PASCO Probes Take Physics Modeling Instruction to the Next Level
Physics Teacher -- Los Gatos High School, CA
By Steve Hammack

LOS GATOS, California -- I have been involved in the Physics Modeling Instruction program at Arizona State University since 1995. As a Phase I Modeler I spent three summers learning and helping develop curricula. My commitment to the Modeling program helped me secure funding from my principal to obtain technology for my classroom at Los Gatos High School, where I teach physics.

I selected PASCO probeware because I found it to have robust capabilities along with the best user-friendly, intuitive software interface at the time.

Two years ago we moved into a new science building. As a result, we now have two physics rooms. My colleague is using my old PASCO equipment in his new room, and I wrote a grant to acquire new equipment. I now have 12 e-Mac computers and probeware, including Motion Sensors, Force Sensors, Photogate Sensors and more.

We use the probes to gather data the way scientists do as part of Physics Modeling Instruction. Our labs are open-ended rather than "cookbook." Each unit begins with a paradigm lab in which we often use the probes to gather data. We then use computers to graph the data as a way to look for mathematical relationships between variables.

Students use whiteboards to present their data, graph and mathematical model to the class. The presenting students are then questioned by both myself and their peers; it's much like a graduate seminar, and it's a powerful learning strategy. One of the guiding ideas of Physics Modeling Instruction is that by having students articulate what they think they know and defend their understanding of what they think they know, they undergo deep and meaningful learning.

I call what we are doing in my class "minds-on" physics. It takes "hands-on" to the next level, because the probes, computers, and software allow us to spend more time thinking about what we are doing rather than spending our time gathering data and making graphs. Furthermore, it facilitates the acquiring of information in a way that's more like what scientists do daily in their labs.

I particularly enjoy using the Motion Sensor, because it does something that can't be done in any other way. It's the only way I know to provide students with a real-time graphical representation of their own motion, and physics education research has shown that obtaining real-time feedback in this manner allows for better learning. If a student sees the graph as they're making it, they link a concrete reality (their motion) with a mathematical abstraction (a graph).

Using Force Sensors is a great way for students to become convinced of the reality of Newton's Third law. Students can set up a variety of different scenarios and see that regardless of how two objects collide they each exert equal and opposite forces on each other.

My students really enjoy using the probes. They are fun and engaging. There is also the inherent motivation of having cool technology. In a certain sense a teacher is a salesperson for their subject, so whatever we can do to "sell" our subject is important. My probes, computers, and software have helped immensely in this regard.