Exploring Light: Hands-on Activities and Strategies for Teachers from Coursera

This is an Exploratorium teacher professional development course taught by Teacher Institute staff, open to any science teacher (particularly middle or high school level) and science enthusiast. This is a hands-on workshop that explores topics and strategies teachers can use to help their students become active investigators of light.

Watch a preview video (copy and paste this link into your browser): https://youtu.be/fPvT_quBVIw

There are four weeks of course content, which require 2-4 hours per week. Each module builds upon the previous one, so we strongly suggest you follow the sequence we've outlined rather than skip ahead or do the course in less time. The course is designed to give you an opportunity to learn and share with others, not test what you know. There are weekly activity and reflection assignments, but these will not be graded. To receive credit for this course, you will need to complete the peer-reviewed final assignment.

As a participant, you will:

- Watch videos that demonstrate natural phenomena and the Exploratorium's approach to teaching and learning

- Conduct personal investigations by engaging in hands-on activities based in those phenomena

- Reflect and share your experience doing activities

- Discuss and identify challenges and opportunities for teaching

- Devise a lesson of your own based on one or more of the activities

Each week, we'll look at a different light-related topic: We will start by examining human visual perception, then take a brief historical tour of our evolving scientific understanding. We’ll also look at optics and optical instruments and finish by looking at the wave nature of light.

To get the most out of this experience, you'll have to try out some activities! In return, you'll get lots of valuable teaching resources, an in-depth understanding of the subject matter, and useful tips and techniques for the classroom.

NOTE: This is a hands-on workshop, so you will need to buy or find materials. All of the materials required are inexpensive and should be easy to obtain, and we welcome substitutions! A separate list of materials is available for each activity.

What's inside

Syllabus

Introduction to Exploring Light

Welcome to our course! This is a hands-on workshop designed for middle-school and high-school teachers and other people interested in teaching and learning about light. In this first week, we'll introduce you to our pedagogy at the Exploratorium Teacher Institute, which is about supporting educators to incorporate the hands-on, inquiry-based experiences of our museum into classrooms.

We'll demonstrate exhibits and teach you how to do activities (which we call "Science Snacks") that explore and investigate natural phenomena, and you will need to gather your own materials to do experiments on your own. We hope you will share teaching tips and facilitation strategies with each other as well.

We recommend you look through the materials below and follow the suggested course deadlines to get the most out of this experience. We also suggest you browse the discussion forums we've set up. To help you get started and find out who's in this course, please take a moment to introduce yourself in the forum. Please also fill out our pre-course survey, thanks!

This week, we're going to explore a few interesting visual shortcuts and some of the technologies that have been invented to take advantage of them.

Your assignment is to watch the videos below, try some activities at home, and share your experience in the discussion forums.

Collect data about your peripheral vision and compare with your classmates
Show off your afterimage designs for Bird in a Cage
Take pictures of your experiments with Colored Shadows

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

We'd like you to start off by reading the introductory essay below. Then, watch the video demonstrations and try some activities on your own. This week, we'd also like you to pick an activity or two to share with someone else.

Don't forget to post photos, videos and comments in the discussion forum to share with your fellow students.

We want you to do this lesson as a learner and then reflect and discuss with your peers in the forum.

The lesson is designed as a series of experiments, each one giving you a piece of information that lets you make a mental model. You'll be presented with several scenarios, asked to make a prediction (it's VERY important that you stop and do this at each stage of the video), and then we'll reveal what happens. You'll have an opportunity to revise and adjust your model at each stage.

For those of you taking this course for credit, we recommend you begin working on your peer-reviewed assignment. If you want some feedback before you submit your assignment, we suggest you post questions and drafts of your lesson plan in the forum.

This is the final week of content for our course. Please continue to do activities this week, but also take a few moments to share what you learned, and any suggestions you have for us.

If you are taking the course for a grade, please submit your final assignment and complete the required peer reviews before the deadline.

We hope you have enjoyed this experience and that you'll come check out our museum in San Francisco!

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Hands-on workshop designed for middle and high school teachers and other people interested in teaching and learning about light

Explores a range of light-related topics, including human visual perception, the history of our evolving scientific understanding of light, optics and optical instruments, and the wave nature of light

Provides opportunities for participants to engage in hands-on activities, reflect on their experiences, and share ideas with others

Participants will develop a lesson plan based on one or more of the activities covered in the course

Taught by Zeke Kossover, Paul Doherty, and Eric Muller, experienced educators from the Exploratorium Teacher Institute

Participants are expected to purchase or find materials for the hands-on activities

Reviews summary

Light exploration: hands-on for teachers

According to learners, this course offers a practical and hands-on approach to exploring light, specifically designed with teachers and educators in mind. Students appreciate the emphasis on engaging activities and demonstrations inspired by the Exploratorium, finding them useful for classroom application. While gathering materials requires some effort, reviewers note that the necessary items are generally inexpensive and accessible. The course structure encourages reflection and peer discussion, although the quality of peer interaction can vary. The final assignment, a peer-reviewed lesson design, is highlighted as a valuable outcome, providing tangible strategies for teaching light phenomena. Overall, students find it a solid resource for enhancing their teaching skills in physics.

Materials are needed, but are generally affordable.

"Gathering materials took some time, but they were all common household items or cheap to buy."

"The list of materials is realistic and budgeting for them wasn't an issue."

"You definitely need to plan ahead to get everything for the activities, but it's manageable."

"Glad the course noted materials are inexpensive and substitutes are okay, makes it much easier."

Covers perception, history, optics, and waves.

"The course structure flows logically, moving from perception to the historical models and then wave/optics."

"I appreciated the mix of topics, from visual perception to more traditional physics concepts like waves."

"It provides a good overview of key aspects of light phenomena relevant to a school curriculum."

"The historical context added a fascinating layer to the scientific concepts."

Forums offer sharing and discussion opportunities.

"Reading other teachers' reflections and ideas in the forum was incredibly helpful."

"The discussion boards were a valuable space to share experiences and get different perspectives on the activities."

"Interacting with peers from different backgrounds enhanced my understanding of potential classroom challenges."

"While some forum sections were more active than others, the peer sharing was a definite plus."

Provides classroom strategies and lesson ideas.

"This course is directly applicable to my middle school science class. I've already adapted several activities."

"The lesson design assignment was a great way to immediately translate the concepts into a teaching plan."

"I gained so many useful tips and strategies for facilitating student inquiry in light and optics."

"It gives teachers concrete tools and approaches to make complex topics accessible to students."

Activities are engaging and relevant for teaching.

"Trying out the hands-on activities myself really solidified the concepts before I even thought about how to use them in the classroom."

"The activities provided, like the 'Science Snacks,' are brilliant and adaptable for different age groups."

"I found the practical experiments invaluable. They are simple to set up with common materials and effectively demonstrate the physics."

"The focus on doing the experiments personally is a game-changer for truly understanding the material."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Exploring Light: Hands-on Activities and Strategies for Teachers with these activities:

Watch videos on optics and light

Show steps

Watching videos will help you learn about the basic concepts of optics and light in a fun and engaging way.

Browse courses on Optics

Show steps

Find videos on optics and light online.
Set aside time each week to watch videos.
Take notes and ask questions as you watch the videos.

Read 'Fundamentals of Optics' by Jenkins and White

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Reading this book will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the fundamental concepts of optics.

View Fundamentals of Optics 1957 [Leather Bound] on Amazon

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Purchase or borrow the book.
Set aside time each week to read the book.
Take notes and ask questions as you read the book.

Join a study group or discussion forum on optics

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Joining a study group or discussion forum will allow you to connect with other students and learn from their perspectives.

Show steps

Find a study group or discussion forum on optics.
Join the group and introduce yourself.
Participate in discussions and ask questions.

Five other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all eight activities

Solve optics problems

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Completing practice problems will improve your problem-solving skills and increase your understanding of the concepts covered in the course.

Show steps

Find practice problems online or in a textbook.
Set aside time each week to work on practice problems.
Review your solutions and identify any areas where you need additional practice.

Build a periscope

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Building a periscope will help you apply your knowledge of optics and gain a deeper understanding of how light travels.

Browse courses on Optics

Show steps

Gather the necessary materials.
Follow the instructions to build the periscope.
Test the periscope and make adjustments as needed.

Attend a workshop on optics

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Attending a workshop will give you the opportunity to learn from experts in the field and gain hands-on experience with optics equipment.

Browse courses on Optics

Show steps

Find a workshop on optics that fits your schedule.
Register for the workshop.
Attend the workshop and participate in the activities.

Design an experiment to demonstrate the wave nature of light

Show steps

Designing an experiment will help you develop your critical thinking skills and deepen your understanding of the wave nature of light.

Show steps

Brainstorm ideas for an experiment.
Develop a hypothesis.
Design the experiment.
Conduct the experiment.
Analyze the results.

Enter a science fair or competition related to optics

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Participating in a science fair or competition will challenge you to apply your knowledge and skills in a real-world setting.

Browse courses on Optics

Show steps

Find a science fair or competition that is related to optics.
Develop a project that demonstrates your understanding of optics.
Enter your project in the science fair or competition.

Career center

Learners who complete Exploring Light: Hands-on Activities and Strategies for Teachers will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Science Teacher

As a Science Teacher, you are likely to plan and lead lessons that teach students about science. You will need expertise about what activities and demonstrations help students to learn about scientific concepts. This course builds off of the pedagogy of the Exploratorium, a very hands-on and activity-driven museum. By understanding the Exploratorium's methodologies, students can learn how to be active discoverers of science. Those who wish to teach science will benefit from these unique strategies of teaching about light and its properties.

See salaries and explore the career path for Science Teacher

Physics Teacher

In your role as a Physics Teacher, you will help students understand the fundamentals of the universe, including light. This course will help to supplement your knowledge about light. You will learn about the latest scientific models of light as well as how to use hands-on activities to teach students about physics. You help build a strong foundation in physics, which includes a solid understanding of light.

See salaries and explore the career path for Physics Teacher

Optometrist

Optometrists are responsible for examining eyes and vision systems. They help people to improve their vision with corrective lenses. Because you examine the eyes, you will need to understand the nature of light in order to perform your job functions. This course has an entire week dedicated to the study of the wave nature of light. Understanding the behavior of light will help to make you a better Optometrist.

See salaries and explore the career path for Optometrist

Optical Engineer

Optical Engineers use lasers, cameras, sensors, and other devices that manipulate light. Because you will be designing new and innovative optical systems, you need strong knowledge about the properties of light. This course may provide you with supplementary knowledge about the nature of light.

See salaries and explore the career path for Optical Engineer

Astronomer

Astronomers are scientists who use telescopes to study planets, stars, and galaxies. They help us understand the universe and our place in it. To become an astronomer, you must understand the properties of light, which is the medium that carries information about celestial objects. This course will help you to build a strong foundation in light.

See salaries and explore the career path for Astronomer

Physicist

Physicists study the fundamental laws of nature. They use their knowledge to develop new technologies and to understand the universe. If you wish to study the fundamental laws of nature, you must understand the nature of light. This course will help to build a strong foundation for you to become an effective physicist.

See salaries and explore the career path for Physicist

Science Writer

Science Writers strive to interpret and explain complex scientific concepts for general audiences. They write articles, books, and other materials for the public. To write effectively about science, you must have a solid foundation in the fundamentals of science. This course helps to build a foundation in the nature of light as well as how to conduct science experiments.

See salaries and explore the career path for Science Writer

Laser Technician

Laser Technicians set up, maintain, and operate lasers. They use lasers to cut, weld, and engrave materials. You will need to have a basic understanding of the properties of light in order to be an effective laser technician. This course can help to provide you with that understanding.

See salaries and explore the career path for Laser Technician

Photographer

Photographers use light to create images. They use cameras to capture scenes and moments. To be an effective photographer, you must understand the properties of light and how to use it to your advantage. This course may be useful for you to learn more about the nature of light.

See salaries and explore the career path for Photographer

Science Museum Educator

Science Museum Educators use hands-on activities to teach about science. They help visitors to learn about the world around them in a fun and engaging way. Because you help people learn about science, you must have a strong foundation in the fundamentals of science. This course helps to build a foundation in the nature of light.

See salaries and explore the career path for Science Museum Educator

Optician

Opticians dispense glasses and contacts to people who need them. They help people to see better. To be an effective optician, you must have a basic understanding of the properties of light. This course may be useful for you to learn more about the nature of light.

See salaries and explore the career path for Optician

Lighting Designer

Lighting Designers create lighting plans for concerts, plays, and other events. They use light to create the desired atmosphere and mood. To be an effective lighting designer, you must have a basic understanding of the properties of light. This course may be useful for you to learn more about the nature of light.

See salaries and explore the career path for Lighting Designer

Safety Engineer

Safety Engineers ensure that workplaces are safe for workers. They identify and assess hazards and develop plans to prevent accidents. To be an effective safety engineer, you must have a basic understanding of the properties of light. This course may be useful for you to learn more about the nature of light.

See salaries and explore the career path for Safety Engineer

Firefighter

Firefighters put out fires and rescue people from burning buildings. They also help to prevent fires from happening. To be an effective firefighter, you must have a basic understanding of the properties of light. This course may be useful for you to learn more about the nature of light.

See salaries and explore the career path for Firefighter

Pilot

Pilots fly airplanes and other aircraft. They transport people and cargo to different destinations. To be an effective pilot, you must have a basic understanding of the properties of light. This course may be useful for you to learn more about the nature of light.

See salaries and explore the career path for Pilot