cS SA AMM CE A SR 5 RO gl BT NS NEE a Ra SSI PS ES ET A SE SP AE EV PPE SESE LS 3. Solve as many problems as you can. “Most of us find that solving the assigned problems only is not enough!” 4. Study with others in the class. Use the conference room of the library, or visiting each other's homes. Question your group about perplexing statements in the text or problems which caused you difficulty. Talk physics! 5. See the instructor as soon as difficulties surface. Make use of the time the instructor must be avail- able for individual help—don’t fret and fume over a problem! The availability of the instructor is one of the greatest advantages of enrollment in a commu- nity college—use it! 6. “Groove” the concepts of physics. When you have had some success with solving some problems, then change their wording so that a different quantity becomes the sought solution. 7. Learn one new thing each day. Dissect complex ideas and make sure you understand the compo- nents—then try to master the synthesis, and relate it to other things you know. Do not parrot definitions; understand them. Physics is a logical structure which requires understanding at every level—don’t try to fake it! 8. Use the Learning Lab. This is a particularly valu- able strategy if you learn better in a one-on-one situation. Computer software now available in the Learning Lab may provide the specific explanations, drills or reviews you need. 9, Use BCC’S BBS, Conference #5. If you have access to a computer and modem, you can communicate with the instructor (and others!) by using the school’s Bulletin Board. Phone: 761-7543. Appendices (Two of the four appendices are included here.) Appendix A: Footnote If you know very little Latin, Spanish, French or German and cannot derive from the context the mean- ing of superstes, but you DID turn quickly to this Ap- pendix—you are curious! Please report to your in- structor this fact and your computed coefficient of curiosity. Your help will enable us to refine our formulas and our stated minimum qualifications. On the other hand, if you have read this document still not comprehending superstes or any of its transla- tions, you lack curiosity. To continue successfully in physics you must become inquisitive and acquisitive. Don’t let any idea or concept rattle in your brain because it finds no anchoring ganglion. Appendix D: Coefficient of Curiosity At the end of Term 8562 a group of four physics students—Ronald A. Boyer, William R. Hodorski, Jean Oberg and Jeffrey Rippstein—concocted a coefficient of curiosity. Their letter of transmittal included the following observations. “Curiosity is defined by some to be the desire to learn or know about anything (studiosus discendi). It is unfortunate that our cranial cortex cannot be lifted and exposed to massive amounts of curiosity because trying to stimulate curiosity is not an easy task.” “Our investigations have uncovered the following facts which we have incorporated in our formula to quantify curiosity: 1. The number and extent of brain convolutions, as well as the depth of the intervening sulci appear to bear a close relation to the intellectual power of an individ- ual. Computerized tomographic sections through the brain of a 23-year-old physics student reveal the surface of his cerebral cortex to contain 80 convolu- tions with an average intersulcular depth of 1.5 cm. Moreover, Gray’s Anatomy posits a correlation between the mass of one’s brain and the mass of that person's body. 2. The electrical nature of cell stimulation involved in cognition warrants the inclusion of the constant from formulas for electric fields. . The prominence of sulci varies inversely with age. . Student success as reflected in Grade Point Average seemed to be an element worth considering.” “Our manipulation of these four factors results in the following formula: Coefficient of Curiosity (C.C.) = 1/(4 pe,) x M(GPA}/t Using SI units throughout, 1/(4pe,) = 8.99 x 10° N m?/C? M = mass of the student expressed in kilograms t = age of the student expressed in seconds.” “In accord with accepted scientific practice of calling units by names of noteworthy persons, we propose that the combination: N m’kg/C?s be henceforth called a SPAHN, abbreviated S.” “Finally, our empirical results—admittedly based on a meager number of samples!—propose a C.C. of 4 kS as the acceptable norm of CURIOSITY.” = GW George J. Spahn, Instructor of Physics For further information, contact the author at Broward Community College, Davie, FL 33314. Copyright 1987. All standard copyright instructions are waived for NISOD member institutions. Suanne D. Roueche, Editor October 21, 1988, Vol. X, No. 24 ©The University of Texas at Austin, 1988 Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER institutions for their own personnel. M4 INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, (512) 471-7545. Subscriptions are available to nonconsor- tium members for $35 Yi year. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issued weekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms and once during the summer. ISSN 0199-106X.