The MRSEC Professional Development workshops are led by teachers who have gone through the MRSEC RET program, which gives teachers from the area hands-on experience leading RET lessons in their classrooms. Teachers who attend the workshops receive all the necessary supplies to lead the featured activity in their classroom.
This month, Katie Leary, a science teacher at Edgewood Campus School will present her Biomimetic Wave Pool Activity. Students often have difficulty understanding how antennas transmit and receive invisible electromagnetic (EM) waves. In this activity water in a child’s pool is used as a model for how sound waves move through the air. First students calculate the speed of waves reaching a fixed point. Students use a second point (or antenna) to model how the direction of origin of a wave can be determined. Because the activity involves a significant amount of data collection, the students also learn about precision and accuracy and how to treat data that does not fit the model. This activity is perfect for middle school students in science and math, and can be applied to high school math and science courses as well.
Attendance will be capped at 20. To reserve a spot in the workshop and receive free teaching supplies, please email Ben Taylor at bltaylor2@wisc.edu.