Brokk Toggerson ( he/him/his )

Sr. Lecturer

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Physics

Pedagogical Methods Used

Peer Instruction / Think-Pair-Share, Collaborative problem-solving, Context-rich problems, Ranking tasks, SCALE-UP / studio / workshop physics, Mathematically-focused activities, Just-in-time Teaching, Computationally-focused activities

Life Sciences Focus

Entropy, coherent picture of energy across scales and disciplines, computation.

Describe the courses that you teach for life sciences students

I teach both semesters of the two-semester IPLS sequence at UMass Amherst. The first semester is focused on entropy, energy, and forces with additional focuses on computation and math-as-language. The second semester is focused on understanding authentic motivating contexts to develop a holistic understanding of "What is an electron?" and "What is light?"

What is your approach to teaching physics for life science students?

I teach with the Team-Based Learning pedagogy developed by Michealsen et al. In this pedagogy, students are responsible for a significant amount of preparation on which they are summatively assessed on the first day of the unit. They then spend class time working in teams of 4-5.