The plan was to instruct Matthew to work through the Progress Check in the AP Physics C website. The problems included motion on an incline, friction, weight in different gravity fields. Unfortunately, Matthew was absent and was unavailable for personal or virtual instruction. There was no assignment.
Assignment
See Lesson Outline
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
0
Lesson Comments
Matthew's absentee rate, between personal absence and golf trips is inconsistent with success in AP Physics. Add to the fact that he seems to be looking for an easy grade in an AP course, in my opinion. He is reticent to take notes, works with his camera off, and looks for short cuts that don't exist. Either way, the problem is no longer mine. Matthew is being switched to another instructor and I prefer not to teach him any more physics should that not work out.
Forces acting along an incline with and without friction
Lesson Outline
At the beginning of the session, I told Matthew to draw a complete sketch of the last problem we had discussed yesterday and to use one of the examples in the text to add as much detail as necessary to solve the probem. He drew a much more complete sketch than he had previously drawn and included some correct labeling. I showed him my sketch and explained the extra information that was required, including the small force triangle. I then showed him how the information led to solving the problem. I assigned Matthew homework to read p.99 - 113.
Assignment
See Lesson Outline.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Matthew is beginning to understandthe different parts of the solution for these difficult problems. I think he is finally seeing some of the relations that are being established in the problems.
Word problems evaluating forces, acceleration, and distances.
Lesson Outline
I continued to teach Matthew how to make correct sketches based on word problems. I showed him the difference between pushing an object across a horizontal surface with a downward component and pulling the same object with an upword component. I once again told him to develop a sketch based on the change in the problem. There was no assignment.
Assignment
See Lesson Outline.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
When I rejected Matthew's attempt to draw a sketch, he was very upset. When he asked for a chance to correct his sketch, I allowed it, but he again had a very incomplete sketch. I showed him an example problem in the text of how to sketch the problem we were trying to solve. He again came back with another sketch that showed very little understanding of the problem-solving process. I told him he should try to work on it for homework.
I finished a problem that Matthew and I worked on yesterday. Then I introduced a new problem with different conditions. I instructed him to draw a sketch, but he required help to complete it. I then explained that level surface means a horizontal plane and constant speed means that acceleration is zero. We worked on the problem for the rest of the'session. There was no assignment.
Assignment
See lesson outline.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Matthew's questions have revealed how little he has studied in this AP Physics course. He shows during class that he is either not mentally mature enough for the course or he is not putting sufficient effort into the course. The fact that he often works with his camera off may mean that he is doing something else during the class.
I introduced a new problem to Matthew and told him to draw a complete sketch of the word problem. His response needed some extra input from me so I showed him how to include friction, the angle, the normal force, the applied force, and other relevant information. I also showed him how to apply the correct formulas. By the end of the lesson, we had only finished two out of three parts of the problem. There was no homework.
Assignment
See lesson outline.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Matthew still cannot draw sketches of even the most straightforward problem with enough information to start solving problems. He was attentive but still did not understand how to apply himself in physics.
I asked Matthew to inform me of where he was in the textbook. He showed me that he had reached chapter 4, Newton's Laws of Motion. I selected a simple problem for him to solve so that I could see his progress in solving physics problems. I asked him to show me how he would solve the problem. After looking at his attempt at a solution, I showed him how to draw a correct force diagram and how to write the correct equations. I then showed him how to find the solution. I assigned for him to read p.80 - 99 to prepare for the next class. I made sure to tell him that he needed to read for deep understanding.
Assignment
See Lesson Outline.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
When I saw the diagram Matthew drew and when I heard his answers to questions I asked him, I was very worried about his basic understanding of physics. I feel that he is either not taking the subject seriously enough or he is not mentally mature enough for this subject. Matthew needs to be made aware that his effort is not presently at the passing level.
