Longtime Valley Stream Central High School Master Physics Teacher Robert De La Cruz recently had his research published in The Physics Teacher journal. In his article, he offers an innovative model for teaching the inverse-square law concept to students.
De La Cruz’s article, “Exploring Illumination and the Inverse-Square Law with Arduino,” outlines his lesson plan and its effectiveness in explaining the sometimes-counterintuitive concept of the inverse-square law. His lesson stands out for incorporating computer programming, requiring students to program light and distance sensors to measure the relationship between brightness and distance, thereby demonstrating the inverse-square law in action.
This prestigious achievement stems from De La Cruz’s involvement in the New York State Master Teacher Program, a professional development network for experienced teachers that provides resources to further refine their skills. One of those resources was a course on writing for trade and research publications, which inspired him to publish his lesson plan for others to use and emulate. De La Cruz, who has spent his entire 20-year teaching career at Central, said the program has been invaluable, helping him continue to grow as an educator, even at this stage of his career.
“It almost feels like a revival of my career,” he said. “At this point, I should be on autopilot, but I’m still learning new things, and I’m able to pass those on to my students thanks to being a Master Teacher.”
Robert De La Cruz.