Chapter 11: Math and the Sciences

Book Advice

This chapter made some interesting suggestions for the Math and Science departments. In particular, I like the use of virtual manipulatives, especially in the context of simulations. Not all of the suggested material was particularly useful, but in my experience, I have found that the simulations available on the University of Colorado's site are interesting, fun, and helpful for getting students to understand scientific and mathematical concepts

Two for two? It's More Useful than a Paperweight? What kind of textbook is this!?

Yes indeed. Two for two, the text suggests using sites like YouTube for demonstrations and sharing visuals that students might not otherwise ever get to see. This is a wonderful idea, as in a Physics classroom, I have made use of it to show them the launch of a space shuttle (talking about the effects of gravity), and the video footage of what happened to the Takoma bridge (standing waves). While in chemistry, they were able to see such things as how group one elements react to water, to how the process of refining uranium works, as well as how the system within a nuclear plant runs, to how the refining process for oil is run, and how they separate the different chains of hydrocarbons. All in all, the usefulness of YouTube in the classroom is something that I can vouch for myself.


References:
Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.