We recently had the pleasure of
having Sonia Faletti, the first recipient of the James Madison University High
School Physics Teacher of the Year Award, visit JMU. Here are some of the
highlights from our conversation about her background, her journey to teaching
high school physics, her interests, and the exciting ways in which she inspires
the future generations of scientists.
Mrs. Faletti currently works at Bishop Ireton High School, though
when she was a student at Stanford she initially studied math and computer
science. After switching to physics, Sonia Faletti worked as a TA in a lab and
realized that she liked teaching. Mrs. Faletti started off teaching
kindergarten, and enjoyed how hands-on it was. However, she decided that a
classroom full of five year-old children was not where she wanted to be. Upon
moving from California to Virginia, Mrs. Faletti decided she wanted to switch
to high school. She got a job at Bishop Ireton High School and said it was
"like coming home".
Mrs. Faletti engages her students
with different activities and demonstrations, from pulling out a tablecloth
from underneath plates, etc., to playing with roller-skates in class. As she
explained, "any day with a lab in it is a good day". Having her
Master's in Physics Education from the University of Virginia, she thinks
that labs, simulations, peer reviews, and other activities are better for
promoting learning than lecturing.
Still, not all activities are
created equal, and Mrs. Faletti has her own favorite labs. She explained that
one of her favorite labs is finding the terminal velocity of coffee filters.
Mrs. Faletti also likes having students do projectile motion with a tennis ball
launcher, though. As far as the students go, Mrs. Falleti thinks they enjoy the
trip to 6 Flags to do physics, either using analog accelerometers or an app on
their phones called "graphical analysis"
by Vernier. Mrs. Faletti has even used the app to graph the acceleration of the
elevator in the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France!
While talking about Bishop Ireton
High School, Mrs. Faletti explained that all of the students are required to
take physics classes, but she only teaches the honor classes. Some of her
previous students have since majored in physics, some have gone pre-med., and
some have studied engineering. Mrs. Faletti said that she actually hopes to
teach an engineering class next year. Mrs. Faletti currently teaches two
classes emphasizing climate change physics, which she explained is both an
energy issue and a justice issue. Part of the class focuses on different ways
to produce electricity, and the responsibility of first-world countries to act
against climate change.
Outside of the classroom, Mrs.
Faletti is still extremely excited about different "science
projects". Currently, she is building a 3D printer with her son using 3D
printed parts. Mrs. Faletti is also looking forward to seeing the solar eclipse
next August, and hopes it will interest more people in science.
