What is this Preparation?

In any formal classroom we have a limited amount of time and there is always a aquestion of how to best use that valuable resource. The standard solution has been to use class time to explain stuff that's in the book and send you home to practice it at home via homework or studying for tests. There is a large body of evidence that this only works well for a limited number of students who could probably figure it out on their own anyway.

Imagine you want to learn how to make a dovetail box (a particularly useful and strong joint for woodworkers). One strategy is to link you to a short video which describes the basic steps in making this joint and then send you out into the workshop to give it a try. Most of us will quickly find that while the idea made sense in a general way after the video there are some important technical questions that come up as soon as we start trying to apply the knowledge. At this point it's very helpful to be around other students who are trying to learn the same thing as well as an experienced instructor. Having other people around to give you feedback and share their insights is very helpful and valuable at this point. After making a few sample boxes you will have a deeper understanding of the issues and techniques and now it becomes just a matter a practice and more (informed) practice to become an expert.

This is my model for learning physics (or anything else) and the most frustrating thing is when I have nobody to talk to in those early stages when I'm first figuring out how some process works. That's where I want to have you in class working through your early efforts with your fellow students and your instructor available to provide input. In order for this to work you will need to do a little bit of preparation so you are ready to 'make you first dovetail'. The preparation links to the right are intended to provide you with an initial exposure to the core ideas and tools in each unit. In class we will start with the understanding that you have explored these resources on your own ahead of time.

For those of you interested in the original '10,000 hr' rule here is a link to a pdf of Ericsson's paper from 1993.