PHYS 1910w -- Proposed Changes

Fri Feb 3 10:30:08 2017

Effective Term: New:  1179 - Fall 2017
Old:  1175 - Summer 2017
Course Title Short: New:  Fr. Seminar: What is Time?
Old:  Freshman Seminar
Course Title Long: New:  Freshman Seminar: What is Time?
Old:  Freshman Seminar: Writing Intensive
Max-Min Credits
for Course:
New:  2.0 to 2.0 credit(s)
Old:  3.0 to 1.0 credit(s)
Catalog
Description:
New:  The precise meaning and use of the
concept of time has evoked serious
study and debate among the most
able of human thinkers for more than
2,000 years. We will review several
of the current perspectives as well as
some of this history of the concept
of time from the points of view of
philosophers, biologists, psychologists
and physicists.
Old:  Topics vary. See class schedule.
Topics Course: New:  No
Old:  Yes
Instructor
Contact Hours:
New:  2.0 hours per week
Old:  0.0 hours per week
Academic
Progress Units:
New:  Not allowed to bypass limits.
2.0 credit(s)
Old:  Not allowed to bypass limits.
1.0 credit(s)
Financial Aid
Progress Units:
New:  Not allowed to bypass limits.
2.0 credit(s)
Old:  Not allowed to bypass limits.
1.0 credit(s)
Repetition of
Course:
New:   Repetition not allowed.
Old:   Repetition not allowed.
Editor Comments: New:  Prerequisite changed to Freshman to allow new freshmen to register for freshman seminar regardless of number of transfer credits - lc

Professor J. Woods Halley
School of Physics and Astronomy
Days Offered: TBD
Times Offered TBD
East Bank
J. Woods Halley teaches physics
courses at all levels and directs
research programs in low temperature
and chemical physics. He is a fellow of
the American Physical Society and the
Minnesota Supercomputing Institute,
as well as a member of the University
of Minnesota graduate faculties of
physics and materials science.

Old:  Prerequisite changed to Freshman to allow new freshmen to register for freshman seminar regardless of number of transfer credits - lc
Faculty
Sponsor Name:
New:  Woods Halley
Old:  Department
Faculty
Sponsor E-mail Address:
New:  woods@woods1.spa.umn.edu
Old:  Department
Student Learning Outcomes: * Student in the course:

- Can identify, define, and solve problems

New: removed

Old:

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

Physics problem solving course. Text to follow.

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

Written report. Text to follow.


- Can communicate effectively

New:

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

Writing instruction will include specific direction on the organisation and presentation of the paper, the use of databases of primary literature and regular feedback on the quality of writing in the weekly assignments and the quizzes. Students will also present their work to the class. Writing will be an indispensable aid in organising and clarifying concepts in the course.

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

Writing requirements include the paper described in the syllabus, which will be rewritten once after instructor evaluation of the first draft, as well as several short essays and a journal to be assigned as exercises. In all, from 30% to 50% of the grade will be determined on the basis of quality of writing and presentation of the material from the larger term paper to the class.

Old: unselected


Question 1 (see CWB Requirement 1): How do writing assignments and writing instruction further the learning objectives of this course and how is writing integrated into the course? Also, describe where in the syllabus there are statements about the critical role writing plays in the course.

New:  As the term progresses, each student will be working on an individual paper topic and will later present to their peers. Since each student will select a different topic, each student will become the class specialist on some aspect of the subject and can contribute in that way to the discussions (as well as in general).  This will help enrich class discussions, individual understanding, and enhance student writing and oral presentation skills.
Old:  Freshman seminars- topics vary by term. See proposals.
Question 2 (see CWB Requirement 2): What types of writing (e.g., research papers, problem sets, presentations, technical documents, lab reports, essays, journaling etc.) will be assigned? Explain how these assignments meet the requirement that writing be a significant part of the course work, including details about multi-authored assignments, if any. Include the required length for each writing assignment and demonstrate how the minimum word count (or its equivalent) for finished writing will be met.

New:  Students will write a 10-15 page paper on a topic relevant to the subject and selected in consulation with the instructor. Each student will also give an oral presentation on the subject of the paper. There will be weekly exercises, some will be short writing assignments. Others may include home searches for information in library accessible data bases. Writing instruction will include specific direction on the organisation and presentation of the paper, the use of databases of primary literature and regular feedback on the quality of writing in the weekly assignments and the quizzes. Writing will be an indispensable aid in organising and clarifying concepts you are learning in the course. (Parameters for font size, margins, spacing, etc. given to ensure appropriate content length.)
Old:  Freshman seminars- topics vary by term. See proposals.
Question 3 (see CWB Requirement 3): How will students' final course grade depend on their writing performance? What percentage of the course grade will depend on the quality and level of the student's writing compared to the percentage of the grade that depends on the course content? Note that this information must also be on the syllabus.

New:  Consistent with the description of the required student work and the evaluative procedure described above, this course will require extensive student writing which will be evaluated for its writing quality as well as for correct subject content. Writing requirements include the paper described above, which will be rewritten once after instructor evaluation of the first draft, as well as several short essays and a journal to be assigned as exercises. In all, from 30% to 50% of the grade will be determined on the basis of quality of writing.
Old:  Freshman seminars- topics vary by term. See proposals.
Question 4 (see CWB Requirement 4): Indicate which assignment(s) students will be required to revise and resubmit after feedback from the instructor. Indicate who will be providing the feedback. Include an example of the assignment instructions you are likely to use for this assignment or assignments.

New:  The main paper, 10-15 pages, will be rewritten after instructor feedback of a first draft.

Instructions used for first draft:
This should contain: Title in the form of a question. The question should relate to an aspect of the topic of the seminar, and your paper will try to answer it. That is, the question should not be merely rhetorical, though you may not, and usually won?t, get final answers. A one paragraph abstract which summarizes what you anticipate will be the content of the paper. A brief outline. It should contain An introduction which defines your question and how it relates to the subject of the seminar A middle,or body which will present the information relevant to answering your question which you glean from library research and reading. A conclusion section which uses the material in the middle section to formulate answers to the question defined in the introduction. A list of references to the scientific literature which you have found relevant to your question. You may use any scholarly format scheme you may have learned to describe the references (for example http://library.nmu.edu/guides/userguides/style apa.htm, ). For articles in print an acceptable format is J. M. Smith, Phys. Rev. B 26, 1 (1982) . All references should contain author(s), Journal name, volume, page number, and year. References to journal articles accessed online should contain a doi as explained in the APA guide referenced above. The reference should cite the article itself, not the database through which it was found. There should be no references to sources whose author is unknown and for which you cannot get a doi. (This means that wikipedia articles and other sources identified only by a website link are not acceptable references.) Common mistakes: The question is not sufficiently well defined, too broad or not clearly relevant to the seminar subject. The references are inadequate, poorly referenced, from unreliable sources or irrelevant. In the final paper, the conclusions are too short, don?t really address the question posed or don?t make use of the material gathered in the middle section.

Old:  Freshman seminars- topics vary by term. See proposals.
Question 5 (see CWB Requirement 5): What types of writing instruction will be experienced by students? How much class time will be devoted to explicit writing instruction and at what points in the semester? What types of writing support and resources will be provided to students?

New:  The students will be exposed to various writing samples from the discipline in their readings for the course, and have the opportunity to participate throughout the semester in various writing activities in and out of the classroom for which they will receive individual feedback.  Individualized feedback and instruction will occur throughout the course. For the main paper, students will meet individually with the instructor to identify a topic, write a one page proposal/abstract and receive individual feedback, receive feedback on a first draft, as well as final draft and presentation.  The instructor encourages student questions and university writing resources, such as the writing center, are available for support.
Old:  Freshman seminars- topics vary by term. See proposals.
Question 6 (see CWB Requirement 6): If teaching assistants will participate in writing assessment and writing instruction, explain how will they be trained (e.g. in how to review, grade and respond to student writing) and how will they be supervised. If the course is taught in multiple sections with multiple faculty (e.g. a capstone directed studies course), explain how every faculty mentor will ensure that their students will receive a writing intensive experience.

New:  N/A ? no teaching assistants, only one instructor
Old:  Freshman seminars- topics vary by term. See proposals.
Provisional
Syllabus:

For new courses and courses in which changes in content and/or description and/or credits are proposed, please provide a syllabus that includes the following information: course goals and description; format; structure of the course (proposed number of instructor contact hours per week, student workload effort per week, etc.); topics to be covered; scope and nature of assigned readings (text, authors, frequency, amount per week); required course assignments; nature of any student projects; and how students will be evaluated.

Please limit text to about 12 pages. Text copied and pasted from other sources will not retain formatting and special characters might not copy properly. The University "Syllabi Policy" can be found here

Any syllabus older than two years should be replaced with a current version when making ECAS updates.

New:  School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota
Freshman Seminar 1910W What is Time?
2 cr, 2 hours lecture per week
Fall 2016
Instructor
J. W. Halley
181 Shepherd
624-0395
email: woods@woods1.spa.umn.edu
Class meetings: Tues-Th 10:10am-11:00am, Physics & Nanotechnology 120
Office Hours:
11:00am-12:00pm Tu-Th, 181 Shepherd
Class website:
http://www.physics.umn.edu/classes/phys/2016/fall/Phys%201910W.001/index.html
Books:
What Is Time by G. J. Whitrow, Cambridge University Press (required)
?The natural philosophy of time?, by G. J. Whitrow, Cambridge University Press
(recommended).
?The Arrow of Time? Peter Coveney and Roger Highfield?, Fawcett Columbine
NY (1990) (recommended)
[Neither recommended book is available at the bookstore. Copies are available
through Amazon and a copy has been placed on reserve for this class in Walter
library.]
Course notes are also provided online at the class web site.
The precise meaning and use of the concept of time has evoked serious study and
debate among the most able of human thinkers for more than two thousand years.
We will review several of the current perspectives as well as some of this history of
the concept of time from the points of view of philosophers, biologists, psychologists
and physicists. Students will write a 10-15 page paper on a topic relevant to the
subject and selected in consulation with the instructor. Each student will also give
an oral presentation on the subject of the paper. There will be weekly exercises.
Some of these will involve elementary mathematics , some will be short writing
assignments. and others may include home experiments or searches for information
in library accessible data bases. Writing instruction will include specific direction
1
on the organisation and presentation of the paper, the use of databases of primary
literature and regular feedback on the quality of writing in the weekly assignments
and the quizzes. Writing will be an indispensable aid in organising and clarifying
concepts you are learning in the course.
Prerequisites, Requirements and Evaluation Procedures: A first year or high school
algebra level course in physics or general physical science including physics will be
a necessary prerequisite, but other needed ideas will be introduced and explained
during the course. I will review needed physics concepts as well.
Requirements and Grades: I will provide an exercise each week in addition to a
reading assignment. The exercises must be turned in and will be graded. Com-
pleted exercises are due the Tuesday after they are assigned, I will also give a few
unannounced quizzes on the reading assignments. These will be mainly intended
to find out if you read the material. Reading assignments in the class lecture notes
to be posted on the class web site and in the required text are summarized below.
. Grades will be based on the quizzes (10%), on the total performance score on
the exercises (65 %) and on the quality of an approximately ten to fifteen page
paper on some aspect of the subject which each student will be required to write
(25%). (Evaluation of writing quality in weekly exercises and the quizzes will mean
that at least 30% of the grade will depend on writing quality.) Deadlines for the
paper: Meet with instructor to agree on topic by 9/29; turn in 1 page proposal and
abstract by 10/27; turn in paper (1st time) by 11/22 turn in final form by 12/13
. Each student will also present his or her paper to the class on 11/29,12/1, 12/6,
12/8 or 12/13 . A STRONG HINT: START YOUR PAPER EARLY. It may be
tempting to wait until the last minute, but your performance will suffer and you
will not enjoy your experience in the class as much if you do.
Writing Intensive Features of the Course: Consistent with the description of the
required student work and the evaluative procedure described above, this course
will require extensive student writing which will be evaluated for its writing quality
as well as for correct subject content. Writing requirements include the paper
described above, which will be rewritten once after instructor evaluation of the first
draft, as well as several short essays and a journal to be assigned as exercises. In
all, from 30% to 50% of the grade will be determined on the basis of quality of
writing, though this will not always appear explicitly in scores assigned to student
work.
Format and approach: At the beginning, the instructor will do a lot of the talking,
but as the term goes on, each of you will become more informed about the subject
and particularly about your paper topic and questions and discussions are expected
to involve everyone. Since each student will select a different topic, as close to your
other interests and abilities as possible, each student will become the class specialist
on some aspect of the subject and can contribute in that way to the discussions, as
well as in general. Questions and remarks are strongly encouraged at any time.
2
Syllabus
Topic Class notes Whitrow Other
Clocks Chapter 1 Chapter 4
The Cesium Atom Clock
Some history of clocks
Measurement of ?Deep Time?: paleontology
Measurement of ?Deep Time?: isotopes
Using the universe as a clock
Biological Clocks Chapter 3
The Nature of Time Chapter 2
The Issues Confessions,
St. Augustine
Newtonian Time
Human Time Chapter 2
Comparing Newtonian and Human Time
The Present
The Past: Human Personal and Collective Memory
The Past: The Natural Record
The Future: Newtonian Time and Chaos
Thermodynamics, Irreversibility and Time Chapter 3 Chapter 7
Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
The Second Law, the Big Bang and Chaos
The entropy of the human past and future
Quantum Mechanics and Time Chapter 4
Relativity and Time Chapter 5 Chapters 5,6
3
Old:  Freshman seminars- topics vary by term. See proposals.