Tangent Tuesdays: The Fridge

The fridge, an appliance everybody can appreciate and the pinnacle of a child's efforts in school. I remember the pride that would well within me every time my parents attached my work to the fridge. Before children enter school their artwork is displayed for all to see, in elementary school the art becomes interspersed with rudimentary essays and poster projects. Eventually unit exams make their way onto that magnetic surface, and finally SAT scores, still lifes and college acceptance letters grace the metal doors.

I believe that the act of placing a child's work on the refrigerator is more crucial to their development than at first glance. Certainly, placing a child's work up for display anywhere is a wonderful gesture, but the fridge has a certain importance. Family members, friends and guests all see the fridge, and are told "I am proud enough of my child's efforts that I want everybody to see it." Most importantly, however, is the reminder for that child every time they go to get a snack. A visual display of their good efforts reinforces their beliefs that they are hard workers who can succeed.

One might think "But why not frame the artwork and put it on the wall? Certainly that has more significance!" True, framing work is definitely a display of parental approval, but it also has a sense of permanence, which I believe can be detrimental. Good work that is placed on the fridge never stays there forever, it is always replace by something newer and better. This continuous change helps show the child that they can continue to do well and work hard, and they can do even better on projects in the future. Simply framing good artwork or binding an essay lets the work stagnate instead of inspiring the child to move on to better things. It also lets the child rest on his or her laurels, so to speak. By placing permanence on one piece of work, we subtly show the child that this is good enough, because it is not replaceable. Letting all work be transient gives him or her a sense of continual growth and change, that they can still achieve beyond their current level.

Of course framing or binding work is a great boost to a child's self esteem, but I believe that placing work on the fridge must come first. Beyond the creation of a drive to replace old work on the fridge, this practice is important because it puts the child's work in a communal, comfortable area. The kitchen is a family place, where people feel at home and at ease. The environment in which the work is placed, can (I feel) affect a child's feelings about their work. Artwork hanging in a stark, rarely used room has a different  emotional impact than that on the fridge. A bound essay on the coffee table is more formal and distant than that of one casually placed on the kitchen counter. People may interact more with a child's work when it is in such a comfortable space, and foster even more pride in said child when friends and relatives read, view and comment on their work.

When instilled early and often, this ritual can last throughout a person's life. I haven't lived with my parents in five years, and yet I still put work I am proud of on the fridge. It may not seem important, and most of us wouldn't even think about it, but I believe displaying a child's work on the fridge instills within them a positive work ethic that permeates through the years.

Technology in the Physics Classroom Can Benefit Both Students and Teachers

In today's world, technology is ubiquitous and has seeped into nearly every moment of our lives. However, many classrooms seem behind technologically. The following is an exploration of why and how we should incorporate technology into our physics classrooms specifically, and what we need to be prepared for when it inevitably happens.

Anita Sanyal, former education teacher at UMD and current assistant professor of education at Universidad Catolica de Chile told me that it is not necessarily important what technology we use, but how we make it a part of the student's learning experience. She explained a scenario where the students were learning about inertia and so the teacher took a video camera and taped another person driving a car and dropping some keys out the window. They then projected the video onto the whiteboard and went frame by frame to plot the path that the dropped keys took. This is a great way to integrate technology in a way that enriches the student's learning environment.



While there are the obvious technological tools that are used in class, such as email and websites, there are others that can have more subtle but still beneficial effects. Take for example the clicker; this device allows students to answer questions anonymously and lets the teacher know how well students understand a certain problem. In classes where there are objective answers, such as physics, many students are apprehensive about answering questions for fear that they will be incorrect and therefore embarrassed in front of their classmates. Clickers, however, take away the spotlight and let students answer questions truthfully as well as see how many of their classmates thought of the same answer. Confidence is key in daunting classes like physics, and while it may not be immediately apparent why this is important, this confidence can lead to students being more enthusiastic since they don't fear being called on and getting the answer wrong.

I spoke with UMD physics professor Kaustubh Agashe about his opinion on clickers, and he agreed that not only will it help alleviate students' shyness, but it can help to provoke discussion if they are asked to think of an answer in groups and then use their clickers.

Another helpful tool in the physics classroom is the applet. Applets allow students to interact with certain concepts and see how they work when different parameters and variables are changed. For example, this applet allows students to see how fourier series work and how sines and cosines fit into different waves. This is really helpful since fourier analysis is a rather abstract mathematical concept which can be hard to visualize. These can be presented in class initially and then available on the class website for students to access if they want to use it themselves.

An oft-overlooked technology is the simple website. Even the most basic website can help students be more organized and aware of due dates and changes in the syllabus. If a student is sick or forgot to write down a due date, they could completely miss an assignment if there is no website. However, when the homeworks are posted online, there is no reason for any student to miss them. With more advanced websites such as ELMS, it becomes even more helpful because the student can then track their grades and discuss problems with other students online. Making it easy for students to contact each  other as well as the professor is extremely helpful in particularly challenging classes where students might not be able to complete assignments without help from others. In most physics classrooms it is common for students to have study groups in which they solve the homework problems together, and having an online resource for them is a huge improvement.

Yet another tool is the interactive whiteboard, where whatever the teacher writes is recorded for later viewing, and images and videos can be projected onto it and then written on. This is particularly helpful in physics classrooms where static and dynamic graphs and diagrams are used almost daily, but usually are limited to the artistic abilities of the professor. Having, for example, a dynamic image of the Bohr model can help teachers show students how the atom "cloud" works and can also help illustrate the differences in the models as they changed over the years.

However, as Anita Sanyal reiterated, what is most important is using technology to keep students interested and helping them learn. There are many different ways to use technology actively in the classroom and get students excited about learning in an alternative way. Thankfully, it is fairly easy to think of ideas on how to use these tools as a way to make learning more interactive.



For example, using walkie-talkies and stopwatches in an experiment to triangulate a position using the speed of sound is a simple way to integrate technology in the classroom. If physics teachers try to come up with new and creative ways to use the tools around us in the classroom, they can create a generation of physics students who are eager and excited to learn.

Quantum Mechanics and the Layman

Most people don't know it, but research in quantum mechanics has influenced our lives in many ways. From lasers to the transistor, understanding quantum mechanics has led to huge advancements in technology over the last century. However, if you ask an average person about quantum mechanics, they usually won't have a clue as to what it is, and most definitely couldn't tell you the contributions the study of quantum mechanics has made in our lives. With this in mind, it seems necessary to teach people at least the basics of quantum mechanics and let them know how it holds relevance in their lives.

The problem with this lies in the fact that almost everybody finds quantum mechanics to be extremely confusing and counterintuitive. This can be attributed to the fact that what is shown to be true on a microscopic level is at odds with our everyday experience. We don't see, say, a baseball teleporting through a wall, but quantum tunneling shows that electrons can to just that. This leads people to think of quantum mechanics as some sort of science fiction that can never be fully understood. However, experiments show that the paradoxical events that happen atomically are quite real and in fact have a large effect on everything in the universe. Given that all matter is made up of atoms which in turn are made up of protons and electrons, to understand life as we know it, we must understand the physics behind very small particles.

I interviewed professor Carter Hall who among other classes teaches Quantum Mechanics (PHYS401) at the University of Maryland. He also is involved in several research projects involving nuclear physics, neutrinos and dark matter. He told me that not only do laymen find quantum mechanics to be confusing, but the people who perhaps find it most confusing are particle physicists themselves. The further one delves into the world on the atomic level, the more involved physics becomes. Uncertainty is the primary device used to measure anything at this scale, and unlike our macroscopic world, it becomes impossible to measure, for example, position and momentum accurately for one point in space.  On this level, many things are possible, albeit usually improbable, that are impossible in the reality we see every day.

This might be overwhelming for a non-physicist, but at least understanding that these things are possible can help the general population appreciate how technological developments such as nuclear reactors are possible. In order to bring people closer to science, we need to show them how it impacts their everyday lives, so hopefully in schools or in seminars we can teach students how things we can't even see have dramatically changed our lives.

DC Entertainment Radio: Keeping Up With Technology

Entertainment radio is common in most people's lives, we listen to the radio in the car, at events and sometimes at home. However, with the advent of new technology, it is uncertain whether entertainment radio will be able to change with the times, or if it is necessary for it to change.


The rise of web-based music stations such as Pandora and Spotify are certainly a threat to traditional radio, but they do lack the personality that entertainment radio brings. While some people want to simply listen to music, many appreciate the DJs and talk shows on their favorite stations. Radio is able to bring a local flavor to entertainment, and the wide variety of stations allow people to personalize their experience with radio. This is something that large online stations are unable to do as of yet.

Another aspect of radio that has yet to be implemented with online-only stations is automobile integration. With people primarily tuning in while driving, this is a huge monopoly for traditional radio. Online stations are harder to access from a vehicle, so until it becomes a standard for cars, it seems like traditional radio will have the upper hand in reaching listeners.

I spoke with Amanda Zimmerman about her findings on entertainment radio in DC and she agreed that it isn't going anywhere fast. With the diversity radio brings to the population, people will be hard-pressed to find an alternative as widely available and inexpensive as radio.

The Importance of Including Skepticism and Critical Thinking in the Classroom

Whether it is a fear of causing offense or simply oversight, skepticism is rarely introduced in the classroom, and by association, critical thinking isn't fully implemented. However, this is a dangerous environment for education, as it doesn't bother debunking obvious pseudoscience and quackery. If we want our students to become fully functional and critically thinking adults, we need to teach them skeptical inquiry and the value of questioning all they learn and know. Methods such as the CRITIC system help teach students how to understand the bias in and reliability of different claims.

I spoke with Dr. Alan Peel, who lectures at University of Maryland as part of the Astronomy Department. He also is a co-director of the College Park Scholars program: Science, Discovery & the Universe. Specific to my interests, he teaches the Science and Pseudoscience class as part of the scholars program. This class focuses on the difference between actual science and "pseudoscience": beliefs or practices that are mistakenly thought to have a basis in the scientific method. This class was helpful in establishing criteria for what is science and what isn't. I believe classes like this should be mandatory as they help students develop an understanding of skepticism and critique. Being skeptical develops critical thinking as one has to be able to understand bias, inaccurate results, and the burden of proof, as well as many other concepts. The ability to think critically is key in becoming a successful adult. Recognizing your own bias and questioning claims instead of just taking them as truth from an authority is important in rational decision making and analyzing data.

One might believe that maintaining a skeptical outlook is only important for those who are interested in science. This is happily untrue. Any person would do well to question the validity of scientific claims, if only to not be duped out of their money by such malarky as healing crystals or magnetic power bracelets. Being skeptical allows one to focus on finding the truth in all aspects of life and not fall victim to argument from authority. Critical thinking and skepticism are both traits that we should be instilling into students so that they can be as well informed as possible, as well as open minded to ideas they might initially be biased against.

Public Radio in Today's World

Public radio in the United States was created after the passing of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. The first public broadcasting station was NPR (founded in 1970), which is still on the forefront of public radio. Public broadcasting is unique because its mission is public service, and it is non-profit. As president Lyndon B. Johnson said: "While we work every day to produce new goods and create new wealth, we want most of all to enrich man's spirit. That is the purpose of this act." In regards to public service, public radio broadcasting aims to use the radio as a tool to encourage the growth and development of public radio and television broadcasting, including the use of such media for instructional, educational, and cultural purposes. Public radio stations fulfill this by providing news, music and talk shows for the public. NPR alone has 14 news programs, five arts and life programs, and 8 music programs. Public radio ranges from serious to silly, including the variety show "A Prairie Home Companion" (distributed to over 500 public radio stations), news discussions on "Talk of the Nation", and everything in between.

Since its inception, there have grown to be 1,460 public radio stations in the United States. While most of these stations are run by universities and public authorities, the programs mainly come from NPR and PBS. Some public radio stations in Washington D.C. are WAMU, run by American University, WSCP, run by C-SPAN and WCUA, run by the Catholic University of America. All of them cover more or less the same three topics: news, entertainment/culture and education.

As we move to a more tech-oriented world, we might wonder what will happen to radio, and public radio specifically. While it might seem that public radio is at a disadvantage due to the fact that it mainly relies on listener contributions in order to keep running, it is also very high quality and trusted radio. It is held to higher standards than commercial radio stations and doesn't have annoying commercials.

Beyond this, the major public radio stations have up-to-date websites with news articles, videos, interviews and more. You can even listen to the programs from your computer if you don't have a radio. On American Public Media's website you can click to listen to podcasts of their programs. These stations have also expanded to include other forms of media. For example, above is of one of the videos NPR has on YouTube. It is an amusing video called "The Astronaut's Guide to Life in Space" and is just one of the many videos you can find on NPR's YouTube page. I believe the future of public radio lies in this integration of radio broadcasting and the internet. While people like me might just enjoy listening to top hits in the car, I know I can come to NPR online for pertinent and relatively unbiased news, as well as other interesting science and entertainment information. Public radio is succeeding in making itself accessible, and I believe this is why it remains relevant today.

The Pulitzer Prize: 100 Years of Greatness in Writing

The Pulitzer Prize is an award given to pieces of writing, specifically in literature, online and newspaper journalism, and musical composition. It originated when Joseph Pulitzer, a newspaper publisher, gave money to Columbia University in order to start a journalism school as well as the prize. The first prizes were awarded in 1917, after his death in 1911. They are now awarded each year in April of each year.

Over the nearly 100 years since the Pulitzer's inception, many categories have been added, discontinued and merged.  There are currently 21 categories for prizes, including national and international reporting, poetry, drama and public service. Recently added prize categories are beat reporting and local reporting in 2007, and spot news photography and breaking news photography in 2000. In 2008, it was mentioned that online-only content was being considered as an addition.

The award process differs from many other awards in that one must enter (and pay a $50 fee) their work to the committee for review, the committee will not automatically consider all works in the media. Entries must be made in a maximum of two specific categories. There are 20 juries on the Pulitzer Prize, with 120 judges selected each year. Most juries consist of five judges, although some categories have seven judges. There are three entries nominated by the jury within each category, with the winners being selected by majority vote by the board from the nominations, or by a 75% vote in the case of non-nomination submissions. Nominated finalists are announced along with the winners each year.

The front of the Pulitzer Prize medallion

In addition to the judges, there is a board made up of 19 members, primarily newspaper editors and executives, although it also includes the president of Columbia University as well as the dean of the college of journalism. However, these two members cannot vote. The board elects its own members and each year the chair is given to the most senior member.

One notable winner of the Pulitzer Prize is John F. Kennedy in the biography category, for his 1955 work: Profiles in Courage. His work outlined acts of integrity and courage done by eight different United States senators, with actions including crossing party lines and rebuffing the opinions of their constituents in defense of what they believed was right. These senators suffered severe criticism and loss in popularity due to their noble actions, and Kennedy's work celebrated their bravery. The book was widely popular and quickly became a best seller, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1957.

One recent Pulitzer winner is Raquel Rutledge, who won the 2010 prize for local reporting. She won specifically for her work in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel where she wrote "penetrating reports on the fraud and abuse in a child-care program for low-wage working parents that fleeced taxpayers and imperiled children, resulting in a state and federal crackdown on providers." This marked the second time in three years that Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has earned a Pulitzer for local reporting. The specific work recognized, "Cashing in on Kids", lay bare the negligence of the state in its taxpayer-funded childcare system and the crime and fraud found therein.

While the Pulitzer Prize has been criticized for its alleged liberal-leaning bias, winning it is still regarded as an important achievement, putting finalists in the ranks of great writers such as John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Roger Ebert, Alice Walker and Cormac McCarthy.