About CA
The Physics department is requiring all students taking a physics class (and a couple related classes) to take part in a modest number of Community Activities each semester.
The point of these is to get you involved in or exposed to community activities and take part in service opportunities related to our class content, or related to important issues in the world today that have a physics connection--most notably climate change. Some connections and motivations:
- Community groups are acting on concerns related to climate change
- College learning is the beginning of lifelong learning, which continues on well after college.
- Service learning--performing work alongside members of a community that you're learning about--provides a context and fosters relationships that are hard to capture in the classroom. Sometimes -- though not always -- it also provides a service to the community!
- If reading about dire situations (like climate change) has a tendency to make you feel helpless, participating in (and seeing others participate in) activities to address those situations is one way to make you feel more hopeful!
Some examples
In past years, activities have included
- Preparing the Goshen Community Orchard (in Abshire park) for the winter
- Helped with recycling at the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale.
- Planting trees with Trees for Goshen. See treesforgoshen.edu and on FBook.
- Visiting solar-powered buildings in the Solar Tour of Michiana.
- Taking a test-drive of an electric car during Drive Electric Week at First Fridays.
- Listening, and asking questions of the Science Speakers invited to come to Goshen College.
Requirements
- Events will be listed on this website.
- Feel free to suggest additional events to John or Paul for approval for everyone. Check it ahead of time so others can also take part.
- Points will be assigned to each activity. 10 points is meant to correspond approximately to an hour of engagement, though this will vary with the activity. For example, you're fulfilling another requirements for Service Day, not just for this class, so I'm only counting that for 10 points.
- For each activity you'll complete a short reflection: See the reflection guidelines below.
- 20 points of CA credit will completely fulfill the CA part of your semester grade. There should be more than enough opportunities to earn 20 points. Points beyond 20 will count as extra credit, up to a maximum of 20 points of extra credit.
- Students taking more than one physics class in a semester (yay!) need only complete a total of 20 points across all their physics classes.
Reflection guidelines
For each activity you'll complete a short reflection, about 2 to 4 paragraphs. You'll upload these into Moodle for your class. In your reflection you should address all of these points:
- What was the immediate purpose? What was the larger context or purpose?
- What did you observe? What happened at the event?
- What's something that you learned?
- Exercise your curiousity: What did you find yourself wondering about in the aftermath of this activity?
Add any other reflections you had...