Measure the speed of light using marshmallows
This lesson is developed by Conor Coyle. Originally from Monaghan Conor moved to Dublin for university where he studied Applied Physics for four years. After this he spent a year in Chongqing China teaching, my itchy feet didn't stop there, after China Conor moved to France where he worked as a waiter and studied French part-time. He then returned to Dublin where he is now a final year postgraduate researcher working on low temperature plasma physics for biomedical applications. Conor likes cooking and make a mean chilli con carne. (which he hasn't made for me yet! Naoisé)
Items needed for this experiment : Marshmallows, Plate, Microwave, ruler, marker, brain engaged
What you need to do:
- Cover the plate in marshmallows, remove the turntable from the microwave and cook for 45-60 seconds.
- Take the marshmallows out and note the melted spots on the marshmallows. Using ruler measure the distance between the spots.
Human Clock
This lesson was created by Ellen Kelly. She is in her final year studying Maths and Biology at NUI,Maynooth. She has always enjoyed maths and hopes to teach it at a secondary school level soon enough! however when im not pondering some maths problems or prepairing my classes she likes to relax with a bit of yoga. 
For this lesson
- Cut out the numbers 1-12 and place them around the table to resemble a clock face. (or you can get the students to draw the numbers on the table now that we can do that!)
- Now simply ask each student to be either the minute hand or the hour hand and given a time ask them to possition themselves appropriatley around the table.
- This lesson can be easily adjusted depending on the number of students to a class and the eqiupment/space available to you.
- For instance with only one student the clock hands can be cut out so the student can place them in; or with more than 12 students each one can be a number and stand in a circle representing the clock itself while the remaing students act as the clock hands.
Learning from Mock Exams
The snow before Christmas had a knock on effect for many exam students this year. Students sat mock exams later than normal without getting a chance to finish any more of the course work. Everyone has anxiously awaited results and feedback. At The Homework Club we believe evaluation is vital to success. The Mock results don’t have to set what you will get in June. Included are some of the top tips we go through for our own students. The mocks are a test run! They test our endurance.
If you had a good mocks - you should be always be careful. Were you just lucky with the paper? are you likely to get the same questions in June? If yes, your on the road to success.
If you had a bad mocks - Don’t despair. Above all else stay confident. Always aim for the stars and you will reach success. Find your mistakes and learn from the experience. It's not the end of the world.
There are 8 main factors that effect exam performance
Subject Knowledge
Your Exam History
Exam Preparation
Exam Practice
Experience of the Subject
Writing Skills
Use of Time
Attitude and Approach
1st classes written on the table
Our new experiment .. whats happens if you let the students write directly on the tables?
This idea steams from coffee time at the Southampton Oceanography Centre while I was studying for my PhD. Physics nerds from the research section would gather around for morning coffee break and invariably talk about the latest scientific dilemmas. One morning someone brought a white board marker and wrote directly on the table.. a brilliant idea had begun.
The great advantage of this practise is that everyone is involved. If left for 5 minutes on their own students will always gravitate towards the white boards and the coloured markers, “we never get to write on them in school”. This shows how little its takes to excite a student!
Speed dating for maths
So we are getting to that time of the year with exam classes. There are only so many times you can do the same type of maths problem - we need to liven it up a bit! This lesson works for any level and any year but is very good for stressed out exam classes.
First you need to find some short questions, part (a)'s of the exam paper are ideal. Pick a topic you want the students to revise. Find enough questions to match the class in pairs - they should be similar questions.
Now pair everyone up - set the tables up so they are long and everyone is facing each other. Give each pair 1 to 2 minutes max. Of the pair one person explains the problem/how to solve it in their own words. The other is the "learner", encourage these to ask questions and even correct the "teacher". We learn best from others mistakes!
Use a stop watch - time is pressure! After the time is up make everyone get up and swap partners. "learners" should become "teachers" and visa-versa. Repeat the exercise at least 4 times.
