Lab Breakout Policies

I. Goals

Physics is an organized system of inquiry that enables us to explain the world around us through rigorous analysis. As such, it is not simply a collection of facts and formulas, but a skill — and an essential foundation of almost every field of science and engineering. The purpose of the introductory physics sequence is to help students develop those skills — not to become physicists, but to become better in their own major field.

Skills only grow through practice. Passively studying a solution set or watching a TA work an example does not supply the experience that is needed to develop your own analytical abilities. Our goal in Lab Breakout is to give you a supervised environment in which to hone your problem-solving skills. Your goal should be to understand techniques well enough that you can generalize them to a variety of different problems sharing similar features — and to be able to do so on your own, without the supervision of a TA or instructor, without assistance from classmates, and without performing an internet search.

II. Organization

Each weekly Lab Breakout worksheet will require you to analyze a context-based, real world situation, in which the application of physical principles is required in order to answer a practical question. Completion of the worksheet will proceed in two stages:

• First, you will work together in groups of three or four to assess the given situation, identify the core physics problem that must be solved in order to answer the key question, and to outline a series of specific problem-solving steps that will accomplish that goal. A key component of this stage will be the development of a pictorial representation of the core problem — i.e., a sketch or graph that distills the essential physics and identifies the symbolic quantities that are needed for a mathematical formulation of the problem. You will also be expected to itemize any key assumptions that you are making in order to solve the problem.
• Second, you will work individually to solve the problem that you developed with your group, to arrive at an answer to the question posed in the contextual situation. In solving the problem, it is acceptable to collaborate with your team from the formulation stage, but it is expected that the work you write down and submit for a grade will be your own solution to the problem. (In other words, it is okay to compare notes as you solve, and to confirm that you are all getting the same answer — but your group should not let the smartest student solve the problem while everyone else simply copies her work.)

III. Grades

Attendance will be taken in each Lab Breakout period, and will constitute 50% of your grade for that week. You are expected to arrive on time for each Lab Breakout period; if you are chronically late, Your TA is authorized to reduce your 50% baseline score as he or she deems appropriate.

• At the end of the period, each workgroup will turn in a single sheet summarizing their Stage One (Group Formulation) work. The TA will award a 0-10% score for the worksheet, in each of two categories — the Visual Representation of the problem, and the Physics Approach to the problem — for a maximum of 20% overall credit. This score will be credited to each student in the group.
• In addition to the group worksheet, each student will turn in a separate sheet containing their Stage Two (Individual Solution) work. The TA will award a 0–10% score, in each of three categories — Application of Physics, Mathematical Procedures, and Logic & Clarity of work — for a maximum of 30%, credited to each student individually.
• Finally, your Attendance, Group Stage, and Individual Stage scores will be summed to yield a 0–100% score for that week. Graded worksheets will be returned in the following week. In addition, a formal solution set will be posted to the class web page, at the end of each week.
• Students who are absent from Lab Breakout in a given week will be awarded a score of "-1" when grades are posted to Canvas. This "score" is only intended to signify that your TA specifically identified you as being absent on the day in question. When computing overall averages, this "score" will be factored in as a zero, not as a negative value.

At the end of the term, your lowest Lab Breakout score will be dropped, the remaining scores will be averaged, and a final percentage score will be recorded. Note that the drop allows you to miss one Lab Breakout period without penalty; after that each successive cut will be scored as a zero, and included in your final average. Please see the makeup policies below, for information regarding excusable absences, and their effect on your score.

IV. Make-up Policies

1. Absences excused by the Student Academic and Financial Affairs Committee of the Academic Senate (documented by a statement from the Office of the Registrar).
   • In accordance with Student Rules and Regulations IV.B.3, these absences may be made up. Documented requests for these make-ups must be made to Dr. Murray at least one week in advance.
   • Lack of Documentation: Recognizing that advisors, etc. do not always provide copies of the statement from the Office of the Registrar in a timely fashion, undocumented requests should also be made to Dr. Murray at least one week in advance. In these cases, a make-up will be arranged, but the absence itself will remain on your record as unexcused (and no points will be recorded) until the necessary documentation is provided.
   • Lack of Timely Notice: It might be possible to arrange make-ups with less than one week's notice, but it is not guaranteed. If adequate notice is not provided, and it is not possible for the Lab Breakout to be made up with another section, it will be considered that you have declined the opportunity to make up the work. Circumstances that absolutely prevent timely notice from being given will be given due consideration.
2. Absences for which accommodation is requested by the Office of the Dean of Students (documented by an email from the Office of the Dean of Students to Dr. Murray).
   • Make-ups will not be permitted for any reason that causes a single Lab Breakout to be missed. In such cases, the absence will be treated as the student's first drop, and any other unexcused absences — whether occurring before or after the Lab Breakout in question — will be treated as zeros and averaged into the student's final score.
   • Make-ups will be permitted for the second or subsequent absence for which an accommodation is requested. Note that you cannot drop an unexcused absence AND request to makeup an absence for which accommodation has been requested. In such cases, the absence for which accommodation has been requested is dropped and the unexcused absence is recorded as a zero.
3. Other absences — Other absences may not be made up.