The Fulcrum Institute online Course, Earth's Energy Balance, was successfully launched at an all day
face-to-face workshop
Held January 25th, 2008

Professor Roger Tobin is one of the four physicists from Tufts University that has been involved with developing the curriculum for the Fulcrum Institute for Leadership in Science Education. His contributions to the content of the three Fulcrum online courses are thoughtful and clear. This video is an example of his desire to help the teachers understand the presence of light that can't be detected with human eye. In 1800, Sir Frederick William Herschel did an experiment passing sunlight through a glass prism that gave clues about the existence of light that we can't see. Professor Tobin went to the laboratory to recreate Herschel's experiment using a modern light probe to collect evidence. This video is part of Fulcrum Institute Course Three, Earth's Energy Balance.

In his own words:
"When the opportunity arose to become involved with the Fulcrum I jumped at the chance. The experience has been more rewarding and inspiring than I expected. As we work to plan and refine the curriculum, the discussions about science and pedagogy in our Science Working Group constantly make me rethink my own ideas, and give me new ideas for my own teaching. But I especially enjoy the occasional opportunities to work directly with the Fulcrum teachers. There is an enthusiasm and joy in learning on those occasions that too often gets lost in the daily pressures of the classroom. I see a room filled with the kind of teachers who taught me the most: the ones who could say "I don't know, but let's see if we can figure it out," - and then had some idea how to do that."