Physics Alive Brad Moser

Maple Syrup. Champion of breakfast, the perfecter of pancakes. Sweet addition to butter, beans, and even bacon. But how does that treat travel from tree to table? Phenomenal physics is in no short supply, and Abby van den Berg, a Research Associate Professor at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center, shares her joy and her expertise. She discusses the wonder of sap flow, long-term tree health, production methods, and the pigments associated with autumn foliage.Full show notes at:
www.physicsalive.com/mapleEpisode notes and resources:Where to go for all your maple news?Start at the Proctor Maple Research Center website:
https://www.uvm.edu/cals/proctor-maple-research-center
Also visit other University of Vermont webpages:

UVM Proctor Maple Research Center YouTube channel


UVM Extension Maple Program

Other links Abby suggested:
North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual
Mapleresearch.org from the North American Maple Syrup Council
Today's Guest:Abby van den Berg is a Research Associate Professor at the University of Vermont's Proctor Maple Research Center. Her areas of expertise and research include plant physiological ecology and maple syrup chemistry.She writes: Much of my research focuses on the ecophysiology of maple sugaring, including the effects of tapping and carbohydrate extraction on tree growth and health, the physiology of stem pressure and carbohydrates in xylem sap, and ultimately on helping to develop management practices and tapping guidelines to ensure the long-term sustainability of maple syrup production. Recently, my work has expanded to include studying the physiology of stem pressure development in birch trees, and investigating sap yields and the potential profitability of adding birch syrup production to existing maple operations in the Northeastern US.This only scratches the surface of Abby's work. Learn more about her work:
Abby van dem Berg's University of Vermont faculty profile
Listen to Abby on Science Friday!

The universal design for learning (UDL) framework is an approach based on educational research that can guide the development of flexible learning environments that are supportive of and accessible to all learners. I’m speaking with Melissa Eblen-Zayas and Kristen Burson, authors on a recent paper describing their efforts to implement UDL and promote student mental health. They specifically focus on physics course modifications that provide multiple means of engagement.
Go to the full episode show notes at:
www.physicsalive.com/udl
 
Today's conversation is with Melissa Eblen-Zayas, Professor of Physics at Carleton College, and Kristen Burson, Associate Professor of Physics at Grinnell College. They author a paper, along with Danielle McDermott, titled "Course Modifications to Promote Student Mental Health and Move toward Universal Design for Learning."  Their paper appeared in the November 2022 issue of The Physics Teacher. You can access the paper below:
Course Modifications to Promote Student Mental Health and Move toward Universal Design for Learning
The CAST website provides great resources for Universal Design for Learning. CAST's mission is to transform education design and practice until learning has no limits.
The UDL Guidelines
UDL chart
UDL checklist

Other resources that were recommened:
Book: Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone by Thomas J. Tobin andKirsten T. Behling
YouTube video: Shelley Moore: Transforming Inclusive Education
Learn more about today's guests:
Kristen Burson's faculty webpage
Melissa Eblen-Zayas faculty webpage and personal website
Listen to Melissa speak about how she uses metacognitive reflection exercises to address student biases in the podcast Tea for Teaching.

What if I told you that you could do velocity, acceleration, friction, rotations, impulse and momentum, pressure, sound, color, and magnetic field labs all with a single measurement device? And what if I told you that almost every student is walking into the classroom with their own device already in hand? Welcome to Physics with Phones curriculum. Each lesson details activities using built-in smartphone sensors to illustrate key physics concepts, including elevation, g force, and angular velocity. David Rakestraw, a senior science advisor at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, has put together many lessons that are freely available online. He’s here to talk about how he got involved with this technology, what sensors our students can access, and how we can use these in our classes.Full show notes available at:
www.physicsalive.com/phones
 
Webpage for Physics with Phones
https://st.llnl.gov/sci-ed/Physics-with-Phones
Phone apps to try out:
PhyPhox
Vieyra Software
David Rakestraw is a senior science advisor at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) in California. A multi-program national security laboratory, its primary stated mission is to enhance the nation’s defense and reduce the global threat from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Prior to LLNL, he spent 12 years at Sandia National Laboratories, where he engaged in a wide range of research and development activities. He even co-founded a company that specialized in applying microfluidics for chemical analysis.Today, he’s not going to talk about any of that! Instead, this conversation will be all about doing physics with phone sensors. Physics with Phones is a series of presentations outlining a wide range of experiments that are well-aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. These were developed for the classroom, but many can be done by students in their own homes. Learn more about David from his alumni biography:
https://www.onu.edu/alumni-profiles/david-rakestraw-bs-83
Webpage for Physics with Phones
https://st.llnl.gov/sci-ed/Physics-with-Phones
See even more opportunities at LLNL's Teacher Research Academy
https://st.llnl.gov/sci-ed/teacher-research-academy
 

The Physics Alive podcast is on the road this week! A busy semester has made it challenging to produce new episodes, so your host has taken his microphone on the road, recording while driving. Hear updates about Brad's classes and experiences this semester at his new teaching institution, Plymouth State University. The ups, the downs, the good, the frustrating -- the teacher's journey.

ISLE, the Investigative Science Learning Environment, is an intentional holistic learning environment for physics. It addresses two main goals: to help students learn physics by engaging them in the processes that mirror scientific practice and to improve their well-being while they are learning physics. Eugenia Etkina started this approach nearly 40 years ago and has been an ardent teacher educator in the years since. This interview with Eugenia provides the educational philosophy behind ISLE, specific examples of how the approach works, and the support network that can get you started.
Show notes: www.physicsalive.com/ISLE
Learn more about Eugenia and her work:

www.islephysics.net

Eugenia's faculty page
You can email Eugenia at:
eugenia.etkina@gse.rutgers.edu
ISLE website:
www.islephysics.net
Adopting the ISLE approach
Join the Facebook group -- Exploring and Applying Physics
ISLE resource page on PhysPort
https://www.physport.org/methods/method.cfm?G=ISLE
ISLE Implementation Guide on PhysPort
https://www.physport.org/methods/Section.cfm?G=ISLE&S=What
Articles:
2020 - Implementing an epistemologically authentic approach to student-centered inquiry learning
2015 – Eugenia’s Millikan Lecture
2007 – ISLE guide, a chapter from “Research-Based Reform of University Physics”

In this episode, I talk about DNA: a simple DNA diffraction and interference experiment using the spring from a pen, and the DNA, the structure of my introductory physics class during the spring '22 semester. 
 
Full show notes at:
www.physicsalive.com/dna
 
DNA Diffraction and Interference Lab and/or Demonstration




Figure 1: X-ray diffraction pattern of B-DNA labeled Photo 51 by Rosalind Franklin.

Figure 2: Interference pattern from a pen spring. Pattern produced from a red diode laser passing through the spring from a pen. Projected on a screen 8 meters away.
Here are the articles I referenced about DNA interference and diffraction experiments:
DNA Science AAPT Digi Kit
How Rosalind Franklin Discovered the Helical Structure of DNA: Experiments in Diffraction

Revealing the Backbone Structure of B-DNA from Laser Optical Simulations of Its X-ray Diffraction Diagram


X-ray diffraction and DNA optical transform from the ICE (Institute for Chemical Education) Online store at wisc.edu
Optical transform demo kit
DNA optical transform kit

DNA of Brad's introductory physics class (Spring 2022)
Star grading system:



Here's the entire syllabus for the spring 2022 semester of PHYS 105: Survey of Physics II for life science majors:
Moser Syllabus 2022 Spring
Specifications grading:
"Specifications Grading" by Linda Nilson
Short article about Specs Grading by Linda Nilson
Blog post on Specifications Grading by Robert Talbert