P&M Course info


Lecture: MW, 1-2p in 1 LeConte
Section: F, 1-2p in 1 LeConte

Course description:

Four years ago we created this course to allow students to explore interesting musical phenomena through the ears, eyes, and mind of a scientist. As we progress into our fifth year, we hope to continue engaging our students through unique teaching approaches. Our interactive instruction methods include small-group lecture discussions, hands-on activities, independent student projects, and “clicker” technology which enables us to quickly check for student understanding during lectures. In addition, our curriculum builds conceptual, rather than heavily mathematical, understandings of complex physical concepts, making our material accessible to students of all strengths and backgrounds. Please feel free to contact us with any questions about this course!

Grading:

Class participation: 20%
Homework: 20%
Quizzes: 10%
Project 1: 15%
Project 2: 15%
Final: 20%

The following is a description of what is expected in each category:

Class participation (20%):
Student participation is essential to the course’s success in building class understanding.  All will be required to participate in regular class discussions and group activities.  Class attendance at each lecture and each section is mandatory, and students will receive points for every lecture they attend.  During sections we will be doing activities, finishing up lectures, and reviewing class concepts in greater depth.

Homework (20%)
Students are required to submit their homework responses online by 1 pm, every Monday and Wednesday before lecture.  Late assignments will not be accepted.  Please submit your assignment only once, as only the first submission will be graded!  (Be sure to submit your assignment a bit early, as the website is likely to be busy right before the deadline.)  You will need your class ID (which will be your SID) and password to view the readings and assignments.  Each homework assignment consists of a short reading, a paragraph response prompt, and a quiz-like problem.  You may earn two points for each assignment, which will be graded for thought and completeness, not correctness.  Responses which are incomplete, or which reflect minimal attention to the reading, will receive a 1, while late and missing assignments will receive a 0. Once you submit your assignment, sample paragraph and problem responses will be provided. 

Quizzes (10%)
There will be three short quizzes throughout the semester.  Quizzes will be administered in section for these dates: February 12, March 12, and April 16.  These quizzes are designed not to affect your grade very much, and each will be graded out of fewer than 10 points.  The purpose of these quizzes is to help you get an idea of how well you are understanding the material, in addition to letting us know how well we are helping to facilitate your understanding.  These quizzes should also give you some practice with the types of problems you might see on the final exam (the problems are similar to your homework problems, but in addition you may be required to draw a graph or diagram).

Projects (30%)
You will be assigned two class projects throughout the semester, each worth 15% of your grade. To complete these projects you will work either individually or in a group of up to 3 students to create either a demonstration or class activity illustrating an important science concept from our course. Your project write-up should consist of about 3 pages with an introduction explaining what concept your group chose to teach, why you felt it was an important concept, and the specific ways in which your project improves upon our current demos or activities. You should then write out what the demo/activity will consist of, what materials you’ll need and how they will be used (talk to us about obtaining these), and what specific explanations and questions your group will include in your lecture to check for student understanding. Projects will be evaluated according to their accuracy and detail in illustrating course concepts, their levels of student engagement, and their originality (Click here for an example of a demo from a past class). We are always looking for new ways to improve the course with interesting, insightful demonstrations and activities. These projects are intended both to give you an opportunity to explore class concepts in greater depth "through the eyes of a scientist," and also to help us facilitate student understanding through innovative and effective teaching strategies. Your project should fall into one of the following categories.

  1. Concept scenario: Many of the class concepts we cover are not specific to music, but applicable to a variety of phenomena (for instance, the concept of “wave”).  The purpose of concept scenarios is to allow you to explore some of these non-musical applications.  This should be in an essay format.  Choose one of the course topics from the syllabus, then find a real-world analogy or non-musical example of this topic.  Your example should not relate directly to the physics of music; rather, you should demonstrate your ability to recognize and apply the class topic to unrelated fields, such as the arts, social science or other natural science phenomena.  (For example, past concept scenarios have looked at media censorship as a kind of transfer function applied to the different “frequencies” at which certain kinds of news are presented.)  Newspapers and journals are a good place to begin looking for your examples.  For your paper, first define and explain your course topic, then explain the specific ways in which your example is a good analogy for this topic.  It is equally important to explain the specific shortcomings of your analogy, i.e. the ways in which your example is unlike the course topic you selected. 
  2. Class exercise: We are always looking for new interactive activities to help build student understanding.  Your project should be in the format of a full lesson plan for the activity (as described below).  Design an original in-class activity in which P&M students will participate.  The purpose of your activity should be either to enhance student understanding of a difficult class topic from the syllabus, or to explore an interesting aspect of a class topic in greater detail.  Ideally, your activity will be enjoyable for the class, and will prompt interesting class discussion.  To begin your description, please describe the topic you hope to convey, and explain why you believe your activity will either be helpful or interesting to your classmates.  In your lesson plan, be sure to list the materials which will be required for the activity, the specific discussion questions to be used, and the approximate amount of time you suspect each portion of the activity should take.  Note: please do not model your activity after existing class exercises (e.g. from past classes you have taken, or from the web); this is a form of plagiarism.  Your activity does not need to be very elaborate or technical; however, it does need to be one of your own design.   

  3. Class demo: We are always looking for new, more intuitive ways of illustrating the more difficult concepts of our course.  Your project should be in the format of a full lesson plan for the demonstration (as described below).  Create an original demonstration to be carried out by the professor.  The purpose of your activity should be either to enhance student understanding of a difficult class topic from the syllabus, or to explore an interesting aspect of a class topic in greater detail.  You should explain the purpose of your demonstration, and why you believe it will be helpful and interesting for your classmates.  In writing your lesson plan, be sure to include clear instructions for performing the demonstration, the discussion questions to be used, the materials which will be needed, the way in which materials should be set up, and the approximate amount of time needed for each portion of the demonstration.  Note: please do not model your demonstration after existing class demos (e.g. from past classes you have taken, or from the web); this is a form of plagiarism.  Your demo does not need to be very elaborate or technical; however, it does need to be your own.

  4. Reading review: We are always looking for clear and engaging reading materials to help us convey course concepts.  Your project should be in essay format, answering the questions below.  Find a reading (a journal or newspaper article, a book or textbook chapter, or a similar text) which you think provides a clear, insightful, and perhaps surprising explanation of either a course concept, or an interesting concept that is closely related to one from our course.  First, concisely summarize the text.  Then, devote the majority of your paper to discussing the following questions: why did you choose this text?  In what specific ways is it engaging, surprising, or particularly clear?  What would you expect students to learn from it?  In what ways would it fit in with our current course material?  (If you believe the text you chose should be used as a replacement for one of our current materials, be sure to also explain the specific ways in which the text you chose is better.)  Note: Your reading selection should not come from any of our course readings.

  5. Research project: The purpose of this project is to allow you to explore some of the course concepts in greater depth.  You can present your findings either as an informal research paper, or as an informal lab write-up if you choose to design and conduct your own experiment.  Do some research into a subject you find interesting (you should consult at least two different sources).  This may be a subject that was not covered in class, or one which was not covered in as much detail as you would have liked.  However, your topic should relate in some way to a course concept.  Ideally, in analyzing your subject you should use tools we have discussed in class.  In addition to presenting your findings, explain why your findings are significant or of interest to you.  Ask us if you are having difficulty finding information about a particular topic.  Note: Please be sure to cite all of your sources (these do not need to be formal citations).


Final exam (20%)
The final exam is worth only 20% of your grade, so as to value the rest of the work you will have done this semester (and prevent you from stressing too much).  The test is comprehensive and will require you to solve problems similar to those on your quizzes.  We will hold at least one review session to cover the major course concepts and give you a chance to ask any last-minute questions.  The exam is scheduled for Tuesday, May 11 at 8am, location TBD