Dale Basler

Basler wants to help his eleventh and twelfth-grade Appleton East High School students appreciate the relevance of modern physics in their daily lives with the program idea, "Reading Into Physics". According to Basler, students often express an initial interest in the concept of modern physics, which includes relativity and quantum mechanics, but they do not understand how it influences other fields of science. To bridge this gap, Basler will ask students to read a selection from either Seed Magazine or noted astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson as a class. Next, students will listen to online podcasts of scientists who work on the specific topic in an effort to further demonstrate how the science can be connected to their lives. Finally, students will conduct an experiment related to the modern physics topic of the week. To further illustrate what they have learned, students will be asked to help create an interactive display that will be showcased in the school hallway. Basler believes the project will help students become better independent, strategic readers of scientific content. He resides in Appleton.