or linear momentum)
- motion detector
- negligible
- net (force)
- object
- ohmic
- oscillation
- parallel (circuit)
- particle
- period
- photogate
- pivot
- position
- potential difference
- potential energy
- power
- projectile
- propagate
- pulse
- qualitative
- quantitative
- quantized
- resistance
- resonance
- rotational inertia
- sensor
- series (circuit)
- situation
- speed
- standing wave
- static
- system
- thermal (energy)
- torque
- trajectory
- transverse wave
- velocity
- vibration
- wavelength
- work
I've spent a few hours on this list; I really like it. I still didn't know how to use it. How can this list be useful to a student? Dr. Wilfong stressed that vocabulary can't just be a one-and-done event; it has to be integrated into class. How would you integrate this into an AP Physics 1 class?