We are excited to announce our all-new online short courses. Led by experienced teachers, Knowles Academy short courses are designed to improve mathematics and science teaching and learning. The number of participants in these courses is capped so that participants can engage in discussions with the instructors and other participants as they explore new tools and strategies to use in their classrooms to increase student engagement.
In this course, teachers will gain an overview of the Patterns Approach to physics, experience a Patterns-type lesson, and discuss how the Patterns Approach could be implemented in their classroom.
Exploring the Science Practice of Mathematical Thinking to Deepen Physics Understanding
Anchored in a foundational “Patterns & Inquiry” unit, the Patterns Approach to physics engages students in the work of scientists, including generating research questions, designing experiments, collecting data, identifying patterns, and using those patterns to successfully predict future data points. Specifically, in the foundational unit, students become familiar with four basic mathematical patterns—horizontal line, linear, quadratic, and inverse—that form the underpinning of many physics concepts.
In this course, teachers will gain an overview of the Patterns Approach to physics, experience a Patterns-type lesson, and discuss how the Patterns Approach could be implemented in their classroom.
Teachers who attend this course will learn:
- The design principles of the Patterns Approach to physics
- How the Patterns Approach uses inquiry to help students discover and make sense of patterns
- The arc of a Patterns Approach unit
- How to implement one of the first labs in the first unit of the Patterns Approach (focuses on developing students’ understanding of mathematical patterns)