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Courses at St. Ambrose

Spring 2012


PHYSICS 204 (two sections): Semester two of alebra-based physics covering electricity, magnitism, and optics.

PHYSICS 253 (with lab): Semester two of calculus-based physics covering thermodynamics, electricity, and magnetism.



Fall 2011


PHYSICS 203 (two sections with three labs):Semester one of algebra-based physics covering mechanics and thermodynamics.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

I believe in a hands-on problem-based teaching approach, where the students learn by doing, creating, and thinking about the material. Personally I learn better when I am asked to solve a problem than I do when I am told to read about a subject, or watch someone else go through the steps that they used to solve the problem. I have also found that students retain more information when I ask them to figure things out for themselves. This is not to say that teachers aren’t necessary; rather, I believe they serve the crucial role of posing the right questions/problems and providing just enough information for the students to approach the problem, while still leaving them enough room to solve it on their own. I also believe in encouraging creative discussion, while keeping that discussion on track with the goals of the class, and guiding the students’ critical thinking about central course concepts.

TEACHING HIGHLIGHTS

• Solute Transport Lab

I developed a lab for the Northwestern class "Civ. Eng. 440 – Environmental Transport Processes". The students injected dye into bedforms and traced the shape of the dye multiple times over a several hour period. They also measured topography, flow, and sediment characteristics about the flume. I created an interactive computer model of flow through two-dimensional bedforms in NetLogo, which the students customized using the lab measurements. Within the model they could place initial particles in the shape of the injected dye blobs and compare the simulated dye shapes to the traced shapes over time.

Student traces dye shape as it travels through a bedform in a flume

Comparing simulation (top) to dye movement photos (bottom)

• SERTS: Science and Engineering Research and Teaching Synthesis

As part of the Northwestern class "Environmental Science 201: Earth a Habitable Planet" I taught a SERTS tutorial in 2006 and 2007. As part of this exercise I supervised students as they collaboratively planned, analyzed, and measured hydraulic conductivity along the beach of Lake Michigan. The goal of this activity was to provide the students with a taste of field research, while allowing them the independence to exercise the scientific method.

Students measure hydraulic conductivty along the beach of Lake Michigan

• Laboratory Recirculating Flume Demonstrations

Laboratory flumes are very much like long aquariums with recirculating pumps that produce flow. This flow causes the water and sediments to interact in similar ways as it would in a real fluvial system. By adding dye to the stream it is possible to observe the flow of water, including turbulence patterns, advection, and dispersion. When dye is added to the sediment (sand) near the glass side of the flume, the regular flow patterns produced by the water-bedform interactions can be seen. This includes the fact that some of the water flows upstream in the sediments. I have demonstrated this flume behavior for audiences ranging in age from upper grade school to adult for Career Day for Girls, Take Your Daughters to Work Day, Northwestern's Communiversity Day, undergraduate labs, and various school field trips.

Flume demonstration at Career Day for Girls

• North Shore Home Educators: Mathematical Problem Solving Class

My husband and I teach a math problem solving class currently centered around the MATHCOUNTS contest program for Middle Schoolers. As part of this class I have planned activities, created and graded homework, and learned a lot about flexibility and class time management. It has given me the opportunity to develop my teaching skills, to encourage enthusiasm for math and math problem solving, and to work with a group of highly motivated and talented middle school students. Here is a π Day problem you might enjoy.

Our 2011 MATHCOUNTS team ranked 5th in Illinois at State!

©2010 Susa H. Stonedahl