Reflect & Prototype
Last week you attended our first seminar and practiced listening to a physicist’s journey with the tools of Design Your Life. This week, we’ll build on that by stepping back to reflect on what you’ve learned so far and beginning to prototype new ways of thinking about your future in physics. Prototyping here doesn’t mean building gadgets—it means trying out small actions or perspectives that help you learn about yourself and the possibilities around you.
So far, you’ve started to notice what gives you energy and how different experiences in physics spark your curiosity (or sometimes drain it). This week, we shift from reflecting to acting. The goal is not to make a huge decision about your future — it’s to try something small that helps you learn more about yourself and your path in physics. These small experiments are called prototypes.
A prototype is not a career decision. It’s a way of trying something out to see what you learn about yourself, physics, or possible paths you might want to explore. By the end of class, you’ll design one prototype you can actually try in the next two weeks.
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Check-In
Share one highlight from your Energy Log or your last seminar reflection.
What’s something you noticed gave you energy — even in a small way?
The point here isn’t to have a polished answer. It’s just about noticing patterns and practicing how to talk about them. These little observations are the building blocks of figuring out what matters to you in physics and in college.
This step is important because it creates a record you can return to later when we start spotting patterns and designing prototypes.
Energizing Activities
After sharing this with a partner in class, submit this to the discussion thread in D2L.
You have the option to post anonymously in D2L, if you choose.
Tie-in to learning goals:
This check-in isn’t just about sharing quick thoughts—it helps you notice patterns in what excites or drains you, which is part of learning how to design a meaningful path in physics and in college. By recording your reflections in D2L, you’re practicing metacognition (thinking about your own learning) and building a record to return to later in the semester. Sharing in class also helps us build community and a sense of belonging, which are core goals of this course.
🔍 Mini-Lesson: What Is a Prototype?
In Design Your Life, prototypes are described as low-risk, quick experiments. They’re designed to give you feedback about a question you have. Think of them like tiny test runs.
Instead of deciding right away, you “try something on” to see how it fits—like asking someone about their career path, sitting in on a research group meeting, or volunteering to speak at The Minute.
Some examples:
- Try a new study method for one week → “Does this actually help me learn better?”
- Ask a professor how they got into physics → “What does a physics career actually look like?”
- Go to a research talk outside your comfort zone → “Am I excited about this kind of physics?”
Notice how these aren’t huge, life-changing commitments. They’re small and manageable — but they still teach you something useful. In a way, it’s just like doing physics research: we test an idea with an experiment and see what happens.
This ties directly to our goal of helping you explore the wide range of physics pathways. It equips you with tools to move from abstract ideas to concrete actions, which supports self-discovery and helps you prepare to design a meaningful future in physics.
⌛ Activity: Pattern Spotting
Before you design a prototype, you need to spot the patterns in your own experiences.
Take out your Energy Logs and seminar reflection. In pairs, talk through these questions:
- Which activities or moments gave you energy?
- Which felt draining or boring?
- Did anything surprise you about yourself?
After discussing, write down 2–3 things that energized you and 1–2 that drained you. These will be your raw material for designing prototypes.
📝 Prototype Brainstorming
Now it’s time to create your own prototype.
In pairs (or trios), you’ll generate a list of 3–4 possible prototypes related to physics that you could try this semester. These should be simple, small-scale experiments: e.g.,
- Asking a faculty member about their research journey
- Sitting in on a study session for a class you’re not in
- Trying a different study technique for a week and reflecting on it
- Attending a department event you’ve never gone to before
We’ll collect ideas as a class so you leave with a menu of prototypes to choose from in the coming weeks.
Brainstorm: On your own, come up with 3–4 possible prototypes based on your energizers. Examples:
- If you loved talking with people about physics → volunteer to give The Minute talk, or ask a student about their work.
- If reading physics articles energized you → subscribe to Physics Today for a week and read one article.
- If you noticed you like organizing information → try making a short infographic about a physics topic.
Pick one: Choose one prototype you can realistically do in the next 2 weeks. Write down:
- The action (what you’ll do).
- When you’ll do it.
- What you hope to learn from it.
This activity is a practical way to practice “designing your life” in the context of physics. It supports exploration (by surfacing new possibilities), builds community (by sharing ideas), and strengthens your confidence in trying small steps toward bigger questions about your future.
🚪 Exit Ticket: Your Prototype
Before you leave today, go to the D2L discussion thread and post:
- One energizer you want to explore.
- The prototype you plan to try.
- Why it feels worth exploring right now.
(You may post anonymously, but you must post something.)
This helps you commit to action, not just reflection. It aligns with our course aim of turning design thinking into lived practice, so by the end of the semester you’ll have not only thought about your future but also tested some concrete next steps.
Assignment: Prototype in Action
Due September 25 (before class)
Over the next two weeks, try out your prototype. Then submit a short private reflection in D2L:
- What you did.
- What you learned.
- Whether this is a path worth exploring further.
⏭ Next Week Preview — Seminar in the Planetarium
Next Thursday, we’ll meet in the UNG Planetarium for our second seminar. Our speaker will be Dr. Simonton-Coogan, the Planetarium Director. She’ll share her own journey in physics and astronomy, as well as how she uses the planetarium to connect science with the public.
So far in class, you’ve been mapping your energy and brainstorming small prototypes to learn about yourself and your path. This seminar is a chance to put that into practice:
- Notice what energizes you as you listen—are you drawn to outreach, teaching, astronomy, or storytelling with science?
- Think of this seminar itself as a prototype: you get to experience a professional space (the planetarium) and see what it feels like.
- Prepare one thoughtful question to ask Dr. Simonton-Coogan about her path, her work, or how she designed her career.
Next week’s assignment will guide you in connecting what you hear in the seminar back to your own design process.
🎯 How This Week Connects to Our Learning Goals
This week’s activities are about slowing down, reflecting, and testing small ideas about what excites you in physics and where you might go next. Here’s how it ties into our course learning goals:
- Connect your personal journey to physics and astronomy in society
By mapping your energy and reflecting on what motivates (or drains) you, you begin to see where your physics path could intersect with the larger scientific community. - Explore careers and pathways in physics
Thinking about what energizes you is the first step toward identifying careers that align with your strengths and values. Reflection + prototyping help you clarify which possibilities you may want to try out. - Build habits of self-discovery and reflection
Today’s journaling and small experiments are part of learning how to pause, take stock, and redirect. This habit is key not just for this class, but for designing your broader life in physics. - Develop confidence in navigating college and your department
By testing small ideas (like which activities energize you), you practice taking ownership of your path instead of waiting for answers to come from outside.
Physics Education Research at UNG 