Physics Conversation Paper and Reflection

Class Paper (ePortfolio) Assignment Instructions

Students are required to create and maintain a General Education ePortfolio. For help

in creating the ePortfolio, please see the "Info for Students" link on the college's

ePortfolio website: http://www.slcc.edu/gened/eportfolio/students.aspx. On this page

you will find online tutorials that will walk you through the process of setting up your

ePortfolio. If you want in-person help, there is a link to sign up for an ePortfolio

workshop. There are also options for classes you can take that focus on the

ePortfolio's.

The requirement for your ePortfolio for this class includes a paper and a

corresponding reflective writing entry. The paper and reflective writing need to

be separate entries in your ePortfolio.

Paper: Students are required to write their experience of a “physics conversation”

with at least three or more of his or her family or peers outside of class. One

conversation with ALL participants should be done, not three or more separate one-

on-one conversations. Family members, friends, and/or other individuals may be

invited to the conversation which should be focused and last at least one hour. Topics

of conversation should be planned in advance and allow the conversing parties to

explore facts and opinions about interesting physics topics. All opinions in the

conversation should be respected. Answers to the following questions should be

addressed in the paper:

 When, where, and how long was your conversation?

 What planning process did you go through to prepare for the conversation?

 How well did the conversation follow your plan?

 Who did you choose to be part of your conversation and why did you choose

them? (You do not need to use specific names)

 How did the participants feel about the discussion?

 What, if anything, surprised you about the conversation?

 What would you do differently if you had to go about this assignment again?

The paper must be typed (double spaced), well written, and have appropriate source

documentation. It should be approximately 3 -5 pages long. You may use any

documentation format you want, as long as you document any sources you use. The

paper needs to be more than just answer to the questions posed. It needs to read as an

essay and be an overview of your experience. Make sure you answer the questions

above as part of your essay. In your paper, tell me the topics you talked about, but you

do not need to give me direct quotes from all of the participants. I want to get a good

feel for how your conversation went from your essay. I grade your paper based on it

being an essay that includes answers to the questions posed above. Of course, there

are deductions for grammatical and spelling mistakes so be sure to proof read your

paper. Have someone else read it for you too. If you have questions, let me know.

Note: the conversation does not need to go as planned for it to be successful. Most of

them don't go as planned. You should probably expect things to go off track, so plan

ways to bring everyone back to physics topics. Also, if you want to watch a video of

any sort to get the conversation going, that is fine, BUT the conversation time cannot

include the time it takes to watch the video. Also, inevitably, if you choose to talk

about the Big Bang Theory, the conversation often strays to religious avenues. That's

fine, but your conversation needs to be primarily about physics principles, so I would

suggest talking about more than just the Big Bang.

Reflective Writing: You are also required to write a paragraph or two of reflective

writing on your ePortfolio site in relation to this paper and/or the class as a whole. The

reflective writing needs to be separate from the paper. Many students choose to write

the reflective writing on their Physical Sciences page and then attach the paper

separately. Please consider the following questions in your reflective writing:

 How does this assignment (or this course) connect with what you learned in

another Gen Ed course?

 What impact did the assignment have on you or your understanding of the

world? Did it challenge any of your assumptions?

 What does this paper demonstrate about your learning?

 How did this assignment illustrate the growth/change/progression you have had

in this class?

Please note that the reflective writing is NOT whether or not you liked the class or the

assignment. Look at the questions above. How does/will knowing more about

astronomy affect you in the future? I know students look at General Education courses

as a check list to get through, but try to see beyond that for the reflective writing.

To submit your class paper, click on the "Physics Conversation Paper" assignment

and then the "Submit Assignment" button. You will see a space to include the URL

(internet address) to your ePortfolio and any comments you want me to know. Submit

your link as soon as you have posted your paper. The due date for the paper is on the

calendar, but you are welcome to complete it early if desired. I will post your score in

the grades section of this Canvas course site.

Note: If you post your files as downloads, please make sure they have extensions of

.doc, .docx, .rtf, or .pdf so that I can open them on my computer.