Event time:
Sunday, April 23, 2017 - 11:45pm
Event description:
- Who: current Yale students planning to take physics next fall
- What: summer online math training program for students who intend to take PHYS 170 or 180 in fall 2017
- When: six weeks from late June through early August
- How: students can participate from anywhere in the world where there is an internet connection
Professor Simon Mochrie (PHYS & APHY, and DUS of Physics) announces a summer online math training program for students who intend to take PHYS 170 or 180 in fall 2017:
“Each year a small number of sophomores, juniors, and seniors, who enroll in intro. physics, struggle significantly with some of the basic high-school level mathematics that we use in the class. In a number of cases, these students’ lack of mathematics skills prevents them from keeping up with the pace of the class, so that they fall behind early in the semester and even the additional resources, that we have in place, such as peer tutoring, are not sufficient for them to be fully successful.
“To provide help to these students, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Mathematics and Physics departments are offering an online program in Summer 2017, modeled on the ONEXYS (Online EXperiences for Yale Scholars) program for incoming freshmen (http://onexys.yale.edu), which provides students with structured online math training, and leads to significant student learning gains.
“ONEXYS for Physics is aimed at current Yale students planning to take physics next fall. Over the summer, participants in this program will receive access to online content, including videos built by Jim Rolf of the Mathematics Department and his team, real-time discussions with other students in the program, advice and mentoring from math-savvy Yale students who serve as coaches, and a variety of problem sets, quizzes and other assessments to help them enhance their mathematics skills in preparation for intro. physics in the fall.
“Although sometimes students avoid or delay asking for needed extra help, because they are concerned about what the instructors will think, we would like to emphasize that participation in this program will only be viewed positively by the intro physics instructors.
“Interested students will be asked to take an online diagnostic before admission into the program in order to ensure a proper match between the program and students’ mathematics skills. The program will run for 6 weeks from late June through early August, and will involve between 5 and 10 hours work per week for participating students. Students can participate from anywhere in the world that they have an internet connection.”