Last week, on September 1st, UMass Amherst resumed in-person instruction for the Fall 2021 semester. While I, of course, had some trepidation about having 300 people in a large lecture hall with the Delta-variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus circulating widely, I cannot describe how happy I am to return to the classroom. In addition, the restoration of in-person instruction after such a long hiatus offers new opportunities for what I consider to be one of the most important goals of the first few meetings of any course: breaking expectations.
Continue reading Reflections on Back to In-Person Instruction and the Importance of Breaking ExpectationsBlog
A Veritasium Video on the Learning Styles Myth
This video, from one of my favorite educational YouTube channels, takes on the learning styles myth. I have found this myth to be very harmful in my own classes: students end up having a fixed mindset about their ability to learn physics for which they use the learning styles myth as a support/excuse. I really wish that we could do away with this myth and present all information in all the modalities that support that type of information to help all learners do their best.
A Review of Mask Types for Sound Quality
The University of Massachusetts Amherst has instituted a mask mandate for the start of the Fall 2021 Semester. The mandate goes into effect today (August 11th) and will be reviewed in mid-September. During this mandate, masks will be required in all public indoor spaces which includes faculty members who are actively teaching. Making sure that you are clear in speech is critical, particularly in large lecture halls. To that end, Heath Hatch and I did some tests on various types of masks. I am posting the results here for folks’ reference.
Overview of the Mask Types
Mask #1: A Simple Cloth Mask
This is a simple cloth mask. I like these for simple around-town use as I find them comfortable and, due to their crush-ability, easy to carry around.
Pros:
- Comfortable (at least for me).
- Easy to breathe.
- Easy to wash.
Cons:
- Falls off your face when talking!
- Some people find the closeness to the face uncomfortable.
- Only one layer of fabric.
Mask #2: A More Elaborate Cloth Mask
This mask has two thinner layers and a metal piece for the nose.
Pros:
- Stays on face while lecturing.
- Comfortable.
- Easy to breathe.
- Multiple fabric layers.
Cons:
None really.
Mask #3: A Cone-Style KN95
This is cone-shaped KN95 mask. The particular brand (no brand endorsement implied) is Bio-th which was permitted under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization.
Pros:
- Stays on face while lecturing.
- Stays away from face while talking, making articulation easier.
- Easy to breathe.
- Tight seal.
- Kn95 by FDA EUA.
- Folding makes it easy to carry.
Cons:
- The tight seal makes it a bit of a jaw workout to talk. Your jaw will be tired by the end of the day at first.
Review of Sound Quality
We tested the masks in the empty Hasbrouck 20 lecture hall. The lecture hall has a concrete roof and floor with brick walls and hard-plastic chairs resulting in a lot of echo. Given that the room was empty, we are not sure that the results will be representative when the room is full, but we cannot find that out until the students come back!
Summary and Recommendation
My Pick: Mask #3 – A Cone-Style KN95
This particular mask was the overall winner. The mask stayed on while speaking and the cone shape resulted in the clearest voice while using a microphone in the empty Hasbrouck 20.
Mask #1, the simple cloth mask kept slipping off the nose while talking and Mask #2, the more sophisticated cloth mask, had noticeably muffled sound quality.
Future work and mask equity
The opacity of the mask results in students obtaining less information because they cannot see the instructor’s lips. This is particularly true for Deaf and other students with hearing difficulties. I plan to try a mask with a clear window in the future to see if this feature works and its impact on sound quality.
My Quantum Life – A Review
The seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspends his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and deficiency. Thus, if learning the truth is the scientist’s goal, then he must make himself an enemy of all that he reads, and, applying his mind to the core and margins of its content, attack it from every side. He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency.
Ibn al-Haytham, father of optics and the Scientific Method,
Kitāb al-Manāẓir (كتاب المناظر), published 1011-1021,
Quoted in My Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars by Hakeem Oluseyi
I just finished listening to the audio-book of My Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars by Hakeem Oluseyi. This book was just fantastic. While, Prof. Oluseyi is clearly writing for a general audience, he does not shy away from the physics details. Having a physics (and academic) background, I suspect, makes the book more enjoyable.
Continue reading My Quantum Life – A ReviewBrokk Toggerson contributes to ACUE Inclusive Teaching for Equitable Learning Micro-credential
Brokk Toggerson was recommended by the UMass Amherst Center for Teaching and Learning to contribute to a micro-credential on Inclusive Teaching for Equitable Learning developed by the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). Brokk participated in an in-depth interview on a variety of questions. Ultimately, ACUE selected a section on developing effective teams for incorporation into their lesson.