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Hello thread readers,
I am always looking for opportunities to make my physics course more relevant to my high school students. Since the 2012 Summer Olympics are rapidly approaching, I decided it would be a timely addition to this year's course. After a brief search of the Learning Center and some of my other favorite sites, I compiled this collection. Do any of you know of some other resources that I could add that would make my unit really stand out? How do others incorporate the physics of sports into their classrooms?
Physics of the Summer Olympics Collection
(8 items)
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You might try this link that is from the official Olympic website. It is about all the educational resources associated with the Olympics.
http://www.london2012.com/join-in/education/
I hope this helps.
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Ruth, what a wonderful topic to integrate into your classroom.
Here are a few websites I found that had some interesting articles my middle school students will find intriguing.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48219185/ns/technology_and_science-science/ London becomes a laboratory for Olympic Sports Science
http://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/mmg_disp.cfm?med_id=72867 The biomechanics of Usain Bolt – Summer Olympics
http://www.nature.com/news/science-at-the-olympics-team-science-1.11013 Science at the Olympics: Team Science
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/olympics/ Science of the Olympic Winter Games
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/olympics/ Science at the Olympics - ..pdf file
http://science360.gov/series/Science+Of+The+Summer+Olympics%3A+Engineering+In+Sports/84211b74-7ae1-4d9b-9024-5faa6300fc29 Science of the Summer Olympics: Engineering in Sports
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/science-changed-the-olympics How Science Changed the Olympics
I am looking forward to seeing what other resources folks come up with.
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Integrating sports into the science classroom, especially in the study of physics, as long been an avid strategy of teachers. I thank Ruth for opening this topic and other posters for listing great resources.
One of the things that I and/or my students often did was to actually snag the video of segments of the Olympics. In less technological savvy days, we did this with a VCR. Given today's technologies, students have many other options of capturing movements to analyze. They may import short segments into their computers, devices and use software to frame freeze the motion for specific digital data analysis or take a broader approach to analyzing the motion.
As a teacher, I used to save sports videos for years and select segments for analysis throughout the year as the content focus changes. My students also were offered opportunities to analyze sports within their school as projects and ways for them to explain their understanding of the mechanics and energies involved in various sports. Analyzing one's self or one's athletic friends adds a little extra zip to why what one learns within the classroom is meaningful to one's life outside of the classroom.
~patty
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My family and I watch the finals for the 100 m dash and the hurdles (my daughter's personal favorite) several nights ago...and I've found yet another link, which I found fascinating.
The Speed of Sound is too slow for Olympic Athletes
I cannot wait to use this in class.
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Thanks for sharing the link. I went to the Science of Olympics website and clicked on “The Mechanical Body” link. This provided a short educational video illustrating how the body works as a system of pulleys, wheels and axles, and levers. I think relating the mechanics of simple machines to how our body works will help my third graders better understand the concepts. I plan on using the video to help me introduce the topic and lead into a physical activity using the mechanics of the body. My students love to be able to get up and move around, so I think allowing them to perform some type of game or physical activity first will help lead into a discussion and/or science inquiry about simple machines.
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Thank you for sharing the website about the Mechanical Body. What a neat way to explain the workings of the body to students. Great for use in a biology class!!
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For those of you interested...here is the link about which Alayna spoke.....
The Mechanical Body.
Betty,
I agree with you about this being perfect for a biology class...I was actually thinking Anatomy and Physiology. I want my aide to make the wooden model of the arm for me. Won't he be 'excited' when I show him the design on Monday?
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Hi Everyone!
Way to Go for the American Women at the 2012 Olympics! They carried the day on many days. This is a good indicator that cultures can change and if you think back to women's sports 40-50 years ago you will know of which I speak.
Well, the 2012 Summer Olympics are over but the 'Physics of Sports' never ceases to be a wonderful way to involve students in the physics of their everyday lives. I think the physics of music correlates with this.
I did a search of the resources available for consideration in the NSTA Learning Center and identified 10 resources. There may be more and there certainly exist wonderful interactive web sites on the physics of sports, too. I am attaching this LC collection to stimulate your interest in ways to integrate sports into science, physiology included.
Thank you for viewing some of these offerings. I always like to begin with NSTA resources to share in these forums and move to others afterwards.
The Physics of Sports collection applies to middle and high school learning environments but ideas could be adapted for other learning levels. When you think about design and PBL, the ideas could form a foundation for STEM inquiry, too.
~patty
Physics of Sports Collection
(10 items)
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Hi Patty,
I like your collection. I especially like to use The Case Study about the Football Player and the Cheerleader. My physics class is finishing up our 1-D Motion unit and moving onto the study of Newton's Laws. With the start of football season, I like to add examples of this sport as well. Here are some of the resources I love to use.
What football resources (if any) do you use in your physics classes?
Physics of Football Collection
(5 items)
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NBC Learn and NBC Sports, along with the National Science Foundation, have created a number of videos related to the science in sports, which are free to access on their nbclearn.com site.
http://www.nbclearn.com/portal/site/learn/science-of-the-summer-olympics (Summer Olympics)
http://www.nbclearn.com/portal/site/learn/science-of-the-olympic-winter-games (Winter Olympics)
http://www.nbclearn.com/portal/site/learn/science-of-nhl-hockey (NHL Hockey)
http://www.nbclearn.com/portal/site/learn/science-of-nfl-football (NFL Football)
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I am very interested in learning about ways to present and engage students in application of science and physics of sport. ESPN has a show where they examine the physics of a baseball, tackle, homerun, golf shot etc. Using real athletes and computer software hooked to sensors to actually calculate and compare forces of similar movements in other applications. I am trying to incorporate more interesting mediums to present and to manage activities with. We go to the Challenger Center and complete the mission using the knowledge and applications acquired. This has ignited some ideas....Thank you and will be watching out for some good things coming down the pipe if anyone has any.
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Hey Kyle,
It sounds like you have some ideas to share. I am very interested in hearing what you do at the Challenger site and how you think of integrating the science of sports into your classes. Thanks so much for sharing when you have the opportunity. The start of an academic year can be very time challenging but I really look forward to hearing your ideas:}
~patty
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Hi Paty, Sometimes I don't explain myself because I forget who my audience is. The Challenger Center is a simulated space mission which the students work together collaboratively in order to achieve the mission objective. In this case, we are a space station in the year 2062 trying to fire a probe to rendezvous with Halley's Comet in order to study it further. Students are separated into two groups. One space station, one in mission control. Mission control has to give directions to space station to follow in order to complete experiments and Space station has to complete experiments and take data to send back to mission control to analyze data in order to go onto the next task.
The simulation is realistic with smoke, alarms, sensors, and emergencies. Students prepare by studying mass, density, volume and electrical currents among many other skills they need to succeed in their mission.
By teaching the concepts through sport, I really feel students will be more receptive as well as applying physical science concepts to daily life.
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Kyle wrote, 'By teaching the concepts through sport, I really feel students will be more receptive as well as applying physical science concepts to daily life.'
Hi Kyle,
I agree with you which I was I started using examples of the sports my students played in class. I also like what Adah had to say about how learning about the physics of football make her students better football player. I think that is true in all sports. I am reminded of the video analysis of a golfer's swing in golf or a pitcher's wide-up and follow=through in baseball.
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Kyle,
Thanks for sharing the focus of the space station challenge. It is great to hear how the students approach this challenge as well as control access to getting there. Is there background research and historical review of Comet Haley, too? Great stuff, Kyle. Thanks for sharing.
~patty
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