Physics

= Welcome to Mr. Lazere's Physics Page! =

Course Policies
= **__Learning Goals__** = All of your work will be assessed on your level of performance on about 25 learning goals. Each goal is broken down into four levels of achievement (see below). Although there are specific criteria for each learning goal, all are based upon how well you can demonstrate and apply your understanding of concepts described in the goal. You will not receive grades for assignments as a whole, but for the particular learning goals that are covered in each piece of work. I will give you a form so you can keep track of your progress. I will assess your performance throughout the semester, but the focus of the assessments (especially those early in the semester) will be used to provide feedback and opportunities for growth, not to assign a grade. Your semester grade will be based upon your growth and your best work, not simply an average of all the grades. **9.5 or 10** ||  **Meets Standard** **8.5 or 9** ||  **Developing Toward Standard** **7.5 or 8** ||  **Doesn’t Meet Standard** **6, 6.5 or 7** ||
 * **Exceeds Standard**
 * **My work consistently demonstrates __clear, accurate, detailed and comprehensive understanding__ of the concepts and I can skillfully __apply this knowledge to new situations__ to solve problems, make judgments, etc.** || **My work consistently demonstrates an __adequate understanding__ of the concepts and I can apply this knowledge to situations that are similar to those discussed in class, __but not consistently to new situations__.** || **My work consistently demonstrates an __uneven and shaky understanding__ of the concepts and I can only apply this knowledge to situations that are similar to those discussed in class.** || **My work consistently demonstrates an __inadequate understanding__ of the concepts and I have difficulty applying this knowledge to familiar situations, even with teacher guidance.** ||

**__Responsibility Goals__** Learning requires you to wrestle with ideas and to construct meaning from the work we do in class. It is essential for you to be actively engaged in class work and discussions. I want you to be aware of how your attitudes and actions contribute to your learning, and to the learning environment in the classroom. I want you to see yourself as part a “learning community” in which all members (including the teacher) are both learners and teachers. To that end, I want you to assess yourself on the two areas in the rubrics below. We will come up with a list of criteria to define the criteria to assess Work Ethic and Class Participation. I will also assess you and you will assess yourselves on these goals. They will be reported on Infinite Campus, **but won’t be included in your quarter or semester grades.**

**Responsibility Goals Rubric** **Goal** ||  **Exceeds Standard** **9.5 or 10** ||  **Meets Standard** **8.5 or 9** ||  **Developing Toward Standard** **7.5 or 8** ||  **Doesn’t Meet Standard** **6, 6.5 or 7** || || Consistently strives for excellence || Efforts & work are above average. || Efforts & work are average. || Efforts & work are below average. || || **Active, appropriate and significant** contributor to class community. || Important contributor to class community. Respectful and open. || Neither a positive nor a negative member of class community. || Doesn’t contribute positively to class community. Actions may interfere with other’s learning || **__Grading:__** **The learning goals will be assessed in 3 major ways:** 1. **__Projects__** Each semester will include 1-2 projects that allow you to apply your understanding of the physics concepts in the learning goals. The purpose is to allow you to develop a deeper understanding by investigating how these concepts are used in the “real world.”
 * **Work Ethic**
 * **Class Participation**

The first semester project will center on the production and recording of music by electric instruments. We will study Sound and Waves, as well as Electricity and Magnetism, and Energy in the first quarter to give you a the foundation to investigate some aspect of electric music production, playing or recording that interests you. For instance, you may decide to make an electric guitar, investigate and test the dynamics of different styles of microphones, tweak the pickup on an electric violin, compare analog recording to digital sampling, build a woofer, or even investigate the process of making music in a recording studio. You will write and/or present your project near the end of the 1st semester.

2. **__Quizzes & other Assessments__** (weekly?) These will be smaller writing pieces that are intended to give you and me feedback about your understanding of the concepts described in the learning goals. These pieces of writing will generally assess 1-3 learning goals.

3. **__Final Exam__:** Cumulative semester exam.

**__Assigning Grades__** The grades received on work will be reported using rubrics that define your level of achievement (Exceeds Standard, Meets Standard, Developing Toward Standard, Doesn’t Meet Standard) on a scale from 7 to 10 points, as discussed above.


 * Learning physics like learning to do anything well, develops over time. Your final grade for the semester will not be based a simple average, but will take into account your growth over the semester and your highest level of achievement.**

**__Your grade will be not be based on total points, but on 3 weighted categories__:** (1) 70% - Learning Goals (2) 20% - Project (3) 10% - Final Exam

__//Grading Scale.//__
 * Grading:**
 * ====A+ 100 – 96.5%==== || A 96.4 – 92.5% || ====A- 92.4 – 89.5%==== ||
 * ====B+ 89.4 – 86.5%==== || ====B 86.4 – 82.5%==== || ====B- 82.4 – 79.5%==== ||
 * ====C+ 79.4 – 76.5%==== || ====C 76.4 – 72.5%==== || ==== ====

C- 72.4 – 69.5%
||
 * ====D+ 69.4 – 56.5%==== || ====D 66.4 – 62.5%==== || ====D- 62.4 – 59.5%==== ||
 * ====F <59.5%==== ||  ||   ||

= Miscellaneous = This is a style of note-taking that helps you to use notes to reflect on the concepts discussed in class.
 * __Cornell Note Taking System__**: [[file:Cornell Notes - The Learning Toolbox.pdf]]

[|The Physics Hypertextbook] [|The Physics Classroom] [|Physics Interactive Simulations]
 * __Helpful Websites:__**