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	How Things Work
	The Colorado Model Content Standards for Physical Science dictate what all students should know and be able to do in science as a result of their school studies. A primary goal is to help them see the connections between science and every day life. Also prominent among the performance expectations for the 5th through 12th grades are a number of objectives associated with waves, light and optical effects.
	One of the best ways to engage your students is through the science of light. Our everyday environment is packed with devices and gadgets that are based on or exploit light. Take your ordinary audio CD player, for example. Inside this tiny mechanism is an amazing collection of pretty fancy things: a diode laser, polarizing and beam-handling optics, detectors for tracking and sensing the audio channels. Another example is the cellular camera phone. These are packed with state-of-the-art optical technology. Gadgets like these are so common that science classes can now be designed with things that the students are already carrying around. Working with optical devices, as well as by studying natural optical effects, is an ideal way to motivate your students to learn about light, color, reflction, refraction, diffraction, polarization, energy transport, and lots more! You'll enjoy it and so will your students.
	Here are some things that you might want to know about How Things Work, our Teacher Enhancement Course. When and where will the class be taught? What will I do during the class? What will I gain by completing this class? What will I have to bring? How is the class supported? Where do I sign up?
	Your instructor will be: Tom Furtak Professor of Physics Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado
	Professor Furtak has over 25 years of experience teaching physics at a variety of levels, including prior summer classes for teachers. His specialty is optics and lasers used to study materials and thin films. He has published extensively in this field, and is the co-author of an optics textbook for undergraduates. Useful resources that illustrate the philosophy and some of the content of the course: How Everything Works: Making Physics Out of the Ordinary Louis A. Bloomfield John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006 How Things Work Today Michael Wright and Mukel Patel, Editors Crown Publishers, 2000 The Flying Circus of Physics Jearl Walker John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006 Light Action Vicki Cobb and Josh Cobb Harper Collins, 1993 Inquiry and the National Science Standards National Academy Press, 2000 How People Learn M. Suzanne Donovan, John D. Bransford, and James W. Pellegrino (editors) National Academy Press, 1999