Standard 2: Knowledge of Conceptual Science
Teachers of science engage students effectively in studies of the history, philosophy, and practice of science. They enable students to distinguish science from nonscience, understand the evolution and practice of science as a human endeavor, and critically analyze assertions made in the name of science. To show they are prepared to teach the nature of science, teachers of science must demonstrate that they:
Evidence:
B.S. Physics, Graduation Date: May 2012
Cumulative GPA: 3.78
GPA (required math and science courses): 3.76
GPA (4 semesters of undergraduate studies):3.74
In order to properly prepare myself for a career as a physics and
mathematics teacher, I have completed the following classes in my undergraduate study at Virginia Tech:
- Foundations of Physics I&II
- Mathematical Methods in Physics
- Modern Physics
- Intermediate Mechanics I&II
- Electricity and Magnetism I&II
- Quantum Mechanics I&II
- Optics
- General Relativity
- Calculus I&II
- Linear Algebra
- Vector Geometry
- Multivariable Calculus
- Calculus of Several Variables
- Operational Methods
- Elementary Complex Analysis
The following are laboratories I
have completed:
- Foundations of Physics Laboratory I&II
- Modern Laboratory
- Intermediate Laboratory
- Modern Experimental Laboratory I&II
Download a copy of my unofficial transcripts
Reflection:
The history of science is as great of interest to me as the subject itself. Science is a unique process that strives for an ideal process, but as history shows, often takes a round about route, but the heart of every major scientific discovery whether struggled for or found by happenstance, has been a man or woman realizing the significance of it.
One of my professors at Virginia Tech, Nahum Arav, would often begin his Astronomy Lectures by retelling some ancient myth that explained a heavenly body. He would then continue the lecture presenting the modern scientific view, but he would never stop at just an scientific explanation. He would always ask the class why the scientific view is any more legitimate than the mythical one. He would then always answer that question by providing the evidence. Science is unique from other ways of knowing the world, because it seeks explanations for observed phenomena that rely solely on natural causes, it progresses through the the creation and testing of models that explain those phenomena, and so unlike many other philosophical tenets that came before, science abandons or revises the false models that do not match the testable reality.
- Understand the historical and cultural development of science and the evolution of knowledge in their discipline.
- Understand the philosophical tenets, assumptions, goals, and values that distinguish science from technology and from other ways of knowing the world.
- Engage students successfully in studies of the nature of science including, when possible, the critical analysis of false or doubtful assertions made in the name of science.
Evidence:
B.S. Physics, Graduation Date: May 2012
Cumulative GPA: 3.78
GPA (required math and science courses): 3.76
GPA (4 semesters of undergraduate studies):3.74
In order to properly prepare myself for a career as a physics and
mathematics teacher, I have completed the following classes in my undergraduate study at Virginia Tech:
- Foundations of Physics I&II
- Mathematical Methods in Physics
- Modern Physics
- Intermediate Mechanics I&II
- Electricity and Magnetism I&II
- Quantum Mechanics I&II
- Optics
- General Relativity
- Calculus I&II
- Linear Algebra
- Vector Geometry
- Multivariable Calculus
- Calculus of Several Variables
- Operational Methods
- Elementary Complex Analysis
The following are laboratories I
have completed:
- Foundations of Physics Laboratory I&II
- Modern Laboratory
- Intermediate Laboratory
- Modern Experimental Laboratory I&II
Download a copy of my unofficial transcripts
Reflection:
The history of science is as great of interest to me as the subject itself. Science is a unique process that strives for an ideal process, but as history shows, often takes a round about route, but the heart of every major scientific discovery whether struggled for or found by happenstance, has been a man or woman realizing the significance of it.
One of my professors at Virginia Tech, Nahum Arav, would often begin his Astronomy Lectures by retelling some ancient myth that explained a heavenly body. He would then continue the lecture presenting the modern scientific view, but he would never stop at just an scientific explanation. He would always ask the class why the scientific view is any more legitimate than the mythical one. He would then always answer that question by providing the evidence. Science is unique from other ways of knowing the world, because it seeks explanations for observed phenomena that rely solely on natural causes, it progresses through the the creation and testing of models that explain those phenomena, and so unlike many other philosophical tenets that came before, science abandons or revises the false models that do not match the testable reality.