zach head.JPG
Zachary Powers Ronneberg

Physics Teacher
zach.ronneberg@gmail.com
510-527-3228
Teaching Portfolio


I have compiled a variety of materials that help illustrate my abilities as a teacher. Most of the materials were produced while I was teaching at El Cerrito High School with master teacher Bob Fabini (a few come from my student-teaching experience at Longfellow Middle School with Alan Lee). I have included explanations of surrounding context where I thought it would be helpful.


**Note- I got married in the summer of 2005 and changed my name to Ronneberg, which is why all the letters of recommendation refer to me as Zach Powers.


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RESUME
Click HERE to view my resume - pdf format.

REFERENCES and LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
Click HERE to view a list of references.

SAMPLE LESSON PLANS
Click HERE to view a sample lesson plan on projectile motion (which I created and taught in my physics class). - pdf format

CIRCULAR MOTION LESSON (Video Clip) - Unfortunately these video clips are too large to have on this website, they are only available on the CD version of my portfolio.

The following clip was taken in November of 2004. The unit we were studying covered three different forms of 2-dimensional motion - the inclined plane, projectile motion, and circular motion. For those who are familiar with the traditional sequence of physics classes, it may seem strange to have these three types of motion grouped together. However, the sequencing of the class I was teaching did not follow the traditional route. Instead of talking about motion in 1 and 2 dimensions before moving on to forces, my curriculum investigated motion in 1 dimension, then forces in 1 dimension, then introduced the concept of vectors by looking at motion and forces in 2 dimensions. The reasoning behind this is that students are able to think about 2 dimensional motion more deeply after they have a grasp of how to think about forces. In the traditional curriculum, students are often simply asked to memorize equations that describe 2-D motion without understanding the forces that govern the motion. I believe that the sequencing I used (which was borrowed from my master teacher) allowed the students to integrate more information on a deeper level.

The clip starts about half way through the period. We started the day by going over the homework from the night before, which dealt with projectile motion. The students then did a group activity in which they had to figure out where to place a mattress to ensure that a classmate who was shot out of a cannon would have a safe landing. After doing their calculations by hand students were able to plug their numbers into a computer simulation to see if they had predicted the correct location. After finishing the group activity we transitioned into a new area of investigation, circular motion. I brought the class together and introduced circular motion with a thought-provoking demonstration, spinning a ball of clay on a string. The clip begins with this demonstration. The spinning clay became something that the students referred back to many times throughout the unit.

circular motion clip (23 min)
(this clip is large and may take a moment to load, please be patient)

STUDENT PRESENTATIONS (Video Clips) - Unfortunately these video clips are too large to have on this website, they are only available on the CD version of my portfolio.

The following clips show my students presenting project work which they completed on a variety of topics.

The "gadget project" was part of our energy unit, in which groups of four students formed a corporation and designed a gadget which accomplished a chosen task (much in the spirit of Rube Goldberg). In addition to completing the task, the gadgets also had to demonstrate at least 3 distinct energy conversions and have a minimum of 5 steps. The students had to give a full description of all energy conversions involved in their gadget, as well as develop a marketing strategy and demonstrate their gadget at a "trade fair" in the classroom. At the trade fair each student was given 3 shares of stock they could invest in other gadgets (this was a major motivator for students to build interesting and often comical gadgets). Here a student presents the gadget which his group has constructed.

gadget project clip (1min)

For the final week of the semester, my students did an independent unit in which they were responsible for researching and teaching themselves about how scientific views of our universe has changed over time. Part of the requirements asked students to research a number of historical models of the solar system and present their findings. My students decided that it would be more interesting and informative to "act out" the motion of the planets in each model, rather than just draw them on the board. The following clip show students acting out the Heliocentric Copernican model of the solar system. You will notice that although the first set of students has some problems with creating the right motion, they are helped out by another set of students. You will notive that there is a some laughing and joking going on, however, the students are keenly concentrated on producing the correct "planetary motion" and understanding the Copernican model. After the presentation I overheard some students commenting that they hadn't really understood the model as a picture in their textbook and that seeing it acted out cleared up their confusion.

heliocentric solar system model clip (2min)

CLASSROOM PICTURES

Click HERE to see some pictures of my students in the classroom.

PHYSICS CLASS WEBPAGE

Click HERE to visit the webpage I created for use in my physics class (requires active connection to the internet).