Unit 1: Exploring the Nature of Light Phenomena
I. Introduction
This course is intended for prospective and practicing elementary and middle school teachers. By exploring physical phenomena in class, you will learn science in ways in which you are expected to teach science in schools or in informal settings such as afterschool programs, youth group meetings, and museum workshops. This course also is appropriate for general science students and others interested in exploring some of the physical phenomena underlying global climate change.
The theme for the course is: What happens when light from the Sun shines on the Earth? The emphasis is on questioning, predicting, exploring, observing, discussing, reading, and writing about what one thinks and why. This first unit focuses on exploring the nature of light phenomena. Among the unit’s many goals are two primary ones: to learn about light phenomena and to learn about ways to foster science learning for yourself and others such as your family, friends, and students.
What does it mean to “explore the nature of light phenomena”? You will be:
- identifying resources such as positive experiences you already have had in learning about light and
- developing central ideas based on evidence that you record while exploring everyday phenomena such as light and shadows.
By central ideas, we mean understandings about physical phenomena that emerge from your discussions with your group members as well as with the instructor. These also are powerful ideas because they form conceptual models useful in:
- explaining an intriguing phenomenon such as what happens when you look through a pinhole camera, something most find surprising, yet even children can understand.
After developing conceptual understandings of the relevant physics principles, you will be:
- developing mathematical representations of this phenomenon and using these when
- estimating a quantity of interest, such as the diameter of the Sun.
Throughout the course you will be reflecting upon ways that are helping you learn science. In reflecting upon this learning process, you will be:
- making connections to educational policy, such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013). This document has been adopted by many departments of education as the science standards for grades K-12 in the United States.
Other light phenomena that you will be exploring during this unit include reflection, refraction, and dispersion. You will develop additional central ideas based upon these explorations; then use this expanded conceptual model for light to explain another intriguing but more complex phenomenon: rainbows.
Because K-8 curricula emphasize learning to read and write well, this course also models ways to integrate science and literacy learning. By literacy learning, we mean learning to speak clearly, listen closely, write coherently, read with comprehension, and create and critique media.
The main sections present questions with suggesti