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Summer
Learning of Seismic Proportions:
West Carteret High School physics teacher Rosey Ward likes to
fish. She also likes to spend some summer days sharpening her
professional saw. In the past, she has participated in the
following summer workshops:
- TRAC
(Teacher Research Assistant Program) sponsored by the Department
of Energy;
- STAIR
(Science Technology and Instructional Redesign), which relied
heavily on hands-on physics experiments using computer interfacing
probes;
- CBL
(Calculator Based Labs) sponsored by the Science and Math Center
at East Carolina University;
- NCTA
(North Carolina Teacher Academy), which focused on integrating
technology into the curriculum.
This past summer Rosey
took two students, Nathaniel and Abraham, to N. C. State University
for a PreCollege Collaboratory sponsored by The
Science House. They spent two weeks learning lab skills
with research scientists. Their area of study was
"Seismic Behavior of Clay Masonry Walls" with Dr. Mervin
Kowalsky of the Civil Engineering Department. They conducted
their work at the Constructed Facilities
Lab on Centennial Campus. |
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The objective of their experiments was to discover which masonry
walls are best protected against earthquake damage.
Professional masons built walls according to the teams specs and the
computer controlled hydraulic actuator simulated an
earthquake. The "earthquake" could be stopped at
will so the scientists could measure damage to the wall.
Sounds like another
"Rosey" summer and possible defining moments for the
inevitable careers of two budding scientists.
______________
PROBING
THE DEPTHS OF UNDERSTANDING:
21st Century Physics with Rosey
Ward
September 17, 2001
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