Author: Grant, Adam, Published: December 2021

What I love about it: This book talks about how being open to changing the way you think leads to better outcomes in most areas of one's life (business success, social interactions, learning) and helps you learn how to do it. It summarizes a lot of research based findings with interesting real life examples of implementing practices or failing to implement practices of rethinking. It was easy to read and made me want to change in hopes of being a better listener, learner, motivator of change, and teacher. It models and teaches how to be convincing to others in a way that is is respectful rather than manipulative. It is a book I wish everyone would read. 

How it might apply to class: I need to read this again with this purpose in mind (maybe that could be your project), but some of the techniques are very helpful in deriving equations, challenging misconceptions, the right way to look over answers before submitting, how give and receive constructively when your ideas/solutions are different from others. There is also a brief section where I thought, "my students need to hear this because it will help them understand how scientists think about reporting error/doubts in results." 

Author: A.J. Jacobs, Published: 2022

What I love about it: A.J. Jacobs is a curious and persistent experimenter that writes with a very funny and relatable style. I have read several of his books and will read more. This one in particular talks about all sorts of puzzles and he takes us on a journey from casual attempts at the puzzles to talking to people who are passionate about them where he learns how to get better at each type of puzzle. If you like rubik's cubes or sudokus you will like seeing what Jacobs picks up along the way.  

How it might apply to class: Physics in general, and especially AP Physics, can fell like a series of puzzles where we try to discover and apply a few simple rules that explain the world in combinations that can make them feel complicated. This book teaches several strategies for solving puzzles that apply incredibly well to learning how to develop Physics solutions and what to do when you get stuck. I'd love to see someone produce a poster of things we can apply to Physics from this book!

Author: Jo Boaler, Published: September 2019

What I love about it: This book talks about what we have learned in recent years about neuroplasticity and how we can leverage that information to help ALL people learn at high levels. The author has experience working with tons of young math learners that have struggled for years with math and the practices of the author led to a shift from thinking math was boring, difficult, and just not for them to the students loving it. The implication is that this shift can happen with all subjects and skills when we learn to think about mistakes as opportunities and value a greater variety of types of approaches to problems/learning. 

How it might apply to class: This book teaches that there is not such thing as someone who is just not a physics person.  We need to learn and share the proper response to mistake making. It also teaches a model for how to work in groups so ALL participants benefit instead of one student doing most of the work he/she already knew how to do to begin with. I'd love to see posters focusing on either of these ideas or any others you feel apply to class. 

Author: Ben Rich and Leo Janos, Published: 1996

What I love about it: I heard about this book from one of the top engineers at Lockheed Martin who said that this book motivated her to become an engineer from a young age. It is fascinating to read about how the engineering equivalent of marine black-ops in Lockheed Martin overcame technical challenges on the U2 spy plane and Blackbird SR-71 planes, which broke barriers in how high, how fast, and how stealthily we could fly. It left me wondering what they are currently working on behind closed doors. 

How it might apply to class: I need to read this again with this purpose in mind (maybe that could be your project), but this book helps future engineers see what the engineering process is really like. It will inspire them to look at problems from different angles, which is helpful in our course, and figure out the strengths of members of your groups and work with those strengths. It will help you see that success is the result of learning through failure. I think there will be more to add here when I read it again. 

Author: Richard P Feynman, Published: 1985

What I love about it: This book is really funny! It is also very interesting. For example, it tells about when he was working on the Manhattan Project (developing nuclear bomb) with the greatest scientists of the day and he spent time learning to pick the locks of their desks and guess their combinations for their locks.  His life had so much variety, from winning the Nobel prize in Physics to going to Mardi Gras in Brazil and playing the triangle in a parade. 

How it might apply to class: I need to read this again with this purpose in mind (maybe that could be your project), but I remember a captivating retelling of the scientific process as he decided to figure out how ants communicate. Many of us can say how they do, but he was curious and did not look it up, he figured it out and the way he did is the scientific method in practice. I may need help expanding this section