PHY 3091: COMMUNICATION
IN PHYSICS
Office: 315 Keen Bldg.
Phone: 644-2867
Email: mriley@phy.fsu.edu
Office Hours: By appointment. Please email or phone.
Class meetings: Monday and
Wednesday 1:25 to 2:15p.m. in UPL211
Prerequisite: Interest in
science and in talking about scientific topics
Text: none
Purpose of
course:
The purpose of this course is to develop abilities in the area of
oral and written communication, with emphasis on scientific and technological
topics. Communication of scientific results and ideas is an essential skill
that takes up a large fraction of a scientist's time and effort.
Outline of
class:
·
The class will be conducted in an informal format, with everyone
participating.
·
Every student is expected to give three to four talks during the
semester, with the schedule of talks to be determined.
·
In consultation with the instructor, students will choose
topics. The selected topics can be drawn from any area of physics or related
subjects (science other than physics is OK subject to instructor's approval,
but physics majors should talk about physics!) The topic chosen can be the
subject of the student's research project or his/her interest, or can be one
that the group as a whole is interested in learning about.
·
For those students who take the intermediate or advanced lab
during this semester, the physics related to the lab experiments, including
description of the experiments and discussion of the results, can serve as suitable
topics.
·
Once topics have been agreed on, students will then
o
produce a written outline of a short presentation of their
selected topic by deadlines to be determined and published by the instructor
o
make short (about 15 minutes) presentations of the subject;
for this presentation, projection from a computer file must be used, and
the files have to be submitted to the instructor one day before the
presentation.
·
goal of all of these activities:
o
practice oral communication skills
§ learn how to organize the
material in a presentation;
§ become more comfortable talking
in front of others and develop skills in delivering a talk;
§ become accustomed to answering
questions from the audience;
§ Improve your
thinking-on-your-feet capabilities.
o
have fun talking about physics or other scientific topics, and
teach each other some physics or chemistry or biology;
o
practice writing understandably about scientific issues
o
increase your proficiency with word-processing and presentation
software tools
·
grading:
o
final grade will be based on class participation (24%), the talk
outlines (6%), and the presentations (~70%).
o
Evaluation of talks: After every presentation, your instructor
will provide you with comments, suggestions for improvements, and a point
grade.
o
Peer evaluation: In addition to being judged by your instructor,
your talk will also be evaluated by your fellow students according to the
rubric that will be provided in class and on Blackboard. This evaluation will
give you feedback on how well you conveyed your message to your audience.
|
Grade ingredients
(percentages): |
|
|
Class participation |
24% |
|
talk outlines |
2% each |
|
First talk |
17% |
|
Second talk |
24% |
|
Third talk |
29% |
|
Total |
100% |
·
The only accepted methods for submitting the outlines and
presentations are: in the form of a computer file in a standard format (e.g.
plain text, MS Powerpoint or Word XP, pdf), attached to an e-mail message to the instructor. Paper copies will not be accepted.
Websites:
·
Class Website: http://www.physics.fsu.edu/courses/Spring12/PHY3091
. The
Website can be reached via the Physics
Department homepage (click through Undergraduatesà Physics course web pages à PHY3091),
·
Blackboard: go to https://campus.fsu.edu/webapps/login.
You will be prompted to enter your ACNS username and password to log in. After logging
in, you will be given a list of all the courses for which you are registered
and which use Blackboard. The Blackboard site will be used for announcements
and for student discussion. You can also use it for intermediate storage of
your presentation files, and to upload and submit your outlines and
presentations.
·
ACNS User Services, for
technical assistance
·
How
to Use Microsoft Equation Editor to create formulas in Word
·
Using
Equation Editor with Powerpoint
·
University of Waterloo advice on Equation
Editor
·
Equation editor tips and tricks
·
How to Write a
Short Paper and How to Give Short
Talks by Prof. Michael Morrison, University of Oklahoma
·
Suggestions of possible
topics for a science talk, from an Ohio State University class (the “125
top questions” are especially good)
·
A collection of science websites
where you might find inspiration
·
useful
links
(go there to find hints about giving talks,..)
·
useful
FSU links
(find FSU general links, FSU course related links, FSU computing,..)
ADA statement:
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations
should:
(a) register with, and provide documentation to, the Student Disability
Resource Center (SDRC); and
(b) bring me a letter from SDRC indicating your needed academic accommodations.
Please do this during the first week of class.
For more information on this see the Resource
Center's web site.
Academic
honor code:
Students are expected to uphold the
Academic Honor Code published in The Florida State University Bulletin and in
the Student Handbook. The first paragraph is:
The Academic
Honor System of Florida State University is based on the premise that each
student has the responsibility
· to
uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work,
· to
refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University
community, and
· to foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part
of the University community.