13 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Featured Article I have made it one of my primary objectives to find as many ways as possible to give students hands-on, real-world experiences in math and physics that they can take with them beyond high school. It was in trying to meet this objective that I came up with what I thought would be a simple lesson plan to introduce vectors to my pre-calculus and physics students at Pleasant Hill High School. The plan was to show students the basics of vectors by having them use compasses to create a treasure map to a secret location at the school. Our community is filled with many outdoor enthusiasts, and many students already had experience with a compass and were able to bring one in from home. Other students were not able to bring a compass from home, but we knew that our fancy modern smartphones have a compass app included with them, so we thought we would just use that. What could go wrong? Knowing that my audience is made up of professional surveyors, I’m sure you can already guess what went wrong. My students and I learned quickly just how far off a phone’s “compass” can be. Two identical model iPhones laying on top of one another showed measurements 20° off from one another. This ended up being a lesson in itself, as my students were able to see some of the limitations of the smart technology we use everyday. Even a low cost simple compass operated better than some of the phones we tried in class. Fast forward to the next school year, and I’m ready to try again with a new class of eager physics students. I’ve learned my lesson—or so I thought. This year, we would only use real compasses students brought from home. That way, we could avoid any silly issues brought about by pesky smart technology. I sent out my same email request to my students’ parents and guardians: “If you have one at home, please send your student to class with a compass this week…” Little did I know that one of my student’s parents is Renee Clough, a professional surveyor! When her student arrived at school for the compass activity, I was confused by the measurements she was reading. It seemed like her compass was off by 11° compared to mine and the other students’. The student patiently explained to me that Renee had adjusted her compass to the correct declination for our region. Just like that, my mind was blown right open! In two weeks I learned more about the behavior of the Earth’s magnetic field from emailing Renee than I learned in my entire college experience. What started out as a small lesson on the basics of vectors has now expanded into a deep physics dive into the Earth’s magnetic field, as well as an opportunity for students to see just what a surveyor’s job is all about. The student response to having the opportunity to work with real compasses in the classroom was very positive. Students were engaged from beginning to end, and our discussions during the lesson shifted between physics concepts like vectors and magnetism to applied skills like navigation and safety in the outdoors. Students faced tangible challenges as they moved about the campus, writing and following each other’s treasure maps, that could not have been seen or overcome while sitting at a desk. Afterwards, students both with and without experience with compasses felt like they had gained valuable knowledge and experience they could apply both in physics and elsewhere in their lives. During our email conversations, Renee asked if I would like to have some compasses for my classroom, as she knew some people who would be willing to donate them. Of course I said yes! And now, just a couple months later, thanks to the kind donations from several members of the PLSO, Pleasant Hill High school has two full classroom sets of compasses! It is our hope and goal moving forward to be able to integrate real-life navigational skills into math, physics, and even English classes like Adventure Survival. These highly engaging activities are exactly what students need to get excited about STEAM careers, and we are so grateful for the kind donations. Thank you for giving us the tools we need for these opportunities! Renee Clough took this photo of a box of compasses that would be donated to Pleasant Hill High School. LEARNING LESSONS WITH COMPASSES By Jay Gray
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