Sessions, Panels, Posters, Plenaries, Committee Meetings, and Special Events

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Sessions & Panels

      • Friday Registration

      • REG01
      • Fri 07/25, 4:00PM - 7:00PM

      • Type: Registration
      • Saturday Registration

      • REG02
      • Sat 07/26, 7:00AM - 4:00PM

      • Type: Registration
      • Sunday Evening Registration

      • REG04
      • Sun 07/27, 7:30PM - 9:00PM

      • Type: Registration
      • Monday Registration

      • REG05
      • Mon 07/28, 7:00AM - 5:00PM

      • Type: Registration
      • Monday Morning Break in the Exhibit Hall

      • EXH03
      • Mon 07/28, 10:00AM - 10:30AM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
      • Monday Afternoon Break in the Exhibit Hall

      • EXH04
      • Mon 07/28, 3:30PM - 4:00PM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
      • Tuesday Registration

      • REG06
      • Tue 07/29, 7:00AM - 4:30PM

      • Type: Registration
      • Tuesday Exhibit Hall

      • EXH05
      • Tue 07/29, 10:00AM - 4:00PM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
      • Tuesday Morning Break in the Exhibit Hall

      • EXH06
      • Tue 07/29, 10:00AM - 10:30AM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
      • Tuesday Afternoon Break in the Exhibit Hall

      • EXH07
      • Tue 07/29, 3:00PM - 3:30PM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
  • A Potpurri of Physics and Physics Teaching Ideas

      • Using PhET Simulations to Enhance Science Inquiry with Elementary Students

      • GB01
      • Wed 07/30, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by David Henry
      • Type: Contributed
      • The authors of National Science Education Standards and the Next Generation of Science Standards (NGSS) have called for students to engage with experiences that promote scientific inquiry. The documents emphasize the use of technology to help students collect, organize, analyze, interpret, present and debate data in ways similar to scientists, but technology can be expensive. To achieve this goal with little funding, teachers can use the Physics Education Technology (PhET) simulations, designed at the University of Colorado, in conjunction with inexpensive hands-on materials to do powerful science inquiry. The simulations permit students to see invisible phenomena and enable them to build conceptual models of phenomena such as buoyancy, energy, conductivity, and gravity. Students can use the simulations to apply the science and engineering practices called for in the NGSS. We will present inquiry activities appropriate for elementary students in two areas, Buoyancy and Electricity.
      • Exploration of Talent-Specific Teaching Strategy in Elementary Science Lessons

      • GB02
      • Wed 07/30, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Youngseok Jhun
      • Type: Contributed
      • Science classes are usually conducted by written and spoken language with a logical and mathematical approach, but there are some students who lag behind in developing verbal linguistic and logical mathematical intelligence especially low grade classrooms. It can be difficult for them to keep up with the classes. As students experience continuous failure in science, they will become chronically lethargic and have low self esteem. It will also increase the chances of breakdowns, creating a vicious cycle -- students' little concentration from their failure can turn into more serious failure. In this study, we are to find solutions for this situation using teaching and learning strategies to help all students achieve their goals and feel interest in science lessons even if they are not good at verbal or mathematical skills. To achieve our goal, we observed the students' activities in low grade classes to find out how the students are different in intelligent development. We derived the strategy to stimulate each student's various talents and use them in learning science. We'd like to share our findings in the procedure of the research.
      • The Propagation of Peer Instruction: A Case Study

      • GB03
      • Wed 07/30, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by Raina Khatri
      • Type: Contributed
      • Not many instructional strategies created by the STEM Education research community become widely used. However, Peer Instruction, a classroom strategy that engages students during lecture, has been successful in reaching many teachers and classrooms. In this study, we used interviews with the original Peer Instruction team, publications, press releases, grant information, and other sources to construct a picture of the propagation strategies that led to Peer Instruction's widespread adoption. The results of this study could help future educational developers make an informed propagation plan to increase the impact of their work.
      • Surveying Students' Understanding of Measurement Uncertainty and Proportional Reasoning: Update

      • GB04
      • Wed 07/30, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Jeffrey Marx
      • Type: Contributed
      • In this talk we will present an update of our efforts to develop a survey instrument to probe undergraduate, non-science majors' understanding of measurement uncertainty and proportional reasoning ability. Using everyday items (scales, luggage, and kittens) and activities (weighing oneself and traveling) we have attempted to create an interview instrument and protocol that evokes and accommodates a wide range of responses and interpretations. Although still in the development phase, we can report that our population has a very difficult time applying measurement uncertainty and proportional reasoning, even after instruction designed to improve this population's understanding of these physical principles.
      • If You Build It, They Will Come

      • GB05
      • Wed 07/30, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by James Dugan
      • Type: Contributed
      • Physics departments, at all institutions, of all sizes, are continuously trying to increase their number of majors. Hastings College, a small private school located in south central Nebraska, with a full-time student enrollment of one thousand is no different. In 1995 the physics department had 15 majors. In the fall of 2013 that number was 38. What precipitated this 250% growth? In this talk I will describe how by implementing and expanding a number of program changes and recruitment strategies, focused on a year-long senior project experience, these striking enrollment increases were achieved.
      • Lesson Study as a Vehicle to Improve College Physics Teaching

      • GB06
      • Wed 07/30, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Sachiko Tosa
      • Type: Contributed
      • When it comes to teaching, university faculty members in science fields are often isolated and many of them are wondering alone how they can help students overcome difficulties in understanding the concepts they present, especially in large lecture classes. This study examines how a collaborative lesson planning and discussion scheme called Lesson Study can help both students and faculty in introductory physics and other science classes at two colleges. Faculty's attitudes towards collaboration and active learning strategies were measured by pre/post-program survey (N=14). The preliminary results indicate that the process helped faculty members feel more comfortable asking their colleagues questions about their teaching. The results also indicate that Lesson Study helped faculty see teaching in a more student-centered way. The effect of a content-rich discussion in the Lesson Study process will be further analyzed as a key factor for making the college-level program sustainable.
      • Radiation Equilibrium in Bohr's Atom, and the Nucleus Radius

      • GB07
      • Wed 07/30, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Vic Dannon
      • Type: Contributed
      • Bohr proposed that the electron orbits have angular momentums that are discrete multiples of h-bar. Consequently, the orbits are occupied by standing waves, and no radiation takes place in them. However, radiation by an accelerating charge is a fact of electrodynamics. And Bohr's argument defies experiment, and places the electron-proton atom out of the laws of Electrodynamics. We will assume that the Proton's orbits too, have angular momentums that are discrete multiples of h-bar. And that the energy radiated by the accelerating proton into the electron field equals the energy radiated by the accelerating electron into the proton field. Keeping the orbits energies in a dynamic equilibrium. This allows us to compute the Nucleus Radius of the Electron-Proton Atom. We obtain a radius of the order of 1/10^12
      • Fostering Positive Cultural Changes in College STEM Departments

      • GB08
      • Wed 07/30, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Joel Corbo
      • Type: Contributed
      • In recent years, many efforts have been made to enact changes in STEM departments, courses, and curricula in order to improve the experiences of undergraduate students. These efforts have generally focused on disseminating curricula and pedagogy, developing reflective teachers, or enacting institutional policy, but they have rarely succeeded in creating large-scale, systemic cultural changes in departments. Our project tackles the problem of STEM education improvement via an "all of the above" approach by working with individual faculty, whole departments, and university policymakers simultaneously. Moreover, our departmental cultural change efforts will be one of the first attempts at such a holistic reform, and as such could serve as a model for similar efforts in other departments and at other institutions. We will report on our initial findings into the challenges and possibilities inherent in such an approach.
  • Additional Strategies to Support Female Students

      • Effect of Instructor Gender on Modeling Instruction FCI Scores

      • FK01
      • Wed 07/30, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Daryl McPadden
      • Type: Contributed
      • This study focuses on the impact of instructor gender on the gender gap instudents' scores on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) in Modeling Instruction (MI) courses at Florida International University (FIU). A previous study from Brewe et. al. has shown that while MI had increased FCI scores as compared to traditional lecture courses, the gap between male students' scores and female students' scores increased over the semester[1]. Data was taken from 599 students at FIU, over 19 semesters, with 11 different instructors (4 female, 7 male). Effect size is calculated from the difference in female students' scores from male students' scores, and the effect size is compared between instructor genders. A linear regression is also used to determine if instructor gender is a significant factor in predicting a student's FCI score post-instruction.
      • Studio Seating Arrangements and the Gender Gap in Introductory Physics

      • FK02
      • Wed 07/30, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Andrew Duffy
      • Type: Contributed
      • Fall 2013 was our first large-scale studio implementation in the introductory physics course for life-science majors at Boston University. That semester, we observed a gender gap in both the three studio sections of the course and the two lecture sections that was similar to that observed at other places. Specifically, males, on average, did better than females. In spring 2013, we experimented with different seating arrangements in the three studio sections. One section had random groups, another had homogeneous groups, and the third had heterogeneous groups. We will report on the outcome of that experiment.
      • Discussing Underrepresentation as a Means to Increasing Female Physics Identity

      • FK03
      • Wed 07/30, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Robynne Lock
      • Type: Contributed
      • Despite the fact that approximately half of high school physics students are female, only 21 percent of physics bachelor's degrees are awarded to women. In a previous study, drawn from a national survey of college students in introductory English courses, five factors commonly proposed to positively impact female students' choice of a physical science career were tested using multivariate matching methods. The only factor found to have a positive effect was the explicit discussion of the underrepresentation of women in physics. In order to explore this further, a case study of the classes of one teacher reported to discuss the underrepresentation of women was conducted. Two classroom underrepresentation discussions were recorded, students and teacher were interviewed, and relevant student work was collected. Analyzing the case study data using a figured worlds framework, we report on how discussing underrepresentation may create opportunities to increase the physics identities of female students.
      • Examination of Pathways to Excellence Scholarship Program for Women in STEM Fields

      • FK04
      • Wed 07/30, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
      • by Joseph Di Rienzi
      • Type: Contributed
      • Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is in the third year of an NSF S-STEM grant (1060595), Pathways to Excellence, providing 10 scholarships annually to academically talented women undergraduates with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing degrees in mathematics, physics, computer information systems, or engineering. The program has a tri-part mentoring system with a faculty member in the student's discipline, a peer from the program and an alumnae. Scholars also take an annual thematic seminar course. Each student constructs a career development plan in assistance with her faculty mentor and sets measurable annual goals. In addition, all scholarship students are requested to have an experiential experience. As a result, NDMU aims to strengthen its role in increasing the numbers of well-educated and skilled women employees from diverse backgrounds, including first-generation college students, in technical and scientific areas. Early assessment of the program produced modifications and now these can be evaluated.
      • Women's Ways of Becoming Physicists: Identity and Trajectory

      • FK05
      • Wed 07/30, 10:00AM - 10:10AM
      • by Sissi Li
      • Type: Contributed
      • Physics is the least representative of the hard sciences, with only 21% ofbachelor's degrees in the United States during 2008-2010 awarded to females and 13% to non-white U.S. citizens (AIP, 2011). Our preliminary work suggests that many students from underrepresented groups have little experience with the cultural norms and expectations of disciplinary communities and can face significant challenges in integrating. These challenges are often sensitive and not obvious to faculty and mentors. We present case studies constructed from interviews with two female students who have recently completed their BS in physics. We describe their experiences in terms of advancing along a trajectory towards becoming physicists. Our results suggest that supporting students through their major touches not only upon academic and professional expectations, but also social interactions within and beyond the school setting.
  • Arduinos Micro-Controllers and Underwater ROV's

      • Arduino Uno Microcontrollers Measuring Thermal Effects During Stratospheric Balloon Flights

      • DI01
      • Tue 07/29, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Erick Agrimson
      • Type: Contributed
      • We present results from a study of the thermal wake that trails below ascending high-altitude balloons (weather balloons) on flights into the stratosphere, sometimes called "near space." Data is collected using horizontal 1-D and 2-D arrays of temperature sensors hanging below the balloon in the thermal wake and logged using Arduino Uno microcontrollers. We characterize the physical width and thermal profile of the wake, which is warmer than the surrounding air during day-time flights, due to solar heating of the balloon, and colder than ambient air during night-time ascents. Temperatures drop to well below -50 degrees Celsius during a typical high-altitude flight as the apparatus ascends through the tropopause. We also evaluate the performance of digital DS18B20 temperature sensors and Arduino Uno microcontrollers in the near-space environment.
      • Arduino in an Undergraduate Lab Curriculum and Applications

      • DI02
      • Tue 07/29, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Tia Troy
      • Type: Contributed
      • Throughout the Spring Semester 2013 at Winona State University, a new curriculum was implemented in the Physics 221 Labs. The new curriculum was motivated by previous attempts to introduce the Arduino Microcontroller into the curriculum. Most of the evidence about this project's success is anecdotal and is based on integration of technology and on the development of the students' ability to use technology in the classroom. During integration, one lab was selected for further research. The lab selected was a setup that could be modeled as an oscillating spring system and the frequency of small oscillations can be found using energy conservation. From data collected with various sensors, including the Arduino distance sensor, a paper is being developed.
      • Research on Productive Tinkering in an Arduino Environment

      • DI03
      • Tue 07/29, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Gina Quan
      • Type: Contributed
      • In the engineering design process as taught in middle/high school classrooms, systematic planning is often valued over tinkering, a process that shortcuts that kind of analytical thinking. We argue that tinkering could be productive for students' learning. We piloted a project-based instructional module using Arduino Rovers (Arduino integrated programmable robot-tanks) in Summer Girls, a summer camp for high school students hosted by University of Maryland Physics Department. Throughout the two-week program, participants worked in pairs through several open-ended tasks before designing and completing a final project. Using classroom video data of student-pairs working on the design tasks, we contrast ad-hoc tinkering with planned, deliberate sense-making. We argue that tinkering is a productive practice for project-based learning, contributing to practical success on task and supporting students in learning content. We suggest that instructors of design tasks should consider ways to recognize students' tinkering practices and support them in tinkering productively.
      • Adapting Modeling Instruction to DIY Arduino (Microcontroller) Lab Equipment Development

      • DI04
      • Tue 07/29, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
      • by Nathan Moore
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Arduino Microcontroller is an inexpensive, easy to program board that introductory students can use to create simple data acquisition equipment. However, standard training in microcontroller programming takes the form of either endless streams of dubious quality Youtube videos, or dense EE books on assembly language programming. Obviously, neither of these options is appropriate for the introductory University Physics Lab. In the work, I will describe how Modeling Instruction can be adapted to provide a conceptual and curricular framework for introducing microcontroller DAQ programming into the intro lab. Briefly, the process can be thought of as Model development (calibration, signal conditioning, algorithms), and Model deployment (physical analogs to context-rich group problems). Results from two implementations of this approach to the introductory lab, using both Arduino/C and Labview programming environments, will be discussed.
  • Art and Science of Teaching

      • The Knowledge-Practice Gap in Physics Teaching: How Big Is it and Why Does it Exist?

      • CE01
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by Charles Henderson
      • Type: Invited
      • Although many people consider teaching to be an art, the Physics EducationResearch (PER) community has shown that there are many aspects of teaching that can be systematically studied and improved using scientific methods. PER has also shown that a wide variety of teachers can consistently improve student learning by using research-based teaching practices. Like most fields, though, there is a substantial gap between the research-based knowledge that PER has developed about effective teaching and the actual practices of physics teachers. In this talk I will use data to describe how large this gap is and identify some of the reasons that the gap exists. Although I will touch on many aspects of this problem, I will emphasize some specific leverage points that may be productive to focus on in order to reduce the gap.
      • MOOC-ing Around: This Is Not the Future

      • CE02
      • Mon 07/28, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Charles Holbrow
      • Type: Invited
      • I have taken 12 (completed five) MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)-- cryptography, philosophy, the ancient Greek hero, Puritan poetry, science and cooking, engineering dynamics, and six introductory physics courses -- and I have worked for seven months on John Belcher's team creating and adapting MOOC materials for teaching introductory physics at MIT. I will draw on this experience to say what looks good in MOOCs; what does not; why MOOCs are not the future; and why I think higher education will be transformed by low-cost efforts of teachers in smaller institutions including community colleges and high schools. Also I think that to provide reliable certification of student online achievement and reliable evaluation of the quality of online content and its delivery, academic entrepreneurs will create new testing and rating organizations that are independent of content deliverers. Separation of certification from delivery will be a disruptive change in higher education.
      • MOOC 101: How to Create and Teach a MOOC

      • CE03
      • Mon 07/28, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by Saif Rayyan
      • Type: Invited
      • As a physics teacher, you might have many questions about MOOCs, and what it takes to create and teach one: --How to start planning? --How to design the course? --How do you create content for the course? What types of assessment are available? --Who is taking these courses, and what are they interested in? --What level of involvement do you expect to have with students? --How much time should you expect to spend on creating and running a MOOC? --How is teaching a MOOC different from teaching an on campus course? I will attempt to answer some of these questions, highlighting some of the good practices in creating and running MOOCs. I will use examples from the MIT physics department MOOC offerings on the edx platform (http://www.edx.org): 8.01x, 8.02x and 8.MReV.
  • Assessment Issues in Undergraduate Instruction

      • Research-based Assessment Resources to Improve Teaching in Your Classroom and Department

      • DD01
      • Tue 07/29, 8:00AM - 8:30AM
      • by Sarah McKagan
      • Type: Invited
      • Often physics faculty want to know how their students are doing compared to other "students like mine.'' As part of the PER User's Guide (http://perusersguide.org), we are developing a national database of research validated assessment results and an accompanying data explorer. Here faculty can securely upload their students' anonymized assessment results and compare them to students from peer institutions and the national dataset, view a question-by-question breakdown and compare results over time. "One-click analysis'' allows faculty to visualize their data, view statistics and download a report of the results. Results can be used to improve teaching, to make a case for more resources, for accreditation reports, or for promotion and tenure. Additionally, we are developing guides to these research validated assessments and access to the tests themselves. We will showcase our new online system and provide information about how you can use it.
      • Coupled Multiple-response vs. Free-response Formats in Upper-division Conceptual Assessment

      • DD02
      • Tue 07/29, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Bethany Wilcox
      • Type: Invited
      • Free-response conceptual assessments, such as the Colorado Upper-division Electrostatics Diagnostic (CUE), provide rich, fine-grained information about students' reasoning. However, because of the difficulties inherent in scoring these assessments, the majority of the large-scale conceptual assessments in physics are multiple-choice. To increase the scalability and usability of the CUE, we set out to create a new version of the assessment that preserves the insights afforded by a free-response format while exploiting the logistical advantages of a multiple-choice assessment. We used our extensive database of responses to the free-response CUE to construct distractors for a new version where students can select multiple responses and receive partial credit based on the accuracy and consistency of their selections. Here, we briefly outline the development of this new coupled, multiple-response CUE. We also discuss a direct comparison of test statistics for both versions of the assessment and potential insights into student reasoning from the new version.
      • Mathematization in Introductory Physics through a Socioeconomic Lens

      • DD03
      • Tue 07/29, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Suzanne Brahmia
      • Type: Invited
      • Conceptual understanding of arithmetic and algebra (taught before studentsreach high school) is essential to effective reasoning in college physics(1). Instructional approaches in pre-high school mathematics classes vary with SES (socioeconomic status); lower SES districts are more likely to promote rote learning(2). Along with demographics, the Math SAT, which correlates with family income, is an important predictor of success in college physics(3). Students from low SES districts are at a disadvantage in physics learning partially due to an overemphasis on procedure in their pre-college science and mathematics problem solving. An ongoing collaboration between Rutgers, WWU, and NMSU is developing assessment tools to measure facets of foundational mathematical reasoning in physics, and a curricular intervention to help develop these facets in a physics context. I'll describe these projects and share performance data comparing students from low SES high schools to those from more affluent schools in the freshman engineering physics course.
      • Use of Pre-instruction Tests To Predict Student Course Performance

      • DD04
      • Tue 07/29, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by David Meltzer
      • Type: Contributed
      • I will review research related to use of pre-instruction diagnostic tests such as the Force Concept Inventory as predictors of student course performance in introductory physics. In addition to both old and new data from Arizona State University, I will examine data from other institutions, both published and unpublished. I will explore both potential benefits and limitations of using pre-instruction data as prognostic measures of student performance. In particular, I will address the potential influence of instructional method on the predictive value of diagnostic tests, such as whether research-based active-learning instruction [1] might or might not significantly alter the observed pre-post correlation.
      • Assessment in Junior Physics Laboratory

      • DD05
      • Tue 07/29, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Karen Williams
      • Type: Contributed
      • My institution began a new assessment plan for the physics major about 18 months ago. This plan requires the assessment of the Junior Lab students' communication (written, verbal and graphical), their ability to apply their knowledge to applications in each lab, the evaluation of a design lab, and their ability to work in a team. I will share the rubrics that I have borrowed, modified, and created to implement this assessment the past two semesters.
      • Assessing Undergraduate Physics Program Learning Objectives at UC Merced

      • DD06
      • Tue 07/29, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
      • by Carrie Menke
      • Type: Contributed
      • Establishing and assessing program learning objectives (PLOs) provides a research-based method to improve our undergraduate physics education. We have five PLOs: (1) physical principles, (2) mathematical expertise, (3) experimental techniques, (4) communication and teamwork, and (5) research proficiency. We use a six-stage assessment cycle for each PLO that either validates current practice or drives needed modifications to our assessment process and/or program. We focus on one PLO each year and have just finished our first assessment of each. Our approach strives to maximize the ease and applicability of our assessment practices while maintaining faculty's flexibility in course design and delivery. A curriculum matrix elucidates skills development and applicable evidence. Descriptive rubrics result in higher inter-rater reliability and, in some cases, can be utilized at the course and program levels. http://www.aapt.org/test/forms/aaptmeeting/pactools/chairtool-abstracts.cfm?listorder=s2Utilizing existing campus resources, challenges with evidence & rubrics, and strategies for increasing student and faculty participation are also discussed.
  • Best Practices in Educational Technology I

      • Using Direct Measurement Video to Teach Science Practices

      • EI01
      • Tue 07/29, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Peter Bohacek
      • Type: Invited
      • Direct Measurement Videos are short, high-quality recordings of events with overlaid graphics that allow students to make precise measurements directly from the video. Our growing collection of videos provides an alternative to word problems, showing vivid examples of events (skidding cars, looping roller coasters, hockey slap shots) that can be analyzed using physics concepts. In this talk, we will discuss three aspects of the current project. We’ll describe how Direct Measurement Videos and our instructional support materials can be used in the classroom, and in particular, in the teaching of the practice of science (consistent with the Next Generation Science Standards and new AP Physics curricula). We’ll show progress towards a web-based video player with scalable, movable grids, rulers, and protractors that allow students to decide what and how to measure on the video. In addition, we'll show some of our newest Direct Measurement Videos. Direct Measurement Video Website: http://serc.carleton.edu/dmvideos/index.html
      • Writing Electronic Books with Interactive Curricular Material

      • EI02
      • Tue 07/29, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
      • by Mario Belloni
      • Type: Invited
      • With the rise of tablets, such as the iPad, the past few years have seen an increase in the demand for quality electronic textbooks. Unfortunately most of the current offerings do not exploit the accessibility and interactivity that electronic books can deliver. For astronomy and physics electronic textbooks, support for typesetting of equations (MathML) and interactive simulations (JavaScript) are necessary. In this talk we will discuss how our curriculum development projects (Physlets, Easy Java/JavaScript Simulations, and Open Source Physics) are merging with the EPUB electronic book format. Specifically we will discuss the EPUB format and how we are taking an iterative approach to producing interactive electronic books for astronomy and physics.
  • Best Practices in Educational Technology II

      • How I Met Your Motherboard: Integrating Smartphones into Classrooms

      • GC01
      • Wed 07/30, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Colleen Countryman
      • Type: Contributed
      • In the current technological environment, most students own smartphones. These smartphones contain internal sensors capable of collecting data in instructional physics labs. By utilizing these devices, university teaching laboratories can decrease their dependence on costly proprietary software, sensors, and sensor interfaces. Also, since students are typically already familiar with personal devices, pedagogical hurdles often encountered in instructional physics labs are diminished. MyTech is a series of labs that takes advantage of these devices in a first-semester mechanics lab at NC State. The MyTech labs require no more than a smartphone (and a computer webcam) and free software to collect data. We present preliminary results from the shifts in kinematic graph skills, attitudes and technological anxiety that occur with the MyTech lab curriculum to those that occur with a traditional lab curriculum. We discuss some common obstacles encountered in this case study and how best to avoid them.
      • Results from eTALK: Effects of Real-Time Distance Labs

      • GC02
      • Wed 07/30, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by William Sams
      • Type: Contributed
      • eTALK is a reform of introductory physics laboratories that involves students using their own laptops and simple equipment rather than proprietary probes and loggers. Students participate in a portable lab experience that removes the need for a dedicated laboratory space while maintaining synchronous contact with teaching assistants and other students. Students use Blackboard Collaborate, Gmail, and WebAssign to communicate with the instructor and submit results and conclusions, while simultaneously harnessing the capabilities their own electronic devices to make high-quality measurements without complicated and unfamiliar equipment. Evaluation of the eTALK initiative has been under way for several semesters in calculus-based introductory mechanics at NC State with data collection ranging from conceptual assessments and attitude surveys to video monitoring for analysis of student activities, interactions, and behaviors. Effects on student performance, understanding, confidence, autonomy, lab skills, and attitudes are all being examined. Selected results from the study will be presented and discussed.
      • Flexible Physics Mobile: YouTube Bridges from Lecture to Lab

      • GC03
      • Wed 07/30, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by Duncan Carlsmith
      • Type: Contributed
      • Flexible Physics Mobile develops video-based educational objects bridging lecture and laboratory for undergraduate high-enrollment courses in introductory physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Each video provides a brief pedagogical introduction to the physical concepts to be explored and a visual introduction to the actual equipment to be encountered, both tailored in sophistication to student preparation. The 2011-12 Educational Innovation project Flexible Physics for the Google World explored techniques and protocols (video, stills, screencasts, animations, clickable transcripts, editing techniques). It developed educational objects for UW-Madison Physics 104 and 208 which were deployed with Flash technology through a department server. The 2013014 Flexible Physics Mobile project has redeployed legacy educational objects on YouTube (search for Flexible Physics UW Madison) and has produced a suite of new videos for Physics 103, Physics 207, Physics 201, Physics 202, and Physics 109. The videos are a) discoverable, b) maintainable, c) closed captioned, d) available on mobile devices, and e) tagged and linked to related material. Usage analytics data indicates high student engagement and retention. The challenges, successes, and results of this project will be described.
      • Newton's Third Law: A Sample Online Interactive Video Vignette

      • GC04
      • Wed 07/30, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Priscilla Laws
      • Type: Contributed
      • The LivePhoto Physics Group has been creating and testing a series of Interactive Video Vignettes (IVVs) involving introductory physics topics. Vignettes are designed for web delivery as short, ungraded exercises to supplement textbook reading, or serve as pre-lecture or pre-laboratory activities. Each Vignette includes videos of a physical phenomenon, invites the student to make predictions, complete observations and/or analyses, and, finally, compare findings to the initial prediction(s). A sample Vignette on Newton's third law will be shown, and the speaker will discuss why the group believes the Vignette is effective. (NSF #1122828 & #1123118).
      • Impact of IVV on Student Understanding of Newton]s Third Law

      • GC05
      • Wed 07/30, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Kathleen Koenig
      • Type: Contributed
      • One of the short interactive video vignettes (IVVs) developed by the LivePhoto Physics Group targets student understanding of Newton's third law. This seven-minute interactive web-delivered vignette was designed to supplement textbook readings. It includes real-world and laboratory-based video segments and users must answer multiple-choice questions. Throughout the IVV, student responses are echoed back to them while they see the questions resolved. As part of an evaluation to determine the impact of the IVV on student understanding of Newton's third law, a controlled study was conducted involving three professors who each taught two sections of an introductory physics course, with only one section of students completing the IVV as a homework assignment. Students in all sections were pre- and post-tested using the Force Concept Inventory. Results will be presented to demonstrate the impact of the IVV on student learning of Newton's third law.
      • Software for Interactive Video Vignettes*

      • GC06
      • Wed 07/30, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Robert Teese
      • Type: Contributed
      • Software developed in the LivePhoto Physics Interactive Video Vignettes Project is being used in introductory physics courses, introductory biology courses and advanced physics lab courses. Interactive Video Vignettes are short, online activities that combine narrative videos with interactive, hands-on elements for the user such as video analysis or multiple-choice branching questions, in which the user's answer affects the sequence of elements that follow. The software that powers vignettes is delivered over the Internet and runs in a normal browser on the user's device. The same software can be used to make Interactive Web Lectures for flipped classrooms, online learning, and MOOCs. A Java application that teachers can use to create their own vignettes and online lectures is under development and is available for testing. The software will be demonstrated and the status of the development will be described. *Supported by NSF grants DUE-1122828, DUE-1123118 and DUE-12110685.
      • Next Generation PhET Simulations: New Features for Teaching and Learning

      • GC07
      • Wed 07/30, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Katherine Perkins
      • Type: Contributed
      • With the emergence of new educational platforms (e.g. iPads and Chromebooks) and opportunities for increased interoperability among educational technologies, the PhET Interactive Simulations project at University of Colorado Boulder recently launched a new initiative to create next-generation PhET simulations. These next-generation simulations are built in HTML5 with new touch-and-tablet compatible designs (See video: http://bit.ly/1kpZ5TG; and sims http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/html). This work brings a unique opportunity to build-in new functionality -- functionality that would be common across all of the simulations and that would enable new teaching, learning, assessment, and research opportunities. We have solicited input and ideas from the broader education community. In this session, we summarize the list of new features under consideration -- such as, recording user interactions with the simulations, combining tabs from multiple simulations, pre-setting simulation configurations, or enabling screen capture with annotation -- and discuss how these features will extend teaching and learning opportunities, including addressing the NGSS.
      • Using PhETs in Astronomy

      • GC08
      • Wed 07/30, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Rhoda Berenson
      • Type: Contributed
      • The University of Colorado website, phet.colorado.edu, provides simulations of physical situations designed to help students grasp scientific concepts. This talk will present activities that use these simulations to elucidate some topics in astronomy. In particular, it will describe using PhETs to study: "Orbits, Gravity and Kepler's Law," "What Stars are Made of," "Stellar Temperature" and "Stellar Luminosity."
      • Intelligent Coaches for Problem Solving in Physics

      • GC09
      • Wed 07/30, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Leonardo Hsu
      • Type: Contributed
      • Intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) were introduced more than 40 years agoand the idea of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) has been in existence almost since the birth of computers. The University of Minnesota Physics Education Research Group has combined that work with research from cognitive science and physics education to develop an instructor-modifiable web-based system for providing students with coaching in solving physics problems. This system, called Customizable Computer Coaches for Physics Online (C3PO), is designed to help students develop expert-like problem-solving skills by providing them with individualized guidance and feedback while they practice solving problems. In this talk, we describe the system, its place in the constellation of ITSs for physics education in the universe of CAI, and the plans for future development. This work was partially supported by NSF DUE-0715615 and DUE-1226197.
      • The Software Framework for Customizable Computer Coaches for Physics Online

      • GC10
      • Wed 07/30, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Kristin Crouse
      • Type: Contributed
      • The University of Minnesota Physics Education Research Group has been developing Customizable Computer Coaches for Physics Online (C3PO), a web-based system designed to help students develop expert-like problem solving skills. C3PO delivers instructor-modifiable coaching programs that provide students with individualized guidance and feedback while solving physics problems. In this talk, we discuss the software architecture of the system and the design process and demonstrate some of the system?s capabilities. This work was partially supported by NSF DUE-0715615 and DUE-1226197.
      • Computer Programming Made Easier with Canopy

      • GC11
      • Wed 07/30, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Larry Engelhardt
      • Type: Contributed
      • Computational physics is hard. Students need to learn computational thinking, at the same time that they learn the syntax of a programming language, as well as specific algorithms, without letting any of this get in the way of the physics! In this talk, we will demonstrate "Canopy" which is an environment for the Python programming language that helps makes this process a little bit easier. In particular, Canopy includes a new debugger (released spring 2014) that makes it easier than ever to understand the mechanics of a computer program.
      • CUDA: At-Home Supercomputing

      • GC12
      • Wed 07/30, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by Jacob Knoles
      • Type: Contributed
      • NVIDIA CUDA is a simple programming API that harnesses the computing powerof the Graphical Processing Unit, or GPU, and puts it directly into everyday users' hands. The significance of this concept is that modern GPUs can have upwards of 3000 processing cores, as opposed to a typical quad-core processor. These extra cores allow users to complete complex and time-consuming calculations in fractions of a second. Parallel programming is leading the way in modern High Performance Computing (HPC) and CUDA presents massively parallel performance as a budget friendly, and extremely effective, option. We will demonstrate how to use CUDA, along with Python, to improve computational speed by three orders of magnitude or more using a "stock" laptop.
  • Bridging Engineering, Math, and Physics

      • Lessons Learned from an Integrated Calculus and Physics Learning Community

      • GD01
      • Wed 07/30, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Dwain Desbien
      • Type: Contributed
      • For the last three years, EMCC has been offering and integrated Calculus Iand University Physics class. This talk will share results comparing traditional classes to the integrated courses on the FCI and exams. Discussion of the reordering of topics to better match will also be discussed along with future directions and goals.
      • Fatal Friction Flaw

      • GD02
      • Wed 07/30, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Alan Scott
      • Type: Contributed
      • On the evening of August 13, 2011, a temporary structure used to provide cover and support concert entertainment equipment at the Indiana State Fair collapsed when hit with straight-line winds from an approaching storm. Seven people died and 58 were injured. The methodology and results of the forensic physics analysis (or engineering analysis) will be presented in addition to a case-study, simplified model of the incident appropriate for an introductory physics classroom. The engineering company Thornton Tomasetti, Inc., out of Chicago was hired for the investigation which is the same company that investigated the I35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis back in 2007.
      • Patterns Approach (Introduction): Engaging Students in Scientific and Engineering Practices

      • GD03
      • Wed 07/30, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by Heather Moore
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Patterns Approach for Physics is driven by the recurring question: "How do we find and use patterns in nature to predict the future and understand the past?" Students are continually engaged in scientific practices, starting with anchoring experiments that contextualize four common mathematical patterns in physics: linear, quadratic, inverse, and inverse square. Inquiry and engineering experiences serve to spiral these anchoring patterns with new physics concepts, developing conceptual, graphical, and symbolic understanding. Students are asked to compare low- to high-evidence predictions, collaboratively build models based on data, assess the quality/limitations of their models, develop proportional reasoning skills, and harness the power of computational reasoning. Bridging math, science and engineering in this way builds a coherent, experiential case for the process of science and student interest in STEM careers. The Patterns Approach has been used within freshman through IB courses and is published in The Science Teacher March, 2013.
      • Patterns Approach: Classroom Whiteboard Discussions

      • GD04
      • Wed 07/30, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Scott Murphy
      • Type: Contributed
      • Within the confines of The Patterns Approach to Physics, it is important to facilitate the idea of science as a cooperative endeavor. Scientists continually use research conducted by others, critically review the work of others, and work in teams to solve problems. In the classroom, this can take the form of a whole class discussion, during which students present their findings from experimental data. Groups can analyze the effect of different variables to prevent repetitive presentations and allow for meaningful sharing of information. Students will gain valuable insights into determining the credibility of a source, creating a persuasive presentation by displaying information aesthetically, and communicating their results in an efficient manner. As students become more proficient in these discussions, they will come to understand a key component of the science and engineering communities.
      • Patterns Approach: Building Scientific Reasoning by Breaking Models

      • GD05
      • Wed 07/30, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Jordan Pasqualin
      • Type: Contributed
      • Within the confines of The Patterns Approach to Physics one important topic is Model Failure. There is much pedagogical value in having students attempt to apply a predictive model or pattern to experimental data and fail. As students use The Patterns Approach to build scientific reasoning skills, they gain expertise in detecting and explaining patterns in nature. There is plentiful opportunity for students to experience the very real limitations of using scientific models to make predictions about systems. Models are useful inasmuch as they are able to make accurate predictions, but students often cling to familiar models, even when inappropriate. When models fail it creates opportunity to evaluate assumptions embedded in a scientific investigation and ask new questions, two key skills that are critical to genuine scientific pursuit. When students are taught to break models they are better able to deal with failure, refine understandings, and extend the inquiry process.
      • Patterns Approach: Integrating STEM within Engineering Projects

      • GD06
      • Wed 07/30, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Bradford Hill
      • Type: Contributed
      • Within the confines of the Patterns Approach to Physics, one means of bridging engineering, math, and science practices is to embed inquiry investigations (the science) within engineering design tasks. Students seek patterns within the data to build mathematical models (the math) used for optimizing engineering design decisions. Four such engineering projects are presented: Wind Turbine, Bridge Design, Barbie Bungee Adventure, and Dynamic Paintings. In all of these examples students must both engage in the engineering cycle to address the problem and the inquiry cycle to generate data to inform their design. These projects, while familiar to many physics classrooms, are presented in the context of the Pattern Approach to teaching physics so the supporting materials and examples discussed would allow a teacher to easily use them.
      • Using Engineering Design to Engage Middle School Students in Physics

      • GD07
      • Wed 07/30, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by M Colleen Megowan- Romanowicz
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for science teachers to design instruction and engage their students in eight specific Science and Engineering Practices. Many of these practices are familiar to middle school teachers and are already embedded in their teaching practice, but a few--specifically "defining problems" and "designing solutions"--are novel ideas to them. Many teachers express concern that they have no formal education in engineering design nor do they have the experience, time, and resources necessary in their classrooms to create meaningful engineering activities for their students. In this session I will describe a project that is specifically designed to increase teachers' confidence and competence in implementing the eight NGSS science and engineering practices in their middle school classrooms. I will describe some of the PD in which teachers engaged and how teachers ultimately enacted engineering projects in their classrooms.
  • Bridging Research and Teaching through Computation

      • Bridging Research and Teaching through Computation

      • EA
      • Tue 07/29, 1:00PM - 3:00PM
      • by Jan Tobochnik
      • Type: Panel
      • Presenters will describe their research using computation and how it can enrich the undergraduate curriculum.
      • Using Computation to Teach the Physics of Phase Transitions

      • EA01
      • Tue 07/29, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Robert Swendsen
      • Type: Panel
      • The van der Waals model of a fluid has been an essential part of courses in thermodynamics since it was first proposed in 1873. It is relatively simple, but still gives a remarkably good description of the properties of real gases. On the other hand, the analytic solution of the van der Waals equations is non-trivial, which has led to the neglect of much of its richness. In this talk, I'll discuss how simple numerical methods can be used to generate graphs of the compressibility, the coefficient of thermal expansion, and the specific heat at constant pressure, all of which exhibit divergences at the critical point. The behavior of these quantities and others at first-order phase transitions turns out to be especially interesting. Numerical methods give rise to new insights into the van der Walls model that can greatly improve students' understanding and appreciation of the physics of phase transitions.
      • Still Water: Deadzones and Liquid-like Flow from Granular Impact

      • EA02
      • Tue 07/29, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
      • by Wendy Zhang
      • Type: Panel
      • The impact of two colliding objects is the rudimentary process that underlies splashing and coalescence at the human-size scale, as well as cratering and even planet formation on the celestial scale. Impact leads to catastrophic deformation as the incoming objects distort and change shape. Impact has also been used to create the quark-gluon plasma, the primordial constituents of the universe, in high-energy collisions in accelerators. Nonetheless, the seemingly complicated physics of impact can sometimes lead to elegant results that can be understood simply. I will describe our studies on the impact of granular jets composed of densely packed macroscopic grains. Impact onto a fixed target yields liquid-like ejecta flow whose structure is controlled by dissipationless perfect fluid flow, despite the fact that the impact process itself is highly dissipative. In contrast, the collision of two jets can produce an impact region that drifts steadily over time, with larger drift speeds produced by grains with larger coefficients of friction. Joint work with Jake Ellowitz, Herve Turlier, Nicholas Guttenberg and Sidney R. Nagel.
      • Teaching Statistical Physics with Python

      • EA03
      • Tue 07/29, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
      • by Leonard Sander
      • Type: Panel
      • I will outline my experience in teaching statistical physics at the graduate level using computer simulations in Python. This course uses the author's recent textbook, Equilibrium Statistical Physics, (Createspace, 2013). The book is based a point of view that the best way to learn this subject is to do hands-on computer simulations as part of learning the subject. Almost everyone who teaches physics courses knows that statistical physics seems peculiarly difficult to learn. The pioneers of this subject possessed a powerful imagination which allowed them to visualize chaotic, many-particle processes and understand their nature: this is the essential difficulty. Lesser mortals are enormously aided by using simulations to guide learning. In fact, I think that the easiest way to really grasp what is meant by entropy, irreversibility, and thermal equilibrium is to watch small many-particle systems develop in a concrete way, as I will demonstrate in the talk.
  • Broader Perspectives on Research in Learning Quantum Mechanics

      • Improving Students' Understanding of Quantum Mechanics

      • DC01
      • Tue 07/29, 8:00AM - 8:30AM
      • by Chandralekha Singh
      • Type: Invited
      • Learning quantum mechanics is challenging, in part due to the abstract nature of the subject. We have been conducting investigations of the difficulties that students have in learning quantum mechanics. To help improve student understanding of quantum concepts, we are developing quantum interactive learning tutorials (QuILTs) as well as tools for peer-instruction. The goal of QuILTs and peer-instruction tools is to actively engage students in the learning process and to help them build links between the formalism and the conceptual aspects of quantum physics without compromising the technical content. They focus on helping students integrate qualitative and quantitative understanding, and discriminate between concepts that are often confused. In this talk, I will discuss a theoretical framework to understand students' difficulties with quantum mechanics and give examples of how students' prior knowledge relevant for quantum mechanics can be assessed, and how learning tools can be designed to help students develop a robust knowledge structure and critical thinking skills.
      • Integrating Concepts, Multimedia, and Applications in Curricula for Quantum Mechanics

      • DC02
      • Tue 07/29, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Manjula Sharma
      • Type: Invited
      • Significant research effort is dedicated to student learning of quantum mechanics from the perspective of concepts, multimedia, and applications. Our research covers this landscape for both school and university curricula. An emergent finding from our studies is that a shifting focus through Schwab's common places (learner, teacher, subject matter and milieu) balances as well as enriches the learning cycle. This innovative curriculum design will be illustrated by two examples using "video slices" based on the Brunner cycle. The first example, Meissner effect, has been trialled with university students and in schools, while the second, MRI in medical imaging, with schools. The role of whole class discussions compared with small group work, as well as prior knowledge will be discussed. This curriculum design has been successfully implemented across selected topics in physics; those that are difficult to teach and/or poorly resourced. The resources are widely used in senior high school physics across the state.
      • The UK Institute of Physics Quantum Physics Resources

      • DC03
      • Tue 07/29, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by Derek Raine
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Quantum Physics project quantumphysics.iop.org of the UK Institute of Physics aims to support a modern approach to the teaching of introductory quantum mechanics based on two-level systems. The freely available online instructional materials include texts written by experts in the field, interactive simulations, activities and problems, with multiple paths through the material. This approach immediately immerses students in quantum phenomena that have no classical analog, using simpler mathematical tools that allow a greater focus on conceptual understanding. It allows from the start a discussion of interpretative aspects of quantum mechanics and quantum information theory. This presentation will give an overview of the online resources and the rationale behind the the project.
      • Interactive Simulations to Support Quantum Mechanics Learning and Teaching

      • DC04
      • Tue 07/29, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
      • by Antje Kohnle
      • Type: Contributed
      • The QuVis Quantum Mechanics Visualization project (www.st-andrews.ac.uk/physics/quvis) consists of research-based interactive simulations with accompanying activities for the learning and teaching of quantum mechanics at university level. Simulations support model-building by reducing complexity, focusing on fundamental ideas and making the invisible visible. They promote engaged exploration, sense-making, and linking of multiple representations, and include high levels of interactivity and direct feedback. This presentation will give an overview of the QuVis simulations embedded in the Institute of Physics Quantum Physics resources and describe recent evaluation efforts using student surveys and pre- and post-tests to assess learning gains. It will also describe recent work on further simulation development, including the move to HTML5. QuVis is supported by the UK Institute of Physics, the UK Higher Education Academy and the University of St Andrews.
      • Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) on Larmor Precession of Spin

      • DC05
      • Tue 07/29, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Benjamin Brown
      • Type: Contributed
      • We have been conducting research to develop and assess a quantum interactive learning tutorial (QuILT) on Larmor precession of spin to help students learn about the time dependence of expectation values in quantum mechanics. The QuILT builds on students' prior knowledge and helps them organize their knowledge hierarchically. It adapts visualization tools to help students build physical intuition about these topics. Details of the development and assessment will be discussed. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation.
      • Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) on Quantum Eraser

      • DC06
      • Tue 07/29, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Emily Marshman
      • Type: Contributed
      • We are developing and assessing a quantum interactive learning tutorial (QuILT) on quantum erasure. The quantum eraser apparatus uses a Mach Zehnder Interferometer with single photons, and exposes students to contemporary applications of quantum mechanics. The QuILT strives to help students develop the ability to apply quantum principles in physical situations, explore differences between classical and quantum ideas, and organize knowledge hierarchically. The QuILTs adapt existing visualization tools to help students build physical intuition about non-intuitive quantum phenomena. Details of the development and assessment will be discussed. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation.
      • Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) on Quantum Key Distribution

      • DC07
      • Tue 07/29, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Seth DeVore
      • Type: Contributed
      • We have been conducting research and developing and assessing a quantum interactive learning tutorial (QuILT) on quantum key distribution to expose students to contemporary and exciting applications of quantum mechanics. One protocol used in the QuILT on quantum key distribution involves generating a shared key over a public channel for encrypting and decrypting information using single photons with non-orthogonal polarization states and another protocol makes use of entanglement. The QuILT actively engages students in the learning process and helps them build links between the formalism and the conceptual aspects of quantum physics without compromising the technical content. Details of the development and assessment will be discussed. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation.
      • Quantum Mechanics Online for Non-Physics Students

      • DC08
      • Tue 07/29, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
      • by Dean Zollman
      • Type: Contributed
      • About 15 years ago the Visual Quantum Mechanics project created a series of research-based teaching/learning units to introduce quantum physics to a variety of audiences who normally would not study these topics. Interactive computer visualizations coupled with hands-on experiences created a student-centered series of activities. The instructional materials address a variety of concepts in quantum physics and applications to devices such as the light emitting diode. Whenever possible the students begin the study of a new concept with activities. They then build models of the physical phenomenon using interactive computer visualizations and conclude by applying those models to new situations. The original paper-and-pencil lessons and the visualizations are now freely available at http://web.phys.ksu.edu/vqm/. We are extending these activities to an online environment. We are modifying some of our teaching-learning strategies but we have been able to take advantage of the many web-based resources now available to build a research-based course.
  • Broader Perspectives: Research-based Strategies to Improve The Teaching And Learning of Physics And Astronomy

      • Conceptual Knots Exploration on Electromagnetic Phenomena and Quantum Mechanics

      • FG01
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Marisa Michelini
      • Type: Invited
      • In the framework of Model of Educational Reconstruction our research is focused mainly on two aspects: conceptual knots exploration (CKE) and vertical paths design (VPD), focusing on the building of formal thinking. Empirical research is carries out for CKE by means of questionnaires, in/out tests, tutorials and Rogersian interviews. CKE is an essential element for VPD. It was carried out in the calibration process of a questionnaire for university students on quantum mechanics and in many steps of a Design Based Research aimed at VPD on electromagnetic phenomena. The first step of VPD research is reasoning analysis on magnetic interactions in Conceptual Labs of Operative Exploration in primary school activities and in informal learning environment. Educational reconstruction of conceptual nuclei in electromagnetic phenomena and CKE are taking into account to design electromagnetic IBL paths. It was experimented at different school level, monitoring students learning trajectories in teaching/learning intervention modules.
      • Illuminating a Blind Spot in STEM Education Research

      • FG02
      • Wed 07/30, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Edward Prather
      • Type: Invited
      • In this talk I will assert that much of STEM education research suffers because it fails to attend to the fundamental role played by a student's worldview. A person's worldview can be thought of as the set of (often implicit and often non-rational) beliefs, presuppositions, and assumptions about reality, which affect one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors; influence one's symbolic creations; and determine what constitutes valid and important knowledge about the world. At its foundation, DBER naively assumes that if students better understand discipline knowledge and skills then they will be more likely to adopt scientific ways of understanding the world and develop positive beliefs about the role of science in society. I will discuss research being done at the University of Arizona on how to engage students in introductory physics and astronomy courses using curricula that gives scientific ideas empathy, scope and force, thereby helping learners develop scientifically compatible worldviews.
      • From Instructional Goals to Grading Practices: The Case of Graduate TAs

      • FG03
      • Wed 07/30, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
      • by Edit Yerushalmi
      • Type: Invited
      • Teaching assistants (TAs) are often responsible for grading student solutions. Grading communicates instructors' expectations, thus TAs have a crucial role in forming students' approaches to problem solving in physics. We investigated the grading practices and considerations of 43 first-year graduate students participating in a TA training course. The study utilized four student solutions, selected to reflect expert and novice approaches to problem solving and to elicit conflicting considerations in assigning grades. TAs were asked to list solution features and to explain how and why they weighed the different features to obtain a final score. We will describe how discussions of grading practices in the course, as well as one semester of teaching experience, impacted how the TAs grade student solutions. We will relate our results to the findings of a larger study to understand instructors' considerations regarding the learning and teaching of problem solving in an introductory physics course. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation.
      • Enhancing Student Learning in a Flipped Classroom

      • FG04
      • Wed 07/30, 10:00AM - 10:30AM
      • by Shih-Yin Lin
      • Type: Invited
      • In this talk, we discuss our experiences "flipping" a large-enrollment introductory mechanics course and report student learning in this new class format. In our flipped class, pre-recorded lecture videos are used to introduce students to new materials outside of the classroom. Classroom time is spent on group discussion, problem solving, and practicing scientific communication. We place special emphasis in our flipped class on engaging students in scientific communication and reasoning from fundamental principles. We will discuss how students engage with different elements in the course (e.g. classroom meeting, online lecture, online homework, forum, at-home labs) and how such understanding of student behaviors can be used to improve student learning. We will also compare student learning in the flipped class to that in a traditional lecture class. We will also present some difficulties in a flipped classroom that we have encountered along the way.
  • Confessions of a First Year Faculty Member

      • Confessions of a First Year Faculty Member

      • CH
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 6:00PM
      • by Andrew Mason
      • Type: Panel
      • Being a first-year physics faculty poses many challenges for which applicants are frequently not prepared when applying for a faculty position. We present a panel of recently hired junior faculty for discussion of this topic for the benefit of current graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career faculty. The panelists will discuss their respective hiring processes, as well as items for which they would have liked to have been more informed and/or better prepared in retrospect. A diverse range of academic institutions and backgrounds are represented on the panel, with the intent to address a wide range of academic career plans. Faculty members who anticipate being involved in upcoming hiring searches are also strongly encouraged to attend.
  • Creating Research-Like Experiences for All Students

      • Undergrad Students Do Authentic Research by Writing a Research Proposal

      • AC01
      • Mon 07/28, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Susan Wick
      • Type: Invited
      • Undergraduate STEM students can experience many elements of authentic research without setting foot in a lab. I will describe the genetic engineering proposal project that students do in the first semester of the Foundations of Biology course at the University of Minnesota and suggest how this approach could likewise be used in physics courses. A major goal is to provide them with the opportunity to do the work of the field, not just read about it. Our approach requires teams of students to identify a problem that could be solved with application of STEM approaches, and to integrate many elements of their coursework to propose a solution to the problem in both a written proposal and in a conference-style poster. With scaffolding and detailed rubrics for all stages of the project, students are capable of high-level work that gives them a glimpse of the creative aspects of doing science.
      • From Replicating Eratosthenes to Cavendish -- A Capstone Project for All

      • AC02
      • Mon 07/28, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Robert Hobbs
      • Type: Invited
      • For nearly 30 years Bellevue College has employed a capstone lab project in the last quarter of the first year calculus-based physics sequence. This assignment can provide many of the attributes of an undergraduate research experience and may be scalable/adaptable to a variety of institutions. Students confront design, fabrication, and measurement issues around an experimental question not addressed by labs in any part of the rest of the sequence. The current assignment requires them to improve the experiment informed by an analysis of preliminary results. Students must present their results to their peers accompanied by artifacts from the experiment. These artifacts often become part of our lecture demonstration equipment collection. Students perform part of the assessment of both their own teammates and other teams. History, our motivation, assessment, resource requirements -- both material and human, benefits, and problems will be addressed in the talk. See http://scidiv.bellevuecollege.edu/physics/hobbs/capstone/
      • Undergraduate Research Projects in UK Universities

      • AC03
      • Mon 07/28, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
      • by Ross Galloway
      • Type: Invited
      • Essentially all undergraduate physics degree programs in the UK require every student to complete a substantial research project, usually in the final year of the program. Students typically conduct this project while embedded within one of the physics research groups of their institutions. Project lengths vary but usually encompass 200-600 hours of work, and there is an expectation that the project should feature original research. I will discuss the nature of these research projects, highlighting features such as project topic allocation, pre-project preparation, assessment, and the student skills developed by the project work. I will discuss the strengths and also the challenges of this system, and give some examples of student project topics from my own institution.
  • Creating Research-Like Experiences for All Students II

      • The S-Lab: Research Experiences for all Students

      • BC01
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Stephen Mecca
      • Type: Contributed
      • The S-Lab (as it has been recently named) has been operating in its current state for over a decade in the Department of Engineering-Physics-Systems at Providence College creating and managing meaningful research experiences for many students both in the sciences and in other academic departments. This paper outlines the approach used in the lab, the student commitment, the physical and software tools (that include a recent implementation of lab archives), as well as some of the recent projects that have been undertaken. The lab experience for students has been significant. The impacts of S-Labs projects around the world especially in water, sanitation and education will be highlighted.
      • The Development and Implementation of a Senior Research Course

      • BC02
      • Mon 07/28, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Timothy Duman
      • Type: Contributed
      • This presentation will follow the development and implementation of our senior research (Phys 490) course at the University of Indianapolis. Phys 490 was designed so that a student would get experience with the following methods: theoretical, experimental and computational techniques used by physicists to solve problems. The idea behind this course is that a student would work on the same project but use these techniques to approach the problem. The student chooses their own project with the advice of an instructor. Students in this course were also required to present their work in three different ways: a written paper, a poster and an oral presentation.
      • Authentic Research in the Undergraduate Curriculum at Austin College

      • BC03
      • Mon 07/28, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Andra Troncalli
      • Type: Contributed
      • At Austin College, we believe that students learn physics best by doing physics. What better opportunity for our students to do physics and be active participants in their learning than by conducting authentic scientific research? Our physics majors (minors) are required to take two (one) of our "Research Experience in Physics" courses. Students work in small groups on independent research projects under the supervision of a faculty member. Research areas match the faculty members' expertise and interests, which include Superconductivity, Cosmology, Weather, and Observational Astronomy. We will present recent research investigations and discuss the benefits of these courses both to our current students and to our graduates.
      • Implementing Instructional Research Labs to Give Students Authentic Scientific Experiences in a Classroom Environment

      • BC04
      • Mon 07/28, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Benjamin Stottrup
      • Type: Contributed
      • We describe an approach to giving students authentic scientific experiences in a classroom environment, which we refer to as an instructional research lab. Instructional research labs are designed to replicate many of the benefits of undergraduate research, along with addressing many of its shortcomings, in a classroom environment. The goals of this approach are for students to engage in and understand authentic scientific practices and to develop identities as scientists. Students achieve these goals through developing research questions, planning experiments to carry them out, troubleshooting the inevitable problems that arise in these experiments, building on the work of others, collaborating in groups, writing proposals, keeping lab notebooks, and presenting their work. Our instructional research labs are implemented in the laboratory portion of a sophomore-level modern physics class at Augsburg College, and focus on the research topic of creating and characterizing hydrophobic surfaces, a topic that takes advantage of local resources and expertise. We describe our implementation of instructional research labs, as well as the underlying principles of our approach, which we believe could be applied in many other instructional environments using different research topics, resources, and expertise.
      • Assessing the Impact of Instructional Research Labs on Students' Scientific Practices and Science Identities

      • BC05
      • Mon 07/28, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Sarah McKagan
      • Type: Contributed
      • We report on a study of the impact of sophomore-level modern physics labs designed to give students authentic research experiences and support them in developing identities as scientists. In these labs, students propose their own research questions, develop plans to answer them, and carry out those plans, modifying them as necessary to address unexpected issues that inevitably arise. We demonstrate the effectiveness of these labs using evidence from analysis of questions during students' final presentations and from student interviews. We show that these labs support students in (1) engaging in authentic scientific practices, (2) giving accurate descriptions of the practices of scientists that are rooted in their own experiences, and (3) shifting from identifying as scientists in the future to identifying as scientists in the present. We argue that the third shift is caused by a metacognitive awareness of the first two shifts. That is, not only are students engaging in scientific practices and understanding what scientists do, but they are aware that they are doing so, and are excited and empowered by this awareness.
      • From Prepared Instructions to Self Reorganized Experiments

      • BC06
      • Mon 07/28, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Fuli Zhao
      • Type: Contributed
      • From the traditional instructions we have established a new set of experimental instructions called three periods training program in the course of General Physics Experiment at Sun Yat-sen Univeristy. The first period is focused on the regular measurements of basic physical quantity. The purpose is to make students be familiar and skillful with scientific measurement including the scientific notation and the analysis of experimental uncertainty. The second period is focused on the recognition of physics laws and relationships. In this period, the students can think in physics and with clear intention to find the relationships between certain parameters as well as the propagation of error. The third period is focused on the experiment with open questions and contents. The goal is to spark the students to start making research-like works including reorganizing research materials and writing experimental reports with the journal style and most importantly find their own views in the open part of the experiment. This work is supported by NSFC J1103211 and J1210034
      • A Versatile Lab for Research by Students at All Levels

      • BC08
      • Mon 07/28, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Randall Tagg
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Innovation Hyperlab serves students from middle school to graduate level. It is a university-grade research environment located in a former auto-shop building next to Gateway High School in Aurora, CO. The lab houses resources for 52 different technologies, such as mechanical components, analogy electronics, optical systems, micro-controllers, and nanoparticles. A website under development supports learning "on demand" about each technology. Components of the web-based learning can be assembled like LEGO(TM)-bricks into regular curricula at different levels (8th grade to graduate). A Saturday program engages K-12 students, undergraduates, teachers, and university faculty in collaborative research and innovation. Going well beyond the notion of a "maker space," the Innovation Hyperlab provides access to a broad range of the tools of applied physics and engineering in a single location and can disseminate resources to schools around the Colorado region.
      • Frictionless Racquetball?

      • BC07
      • Mon 07/28, 2:43PM - 2:40PM
      • by Mikhail Kagan
      • Type: Contributed
      • When a ball hits a surface, does the angle of reflection always equal the angle of incidence? Not at all! Depending on the interplay of the ball's spin and speed and the force of friction, the ball's behavior after the bounce may differ dramatically. Surely some experienced racquetball, Ping-­Pong, pool, tennis, and players alike take advantage of this fact. A physics teacher, in turn, can take advantage of the fact that by observing the bounce of a ball her students can determine the coefficient of friction between the ball and the floor. All it takes is a typical video (smartphone) camera and some standard software. To challenge the students beyond this standard exercise and to create a research-like opportunity for them, the teacher can then arrange for a "frictionless bounce."
  • Developing Experimental Skills in the Introductory Lab

      • First-Year Undergraduate Physics Labs: Constructing Knowledge and Understanding of Science

      • DE01
      • Tue 07/29, 8:00AM - 8:30AM
      • by Paul van Kampen
      • Type: Invited
      • We have restructured the first-year undergraduate physics labs which caterfor >300 non-physics majors. The labs were designed to be an enjoyable experience that helps students develop transferrable experimental skills, scientific skills (hypothesis testing, controlling variables, interpreting and drawing conclusions from their own experimental data), see science as a process of inquiry, address some conceptual difficulties, and enable them to carry out quasi-independent investigations. Over the course of a semester, the labs become less guided and less scaffolded while the students are given increasing levels of autonomy. Online pre-tests along with weekly surveys are used to assess the student's attainment, attitudes, experiences, and conceptual development. Student feedback has shown that the labs have been transformed into a more enjoyable experience where transferable experimental skills are developed. In this talk I will present an overview of the labs, where they have been successful, and aspects that need to be further developed.
      • Weaving Experimental Skills Throughout the Introductory Laboratory

      • DE02
      • Tue 07/29, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
      • by John Zwart
      • Type: Contributed
      • The laboratory portion of an introductory course sequence can be used to meet a wide variety of goals ranging from illustrating phenomena studied in class, to building intuition about how the physical world works, to confronting the unexpected. Helping students develop experimental skills is a crucial goal that needs to be addressed in lab, especially in light of the fact that most introductory textbooks do not specifically address this topic. Important skills that students should learn in lab include how to analyze data, how to communicate results and the art of designing an experiment. This presentation will discuss how we weave an experimental skills thread through our introductory lab sequence in order to help students develop these key skills. See http://homepages.dordt.edu/zwart/ for implementation details.
      • Structured Progression in a Sophomore-level Experimental Physics Course

      • DE03
      • Tue 07/29, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
      • by Ananda Shastri
      • Type: Contributed
      • What is the best way to structure increasing complexity into a sophomore-level experimental physics course? A set of experiments used at Minnesota State University Moorhead will be described. The course revolved around the central question: what is the criterion for two measurements to be considered significantly different? Before the semester began, key ideas from the student lab manual, textbook, and homework problems were prioritized. Experiments were classified as beginning, intermediate, and advanced. Expectations of student performance were gradually increased. An example of course's structured progression will be given from oscilloscope training to the construction of an electrocardiogram monitoring system.
      • Developing Design Skills in the Introductory Lab

      • DE04
      • Tue 07/29, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
      • by Joseph Kozminski
      • Type: Contributed
      • Building design skills into the introductory lab can be challenging for a variety of reasons. For example, the laboratory activities need to be well-scaffolded, and additional mentoring is needed during the lab periods so that the students are challenged but not unduly frustrated with their laboratory experience. For the last two years, much work has gone into restructuring the introductory lab and redesigning many of the laboratory activities to include design elements at Lewis University. In this talk, the design-related lab goals, some of the laboratory activities, and the mentoring required in such a lab will be discussed. How incorporating a design component has impacted the development of other important skills like collaboration, troubleshooting, making measurements, data analysis, and error analysis will be considered. And preliminary E-CLASS results indicating some early success in implementing these labs will be presented.
      • Developing Data Analysis Skills Using Scientific Learning Community Labs

      • DE05
      • Tue 07/29, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by Adam Lark
      • Type: Contributed
      • Scientific Learning Community (SLC) Labs were implemented for The University of Toledo's calculus-based introductory physics class. Students in these laboratories must design their own experiments, take meaningful data, and analyze that data to make conclusions about the concepts they are learning in laboratory that day. Interviews were conducted on students in both our traditional laboratories and SLC laboratories at the beginning and end of the semester. Interviewers asked students questions about how they would interpret and process a set of data. Using the hierarchy developed by Fred Lubben, these interviews were coded and compared showing the development of students' understanding of uncertainty and data analysis skills through the semester.
      • ISLE-inspired Pilot Program at Princeton University: Year One Results

      • DE06
      • Tue 07/29, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
      • by Katerina Visnjic
      • Type: Contributed
      • In an effort to enhance the traditional calculus-based introductory physics course at Princeton University, an Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) inspired pilot program is under way. In the first year, two lab sections performed ISLE-inspired labs and activities in class, while the remaining 10 sections received traditional instruction. We strove for a random selection of students. To assess the effectiveness of the pilot program, we conducted focus interviews to probe how students felt about the course and how relevant it was in their everyday lives. We chose a variety of interviewees based on final first-semester grade, gender, opting in, and opting out. In this talk, we will describe in more detail the pedagogical approach used in the experimental sections. Using the interviews and more quantitative data, we will compare student learning in the experimental sections with the traditional sections. We will conclude with future plans.
      • Estimating Uncertainties Using Upper-Lower Bounds

      • DE07
      • Tue 07/29, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Duane Deardorff
      • Type: Contributed
      • In our introductory physics laboratories at UNC-Chapel Hill, we have encouraged students to use a simplified approach to propagating measurement uncertainties using upper and lower bounds. In many cases, this approach is easier and more intuitive than the more traditional method of combining uncertainties in quadrature based on the propagation of error equation that utilizes partial derivatives. While this latter method is generally more accurate and consistent with the ISO Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM), the upper-lower bound method does not require calculus and yields uncertainty values that are similar in magnitude, especially when rounding to one significant figure. The pros and cons of this alternative approach will be shared.
      • Using Student's t-scores to Teach Measurement, Uncertainty, and Experimentation Skills

      • DE08
      • Tue 07/29, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Natasha Holmes
      • Type: Contributed
      • Many introductory physics labs ask students to conduct experiments to see or experience physics concepts from class first hand. Students collect data from these experiments and are expected to analyze the data to make sense of the physics equations they've learned in class. In first year, however, many of the students have little to no background in statistics. In addition, they enter the first year lab with misconceptions about the nature of measurement, uncertainty, and variability. This provides significant limitations to engaging students with physics concepts and developing experimentation skills. In the first-year honours physics lab at UBC, we have removed the conceptual physics learning goals from the course and replaced them exclusively with goals for learning data analysis and measurement skills. This year in particular, we have introduced the Student's t-test to the course material as a way to engage students in meaningful reflection of their results and to promote iterative experimentation. This talk will present some of these learning goals and new teaching techniques, as well as evidence of students' improved skills over previous iterations of the lab.
      • Testing Results from Fictitious Papers

      • DE09
      • Tue 07/29, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by John Welch
      • Type: Contributed
      • Students can get used to looking for the "right answer" in labs and often ask us things like "is a 15% error close enough?" We'd like to teach them about the excitement of unexpected results and give them the skills to recognize when an experiment is inconsistent with theory. One way to do this is to have students try to replicate results from fake (or real) papers. In doing so, they refine experimental technique, analyze data, and collaborate in order to make decisions about proposed theories. Examples of these labs, sometimes called Falsification Labs, will be presented.
      • From Open Source Electronics to Open Lab Curricula

      • DE10
      • Tue 07/29, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
      • by Zengqiang Liu
      • Type: Contributed
      • Acquiring analytical and experimental skills takes time and hands-on practice, including exploration and making mistakes. Formal laboratory alone is insufficient, which only averages two hours per week and is often too scripted. To solve this problem, we need a laboratory curriculum that emphasizes abundant supplemental hands-on, exploratory, and self-paced laboratory activities where students acquire their skills that may be assessed in formal laboratory. Supporting supplemental activities requires unrealistic amount in lab space and off-the-shelf apparatus. We present a viable solution: a low-cost open source electronic data acquisition platform. This AAPT award-winning platform will enable students to practice and explore physics in their own homes and at their own paces, opening the often closed-door of formal laboratory. It will enable instructors to design new curricula that focus on activities that build student skills. Some activities and curriculum development ideas will be discussed.
  • Educational Technology Highlights from MPTL

      • Educational Technology Highlights from MPTL

      • CA
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 6:00PM
      • by Wolfgang Christian
      • Type: Panel
      • Multimedia in Physics Teaching and Learning (MPTL) conferences have been organized annually since 1996 by a European-based multidisciplinary group of teachers and researchers who implement and study the uses of computers in the teaching of Physics. Recent topics at MPTL meetings include simulation and modeling tools, Arduino interfacing, virtual and remote laboratories, augmented reality, interaction with Course Management Systems, and simulations for for mobile devices such as tablets. The target population is undergraduate and high-school students and instructors. This session presents selected MPTL speakers from non-US countries to contribute to an international exchange of ideas and technology.
      • High-Speed-Video Learning Path on Complex Fluids: From Physical Laws to Cutting-edge Applications

      • CA01
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 6:00PM
      • by Peppino Sapia
      • Type: Panel
      • Video analysis of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids phenomenology provides to the physics teaching/learning process an extremely rich and exciting context to convey concepts, issues and methodologies concerning either traditional physics of fluids or cutting-edge research on materials properties. In this connection, a multimedia learning path is presented, based on high-speed and/or high-resolution video imaging of selected phenomena, easily reproducible in a teaching laboratory. The use of commercial grade photo/video cameras, together with freely available video analysis software, allows learners to explore unfamiliar phenomena related to fluids (such as viscoelasticity and super-hydrophobicity), allowing them to get in touch with the principal theoretical concepts and practical applications pertaining a context located at the boundaries among physics, chemistry and biology. The learning path, aimed to students of high school's last year or university undergraduates, presents both an illustrative character (aimed to capture the attention of learners) and more deep quantitative features, giving students and teachers methodological and practical hints to independently conduct and analyze their own teaching experiments. Moreover, presented activities and documental materials give teachers significant examples of the role of video-analysis either in education or in empirical research.
      • Multimedia in Acoustics

      • CA02
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 6:00PM
      • by Leopold Mathelitsch
      • Type: Panel
      • Visualization of acoustical phenomena can be regarded as true multimedia: Acoustical input is analyzed by electronic means and the results can be presented simultaneously and also interactively in a graphical way. It is obvious that this possibility also has substantial didactical value. For this purpose hard- and software have been developed concerning different aspects of acoustical phenomena. The European MPTL group and the American MERLOT consortium joined in a worldwide evaluation of available software on acoustics, leading to recommendations of "best" products with regard to physical content and pedagogical value. The contribution gives an overview of this evaluation procedure and presents examples exhibiting the richness of the acoustical world. These include investigations of sound taken from our technical and natural surroundings and analyses of musical instruments culminating in the most valuable one, the human voice.
      • Create Your Own Physics Simulations for Tablets Using EasyJava (script) Simulations

      • CA03
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 6:00PM
      • by Francisco Esquembre
      • Type: Panel
      • We introduce a major version of the successful Easy Java Simulations modeling tool that allows physics teachers to create, share, and distribute Java simulations with a very affordable level of training. This backwards-compatible, new release of EJS, now renamed EjsS, is also able to create simulations that run in HTML-enabled browsers, using algorithms written in Javascript. This means that simulations created with this new version of EjsS can run in virtually any computer or mobile platform, including smartphones and tablets. And the level of difficulty for the author remains the same. We have also created a Reader App for Android and iOS that allows a user to collect and organize a number of such simulations for use with students, on- or off-line. When online, the Reader App connects to the OSP collection at the comPADRE digital library, for the download of additional ready-to-use, tablet-enabled simulations.
      • Using Moodle to Design Physics Online Courses with Virtual and Remote Laboratories Based on EJS

      • CA04
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 6:00PM
      • by Luis De La Torre
      • Type: Panel
      • Easy Java Simulations (EJS) helps to create interactive simulations in Java, mainly for teaching and learning purposes. By means of this tool, instructors can easily create virtual and/or (if they also use the appropriate additional software) remote laboratories. Learning Management Systems (LMS) are software for web applications oriented for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of e-learning programs. Moodle is a free source LMS with more than 60 million users, which makes it the most used LMS around the world. Like some other LMS, the stated philosophy of Moodle includes a constructivist and social constructionist approach to education, emphasizing that learners (and not just teachers) can contribute to the educational experience. Virtual and remote laboratories (created with EJS, for example) as well as LMS (Moodle, for example) offer different but fundamental educational tools to both teachers and students. However, although these resources are complementary (and not mutually exclusive), the integration between them is still an open issue that must be addressed. Therefore, an e-learning program should offer both kinds of tools to be considered a complete experience for students. The EJSApp add-ons for Moodle gather together the two previous resources, offering the possibility to build and prepare e-learning programs based on: 1) experimentation (thanks to the use of the virtual and remote laboratories) and 2) theory documentation provision, social interactivity and easy management (thanks to the use of the LMS).
      • Multimedia Learning with Remote Labs and Virtual Experiments

      • CA05
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 6:00PM
      • by Raimund Girwidz
      • Type: Panel
      • Remote laboratories and virtual experiments can promote discovery-learning. Online experimental opportunities with real instruments in combination with supplementary simulations offer new possibilities for learning. From a pedagogical point of view, the direct combination of experimental studies with simulations and additional guidance is essential to contextualize learning, connect with theoretical reflection and thereby promote a deeper understanding. The following theoretical considerations are included: a) Offer additional representations to visualize essentials, b) support the development of mental models and link abstract concepts with realistic examples, c) use special features to promote "cognitive flexibility", d) use illustrations to structure knowledge, e) ensure a sufficient depth of processing f) avoid cognitive overload by sequencing information. Also some findings from empirical studies will be discussed, showing factors and conditions that are important to reach these goals.
  • Electronic Lab Notebooks

      • Electronic Lab Notebooks, Jet Packs, and Flying Cars

      • DH01
      • Tue 07/29, 8:00AM - 8:30AM
      • by Edward Price
      • Type: Invited
      • Electronic laboratory notebooks hold the promise of integrating computer-based data collection and analysis, written lab reports, digital archiving/sharing, and collaboration. Yet the reality often lags behind this promise. By adopting a broad perspective on educational technology, this talk will identify some of the conditions and features necessary for electronic lab notebooks to fulfill their promise and see wider usage. Lessons will be drawn from experience with TabletPC-based lab notebooks, photo-sharing websites, screencasts, and other educational uses of technology.
      • Experiences with Lab Notebooks in Blackboard 9.1 -- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

      • DH02
      • Tue 07/29, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
      • by David Klassen
      • Type: Contributed
      • Lab notebooks have been a mainstay in my introductory physics courses for quite some time now. In the spring of 2012 I transitioned from having each student keep their own physical notebook to each group of students keeping an online, electronic, notebook. This transition was done primarily to reduce waste and costs for students (having to buy lab notebook, half of which would go unused) and to reduce my burden (no more toting 24 notebooks to and from class and to and from home; scoring 1/3 as many notebooks). The secondary benefit was to introduce students to electronic means of keeping notes, including the use of modern online editor functions (equations, super- and subscripts, etc.). I will present here a summary of my experiences in having students use an online lab notebook platform; specifically, the use of BlackBoard 9.1 Wikis.
      • Using LabArchives in Introductory and Advanced Physics Lab Courses

      • DH03
      • Tue 07/29, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
      • by John Caraher
      • Type: Contributed
      • Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) promise multiple practical and pedagogicaladvantages over traditional paper lab notebooks, but their adoption poses some unique challenges. I describe my own experience using one commercially available solution, LabArchives, as an ELN in two courses -- the lab for a calculus-based introductory mechanics course and the lab for an upper-level atomic and molecular physics course, both taught at a selective liberal arts college. Topics will include: ELN organization, ease of use for both students and instructor, archiving and sharing notebooks, student feedback on LabArchives ELN use, and methods for including equations, graphs, diagrams and other non-text elements in student ELNs.
      • Using Student Screencasts for Assessment

      • DH04
      • Tue 07/29, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
      • by Andy Rundquist
      • Type: Contributed
      • In an effort to capture some of the authenticity of oral exams in my normal assessments, I have used student screencasts to assess student understanding and application of concepts. I have also extended that to laboratory reports. I will present the strengths and weaknesses of the approach, focusing on how it helps me provide both tailored feedback and authentic evaluations. One feature for labs is the ability to assess individuals in a group, as their voice added to a common document helps to identify points that are well understood by each member.
  • Exhibit Hall Opening and Reception

      • Exhibit Hall Opening and Reception

      • EXH01
      • Sun 07/27, 8:00PM - 10:00PM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
  • Getting Started in PER

      • An Example of Theory-driven Quantitative Analysis in Physics Education Research

      • AH01
      • Mon 07/28, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Lin Ding
      • Type: Invited
      • As the field of physics education research matures, a diverse range of methods are now being used for empirical investigations. Quantitative analysis is one of them, representing a unique paradigm useful for studying associations, regularities, and patterns in learning and teaching. As with other methods, fruitful quantitative analysis must be anchored in theory-driven frameworks in order for it to be defensible and generalizable. In this talk, I present an example of a quantitative study to highlight the role of theoretical framework in empirical PER. Drawing on the hypothesized causal influences of reasoning skills and epistemologies on content learning, this study seeks to test the relationships among these variables. Through path analysis, students' learning gains on the Force Concept Inventory is found to be causally related to their pre-instructional reasoning skills (measured by the Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning) and epistemologies (measured by the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey). Interestingly, post-instructional epistemology does not appear to be a significant causal factor for learning gains.
      • Getting Started in PER: Gender and Ethnic Minorities

      • AH02
      • Mon 07/28, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Laura McCullough
      • Type: Invited
      • This talk provides an introduction to Physics Education Research (PER) related to two under-represented populations in physics: women and ethnic minorities. The talk will begin with a brief overview of historical data on the participation of women and minorities in physics. Most of the talk, though, will focus on some of the questions that PER has asked regarding how physics education practices affect women and minorities. For example, what research is there on conceptual tests and women and minorities? How might different pedagogies affect these populations? How does stereotype threat help or hinder performance of men and women in physics? While not exhaustive, this talk will give audience members a good understanding of the current status of gender and minorities research in PER.
      • Getting Started: Physics Education Research and the Upper Division

      • AH03
      • Mon 07/28, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
      • by Michael Loverude
      • Type: Invited
      • The field of Physics Education Research (PER) has achieved many successes.Systematic investigations have revealed innumerable insights into student thinking at the introductory level, and the results of this work have led to the development and assessment of research-based instructional materials and assessment instruments. More recently a number of researchers have focused their attention on upper-division physics courses; these courses make up a large portion of the course offerings in most departments but tend to serve a far smaller number of students. Well established results from PER performed at the introductory level have allowed researchers to start on a firm foundation, but research in the upper division has led to a different set of challenges and opportunities. In this talk we will briefly explore the landscape of upper-division PER, characterize the existing literature, and point to some promising new directions.
  • Graduate Student Topical Discussion

      • Graduate Student Topical Discussion

      • TOP06
      • Mon 07/28, 6:00PM - 7:00PM
      • by Ben van Dusen
      • Type: Topical
      • This session is the primary opportunity for members of the PER graduate students community to meet and discuss common issues.
  • High School Topics

      • There Goes AP Physics B, Here Comes AP Physics 1 & 2

      • AA01
      • Mon 07/28, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
      • by Robert Morse
      • Type: Contributed
      • The long anticipated change in the AP algebra-based physics course occurs this fall. This paper will address some of the differences in style and content of assessment questions on the new AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2 exams, and highlight some of the resources that are available from the College Board in preparation for the new courses.
      • Implementing Inquiry-based Investigations in the AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2 Courses

      • AA02
      • Mon 07/28, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
      • by Martha Lietz
      • Type: Contributed
      • This talk will provide insight on how inquiry-based investigations supportthe understanding of the AP Science Practices. This talk will also highlight samples of the teacher support materials, such as the new inquiry-based laboratory guide, that are available to facilitate the transition to the instructional strategies that will support student success. This talk will also highlight sample questions of how the science practices will be assessed on the new exams.
      • Contributing to the Development of NGSS-based Large-Scale Assessments

      • AA03
      • Mon 07/28, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
      • by Thomas Regan
      • Type: Contributed
      • States are now considering adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Physics educators can help ensure the quality of the physics components of any ensuing large-scale assessments. To this end, leverage points (RFI, RFP, Scope of Work, Test Specifications, Item Specifications, Committees) of typical large-scale assessment programs will be identified. For each leverage point, strategies for incorporating the NGSS' strengths, and compensating for the NGSS' weaknesses, will be presented. Goals for the assessment will be presenting correct content, engaging the student in meaningful tasks, obtaining useful information, and transparency.
      • Computer Coaches in Problem Solving: Evaluation by High School Teachers

      • AA04
      • Mon 07/28, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by Andrew Mason
      • Type: Contributed
      • At the University of Central Arkansas we are investigating ways to integrate web-based computer coaches for problem solving into high school physics classes. The programs are designed to provide students with coaching in decision-making processes necessary for using an expert-like framework to solve physics problems and were originally developed at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities for university calculus-based introductory physics classes. We have modified a set of the programs to be used in algebra-based high school physics classes. During the summer and fall of 2013, we recorded written and spoken artifacts from nine high school physics teachers who evaluated the utility of the modified coaches both for the classroom and for teacher-training purposes. We categorize their statements and compare their implementations that of the original calculus-based coaches for university level courses. This work was partially supported by NSF DUE-0715615.
      • Improving Secondary Physics Through Morehead State's Early College Program

      • AA05
      • Mon 07/28, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
      • by Kent Price
      • Type: Contributed
      • Many secondary schools in Eastern Kentucky do not have the resources or personnel to offer a rigorous high school physics course. Some of those that do have little communication with university science departments. The result is that secondary students in the region wishing to pursue a degree in science or engineering will be less prepared for college. This presentation will provide an overview of two different strategies to improve high school physics instruction in the region, both through Morehead State's Early College program. One involves university physics faculty serving as mentor to a qualified high school teacher in the region. The relationship has resulted in significant student improvement on such measures as the Force Concepts Inventory and better alignment of the high school physics curriculum with university expectations. The other collaboration involves live internet-based instruction from college faculty to bring physics to a school system without a local physics instructor. Morehead State's Early College Physics program will be described, along with the advantages and disadvantages of the two different collaborations.
      • Multiple Representations in Modeling Instruction and Literacy Obsessed Administrators

      • AA06
      • Mon 07/28, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Igor Proleiko
      • Type: Contributed
      • Modeling Instruction uses multiple representations for the models, verbal description being one of the representations. Capitalizing on the verbal representation, the techniques of translating words into other representations, and other representations into words are discussed. The method allows to keep the administrators who have constant obsession with the "literacy" off your back while not sacrificing instruction time.
      • Implementing and Using Standards-based Grading for Learning

      • AA07
      • Mon 07/28, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Bradley Wysocki
      • Type: Contributed
      • Learn how to make the change to grading based on what students know, not how many points they earn. It's not as hard as you think! This talk will guide participants through the process of making the grading shift. Standards-based grading (SBG) is designed to assess students on a defined set of standards for the course. I've successfully implemented a SBG system in my high school physics and chemistry courses. The ideas of SBG can easily be related to any type of course. I will show you just how easy it is along with the tools available to help you get started. Some of my struggles and challenges will also be shared, however overall the change has been very positive!
      • Physics First - The app

      • AA08
      • Mon 07/28, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Meera Chandrasekhar
      • Type: Contributed
      • Want your students to have fun learning physics? Here's the Physics First app for teaching physics in ninth grade. For the past eight years our group has developed curriculum for teaching physics in ninth grade (Physics First). This curriculum was used to conduct professional development for ninth-grade science teachers to teach a yearlong course in physics (A TIME for Physics First). This curriculum, which is based on inquiry and modeling, has been transformed into an app that can be used on iOS, Android, or on a computer. In this app, students interact with the content by writing explanations, drawing diagrams and graphs, submitting their work for grading, and receiving feedback from their teachers. The app will be demonstrated during the presentation.
  • Historical Perspectives on Teaching Physics

      • Van Vleck Teaching Quantum Theory in the Midwest 1924/34

      • AB01
      • Mon 07/28, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Michel Janssen
      • Type: Invited
      • In this talk, I examine to what extent some general observations of ThomasS. Kuhn about the effects of scientific revolutions on textbooks and teaching are borne out by two books and a course on quantum theory by Kuhn's own PhD adviser, the American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate John H. Van Vleck. The two books are Van Vleck's Bulletin for the National Research Council (NRC) on the old quantum theory published in 1926, right after the quantum revolution, and his famous book on susceptibilities of 1932. Student notes for two editions of Van Vleck's graduate course on quantum mechanics survive, one for the 1927/28 edition in Minneapolis, one for the 1930/31 edition in Madison. These materials, I argue, suggest that there is much more continuity in the quantum revolution than Kuhn's picture of paradigm shifts allows for.
      • Gearing up to Learn Electromagnetism

      • AB02
      • Mon 07/28, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Cameron Lazaroff-Puck
      • Type: Invited
      • In this talk, I will cover the importance of mechanical analogy in teaching and developing theories of electromagnetism in the late 19th century at Cambridge University. In 1862 and 1865 James Clerk Maxwell published two seminal papers on electromagnetism both founded on physical analogies to simple machines designed by Maxwell himself. Maxwell's role as the first head of the Cavendish Laboratory, founded in 1874 as a teaching laboratory, provided him the opportunity to introduce these simple machines as teaching aides for a new generation of physicists learning his theory of electromagnetism. Editors of Maxwell's Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism made a similar choice, reintroducing mechanical analogy to the readers of his textbook. I contend that mechanical analogies were not only a crucial tool in Maxwell's individual quest to construct a theory of electromagnetism, but that they were also intended to help future students grasp the obscure electromagnetic relations that Maxwell had built on top of these mechanical foundations.
      • Using History to Teach the Atom, 1945-1958

      • AB03
      • Mon 07/28, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
      • by Bonnie Gidzak
      • Type: Invited
      • One approach to introducing atomic structure and processes is teaching thehistory of the discoveries. In contrast to the teaching of other physics concepts, this may seem simply like a convenient place to insert a history lesson to, for example, meet state education standards. However, in the early atomic age following World War II, the use of history played specific roles in atomic science high school and public education. Educators, scientists, and journalists used this historical approach to the atom in the late 1940s through 1950s because this view was seen as approachable, understandable, and less technical. Additionally, some educators and scientists used the historical approach in an effort to separate the science of the atom from the weapon of the atomic bomb. Drawing on curricular materials, popular media, professional education journals and select archival documents, my talk will examine the use and implications of the historical approach in atomic science education.
  • Histories Useful for Teaching Physics

      • Teaching the Physics of an Early Attempt at Medical Imaging

      • EH01
      • Tue 07/29, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Dean Zollman
      • Type: Invited
      • President James Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881. Knowledge of location of a bullet that was lodged deep in President Garfield's body was needed by physicians trying to save Garfield's life. Alexander Graham Bell proposed that he use his newly invented telephone and an induction balance to locate the bullet. [1] Bell's device was, in effect, the first metal detector and the first attempt at medical imaging without surgery. His device successfully detected metal in carcasses of animals and in Civil War veterans but the attempt to find the bullet in Garfield was not successful. A combination of scientific, political, and personal reasons led to Bell's failure. [2] The scientific aspects provide a good way for students to learn several concepts in electromagnetism and AC circuits. We have created a set of lessons that helps students understand both Bell's ideas and his failure. The lesson may downloaded at http://web.phys.ksu.edu/mmmm/.
      • Does Social Constructivism Translate from History to Education?

      • EH02
      • Tue 07/29, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
      • by Shawn Reeves
      • Type: Invited
      • What is it that physicists do? How do they make decisions? How do they find success? Historians help answer these questions; so, historians should be able help us answer these questions with students. But teachers and students also struggle with the same problems that vex historians, those concerning agency, priority, motivation, and interactions. Knowledge doesn't exist outside of us, nor does it reside solely in individuals, but it messily travels in society. We are better teachers when we coach students through the classroom and through society with tools that let students consider themselves a part of physics and physics a part of their society. We will discuss how the historiography of energy physics in 19th century Britain went constructivist, and whether that inspires us.
      • The Spheres of Eudoxus

      • EH03
      • Tue 07/29, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Todd Timberlake
      • Type: Contributed
      • In the 4th Century BCE, the Greek astronomer and mathematician Eudoxus of Cnidus developed a geometrical model to explain the observed motion of the planets. His model consisted of a series of connected, rotating spheres, all centered on the Earth. I will discuss the key features of Eudoxus' model (as reconstructed by Giovanni Schiaparelli in 1875) and present an open-source computer simulation that illustrates the model. I will discuss both the successes and the flaws of this model, and explain how a basic understanding of Eudoxan astronomy can help students appreciate the power and beauty of the later Ptolemaic astronomy. The computer simulation is available from the Open Source Physics collection at www.compadre.org/osp/.
      • Reading Galileo's Dialogues in a Course on Scientific Reasoning

      • EH04
      • Tue 07/29, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by James Simmons
      • Type: Contributed
      • In a general-education science course at Shawnee State University, students read selections from Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. This talk describes what students seem to learn from the experience and what aspects of scientific reasoning are illustrated by Galileo's Dialogue.
      • Historical Development of Ideas About Light, Color and Vision

      • EH05
      • Tue 07/29, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Scott Bonham
      • Type: Contributed
      • A major goal of general education is an understanding of the nature and process of science. My course Light, Color and Vision addresses this in part through reading and discussing historical development of ideas about light, color and vision. Not only do students learn about different important figures such as Alhazan, Fresnel, Michelson, and Einstein, they read selections written by Aristotle, Huygens, Newton and Maxwell on the nature of light and color. As many students have never before read these kinds of texts, I find it important to provide them guides to direct and class discussion time to help them process their reading. Not only does this approach provide my students with a new perspective on the subject and how science works, but gives some of my students who struggle with the quantitative components of the course a way to engage with science that plays more to their strengths.
      • Why Benjamin Thompson Began to Study Heat

      • EH06
      • Tue 07/29, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Ruth Howes
      • Type: Contributed
      • Benjamin Thompson was an American farm boy. The first years of his life were a struggle to obtain an education. When he was sent as a school teacher to Concord, NH, he acquired a rich wife and the interest of the British governor who enjoyed science and was able to afford to pursue it. Thompson acquired an interest in science which was nourished by his attempts to establish himself in society through a military career that took him to England, back to the U.S. and ultimately to Bavaria. His approach to problems of the nature of heat was always motivated by practical applications, such as the Rumford fireplace. Thompson's story is a tale of a gifted scientist who never had formal education in the field. His story should thus serve as an object lesson for students who love to solve practical problems.
  • If They Build It, They Will Learn

      • Build a Submarine Lab: Buoyancy, Density, Volume, and Pressure

      • DK01
      • Tue 07/29, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Lori Nesbitt
      • Type: Contributed
      • This class is about underwater exploration. We will play with the conceptsof buoyancy, density, volume, and pressure enabling us to explore a body of water at varying depths. It will be your job to figure out how to use these concepts to dive and retrieve objects while being fully in control! Your first challenge is to design a set of simple devices that house instruments to take water samples for the Water Quality Monitoring Project. You need to collect samples at the surface, middle and bottom of the body of water. You need to design three instruments, each varying in density, so one will float, one will hover, and one will sink. Your second challenge is to design and create a vessel that can become negatively buoyant, retrieve an object at the bottom, then become positively buoyant to bring the object back to the surface.
      • There's More to the Story: Activities to Accompany Middle School Literature

      • DK02
      • Tue 07/29, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by William Reitz
      • Type: Contributed
      • Try several make n takes that flow from popular MS fiction, nonfiction andgraphic novels. Materials and references provided.
      • Sound and Music on the Cheap

      • DK03
      • Tue 07/29, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Wendy Adams
      • Type: Contributed
      • Several hands-on sound and music activities for ages 4-100 will be presented. Materials and instructions will be provided to assemble your own straw trombone and cup banjo. Other acoustic demonstrations will be presented including tuning fork transfer of energy to Ping-Pong balls and water and resonance with pasta and raisins.
      • Sparking Student Interest: E&M Activities for Middle School and Beyond

      • DK04
      • Tue 07/29, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
      • by Anne Cox
      • Type: Contributed
      • Students build a stylus for an i-device/smartphone, simple motor and otherdevices in activities inspired by a DIY ("Do-It-Yourself") or "Maker" philosophy. The idea is for students to learn as they build their own experiments or demonstrations. These activities have been used successfully with middle school as well as introductory college students.
  • Incorporating Metacognition in Physics Instruction and Assessing Outcomes

      • Scientific Articles and Metacognition -- Enhancing Students' Understanding

      • CB01
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by Yehudit Dori
      • Type: Invited
      • Reading scientific articles is a vital part of communicating scientific knowledge to high school and undergraduate students, our future citizens, for preparing them to be independent life-long learners. Reading is an active process, which demands constructing new knowledge and linking it to prior knowledge. We have demonstrated the importance of training students in applying a metacognitive tool for facilitating students' reading and analyzing scientific articles. The tool guides students how and when to use various reading strategies and monitor their own understanding of scientific texts. In my talk, I will refer to the metacognitive aspect of scientific literacy and describe two metacognitive studies, one conducted with high school chemistry majors and the other with bio-medical undergraduate students. Finally, I will discuss the implications of these studies to science education in general and physics education in particular.
      • Guiding and Gauging Students' Reflective Metacognition

      • CB02
      • Mon 07/28, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Andrew Boudreaux
      • Type: Invited
      • Historically, physics education research has guided development of instructional strategies that significantly boost conceptual understanding. Recently, efforts have expanded to more implicit instructional goals, such as promoting expert-like views about what must be done to learn new physics ideas. Progress in promoting the "hidden" curriculum has been slow: most pre/post measurements have in fact yielded negative gains. At Western Washington University, we are exploring ways of promoting student reflection, a backward-looking form of metacognition.* Experts somehow develop the conscious habit of reviewing what they have learned and checking for gaps in their understanding, but what can be done to hurry the process along? In the context of a lab-based reflection activity, we have collected written and video data, with twin goals of guiding modification to the instruction and contributing to the knowledge base on student metacognition. This talk will describe the instructional approach and illustrate specific modes of student reflection. *Work supported by NSF DUE-1245993.
      • Epistemic Impact on Metacognition in Cooperative Group Problem Solving

      • CB03
      • Mon 07/28, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by Andrew Mason
      • Type: Invited
      • Cognitive apprenticeship for physics problem solving has been demonstratedto show potential for students to reflect upon their problem solving attempts. In the context of introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS), a concern exists that non-physics science majors may have attitudes towards physics that mitigate the efficacy of a metacognitive problem solving exercise. A weekly metacognitive intervention adapted from Yerushalmi et al. (2012) was administered in a lab group problem solving setting for a first semester algebra-based introductory physics course. MPEX and CLASS surveys were used in a pre-post format for respectively the fall 2013 and spring 2014 semesters. Other forms of data include written artifacts from the students themselves about aspects of problem solving with which they struggled, as well as an end-of-semester survey about the usefulness of the exercise. We discuss the effectiveness of the reflection task with respect to the students' attitudes towards problem solving.
      • Metacognitive Intercessions in Student Conceptions

      • CB04
      • Mon 07/28, 5:30PM - 6:00PM
      • by Adam Johnston
      • Type: Invited
      • Research in conceptual change is clear: Students cannot simply process information, but must also actively reflect upon and contrast it to what they already know, even when the preexisting knowledge isn't well articulated to them. Our work sets up various prompts before asking conceptual questions to see if we can activate student metacognition, as well as to see the extent to which these activations change student responses to such questions. In particular, we prompt students to consider how an expert in the field would respond to particular questions, or how students themselves would respond to the same prompts when considering different characterizations of what they know (e.g., "belief" vs. "knowledge"). Our work compares these strategies in introductory physics courses to introductory psychology courses to further examine the kinds of metacognitive skills and misconceptions students have in different disciplines.
  • Interactive Lecture Demonstrations - Whats New? ILDs Using Clickers and Video Analysis

      • Interactive Lecture Demonstrations: Active Learning in Lecture Including Clickers and Video Analysis

      • CK01
      • Mon 07/28, 4:50PM - 5:20PM
      • by David Sokoloff
      • Type: Invited
      • The results of physics education research and the availability of microcomputer-based tools have led to the development of the Activity Based Physics Suite. (1) Most of the Suite materials are designed for hands-on learning, for example student-oriented laboratory curricula such as RealTime Physics. One reason for the success of these materials is that they encourage students to take an active part in their learning. This interactive session will demonstrate "through active audience participation" Suite materials designed to promote active learning in lecture?--Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) (2), including those using clickers and video analysis.
      • Interactive Lecture Demonstrations: Effectiveness in Teaching Concepts

      • CK02
      • Mon 07/28, 5:20PM - 5:50PM
      • by Ronald Thornton
      • Type: Invited
      • The effectiveness of Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) in teachingphysics concepts has been studied using physics education research based, multiple-choice conceptual evaluations.(1) Results of such studies will be presented, including studies with clicker ILDs. These results should be encouraging to those who wish to improve conceptual learning in their introductory physics course.
      • ILDs Using "Energy Skate Park" and "My Solar System" PhETs

      • CK03
      • Mon 07/28, 5:50PM - 6:00PM
      • by Rebecca Forrest
      • Type: Contributed
      • Interactive Lecture Demonstration (ILD) worksheets were created based on the "Energy Skate Park" and "My Solar System" PhET Interactive Simulations available at http://phet.colorado.edu. The worksheets are implemented following the Eight-Step ILD procedure, with PhET simulations used in place of physical demonstrations. This allows use of the ILD method in situations that cannot easily be tested with classroom demonstrations, such as with the universal law of gravity.
  • Introductory Courses

      • Should (and Can) We Teach Forces First?

      • FD01
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
      • by Andrew Pawl
      • Type: Contributed
      • Interactions are the heart of the mechanics course and forces are the fundamental representation of interactions. Thus, from an educational theory standpoint, teaching forces first in mechanics is an attractive option. Traditional instruction in mechanics, however, begins by teaching the concept of acceleration from a kinematic perspective before introducing Newton's second law. I briefly summarize a pedagogy that illustrates the potential utility of teaching forces before kinematics and presents evidence that college students in calculus-based mechanics perform equally well in courses that begin with forces as they do in courses that begin with kinematics.
      • Phenomenon-based Learning Using Gadgets & Gizmos

      • FD02
      • Wed 07/30, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
      • by Matthew Bobrowsky
      • Type: Contributed
      • Phenomenon-Based Learning (PBL) arose from a collaboration with teachers in Finland, which is now seen as a major international leader in education. PISA assessments showed that Finnish students were among the top in science proficiency levels. Of 74 countries, in 2009 Finland ranked #2 in science. (The U.S. ranked #23.) The PBL teaching philosophy combines elements of what's done in Finland with what's known about effective teaching based on science education research. The approach includes responsive teaching and inquiry-based collaborative learning, along with elements of problem-based learning, project-based learning, and hands-on experiments. The idea is to teach broader concepts and useful thinking and performance skills (as with NGSS) rather than asking students to simply memorize facts. By exploring first and getting to a theoretical understanding later, students are working like real scientists, having the opportunity to pursue creative approaches to understanding, learning more, and having fun in the process!
      • Integrating Practices and Core Ideas into Introductory Physics Courses

      • FD03
      • Wed 07/30, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
      • by James Laverty
      • Type: Contributed
      • The current curriculum in most introductory college physics classes nationwide centers almost exclusively on content knowledge. Many recent national publications have called for an integration of scientific practices (e.g. Construct and Use Models) into the curriculum to teach students the process of science as well. In the Physics and Astronomy Department at Michigan State University, we are working with faculty to incorporate practices into the introductory physics courses. As part of this process, we are developing assessment items that integrate both the practices and core ideas of introductory physics. These items are being used as a stepping stone to develop curricular changes in the courses as well. This talk will focus on this development process and its current status.
      • Project-based Learning to Foster Students' Learning in Introductory Physics

      • FD04
      • Wed 07/30, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by N. Sanjay Rebello
      • Type: Contributed
      • Project-based learning (PBL) is a model of teaching in which students learn new knowledge and gain new skills by conducting learning projects that are closely related to their career or to real life. This model has proved to have positive effects in fostering students' self-motivation, activeness, and creativity in learning; as well as in helping students relate classroom knowledge to real life. At the University of Transportation (Vietnam) we conducted a study in which 200 first-year students majoring in transportation engineering took a course in calculus-based introductory physics in PBL format. Students worked in groups of three or four on several projects related to their major. We found that these students not only gained new physics knowledge and team-work skills but also became more capable of applying those knowledge and skills to real-life projects related to their major.
      • Adapting Upside-down Pedagogies for a Hybrid Introductory Mechanics Studio

      • FD05
      • Wed 07/30, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
      • by Kristine Callan
      • Type: Contributed
      • At Colorado School of Mines, the calculus-based introductory mechanics course has been taught using a hybrid lecture/studio model since 1997. As part of our continued efforts to refine the course, we have recently changed our pedagogy in an effort to further increase the level of interactive engagement and make the course more streamlined and coherent. In this current implementation, each topic is covered through a sequence of: 1) concise pre-lecture readings -- written in-house; 2) a 50-minute lecture where concept questions and problem-solving examples are used to model application -- i.e., no content delivery; 3) a 110-minute studio session where students collaborate in groups of three on experiments and scaffolded problem solving tasks; and 4) a series of example and homework problems -- mostly written in-house. We will present data from two semesters of this pilot study, with ~1000 students taking the course during this time span.
      • A Modern Physics Course Featuring Theory, Computation, and Experimentation

      • FD06
      • Wed 07/30, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Marie Lopez del Puerto
      • Type: Contributed
      • The transition from lower-level to upper-level physics courses is difficult for many students as the course material becomes more abstract and the mathematics more sophisticated. At the same time, students need computational skills such as plotting, fitting data, and modeling, as problems become more complex. We describe the development of a sophomore-level "Applications of Modern Physics" course that bridges the lower-level and upper-level curriculum for electrical engineering and physics students. The laboratory for the course is closely tied to the class and illustrates complex concepts such as quantized energy levels and probabilities in classical and quantum physics, following the theme of "particles in a box." Laboratories consist of tutorials using simulations, computational modeling using MATLAB, and brief, illustrative experiments. Thus, the course features the interplay between theory, computation, and experimentation that is central to the advancement of scientific knowledge.
      • How "First Day" Activities in Physics Courses Generate Student Buy-In

      • FD07
      • Wed 07/30, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Jon Gaffney
      • Type: Contributed
      • The first day of class sets the stage for the rest of the semester by setting expectations for the course. It is especially important to set those expectations in an active learning physics course because they are often quite different than expectations students have upon entering the course. Some faculty members have created activities specifically intended to generate such shifts, but whether those activities succeed in generating student buy-in may largely depend on how the activities are conducted. In this talk, we will present a hypothesis based on two existing theoretical constructs: instructor credibility and face threat mitigation. Together, those ideas describe one way that first day activities help generate a favorable classroom climate. We will discuss one activity that is used in the Physics for Teachers course at Eastern Kentucky University in terms of those constructs to demonstrate the plausibility of our hypothesis.
      • C3PO: Customizable Computer Coaches for Physics Online

      • FD08
      • Wed 07/30, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by K. Heller
      • Type: Contributed
      • Problem solving plays a crucial role in introductory physics. However, most introductory physics students are not skilled enough in problem solving to use it effectively as a learning tool. These students need coaching to improve their problem solving skills as they learn physics. Computers are a potential tool to provide this coaching since they are patient, non-threatening, and available 24/7 over the Internet. This talk will briefly describe such coaches and their success in the first semester of large calculus-based physics at the University of Minnesota. It will also describe the next generation of computer coaches that are designed to be easily modified by instructors. Important contributions to this presentation by: K. Crouse, E. Hoover, J. Yang (U. Minnesota), J. Docktor (U. Wisconsin, La Crosse), K. A. Jackson (U. Central Michigan) , and A. Mason (U.Central Arkansas). This work was partially supported by NSF DUE-0715615 & 1226197.
      • Implementation of Web-based Problem Solving Computer Coaches in Classroom

      • FD09
      • Wed 07/30, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
      • by Bijaya Aryal
      • Type: Contributed
      • This presentation describes the integration of web-based computer coaches into small classes at University of Minnesota Rochester. Implementations have included students using the coaches outside of class as part of homework as well as the use of coaches as part of small group work inside the classroom. I will present the challenges faced by students and instructor both inside and outside the classroom, and describe the nature of students' group dynamics when they used the coaches to facilitate group work. In addition, I will discuss the impact of the coaches on students' course performance and how in-class use of the coaches affected their subsequent usage outside class.
  • Introductory Courses II

      • How Do We Motivate Students to Study the Text?

      • GF01
      • Wed 07/30, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Brad Trees
      • Type: Contributed
      • As physics instructors, we often bemoan the tendency for students to read the text only as a means to an end--namely, solving assigned end-of-chapter problems. How can we motivate students to study the text before jumping headfirst into homework problems? This talk discusses an effort to provide a framework within which students interact with dynamic content in a digital-only format. The framework is based upon a series of short-answer conceptual questions that are posed to the student as new material is introduced. Instructors can assign these questions, which are graded online, as part of a reading assignment before class. The results can be stored electronically and made available to instructors to inform class preparation. Over the course of a chapter, students will, in effect, have constructed an assessment portfolio based on the results of these conceptual questions.
      • Encouraging Metacognitive Thinking with Exam Wrappers

      • GF02
      • Wed 07/30, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Jeffrey Phillips
      • Type: Contributed
      • Ideally students use the feedback provided them on a graded test to make adjustments in their study habits, but often they fail to do this since each test is seen as an isolated incident. To encourage metacognitive thinking across tests, students are asked to reflect on the source of their errors and plan strategies for avoiding them in the future. By framing this activity as test corrections, where students can earn back some of their missed points, virtually all of students happily participate. The structure of these wrappers, including strategies for keeping the instructor's workload manageable, will be presented along with sample student work.
      • Study of Informal Learning Communities and its Reflection on Learning

      • GF03
      • Wed 07/30, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by Yuehai Yang
      • Type: Contributed
      • We have studied the student social network data collected from the weekly self-reported poll about who works with whom during the whole semester of an algebra-based introductory college physics class. This investigation is seeking understandings about patterns of formation of informal learning communities outside the traditional lecture classroom and which components of the class will enhance the network formation. Our study also analyzes the relationship between students' network positions as they work together in groups outside the classroom with their performance on exams and homework.
      • Problem Solving and "Beginning with the Physical Situation"

      • GF04
      • Wed 07/30, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Dennis Gilbert
      • Type: Contributed
      • This presentation elaborates on moving students to "begin with the physical situation" in problem solving and developing conceptual understanding in calculus-based General Physics. A variety of visual tools and interventions in class discourse will be presented, which support students in transforming their approach to problems solving. These diagrams and discourse interventions also provide students tools for greater awareness of their evolving understanding of the nature of science and physics, level of knowing, problem solving, and their identity as physics learners.
      • Open Ended Problems: Video Analysis by Students

      • GF05
      • Wed 07/30, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Mary Brewer
      • Type: Contributed
      • In an attempt to enable students to move beyond standard textbook problemsand apply physics concepts to real situations, students in first-semester general physics are given a set of videos to analyze. The videos often show impossible or unlikely situations and students are to draw conclusions about the validity of the videos based upon what they can measure, calculate, and conclude for each situation. Since each situation can be analyzed in different ways and there is no one right answer, students show greater creativity and problem solving skills than with traditional textbook problems.
      • The Effect of Online Lecture on Performance in a Physics Class

      • GF06
      • Wed 07/30, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by John Stewart
      • Type: Contributed
      • This talk will examine the difference in student performance between students attending lecture in person and students choosing to watch the lecture on video as part of an online class. The option to watch the lecture on video was implemented mid-semester in fall 2012 so that the performance of the same set of students could be compared. A fully online lecture section was introduced in spring 2013. Higher than expected withdrawal rates have been experienced in the online sections of the class. These will be examined in the context of the historical performance of the class, the demographics of the students, and their motivation for enrolling in the online experience. Differences in time-on-task for online and face-to-face students will also be presented.
      • Another Look at Elementary but Surprising Facts About Evaporation

      • GF07
      • Wed 07/30, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by A. Mallmann
      • Type: Contributed
      • Analysis of easily obtained data made me aware of some facts about evaporation of liquids that surprised me, and may surprise you as well. Those facts inspire questions, problems, and laboratory projects for students of introductory physics courses. I will describe projects that range from those appropriate for general physics students to the more challenging goal of predicting how the temperature of evaporating water depends on time. I will show how that goal can be accomplished by solving a differential equation that is not as easy to solve as the differential equations for simple harmonic motion and the infinite-square-well problem that we typically solve by inspection.
      • Sequencing Kinesthetic Activities to Explore Observation Location

      • GF08
      • Wed 07/30, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Mary Bridget Kustusch
      • Type: Contributed
      • There has been growing interest in the use of kinesthetic and embodied learning activities in the classroom. This talk presents a new sequence of previously developed kinesthetic activities, where the sequencing is designed to provide students with multiple opportunities to explore the role of the observation location on electric and magnetic fields. We will also present some preliminary data on the use of this sequence in an algebra-based introductory electromagnetism course.
      • The Mysterious Static Friction

      • GF09
      • Wed 07/30, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Harold Stokes
      • Type: Contributed
      • The concept of static friction causes a great deal of trouble for students. They have an especially difficult time determining its direction. I will present a number of clicker quizzes that help students deal with this concept as well as illustrate the type of trouble they experience.
      • Angular Momentum and the Motorcycle Turn

      • GF10
      • Wed 07/30, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by J. Ronald Galli
      • Type: Contributed
      • The torque from the handlebars that causes the front wheel of a motorcycleto lean and a subsequent torque of gravity that turns the wheel (and therefore the entire motorcycle) is known as counter-steering. This presentation will explain the physics of a typical motorcycle turn. My 4-ball gyro bicycle "wheel" demonstration will be used to explain precession in simple terms.
  • Introductory Labs and Apparatus

      • Development of Students' Scientific Abilities Through In-lab Inquiry-based Oriented Instruction

      • AI01
      • Mon 07/28, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
      • by Sergio Flores Garcia
      • Type: Contributed
      • Inquiry-based physics is integrating in-lab learning approaches. The five phases of inquiry-based conceptual understanding are: 1) Design: We propose two or three questions and one hypothesis. Students ask three more questions and establish a new hypothesis. Students generate a general question, specific questions, and a hypothesis during the first phase. These questions and the hypothesis are the central axis of the cognitive strategy; 2) Preparation: Students design a new experiment. They draw a sketch of the components and prepare a list of equipment and materials to develop the physical learning situation; 3) Experimentation: Students choose equipment and material from a hardware storage to achieve scientific abilities; 4) Measure: Students use equipment to generate motion graphs; and 5) Discussion: This phase is related to the exploration of a possible meaningful understanding by answering conceptual questions based on the content of the experimentation. We will present students' mechanics understanding results to compare both treatment and control groups collected in the University of Juarez Mexico.
      • Facilitating Collaboration in an Online Introductory Astronomy Laboratory

      • AI02
      • Mon 07/28, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
      • by Bruce Palmquist
      • Type: Contributed
      • Student collaboration is an important component of laboratory experiences.In my online introductory astronomy class, students use Google Docs, a free online word processor that lets them collaborate synchronously or asynchronously. At the start of the term, students are assigned to heterogeneous ability groups. Each group gets a unique link to a given week's lab activity template. The instructor controls when students can add content to the template and can even work with the students on the report if they need help. No documents are emailed back and forth. After the due date, the instructor makes the template "read only" and provides feedback to the group on their lab template. To ensure effective collaboration, each student fills out a Google Form evaluating the quality and quantity of work done by group members. A student's lab report grade is a combination of the lab points earned and the peer grade.
      • Hybrid Visual-tutorial Instruction Model to Learn the Concept of Electric Charge

      • AI03
      • Mon 07/28, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
      • by Maria Gonzalez
      • Type: Contributed
      • The University of Juarez and the University of Texas at El Paso have developed a hybrid-instruction instructional model to combine lab activities and a tutorial-based inquiry through the use of a video. Students from the introductory physical sciences courses can construct the concept of electric charge. Data were collected through a post-test, a pre-test and a conventional lab designed in the same context of the corresponding learning topics. Students are exposed to a 20-min video previously to the lab activities. This video is available for students thought the whole lab. Students have the option to watch any section of the video as many times as they need it. Results show that students' questions related to lab procedures and conceptual content are reduced. Finally, we will present the corresponding learning gains and the possible mechanics-electricity transfer of knowledge of both, treatment and control groups.
      • Measuring Centripetal Acceleration with a Liquid Accelerometer

      • AI04
      • Mon 07/28, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by D. G. Sumith Doluweera
      • Type: Contributed
      • As a comprehensive PhysTEC site, GSU has undertaken a reform of calculus-based introductory physics. As part of this reform, a new experiment was developed to enhance students' conceptual understanding of centripetal acceleration. The experiment was done before introducing forces and just after discussing acceleration in two dimensions. The behavior of liquid accelerometer under linear acceleration was explained and demonstrated to students without discussing dynamics. Then they were asked to use the liquid accelerometer to observe the direction of centripetal acceleration and qualitative changes in magnitude of the centripetal acceleration with radius and angular speed. The experiment was designed as a guided inquiry. Students used the equation for liquid accelerometer to measure centripetal acceleration at a point in a rotating platform and tested out the theory learned in class as a hypothesis. The experiment and student responses are discussed.
      • Measuring the Acceleration Due to Gravity

      • AI05
      • Mon 07/28, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
      • by Thomas Greenslade
      • Type: Contributed
      • Racing is the sport of kings, but finding the value of the acceleration due to gravity is the sport of physics teachers. I once laid out a schedule of first-semester labs in which each one resulted in a value of "g". Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed. In this talk I will discuss a number of ways to measure this value that have been used in the past.
      • A Single Drop Milikan's Experiment

      • AI06
      • Mon 07/28, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Dag Hanstorp
      • Type: Contributed
      • I will present an experimental set-up in which optical levitation is combined with Millikan's classical oil drop experiment. An oil drop trapped in a focused vertically aligned laser beam is made to oscillate by applying an alternating electric field. The position of the drop is observed by imaging scattered laser light onto a screen and the radius of the drop is measured by detecting the diffraction pattern produced when illuminated with a horizontally aligned He-Ne laser beam. The number of excess charges on the drop can be measured, and number of charges can be reduced by exposing it to a radioactive source. The goal of the project is to design a system that can be used to demonstrate several fundamental physical phenomena using the bare eye as the only detector. The experiment can be used for classroom demonstrations or as a laboratory exercise on the college level.
  • K-12 PER

      • How Knowledge of Students' Ideas Affects Teaching

      • BG01
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
      • by Michael Wittmann
      • Type: Invited
      • One joy in teaching physics lies in attending to students' ideas, taking them seriously, analyzing on the fly where they need help, building on what they know, and enabling them to go further than they might have expected. Can the skill of listening to and working with student ideas be taught? As part of two graduate-level courses in physics education research, we emphasize attention to student thinking through analysis of student work, carrying out interviews, and studying classroom video. In this talk, I'll present our course design, evidence of why this approach matters, and some stories by teachers who have gone through our course on the effect it had on their teaching.
      • Review of an Integrated Physical Science Course for K-8 Teachers

      • BG02
      • Mon 07/28, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
      • by Barbara Gonzalez
      • Type: Invited
      • Physics-Chemistry 102, "Physical Science for Future Elementary Teachers" is one of three courses that were developed at California State University Fullerton as part of an NSF-funded initiative to enhance the science content understanding of prospective teachers; the other courses cover geology and biology. PHYS-CHEM 102 is taught in a weekly six-hour integrated lab format, with enrollment limited to 26 students per section, and little or no lecture instruction. The course emphasizes learning science with a strong focus on conceptual understanding, such that teachers will see science as an interconnected discipline with real-world implications, rather than a collection of facts and equations. We will describe the course and its development, present research data illustrating the need for the course and its effectiveness in developing conceptual understanding of physical science. We will also present data from recent efforts to incorporate NGSS and describe future prospects for the course.
      • Analysis of Students' Scientific Creativity in an After-school Physics Program

      • BG03
      • Mon 07/28, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Kathleen Hinko
      • Type: Contributed
      • Creativity is the ability to produce work that is both novel and appropriate; without creativity, science does not move forward in meaningful ways. Educational efforts to engage students in authentic physics practices should thus incorporate support for scientific creativity and creative processes. In this talk, I present a framework for characterizing scientific creativity exhibited by K-8 students in an after-school physics program. This framework blends aspects of systems and component creativity along with features specific to physics such as experimental design, problem solving and the nature of science. I apply this framework to the analysis of in situ and interview video data of students as well as student notebooks. Implications for structural and curricular design elements that affect scientific creativity are discussed.
      • Analyzing High School Physics Consensus Discussions: Advantages and Limitations

      • BG04
      • Mon 07/28, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Enrique Suarez
      • Type: Contributed
      • This study presents a methodology for characterizing the structure and nature of large group discussions in a Physics and Everyday Thinking -- High School (PET-HS) classroom. The PET-HS curriculum was developed to model scientific induction and relies on collaborative discussions to facilitate student sense-making and consensus about the course's learning targets. The analytical framework presented here was designed with the intent of identifying the contributions from teacher, individual student, and groups to the discussions. Specifically, this analysis helps track how different actors are interacting with each other. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional representations are used for highlighting different dialogue patterns. Results yield information on equity of participation, changes in the structure of discussions throughout a class period and school year. By superposing these data with data on the substance of the discussions, we can infer the types of moves that drive the conversation. Implications for running productive discussions and trade-offs will be discussed.
      • Facilitating Productive Consensus Discussions: Analyzing Curricular Structures and Teacher Moves

      • BG05
      • Mon 07/28, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by Mike Ross
      • Type: Contributed
      • This study investigates the nature and extent of student participation in high school physics classroom discussions. The Physics and Everyday Thinking - High School (PET-HS) curriculum, based on the undergraduate PET curriculum, was developed to model scientific induction and relies heavily on collaborative discussions to facilitate student sense-making and consensus about the learning targets of the course. Videos of three sections of a high school physics class using the PET-HS curriculum were analyzed to determine the curricular structures and teacher and student moves that appeared to mediate student engagement in productive dialogue. The proportion of talk by each student and the teacher, the nature of the verbal interactions, and their relationship to scientific practices and productive scientific discussion were assessed. Implications for teacher preparation, professional development, and equity issues will be discussed.
      • Investigating Interactive Whiteboard Use in a High School Setting

      • BG06
      • Mon 07/28, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
      • by Bor Gregorcic
      • Type: Contributed
      • The talk will discuss how IWB was used in an advanced way that incorporates students' meaningful creative, graphical, and kinesthetic input as a key part of a learning sequence in a Slovenian high school. We have learned from a previous pilot study in the same school that the IWB is mostly used in a way that does not take advantage of touch technology affordances, but rather mirrors well-established patterns of classic whiteboard use and the use of a computer-projector setup. In our study, two lessons were designed and implemented, one on the topic of Kepler's laws and the other on geometrical optics. We have observed how teachers and students respond to new activities and changes in classroom dynamics. Through in-depth interviews with students and teachers, we have probed their perceptions of the IWB as a learning and teaching tool and perceived benefits and drawbacks of truly interactive IWB use.
      • Building Quantum Mechanics Base Concepts in the Contexts of Polarization and Spin

      • BG07
      • Mon 07/28, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
      • by Giacomo Zuccarini
      • Type: Contributed
      • Modern physics and in particular quantum mechanics (QM) is a cultural needfor new generation citizens and it will be an official part of the secondary school curriculum starting from next year. Nonetheless, how to teach it is still an open question. Quantum incompatibility as a central feature of the new physical behavior is the goal of a design-based proposal focused on building theoretical thinking in approaching QM in secondary school. In the contexts of polarization and spin, the vector description of the quantum state of a system emerges as interpretative hypothesis in phenomena explored by students. The connection between physical systems and processes on the one side and their formal description on the other side is analyzed by visualizing relations between entities representing system properties and relations between corresponding state vectors. Data on students' reasoning in step-by-step educational intervention modules have oriented the global path proposed.
  • MOOCs and You

      • MOOCs and You

      • BA
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
      • by Saif Rayyan
      • Type: Panel
      • We’ll cut through the hype about MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) to present what physics teachers and education researchers might want to know about them: What MOOCs are available in Physics? How are they different? What are the implications of MOOCs on introductory physics offerings? How can you blend one with your on-campus course? Do people learn anything in them, what insights offered for teaching on-campus courses, and what opportunities do they offer to the education research community? This panel will provide an overview of MOOCs, short contributions by people who’ve run Physics MOOCs, followed by questions and discussion.
      • From Online to Blended: Making the Transition

      • BA01
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
      • by John Belcher
      • Type: Panel
      • The MIT Physics Department has offered two edX MOOCs based on our introductory physics courses in mechanics and electromagnetism. The department built these online offerings around the 35 recordings of Professor Walter Lewin's lectures in each subject, complete and in sequence. Each course had about 30,000 initial registrants, with about 2,000 certificates granted. The structure of the online courses paralleled that of the residential course. Based on our experience in building these courses online, we are now using the same platform in residential education at MIT to provide resources to students, in a blended approach. The key to realizing the potential of technology in education is the collaboration of experts in teaching and learning, educational researchers, computer scientists, and disciplinary specialists, and we have assembled such a team to guide us in our residential use of the edX platform, as we will discuss.
      • Affordances of MOOCs and Humans: A Study Comparing in-person and MOOC Offering Instruction in Physics 1

      • BA02
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
      • by Noah Finkelstein
      • Type: Panel
      • With all the attention to MOOCs, in fall 2013 we set out to explore this space, create and offer a MOOC, and to conduct a research study on how it was offered, how it was used, and the impacts on student learning and participation. Physics 1 for Physical Science Majors was simultaneously offered through Coursera and to a live class. Through a variety of measures (of student learning, participation, demographics), we found a variety of take-home messages from these various media. We find that this MOOC: supported participants in different ways (pedagogically, temporally, and geographically), demonstrated that students can learn in these environments, addressed different audiences, tended to select for high- performing (well-prepared) students, limited potential forms interactivity, and caused significant consternation at the university administrative level. Many more details will be found in Dubson's talk Wednesday afternoon. In this session, we seek to engage in a(n evidence-based) discussion, based on community interest [the YOU part] on: how to run, lessons learned, opportunities / concerns, politics, research studies needed and more.
      • A Physics MOOC That Helps Students, Researchers, and Teachers Learn

      • BA03
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
      • by David Pritchard
      • Type: Panel
      • The RELATE group (http://RELATE.MIT.edu) is now running its fourth MOOC, 8.MReV on edX.org. Pre-post testing showed normalized gain of 0.31+/-0.02 independent of student initial skill or cohort with over 1000 receiving certificates. This and other learning correlates differently with time spent using various available resources. Our special track for teachers has forums on how to teach various topics, and for suggesting and vetting external resources. Our MOOC is a "user facility" for PER researchers who wish to run experiments using a control/experimental group protocol, or to vet assessment instruments. Currently nine researchers are collaborating on seven projects: three are developing or testing instruments to measure various aspects of problem solving ability, three are developing new ways to understand and teach problem-solving expertise, and two involve using multi-dimensional psychometrics to discover whether actual student skills depend more on learning objective, cognitive category, question type, or question format. More collaborators are sought.
  • Magnetism and Thermal Labs, Beyond First Year

      • Magnetotransport Experiments in the Advanced Undergraduate Lab

      • FE01
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by E. Dan Dahlberg
      • Type: Invited
      • Resistivity and magnetotransport experiments performed on magnetic materials are ideal for teaching students aspects of both condensed matter physics and experimental techniques. An added benefit is room temperature resistivity and magnetotransport measurements on thin magnetic films are relatively easy to perform in an undergraduate laboratory. In this talk I will discuss the preparation of samples, the experimental equipment and techniques required for accumulation of the data and the data analysis. For the magnetoresistance data the focus will be on the anisotropic magnetoresistance which requires only modest magnetic fields, on the order of 0.01T. With larger fields the extraordinary Hall effect can be investigated (on the order of 0.7T required for Ni; larger fields required for Co and Fe). An added physics bonus is temperature-dependent measurements of the resistivity and the magnetotransport properties of the films.
      • Improving the Quantification of Brownian Motion

      • FE02
      • Wed 07/30, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Ashley Carter
      • Type: Invited
      • Brownian motion experiments have become a staple in the undergraduate advanced laboratory as a means to measure the Boltzmann constant or to prove the atomic nature of matter. Yet, quantification of these experiments is difficult. Typical errors can easily be 10-15% and often students will produce measurements that are off by a couple orders of magnitude! In this talk I will discuss the individual sources of error in the experiment: sampling error, uncertainty in the diffusion coefficient, tracking error, vibration, and microscope drift. I will show you what sorts of error you should expect to get in your experiments and how you can get students to model that error computationally. Finally, I will describe some quick solutions that have allowed students in my lab to reduce their errors to less than 1%.
      • Opportunities and Challenges Arising in Advanced Experimental Physics Courses

      • FE03
      • Wed 07/30, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
      • by Jonathan McCoy
      • Type: Invited
      • Advanced experimental physics courses, aimed at junior and senior majors, can substantially shift a student's perception of the discipline as a whole. In particular, by emphasizing open-ended, project-based learning opportunities, these courses can provide a bridge between the core curriculum and the exciting world of active research. At the same time, these courses initiate departures from a familiar world of problem sets, textbooks, and lab manuals that can be challenging for students. In this presentation I will use a newly developed Experimental Soft Matter course, taught at Colby College during the spring semester of this year, to explore the opportunities and challenges arising in advanced experimental physics courses more generally.
      • 2-D and 3-D Random Walk Simulations of Stochastic Diffusion

      • FE04
      • Wed 07/30, 10:00AM - 10:10AM
      • by Bob Brazzle
      • Type: Contributed
      • I will describe a physical Monte Carlo simulation using a number cube and a lattice of concentric rings of tiled hexagons. At the basic level, it gives students a concrete connection to the Statistical Mechanics concept of stochastic diffusion. I will also present a simple algorithm that can be used to set up a spreadsheet to track the evolving concentration of simulated "particles" (in contrast with the physical simulation, which tracks a single particle's motion). Although setting up the spreadsheet involves only elementary mathematics, it is robust enough to allow one to demonstrate or "discover" Fick's first Law, and a discretized version of the stochastic diffusion equation. Upper level undergraduates could thus use the spreadsheet to independently explore relevant advanced concepts (e.g. flux and concentration gradient). My AJP paper (November, 2013) describes this simulation as well as several extensions: lattices with different geometries in two and three dimensions.
      • A Simple DTA Apparatus to Study Binary Phase Diagrams

      • FE05
      • Wed 07/30, 10:10AM - 10:20AM
      • by Herbert Jaeger
      • Type: Contributed
      • Thermal analysis is a way to study a material's behavior during heating orcooling. Structural changes can be observed to occur either continuously, or at a given temperature, and with a specific signature. Differential Thermal Analysis, or DTA, is one of the most basic forms of thermal analysis. A DTA apparatus records the temperature difference of a sample and a reference material during heating and/or cooling. Deviation from a zero or near-zero baseline indicates specific events, such as melting, oxidation, dehydration, or decomposition, among others. In this talk a simple DTA apparatus will be discussed that can be used to explore the phase diagram of a simple binary alloy.
  • Making Physics Phun

      • Juggling Physics and Phun

      • BK01
      • Mon 07/28, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by John Lewis
      • Type: Contributed
      • Part of the "Phun" of juggling is the beautiful way it can be described with simple physics explanations. I'll be demonstrating and explaining the physics of "Bounce Juggling" in particular. This type of juggling lends itself to an elegant discussion of the application of each of Newton's three laws of motion in a qualitative, non-threatening way. For those who desire a bit more rigor, our discussion will extend to applications of rotational physics as well.
      • Making Physics Phun in Two-Year College

      • BK02
      • Mon 07/28, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Madhuri Bapat
      • Type: Contributed
      • I would like to share an account of physics programs that I have developedfor the last 15 years at a two-year college in a small rural community in Arizona. We offer physics at three levels -- conceptual physics, college physics-algebra based, and university physics-calculus based -- all taught by me for over 10 years. Students are catered to their levels by adding innovative lab activities and projects to the curriculum. The enrollment has doubled in 10 years as a result of many additional out of classroom activities such as an outreach program, physics club, model rocketry and robotics classes. Many success stories will be shared in the presentation. This author emphasizes love and enthusiasm for physics and laid-back personality of instructor along with providing relaxed and cooperative atmosphere in the classroom while teaching and learning.
      • Promoting Phun in Conceptual Physics: Physics in Movies and Everywhere

      • BK03
      • Mon 07/28, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by Doris Wagner
      • Type: Contributed
      • In the spring of 2013, our department re-evaluated the one-semester surveyconceptual physics course we offer as part of our core curriculum. Based on feedback from students in the course, we added a very successful "Physics of Movies" component starting in fall 2013. I also added a discussion board, "There's Physics in That" in the fall offering, in which students posted on where they had seen physics outside of the classroom and commented on classmates' posts. Many students fully embraced the spirit of this activity, and excellent online discussions took place. This talk will summarize my efforts in the class and describe the results of assessment.
      • Science Through Film and Fiction: Teaching Science with Virtual Reality

      • BK04
      • Mon 07/28, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
      • by Derin Sherman
      • Type: Contributed
      • When a student creates a virtual world, she also explores the scientific method. She can perform a wide array of scientific experiments, build and refine theoretical models, make detailed measurements, and test hypotheses. In Greg Egan's novel "Permutation City," the characters design and debate the scientific laws that will be used to create a complete virtual world where "copies" of humans will live their lives. Egan's characters also explore some of the more abstract ideas in physics, including the multiverse theory. Through their reading and virtual lab work, students learn that science is a creative process used to construct and improve theoretical models that approximate reality. In this presentation, I will show how science fiction and virtual reality can be used to effectively teach students about science. All software used is free and will run on both Macintosh and Windows platforms.
      • Taste and See that Physics Is Fun

      • BK05
      • Mon 07/28, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
      • by Michael Ponnambalam
      • Type: Contributed
      • Communicating the fun, enjoyment and excitement in physics to the students, or to the general public, becomes a bit easier when the presenter himself/herself has enjoyed the fun in physics, and has a passionate love for physics as well as an infectious enthusiasm. Further, when the presenter dramatizes the events in the presentation, clarifies complex concepts using familiar examples from daily life, makes inert numbers come alive using an appropriate metamorphosis, and motivates the students using inspirational quotations and auto suggestions, the audience finds it easier to taste and see that physics is fun. The author's experience in this connection in different countries will be presented.
  • Mentoring in the Physics Community

      • Mentoring in the Ohio State University MS-to-PhD Physics Bridge Program (OSU-PBP)

      • FH01
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Jonathan Pelz
      • Type: Invited
      • Effective and timely mentoring of Bridge students is extremely important to their ultimate success in transitioning to PhD programs, since many have substantial gaps in coursework, conceptual physics understanding, study and research skills, and/or "life skills" such as effective budgeting of time and personal finances. I will discuss the still-evolving mentoring efforts within the OSU-PBP, with particular emphasis on mentoring activities found to be effective, those that are not, and those that should have been implemented during our inaugural year. In addition to activities adapted from the Fisk-Vanderbilt and Michigan bridge programs, we are developing new academic mentoring activities in the form of physics tutorials and other materials for "Guided Group Work" sessions provided in conjunction with advanced undergraduate physics courses that OSU-BP students are taking. These sessions are greatly valued by the students, and have proven to be effective in improving conceptual understanding, critical thinking, and problem solving skills.
      • Learning to be a More Effective Research/Project Mentor

      • FH02
      • Wed 07/30, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Eric Hooper
      • Type: Invited
      • The University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed, field tested, and publicly released research mentor training materials for several STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines, including physics and astronomy, to help improve the educational experience and ultimate success of research trainees at several career stages, from high school students to post-doctoral scholars. While initially aimed at the mentoring of undergraduate researchers at research extensive institutions, the topics are broad enough (e.g., expectations, communication, understanding, diversity, ethics, independence) to be applicable to mentoring in a wide range of project-based educational activities. Indeed, these materials have been modified, only modestly, to prepare graduate students and undergraduates to mentor high school students. This talk will describe the research mentor training seminar and illustrate how the training can be adapted and implemented.
      • Developing Resilient Physics Students Through Regular Reflection and Empathetic Feedback

      • FH03
      • Wed 07/30, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Dimitri Dounas-Frazer
      • Type: Contributed
      • Low retention in the sciences is due in part to students' rejection of faculty and graduate students as role models and their perception of faculty as unapproachable. Improving retention of science students therefore requires the creation of educational spaces where students feel better connected to instructors. To this end, we are piloting a system that facilitates regular student reflection and personalized instructor feedback to foster supportive relationships between students and instructors. Students choose one of four topics to guide their reflections. Instructor responses acknowledge and empathize with students' difficulties, recognize their efforts to improve, and provide them with additional resources whenever appropriate. Thus, instructors and students engage in a mentoring-style relationship to support students in overcoming challenges to their development as learners. In this talk, we report preliminary results on how regular reflection and feedback shape students' experiences in a physics course and how students' reflections evolve over time.
  • Monday Exhibit Hall

      • Monday Exhibit Hall

      • EXH02
      • Mon 07/28, 10:00AM - 5:00PM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
  • Outreach: Fun Ways to Engage

      • Catch a Wave and SWIM to LIGO!

      • BF01
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Kathy Holt
      • Type: Contributed
      • SWIM-Science With Inexpensive Materials! The LIGO Science Education Centeruses inexpensive materials for activities and demonstrations to explain physical science concepts. Experience eight SWIM activities in eight minutes. These SWIM activities have been field tested with the public and are just downright fun! Come be inspired and motivated with ideas that will engage and delight the public and can be useful at any grade level.
      • Western Kentucky Physics Olympics: A Regional Success Story

      • BF02
      • Mon 07/28, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Richard Gelderman
      • Type: Contributed
      • Building upon the legacy of previous Physics Olympics at other institutions (Riban, 1976, Phys. Teach. 14, 471), the Western Kentucky Physics Olympics is a one-day team pentathalon competition. Our university was part of the early Physics Olympics movement; however, by the mid-90s it had managed to lose its way. When the 25th anniversary of Physics Olympics was celebrated in 2000, we had misplaced all our institutional knowledge and had to restart Physics Olympics from scratch. Our five-event format is built around a theme and always includes a Do-Ahead, a Plan-Ahead, a Communication-Calculation Challenge, an Impromptu Team Activity, and Fermi Questions. We will present examples of our favorite events for themes such as D.I.Y. Physics, The Science of Supervillans, Pirates of the Bluegrass, or The Year of the Potato. Our hope is that Physics Olympics will re-emerge as a national celebration of doing physics.
      • Physics Outreach and Community Engagement at Simon Fraser University

      • BF03
      • Mon 07/28, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Sarah Johnson
      • Type: Contributed
      • This talk gives an overview of the public outreach activities of the Department of Physics at Simon Fraser University. Our largest single event with a typical attendance of 700 people is the Science Spooktacular which includes a Halloween-themed demo show and interactive activities for school-aged children. Another popular event is our twice-yearly Girls Exploring Physics workshop for girls in grades nine and 10. These half-day workshops bring girls on campus to engage in hands-on activities and interact with women physics students and faculty at SFU. Other outreach activities include telescope workshops for children, Lasers in Action workshops for grade eight students, Starry Nights sky observing sessions and a collaboration with the TRIUMF Laboratory for Nuclear and Particle Physics to present Saturday morning physics lectures to high school students and the general public. Details about all of these events and how we manage to do all of this on a limited budget will be presented.
      • Summer STEM Camps for South Carolina 7th -10th Graders

      • BF04
      • Mon 07/28, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Susan Engelhardt
      • Type: Contributed
      • Come learn about our STEM summer camps that reach 1500+ rising 7th-10th grade students. These camps are created and delivered by the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) Center for Science Education & Outreach. Our summer camp models will be presented, featuring GoSciTech. This is a week-long residential program that has just completed its 25th year, having served 500 students this summer alone. At GoSciTech, university professors teach a week-long course to middle school students in a hands-on, interactive setting.
      • Physical Science Day: Design, Implementation, and Assessment

      • BF05
      • Mon 07/28, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Liang Zeng
      • Type: Contributed
      • Science coordinators from local school districts have reported their students do not know what physics is about, the wide range of professions physicists qualify for, and thus lack interest in learning physics. Physical Science Day at The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA), in collaboration with Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District and Weslaco Independent School District, has been designed, developed, and implemented to raise the awareness of physics as a foundation of science, engineering, and technology disciplines and promote students to study in physical science degree programs at UTPA. Through activities including lab experiments and student testimonies, our results show that the event is effective at increasing student knowledge about physics, physical science and chemistry programs as well as in stimulating youth interest toward studying such disciplines at UTPA. Due to the success of Physical Science Day, we are currently expanding the scale of the event to support the participation of other interested school districts.
      • Kinematic Competitions for Classroom Demonstrations and Outreach Events

      • BF06
      • Mon 07/28, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Elliot Mylott
      • Type: Contributed
      • We present three competitions that quantitatively explore key physics principles from mechanics with three fun physical challenges. They have been used in multiple formats and venues including in the mechanics section of Introductory General Physics at Portland State University (PSU) and multiple outreach events both on campus and at local schools by the Science Outreach Society, a student-led PSU group that promotes science literacy in the community. Each competition uses an original, real-time data collecting program, which offers a simple, clear method to demonstrate various physics concepts including: (1) impulse-momentum, (2) center of mass, and (3) kinematics. The user interface, written in LabVIEW, is intuitive to operate and the competitions require only Vernier Force Plates, a Vernier LabQuest, a webcam, and a computer. Each of these activities is readily available and well-suited for audience participation at outreach events or classroom demonstrations.
      • Engaging Families Through Children's Literature, Hands-on Activities, and Online Games

      • BF07
      • Mon 07/28, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Patricia Sievert
      • Type: Contributed
      • Working in an interdisciplinary office of highly creative people has led us to some interesting and engaging outreach activities. One of our newest and more unique ventures is called STEMRead, a program that uses engaging children's books as a springboard for activities and online programming that develops critical thinking skills and introduces STEM concepts including physics. When possible, we involve authors, either in person or in video interviews. We have materials to accompany several young adult science fiction books, but I will focus on our more recent STEMRead Jr. projects, using Rosie Revere, Engineer as an example. I'll share the videos of the live event as well as videos produced for the online programming, the online game, and related lesson plans for teachers or parents.
      • Role of Mentors in STEM After-School Programs

      • BF08
      • Mon 07/28, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by Anindya Roy
      • Type: Contributed
      • More than 60 students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty members from JohnsHopkins University (JHU) participate in the after-school component of the STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools (SABES) project (NSF MSP Grant No. DUE-1237992). The after-school program complements in-school STEM teaching, teacher training and support, and community partners involvement in this cross-disciplinary and multi-faceted initiative. In its first year of implementation, SABES operates in three elementary schools in different neighborhoods in Baltimore. Johns Hopkins School of Engineering, Education, and Sociology collaborate with Baltimore City Public Schools administration, schools, and community development corporations to implement SABES. In our presentation, we share feedback from the JHU scholars/mentors regarding their experience and perspectives working with elementary students. Their input provides insights into how best to design mentorship opportunities and build a model for university students in an after-school setting in an effort to increasing outreach and partnership initiatives of universities.
      • Multidisciplinary Outreach: A Partnership with Math Circle

      • BF09
      • Mon 07/28, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
      • by Shawn Weatherford
      • Type: Contributed
      • Beginning a physics outreach efforts without an existing framework can appear daunting to the uninitiated. In 2012, I partnered with a mathematician to add physics and engineering activities to an established mathematics outreach program hosted by Saint Leo University called Math Circle. Math Circle is a national movement to provide pre-high and high school students a place to live and love mathematics. At Saint Leo University, Math Circle is structured to run weekly in the late afternoon and includes participants from third grade to 11th grade. This presentation will discuss the goals for these physics outreach activities within the context of the goals of the Math Circle outreach program. The presentation will also provide a reporting of successful activities and the future direction for continued support of combined outreach activities for students with varying mathematical skills.
      • Give Peas a Chance: A Citizen Science Discovery

      • BF10
      • Mon 07/28, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
      • by Miranda Straub
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Zooniverse is a suite of online citizen science projects that has provided an opportunity for volunteers to contribute to science and humanities research without requiring extensive training or expertise. It uses crowd-sourcing methods to make independent classifications useful to researchers on the science teams. Since the launch of the first Zooniverse project in 2007, the organization has grown to more than 25 projects and reached the 1,000,000 participant mark in early 2014. While the goal of using volunteers for data processing has been successful, there have been unexpected examples of genuine discoveries by citizen scientists along the way. This talk will focus on the discovery of a class of galaxies called the "Green Peas," which were discovered by Galaxy Zoo volunteers in 2007. I will highlight elements of the scientific research process they used to characterize these as a new class of object, and explain identify common themes that can be used to encourage further serendipitous discoveries in other projects.
  • PER Solo Faculty

      • PER Solo Faculty

      • TOP04
      • Mon 07/28, 12:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Steve Maier
      • Type: Topical
      • Are you the only professional active in PER within your department? Are there only one or two colleagues in close proximity you can talk “PER shop” with? The membership of Solo PER is larger than you may think, and more diverse than most suspect. Join us for this crackerbarrel to connect with other Solo PER professionals and learn what is being done to help our/your endeavors. As in the past, bring questions, ideas, and professional concerns to share.
  • PER in Upper Division Physics

      • Student Framing Impacts Math/Physics Thinking in the Context of Matrix Multiplication

      • AE01
      • Mon 07/28, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Warren Christensen
      • Type: Invited
      • In principle, a student who has completed both linear algebra and quantum mechanics should have a wealth of conceptual and procedural knowledge that s/he has accrued from a wealth of mathematics and physics classes. However in practice, it seems that many students come into our physics courses lacking skills that we know were taught in mathematics courses. This investigation casts light on students' thinking about matrix multiplication and how student thinking appears to be influenced by their framing of the problem as either a mathematics or physics question. We use the framework of Framing and Resources to describe a single student's thinking during an interview. Using lexicon analysis, we find students seem to shift from a "mathematical frame" to a "physics frame" and back again, but struggle to successfully transfer concepts between those frames. I will highlight the markers for these frame shifts and the implications for future study.
      • Conducting Research in Upper-Division Laboratory Courses*

      • AE02
      • Mon 07/28, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by MacKenzie Stetzer
      • Type: Invited
      • The physics education research community has only recently begun to focus its attention on upper-division and advanced laboratory courses. These courses are often intended to help prepare undergraduates for experimental research at the undergraduate and graduate levels and for careers in industry. As a result, such courses are particularly rich environments in which to conduct research due to the many important goals of laboratory instruction at this level, which vary from course to course. I will use an ongoing investigation of student learning in junior-level analog electronics courses to illustrate the importance of aligning research questions with course learning goals and to highlight some of the challenges associated with conducting research in these types of courses. *The work described has been supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. DUE-1323426, DUE-1022449, and DUE-0962805.
      • Professional Development of Preservice Physicists: Affordances and Constraints

      • AE03
      • Mon 07/28, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
      • by Eleanor Sayre
      • Type: Invited
      • Research on upper-division students opens up exciting avenues into professional development for preservice scientists. They learn so much more than book content: physics culture, research experiences, bench skills. Their participation is much more meaningful than mere classwork: they try on different identities, aspire to future physics selves, take on organizational responsibilities. Yet, research on upper-division students is not all sunshine and roses. In this talk, I discuss some of the affordances and constraints of research on upper-division students from the lenses of a few projects on their development as preservice physicists. I may discuss how students build communities of practice in advanced laboratory, how students grow to view physics as a prospective professional field, and how we (as researchers) can tell.
  • PER in Upper Division Physics II

      • Upper-division Student Difficulties with the Dirac Delta Function

      • BE01
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Bethany Wilcox
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Dirac delta function is a standard mathematical tool used in multiple topical areas throughout the undergraduate physics curriculum. While delta functions are often introduced to simplify a problem mathematically, students often struggle to manipulate and interpret them. To better understand student difficulties with the delta function at the upper-division level, we examined responses to traditional exam questions and conducted multiple think-aloud interviews. Our analysis is guided by an analytic framework that looks at how students activate, construct, execute, and reflect on the Dirac delta function in physics. Here, we focus on student difficulties using the delta function to express charge distributions in the context of junior-level electrostatics. Challenges include invoking the delta function spontaneously, constructing two- and three-dimensional delta functions, integrating delta functions in different coordinate systems, and recognizing that the delta function has units. We also discuss possible implications of these findings for instruction.
      • Investigations of Spin First Instructional Approach in Teaching Quantum Mechancis

      • BE02
      • Mon 07/28, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Homeyra Sadaghiani
      • Type: Contributed
      • We are investigating student learning of quantum mechanics in two different contexts. In one approach, postulates of quantum mechanics are introduced in the context of the wavefunction of a particle in a box with continuous bases of position probability densities. The second approach uses the context of Stern-Gerlach experiments with discrete spin bases. We have measured student learning of the core concepts in courses using these approaches with common exam questions and a standardized conceptual instrument. Preliminary data suggest a small but positive impact on students' scores on topics related to quantum mechanical measurement in the classes taught using the discrete bases in the second approach. Preliminary data also suggest that using the discrete bases approach may shift student focus from computation to more sense making by providing concrete experimental evidence and simplifying the mathematical calculation processes. We will discuss the implications of this study for choices of initial context, the order, and emphasis of content being taught.
      • Student Reasoning about Superposition in Quantum Mechanics

      • BE03
      • Mon 07/28, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Gina Passante
      • Type: Contributed
      • Superposition is at the heart of quantum mechanics, and yet we have found that many students struggle with this idea even at the end of instruction. Although most students can successfully use the idea of superposition to calculate probabilities of different measurement outcomes, we have found that they often fail to recognize how a superposition state differs from a mixture or from a system whose initial state is unknown. This distinction is one of fundamental importance in quantum mechanics and has implications for more complex topics such as entanglement. We present data from undergraduate and graduate-level quantum mechanics courses that illustrate some of the difficulties that students have with superposition. We also discuss how the results have guided the design of a lecture-tutorial that improves student understanding both immediately and months after instruction.
      • Assumptions and Idealizations in Students' Reasoning During Laboratory Activities

      • BE04
      • Mon 07/28, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Benjamin Zwickl
      • Type: Contributed
      • Assumptions and idealizations play a significant role in developing and applying models to real-world situations. Assumptions make models more tractable, but also impact the design of experiments (through the introduction of possible sources of systematic error) and limit the range of validity of predictions. In this investigation, students conducted a think-aloud laboratory activity using LEDs. Videos were coded and analyzed using a framework developed for model-based reasoning designed for upper-division physics laboratory classes. The analysis focuses on multiple roles of assumptions within the activity: making, recognizing, and justifying assumptions; linking assumptions to limitations of the validity of theoretical predictions and measured results; and using knowledge of assumptions to iteratively improve experimental results.
      • Student Learning of Critical Circuits Concepts in Physics and Engineering

      • BE05
      • Mon 07/28, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Kevin Van De Bogart
      • Type: Contributed
      • As part of a new effort to investigate the learning and teaching of concepts in thermodynamics and electronics that are integral to both undergraduate physics and engineering programs, we have been examining student learning in electrical engineering and physics courses on circuits and electronics. Due to the considerable overlap in the content coverage, we have been able to administer the same (or similar) questions to students in both disciplines. A major goal of this work is to investigate the impact of disciplinary context on the nature of student understanding, including the prevalence of specific difficulties. This talk will focus on foundational concepts (e.g., loading) that are critical to the design and analysis of circuits in all courses studied. Preliminary results will be presented and implications for instruction will be discussed.
      • Conceptual Difficulties Interpreting P-V Diagrams Across Physics and Engineering

      • BE06
      • Mon 07/28, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Jessica Clark
      • Type: Contributed
      • As part of a new effort to investigate the learning and teaching of concepts in thermodynamics and electronics in both physics and engineering, we have been examining student learning of thermodynamics in mechanical and chemical engineering and physics courses. Based on free-response surveys and individual interviews, we find that students in all disciplines have difficulty with the first law of thermodynamics and its constituent elements: students either do not recognize its relevance or use it improperly. At the beginning of each of these courses, a majority of students treat work as a path-independent function (i.e., as if it were a state variable). This and other lines of reasoning, particularly relating to graphical interpretations of work, persist through instruction, although the degree of persistence varies by discipline. We will share findings about the relative prevalence of lines of reasoning and will relate our results to individual disciplinary emphases and pedagogies. The work described has been supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. DUE-0817282 and DUE-1323426.
      • Understanding the Neural Correlates of Problem Solving Across Multiple Cognitive Domains

      • BE07
      • Mon 07/28, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Jessica Bartley
      • Type: Contributed
      • Complex reasoning and problem-solving are integral cognitive constructs relevant to understanding how students acquire critical thinking skills in physics. Functional magnetic resonance imaging may offer neurobiological insight into how these critical thinking skills are acquired. Prior work studying the neural correlates of problem-solving has focused within specific cognitive domains, e.g. mathematical calculation, verbal problem-solving, or visuospatial reasoning [1,2]. However, research identifying neural networks engaged during physics problem-solving is limited. We use the BrainMap database [3] to perform a series of neuroimaging meta-analyses across multiple distinct cognitive domains likely involved in physics problem-solving. Common activation patterns are observed in the bilateral insula, mid and superior frontal gyrus, and parietal cortices, suggesting that reasoning across domains is supported by a superordinate problem-solving network.
      • Uses of ICT in Teaching Physics

      • BE08
      • Mon 07/28, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Oscar Jardey Suarez
      • Type: Contributed
      • This paper seeks to identify the use of ICT Information Communication Technologies by teachers in teaching practices. The source of information corresponds to reports, in the last five years, that appear in magazines such as Colombian Journal of Physics, Latino American Journal Physics Education, Revista Brasileira de Ensino Physics, Journal of Research and Teaching Experiences, Journal of Physics, the Physics Teacher Online, the Journal of Engineering Education among others. This is a methodically informational analysis accompanied by theoretical reflection on the context of an epistemological approach to teaching physics to engineering. Among the main findings is that ICTs have been incorporated as a mediating element between the physical knowledge and physical learning and as mediating artifacts of the dynamics present in physics laboratories.
      • Addressing Student Difficulties with non-Cartesian Unit Vectors in Upper-Level E&M

      • BE09
      • Mon 07/28, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by Brant Hinrichs
      • Type: Contributed
      • An upper-level E&M course (i.e. based on Griffiths) involves the extensiveintegration of vector calculus concepts and notation with abstract physics concepts like field and potential. We hope that students take what they have learned in their math classes and apply it to help represent and make sense of the physics. In a 2010 PERC paper I showed how students at different levels (pre-E&M course, post-E&M course, 1st year graduate students) and in different disciplines (physics, electrical engineering) have difficulty using non-Cartesian unit vectors appropriately. I have now developed a small sequence of in-class activities to help students over come these kinds of difficulties. I present preliminary evidence here on their effectiveness.
  • PER: Diverse Investigations

      • Effect of Prior Belief on Data Inference

      • ED01
      • Tue 07/29, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Abigail Bogdan
      • Type: Contributed
      • This study builds on past research that explored the effect of prior belief on students' ability to draw inferences. Results, indicating an effect of prior belief, are replicated and compared with statistical reasoning ability. 600 students in a calculus-based mechanics course participated in one of two conditions. In the first condition, data tables were presented within a physical context and students were given a short pre-test measuring their beliefs about the context. In the second, the tables were given within a generic context. Compared to students given the generic context, students given the physical context drew valid conclusions more frequently when the data aligned with their prior beliefs but less frequently when the data conflicted with their beliefs. Additionally, 270 students were given the Berlin Numeracy Test to evaluate their statistical numeracy. While results from previous studies have disagreed, in this case, students' numeracy was positively correlated with their correctness.
      • Peer Evaluations vs. Instructor Evaluations of Student Lab Reports

      • ED03
      • Tue 07/29, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by Shih-Yin Lin
      • Type: Contributed
      • As part of an introductory physics course offered at Georgia Tech, students submit video reports on force and motion labs. Peer grading of reports provides the primary method for evaluating student laboratory work. During peer grading, students are guided to rate each others' videos on a rubric consisting of several likert-scale questions. They are also encouraged to provide written feedback explaining their grading for each rubric item. This paper explores how peer evaluations compare to instructors' evaluations by examining the likert-scale responses and written responses provide by both students and instructors. The written responses will be coded to understand what students and instructors attend to in their grading. Similarities and differences between student grading and expert grading will be discussed.
      • Comparing Paper-based and Computer-based Testing

      • ED04
      • Tue 07/29, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Krista Kecskemety
      • Type: Contributed
      • Advancements in technology have made electronic administration and gradingof exams more prevalent. The staff of the Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors program at The Ohio State University recently began delivering a portion of each midterm and final exam via the university's online course management system. To assess whether changing to this style impacted student performance, a study was conducted to compare the two formats. For each exam in an introductory programming course, the computer-administered part of the test was split into an A half and a B half. Half of the students took part A on the computer and part B on paper, and vice/versa for the other half of the students. Additionally, students were asked a question about whether they had a preference for one format over the other. Results will be discussed, along with implications for the structure of future exams.
      • Analysis of LA Program Impact through Community of Practice Theory

      • ED05
      • Tue 07/29, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Eleanor Close
      • Type: Contributed
      • We are studying in how participation in the Learning Assistant program at Texas State University influences LAs' identity as physics students and physics teachers; in particular, how being part of the LA community changes participants' self-concepts and their day-to-day practice. Our analysis of self-concepts is informed by the identity framework developed by Hazari et al. [1, 2], and our analysis of practice is informed by Lave and Wenger's theory of Communities of Practice [3, 4]. We have developed a blended theory in order to analyze and explain LA program impact. We find that LAs expand their repertoire both of what they know how to do and of what they see as valuable in physics, consistent with Wenger's characterization of identity as community membership; and that recognition by faculty and peers supports LAs' continuing engagement, consistent with Wenger's characterization of identity as negotiated experience. We provide examples from our data.
      • Developing an Identity of Competence Through the Learning Assistant Program

      • ED06
      • Tue 07/29, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Jessica Conn
      • Type: Contributed
      • The physics department at Texas State University has implemented a Learning Assistant (LA) program with reform-based instructional changes in our introductory course sequences. We are interested in how participation in the program influences LAs' identity both as physics students and as physics teachers; in particular, how being part of the LA community changes participants' self-concepts and their day-to-day practice. We analyze written artifacts from program applications, reflections, evaluations, and group activities, as well as video of interviews with returning LAs. Our analysis suggests that engagement in the LA program increases LAs' sense of competence both in physics content and in the practice of engaging in the physics community. LAs change their perceptions of what constitutes competence: they learn to value and enjoy the practice of interactive, logical exploration and argumentation, which re-purposes being wrong (or saying wrong things) from a form of incompetence to an important component of competent engagement.
      • Exploring One Aspect of Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Teaching Assistants Using the Test of Understanding Graphs in Kinematics

      • ED07
      • Tue 07/29, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Alexandru Maries
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Test of Understanding Graphs in Kinematics (TUG-K) is a multiple-choice test developed by Beichner in 1994 to assess students' understanding of kinematics graphs. Many of the items on the TUG-K have strong distractor choices which correspond to students' common difficulties with kinematics graphs. We evaluate one aspect of the pedagogical content knowledge of first-year physics graduate students enrolled in a teaching assistant (TA) training course related to topics covered in the TUG-K. In particular, for each item on the TUG-K, the graduate students were asked to identify which incorrect answer choice they thought would be most commonly selected by introductory physics students if they did not know the correct answer after instruction in relevant concepts. We used the graduate student data and the data from Beichner's original paper for introductory physics students (which was collected from over 500 college and high-school students) to assess this aspect of the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of the graduate students, i.e., knowledge of student difficulties related to kinematics graphs as they are revealed by the TUG-K. We find that, although the graduate students, on average, performed better than random guessing at identifying introductory student difficulties on the TUG-K, they did not identify many common difficulties that introductory students have with graphs in kinematics. In addition, we find that the ability of graduate students to identify the difficulties of introductory students is context dependent and that discussions among the graduate students improved their understanding of student difficulties related to kinematics graphs. Moreover, we find that the ability of American graduate students in identifying common student difficulties is comparable with that of foreign graduate students.
      • Assessing Future Elementary Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge

      • ED08
      • Tue 07/29, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Claudia Fracchiolla
      • Type: Contributed
      • Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is an important aspect in the preparation of future teachers. The Concepts of Physics (CoP) course at Kansas State University has been recently redesigned to infuse PCK for pre-service elementary teachers. CoP integrates the learning of physics concepts with children's ideas about those concepts. The course is structured around the pedagogical learning bicycle, which bridges the learning of content with pedagogy through metacognitive reflection. As a final class project, students are required to work in groups to develop a lesson plan on one of the topics taught during the semester. In this talk I describe how we assess the impact of the class on students' PCK. We evaluated their projects based on how they incorporated their understanding of children's ideas on the specific topic to develop age-appropriate strategies to facilitate children's learning of these concepts. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant 1140855.
      • The State of the Union in UK Physics Teaching

      • ED10
      • Tue 07/29, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Ross Galloway
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Fostering Learning Improvements in Physics (FLIP) project has examinedin detail the state of Physics Education Research in the UK, how PER has impacted on the teaching and learning of physics, and how physics teaching develops in practice. The project was commissioned by the Institute of Physics (the UK's professional body in physics) and by the Economic and Social Research Council to determine how best to facilitate the growth of PER in the UK. FLIP has provided a detailed and comprehensive picture of UK PER and also of the key challenges facing effective teaching and learning of physics. We will present some of the key findings, contrasting them with the situation in the US and elsewhere in the world, and discuss the wider implications.
      • Spatial Reasoning Ability and the Construction of Integrals in Physics

      • ED11
      • Tue 07/29, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Nathaniel Amos
      • Type: Contributed
      • Numerous studies indicate that spatial reasoning can play a role in STEM field success. Introductory university physics frequently requires students to construct integrals, a skill that may be influenced by spatial reasoning proficiency. We administered a straightforward physics problem requiring the construction of an integral to students enrolled in calculus-based introductory physics, and additionally measured their spatial reasoning ability using the Santa Barbara Solids Test. We found that the spatial reasoning score correlates moderately with overall performance on the integration task, as well as with various components of integral setup, such as correctly identifying cross-sectional area. Furthermore, we found that students who demonstrated a physical understanding of the integrand, via a simple multiple-choice question, were significantly more successful in constructing the integral, independent of spatial reasoning ability.These results suggest that, separately, both spatial reasoning and physical understanding of the integrand are important for constructing integrals in physics.
      • Understanding Factors Impacting FCI Gains

      • ED12
      • Tue 07/29, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by Michele McColgan
      • Type: Contributed
      • This study aims to determine critical factors that explain differences in FCI gains among sections of algebra-based and calculus-based classes. In this study, FCI pre-test scores are found to be only moderately correlated with FCI post-scores and normalized gains, and Lawson CTSR scores are only weakly correlated. We conclude that measures of scientific reasoning ability and the level of prior knowledge of physics are not the most important factors in explaining course section differences. We report also on the development of a rubric for quantifying the degree of FCI content coverage. This work contributes to the PER community's efforts to identify a sufficiently complete set of factors impacting FCI gains and to determine the relative importance of the factors. Work in this area could guide curriculum reform to reduce students' misconceptions about Newtonian Thinking and allow them to learn more physics beyond the topics addressed by FCI.
  • PER: Evaluating Instructional Strategies I

      • How Should We Teach Conceptual Understanding of Force and Motion?

      • DG01
      • Tue 07/29, 8:00AM - 8:10AM
      • by Daniel White
      • Type: Contributed
      • We examine the effects of training examples on student responses to questions about the relationships between the directions of net force, velocity, and acceleration in one-dimension. Six training conditions were constructed, each dealing exclusively with one combination of net force, velocity, and acceleration (e.g., "given a velocity in this direction, what can you say about the acceleration"?) in a variety of contexts and added to a control condition (no training). While we find that acceleration-velocity and net force-velocity trainings led to the highest overall scores, we also find complex but robust interactions between training and test question types, consistent with hierarchies of student understanding of force and motion in previous works. Based on the empirical data we gathered, we build mathematical models of these hierarchies. We then use those models to predict which combinations of training are most effective, which is in turn suggestive of instructional strategies.
      • Using a Natural Language Computer Tutor for Force and Motion

      • DG02
      • Tue 07/29, 8:10AM - 8:20AM
      • by Ryan Badeau
      • Type: Contributed
      • Force, velocity, and acceleration represent an interesting set of related physics concepts in that they are foundational, well-documented and a persistent source of student difficulty even after instruction. As such, this set of related concepts provides a unique conceptual space in which to explore the effects of different question formats and their role in targeting persistent student difficulties during computer-based training and instruction. By prompting students to respond to questions in natural language and subsequently providing immediate question specific feedback, we explore the potential benefit of natural language for targeting specific and persistent difficulties like the assumption of a force in the direction of motion. We report on the design and construction of a simple natural language computer tutor for concepts in one-dimensional force and motion and investigate the relative effectiveness of the natural language question and feedback format versus traditional multiple choice questions and responses.
      • Effects of Computer Simulations on Learning in Undergraduate Physics

      • DG03
      • Tue 07/29, 8:20AM - 8:30AM
      • by Eric Marshall
      • Type: Contributed
      • Web-based computer simulations (sims) are widely used as teaching tools inthe physics education community, though few controlled studies attest to if and how the sims actually contribute to learning. This paper describes a comprehensive experiment where several class sections of undergraduate students demonstrate highly significant achievement in mental model formation and long-term recall after working with sims. Four physics topics are targeted in a core undergraduate Physics I course at the U.S. Military Academy. Prominent student misconceptions in these topics are identified, and useful computer simulations for covering these topics are described in detail. The learning metrics of correct mental models and long-term recall are assessed quantitatively with a large control group, and qualitative student feedback is also provided. Possible causation of sims' success rate is explored and limitations of both this study, and sims' contribution to learning are noted.
      • "Learning Outcomes in a "Physics for Humanities Course"

      • DG04
      • Tue 07/29, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
      • by Deepak Iyer
      • Type: Contributed
      • We present the results of two surveys carried out on a "Physics for Humanities" class of about a hundred students. The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) is used to measure the shift in attitudes via a pre- and post-test carried out in the second installation of this class. Post-test data from the first installation of the course is also presented. The second survey is course specific and seeks to correlate aspects of the CLASS survey with student feedback about the pedagogical approaches used in the course. We seek to understand the efficacy of the various pedagogical tools used in achieving the learning goals. Further, the outcomes could potentially inform future versions of this class, and add to the data about physics courses for non-science majors.
      • Nonscience Students Developing the Particle View of Ionizing Radiation

      • DG05
      • Tue 07/29, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
      • by Andy Johnson
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Inquiry into Radioactivity (IiR) project is developing course materials for radiation literacy. Student thinking about what constitutes ionizing radiation is a major learning difficulty. Most people use "radiation" and "radioactive" interchangeably, and talk of ionizing radiation as "bad stuff" that can transfer to other objects, making them radioactive. These matter -- like ideas persist and interfere with the particle view. This paper reports on a longitudinal study of student thinking. Some students accepted the particle view after investigations with Geiger counters, but others did not adopt the particle view until grappling with atoms and with ionization by alpha, beta, and gamma particles. Thus we reluctantly conclude that brief or incomplete efforts to teach radiation to non-science learners will fail to incite the substantial ontological shift that is essential to understanding radiation as particles.
      • Exam Preparation Using Narrated Animated Solutions

      • DG06
      • Tue 07/29, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
      • by Noah Schroeder
      • Type: Contributed
      • Worked examples are common tools used to give students information about solution procedures, often as feedback after students fail to successfully complete a problem. Narrated animated problem solutions were created and implemented in several different contexts. Several clinical experiments were conducted to determine successful methods of implementation. Materials used were implemented using smartPhysics. Results will be shown.
      • Mastery Learning in an Electromagnetism Course

      • DG07
      • Tue 07/29, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by Brianne Gutmann
      • Type: Contributed
      • In an attempt to see the effect of mastery learning in physics, we createdmaterials for an introductory electromagnetism course that tested superposition of electric fields, followed by electric potential, two subjects that have notoriously been difficult for our students. We presented these sets of questions in mastery mode, as a single presentation, or not at all, and compared performance on a written assessment. The effect of these tools, especially the mechanism for delivery (mastery or not), will be discussed and results will be shown.
      • Design and Development of Targeted Mastery Exercises for Introductory Physics

      • DG08
      • Tue 07/29, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
      • by Gary Gladding
      • Type: Contributed
      • We have developed and tested prototype online exercises targeted for specific learning objectives in introductory physics. These exercises are delivered in a "mastery" mode. That is, students are given a set of questions; if they do not answer correctly the minimum number required for mastery, they are given access to narrated animated solutions to these questions after which they are presented with a new set of questions. This process continues until the students achieve mastery. We will discuss the design of these questions and their solutions and present preliminary data on student learning from these exercises.
      • Are We Reaching Limits of Practice Exam?

      • DG09
      • Tue 07/29, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Witat Fakcharoenphol
      • Type: Contributed
      • Practice exams are commonly used by students to prepare for exams. Our first experiment showed that practice exams are useful but also limited (Fakcharoenphol 2011). A series of experiments on practice exams was conducted to examine the effect of various feedback (Fakcharonephol 2014) and distributing practice exams throughout the semester. A followup experiment was conducted to understand the optimal conditions for helping students learn from practice exams.
      • Measuring the Effectiveness of Collaborative Group Exams

      • DG10
      • Tue 07/29, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Joss Ives
      • Type: Contributed
      • I will report on the results of a study designed to measure the effectiveness of an instructional strategy known as 2-stage exams or collaborative group exams. This exam format first has the students take the exam individually. Once all the students have handed in their individual exams, they organize into collaborative groups of three or four and take the same exam again with only a single copy of the exam being given to each group. Different versions of the group exam featured different subsets of the questions from the individual exam. Questions isomorphic to the exam questions will be administered on the end-of-course diagnostic and comparisons, using the relevant isomorphic question, will be made between the students that saw a given question on the group exam and those that did not.
      • Influence of Previous Subject Experience on Interactions During Peer Instruction

      • DG11
      • Tue 07/29, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Judy Vondruska
      • Type: Contributed
      • In an analysis of correct/incorrect responses during peer instruction in an introductory survey of physics course for undergraduates, students with previous subject experience were found to have a higher correct response rate before and after discussion than all other partner groupings. If a student with previous subject experience was paired with a student with no previous subject experience, there was an increase in correct response rate after discussion but no lasting benefit was found on end-of-unit exams. If a discussion pair consisted of two students with no previous subject experience, correct response rates were low and remained low after discussion. The nature of the pairing appears to influence correct response rates to questions posed during peer instruction and also influences student's attitudes about the course and the value of peer instruction.
  • PER: Examining Content Understanding and Reasoning

      • Vector Addition in Different Contexts: A Fine-Grained Study

      • GA01
      • Wed 07/30, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Philip Southey
      • Type: Contributed
      • The acquisition metaphor of learning is often used by teachers of physics:Students acquire a particular concept, and then transfer this concept to new contexts. In particular, one might say students acquire the mathematical concept of "vector addition" and apply it in (transfer it to) numerous physical contexts. In this study, 200 freshmen taking an introductory physics course were asked to calculate the total force, total displacement and total momentum in simple contexts involving vector addition at right angles. Another similar group of 200 students were asked to calculate the net force, net displacement, and net momentum. The students did significantly worse when adding momenta, and they did significantly better when asked to calculate the "net" quantity (rather than the "total" quantity). These results are inconsistent with a basic "acquisition -transfer" perspective of learning. A fine-grained analysis of subsequent interviews and questionnaires was also conducted.
      • Adding and Subtracting Vectors: The Problem with the Arrow Representation

      • GA02
      • Wed 07/30, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Andrew Heckler
      • Type: Contributed
      • While a number of studies have investigated student understanding of vector addition and subtraction as relevant to introductory physics, virtually all of these studies have only considered the arrow representation of vectors. In this study, we demonstrate that significantly -- and often overwhelmingly -- more students can correctly add and subtract vectors in the textual, component ijk-format compared to the arrow format in both generic and physics contexts. Furthermore, by prompting students for physical explanations of results, we find that students also exhibit an equal if not better understanding in the ijk-format compared to the arrow format. The arrow format typically induces an intuitive application of arrows, often resulting in incorrect answers. Overall, we find that the ijk-format tends to prompt students to use the arrow format correctly (and not vice versa), and this suggests that teaching the arrow format alone may not be as productive as teaching both representations simultaneously.
      • Training Factors Affecting Improvement in Student Fluency with Vector Algebra

      • GA03
      • Wed 07/30, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by Brendon Mikula
      • Type: Contributed
      • In addition to struggling with deep comprehension of physics concepts, students also struggle with essential, procedural skills that are necessary for the types of problem solving expected of them during introductory physics classes. Students in both semesters of introductory physics (mechanics and E&M) and in multiple populations (algebra and calculus-based) have been shown to struggle with the essential skills of computing vector components and vector products. In this presentation, we present data on the effectiveness of a number of training conditions on student fluency with these vector skills. Through the use of simple computer-based training with answer-based feedback, the effects of different types of feedback -- as well as the presentation order of sub-skills and concepts-- are investigated.
      • Evaluating Mathematics Skills and Impact in a First-Semester Mechanics Course

      • GA04
      • Wed 07/30, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by William Evans
      • Type: Contributed
      • A collection of targeted math skills questions were developed and incorporated into the standard, weekly homework exercises in a first semester, calculus-based mechanics course for science and engineering majors at the University of Illinois. These questions were designed to test the math skills that would nominally be used during the homework that week. This presentation gives our analysis of the students' performance on the math skills questions as compared with the corresponding physics questions. We conclude by discussing some of the implications of this study in regards to transfer of learning and possible contributing factors toward student difficulties in mechanics, as well as possibilities for improving student performance in calculation-based exercises.
      • Student Strategies Solving Graphically Based Physics Problems Invoking the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus

      • GA05
      • Wed 07/30, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Rabindra Bajracharya
      • Type: Contributed
      • We have been investigating student understanding and application of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus (FTC) in different physics contexts involving definite integrals. We conducted 14 semi-structured individual interviews with introductory physics students. Our analysis, using grounded theory, elicited various strategies to solve graphically based FTC problems. While many students struggled initially, at some point during the interviews students displayed the relevant and requisite mathematical knowledge, suggesting that they failed to access and/or apply the knowledge in the given physics contexts. Similar to prior studies on students dealing with mathematically based physics problems, we found the analysis perspectives of epistemological framing and epistemic games productive in interpreting some of the choices of strategies, the strategies themselves, and some individual steps observed. The framing perspective helps explain students' strategy-switching based on representations available or context familiarity. We discuss our findings and relate our results to those in the literature.
      • Do Individual Thinking Strategies Consistently Inform Reasoning Approaches?*

      • GA06
      • Wed 07/30, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Mila Kryjevskaia
      • Type: Contributed
      • This study was motivated by research findings suggesting that student conceptual and reasoning competence demonstrated on one task often fails to be exhibited on another. Even after targeted instruction, many undergraduate physics students fail to build reasoning chains from fundamental principles even though they possess the required knowledge and skills to do so. Instead, they often rely on a variety of intuitive reasoning strategies. In this study, we examined the extent to which students employ intuitive reasoning across multiple contexts (both related and unrelated). In addition, we wanted to see if the tendency to use a particular class of reasoning approaches (e.g., intuitive or formal) may be attributed to individual student thinking strategies in general. Data from introductory calculus-based physics courses will be presented and implications for instruction will be discussed. *This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. DUE-1245313, DUE-1245999, and DUE-0962805.
      • Metacognition and Epistemic Games in IPLS Problem Solving

      • GA07
      • Wed 07/30, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Charles Bertram
      • Type: Contributed
      • A metacognitive exercise in problem solving was given to an introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS) class over the course of the fall 2013 and spring 2014 semester. The exercise featured scaffolding in the form of a rubric students could use to note where they struggled in a group problem solving effort. One of the concerns was that students who are not physics majors do not necessarily have the same epistemic framework as physics majors would for the classroom. As such, we examine written artifacts from the students' reflection activities for evidence of different epistemic games. We also describe a comparison of written artifacts to pre-post data from the FCI, MPEX, and CLASS surveys.
      • Exploring the Role of Metacognition in Qualitative Reasoning*

      • GA08
      • Wed 07/30, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Thanh Le
      • Type: Contributed
      • Metacognition, the monitoring and regulation of one's thinking, plays an important role in developing conceptual understanding and facilitating effective problem solving. To date, relatively little work has focused on the role of student metacognition in qualitative inferential reasoning. We have collected audio, video, and real-time written data in order to identify instances of socially mediated metacognition[1] that occur while introductory physics students work through qualitative problems. In particular, we use multi-part questions that tend to elicit inconsistencies in student reasoning, even when students possess the requisite conceptual understanding. This work is part of a broader effort to identify methods for improving students learning in physics by explicitly supporting and enhancing students' metacognitive abilities. Preliminary findings as well as specific examples will be presented. * This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. DUE-1245313, DUE-1245999, and DUE-0962805.
      • Investigating the Metacognitive Calibration of Students in Introductory Courses

      • GA09
      • Wed 07/30, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Beth Lindsey
      • Type: Contributed
      • "Calibration" is an aspect of metacognition that describes how well students assess their own knowledge. We have been engaged in a multi-year project to investigate the metacognitive calibration of students enrolled in introductory physics and chemistry courses at a small campus of a large public university. When assessed at the end of the semester, we found a large disparity between students' confidence in their ability to answer questions compared to their actual ability to provide the correct answer on a large number of questions that spanned the course material. We further investigated student calibration in a series of interviews designed to examine which question features and student behaviors might lead students to assess their knowledge more accurately. Data from written questions and one-on-one student interviews will be presented, and the implications these have for future investigations into student metacognition will be discussed.
      • Identifying Blended Ontologies for Energy

      • GA10
      • Wed 07/30, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Benjamin Dreyfus
      • Type: Contributed
      • Energy is an abstract concept, but students and experts alike reason aboutenergy using ontological metaphors: metaphors that indicate what kind of a thing energy is. These metaphors include energy as a substance ("This object has a lot of energy") and energy as a vertical location ("It dropped down to a lower energy"). Both of these metaphors can be productive, but each one has its limitations. In our previous work, we have shown that students and experts can productively combine the substance and location metaphors for energy and coordinate them coherently. Here, we examine instances in which students are using both metaphors, and argue that, in some cases, students blend these two separate metaphors into a single ontology for energy. To determine this, we employ an integrated methodology, analyzing both the verbal metaphors and the gestures that the students use.
      • Exploring Blended Ontologies via Gestures

      • GA11
      • Wed 07/30, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Ayush Gupta
      • Type: Contributed
      • In recent years there has been increased interest in understanding the ontological metaphors in play in experts' and novices' reasoning about energy. By ontological metaphors we mean metaphors that indicate what kind of a thing energy is. These metaphors include energy as a substance ("This object has a lot of energy") and energy as a vertical location ("It dropped down to a lower energy"). We are investigating how experts and novices might (or might not) coordinate and/or blend these two metaphors when reasoning about energy. In this talk, we will focus on how to use gestures to understand such ontological blending.
      • Educational Data Mining: Results from in Vivo Experiments to Teach Different Physics Topics

      • GA12
      • Wed 07/30, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by DANIEL SANCHEZ-GUZMAN
      • Type: Contributed
      • Educational Data Mining (EDM) uses different algorithms for analyze response and behavior in the teaching-learning process, these algorithms let researches to analyze and classify students' behavior or state of knowledge from different concepts; most of these algorithms have not been tested in Physics Education Research, this work presents the results obtained from applying three algorithms used by EDM for teaching different physics concepts applied to in-vivo experiments. These algorithms are: decision tree, rule induction, and fuzzy rule induction. The in-vivo experiments correspond to different active learning methodologies derived from research master degree thesis in the Physics Education Research Department from the Applied Science and Advance Technology Research Center of the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico.
  • PER: Exploring Problem Solving Approaches and Skills

      • Assessing Online Computer Coaches for Problem Solving: Measures of Utility

      • BB01
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Koblar Jackson
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Physics Education Research Group at the University of Minnesota (UMN) is investigating the utility of a type of online computer coach to promote learning and aid in the development of problem-solving skills in an introductory physics course. The first version of these coaches was used in the first semester of large calculus-based introductory mechanics courses at UMN. The utility of the coaches depends on their ease of use and their attractiveness to students as well as their efficacy. In this talk, we describe the techniques used to measure the utility of the coaches when used as a part of the introductory course. This talk will also address the natural use of the coaches by different segments of the student population within the class. Q. Ryan, B. Aryal, and J-L. Lin also contributed to this work. This project was partially supported by NSF DUE-0715615 and DUE-1226197.
      • Assessing Online Computer Coaches for Problem Solving: Educational Impact

      • BB02
      • Mon 07/28, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Evan Frodermann
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Physics Education Research Group at the University of Minnesota is developing a set of online computer coaches to aid student learning in an introductory physics course. This talk reports on the educational impact of implementing the first version of these coaches in the first semester of several large calculus-based introductory mechanics courses. The talk will also address how the results of this implementation are being used as input to the design of the second version of these coaches. A. Mason, B. Aryal, J-L. Lin, and K. A. Jackson also contributed to this talk. This work was partially supported by NSF DUE-0715615 and DUE-1226197.
      • Influence of Visual Cueing and Correctness Feedback on Problem Solving

      • BB03
      • Mon 07/28, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Elise Agra
      • Type: Contributed
      • Research has demonstrated that using visual cues can help to direct students' attention to relevant areas of a diagram and facilitate problem solving. In this study, we investigate the effect of visual cues and correctness feedback in conceptual physics problems containing a diagram with respect to the comprehension of physics concepts. Students enrolled in an introductory mechanics course were individually interviewed. Using think-aloud protocol, students worked through four sets of problems containing a diagram. Each problem set contained an initial problem, six isomorphic training problems, a near transfer problem, and a far transfer problem. The students provided verbal responses to the problems. Students in the cued condition saw visual cues on the training problems, and students in the feedback condition were told whether their responses were correct or incorrect. We discuss the influence of both cueing and feedback on students' ability to solve the training and transfer problems.
      • Visual Cues Increase Efficiency in Extracting Relevant Information from Diagrams

      • BB04
      • Mon 07/28, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Amy Rouinfar
      • Type: Contributed
      • Visual cues overlaid on diagrams and animations can help students attend to relevant features and facilitate problem solving. In this study we investigated the effects of visual cues on students' eye movements as they solved conceptual physics problems. Students (N=80) enrolled in an introductory physics course individually worked through four sets of problems, each containing a diagram, while their eye movements were recorded and provided verbal responses. The problem sets contained an initial problem, six isomorphic training problems, and a transfer problem. Those in the cued condition saw visual cues overlaid on the training problems. Each diagram contained regions that were alternatively relevant to solving the problem correctly or related to common incorrect responses. The cued group more accurately answered the transfer problems (which did not have cues), and their eye movements showed they more efficiently extracted the necessary information from the relevant area than the uncued group. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1138697.
      • The Effects of Problem-solving Training on Students' Reasoning Abilities*

      • BB05
      • Mon 07/28, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Xian Wu
      • Type: Contributed
      • We study the effects of a computer-based training process on pre-service elementary teachers' reasoning on introductory physics problems with diagrams. The training process contains four problem sets that target commonly known naïve conceptions in physics. The problems include physics diagrams and text and require conceptual reasoning rather than computation. Each problem set has three training problems followed by solutions, one near transfer problem, and one far transfer problem. We have analyzed students' verbal answers to elucidate the reasoning resources that they activated to construct the different explanations that they gave in response to the problems. We found that the students changed their reasoning dramatically through the process as they were presented with solutions to training problems and later posed a transfer problem. Our results provide insights into students' activation of their resources and the procedures they used to construct their reasoning in response to the training problems.
      • Developing Expertise Beyond Conceptual Understanding Through Deliberate Practice

      • BB06
      • Mon 07/28, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Zhongzhou Chen
      • Type: Contributed
      • Achieving physics expertise requires various expert skills beyond conceptual understanding, such as mapping between different representations, or devising a qualitative overall plan. Research have shown that the most effective method to develop expertise in any field is through "deliberate practice": carefully designed repetitive practice focused on a specific expert skill. However, most traditional back of the textbook problems are poor candidates of deliberate practice activities, as they often require multiple skills to solve. We will briefly introduce our initial attempts of developing "deliberate practice problems" for introductory mechanics. These highly focused problems are carefully designed to train one aspect of expert skill at a time, utilizing the new "Drag and drop" format of the edX platform to reduce extraneous cognitive load. We will show a couple of example problems, and also report the initial response from students when we deploy those problems in a flipped classroom.
      • Analyzing Resources Used by Expert Physicists While Reasoning Towards Understanding

      • BB07
      • Mon 07/28, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Darrick Jones
      • Type: Contributed
      • One important goal for physics education is to help students develop reasoning patterns similar to those of physicists. But what does a physicist actually do that enables her/him to successfully understand and solve challenging, novel problems? To answer this question we performed fine-grained discourse analysis on video recordings of physics experts attempting to solve novel problems using the framework of resources. We focused on episodes during the problem solving process when experts reasoned towards a deeper understanding of the phenomenon they were observing. By searching for patterns across many episodes, we identified candidate resources with epistemological underpinnings, which help experts when they are making conceptual breakthroughs when solving novel problems. We discuss the frequency with which resource candidates were used by experts and the instructional implications of these findings.
      • Skipping the First Step: Physical Process Understanding in Problem Solving

      • BB08
      • Mon 07/28, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Katherine Ansell
      • Type: Contributed
      • Multiple-choice tests are commonly used in large introductoryphysics courses, but the format provides limited information about specific student weaknesses in problem solving. We seek to identify and characterize the role of physical process understanding in a multiple-choice format. To do this, we have written a collection of questions designed to assess students' understanding of the physical processes that occur in given scenarios. These questions were given to students in an introductory calculus-based mechanics course in a review context for each of the major examinations in the course. We have compared student performance on these questions to student performance in examinations and will discuss what these results reveal about this specific type of understanding in problem solving.
      • Mathematics Skills in Physics Problem Solving

      • BB09
      • Mon 07/28, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by Jing Wang
      • Type: Contributed
      • Students' mathematical skill level is often considered a good indicator oftheir success in introductory physics courses. It is a common expectation that students who meet the prerequisite requirement will be well-prepared; however, this is rarely the case. In a recent study at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Eastern Kentucky University, a math diagnostic test is given pre-instruction in an algebra-based physics course to evaluate their math skills. We then interviewed six students who were on the borderline in the entrance math diagnostic test. To investigate their physics problem solving skills, we gave them questions that included both math-intensive questions and context rich problems. The connection between students' mathematical skills and their physics problem-solving skills is discussed in detail.
      • Grading Problem-solving Items Using Rubrics in Large Groups

      • BB10
      • Mon 07/28, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
      • by David Menard
      • Type: Contributed
      • Assessment of problem-solving skills often poses some challenges in science programs. In particular, in large groups, for which several raters are involved, the question of the validity and reliability of the grading process can be legitimately challenged. A common approach to grading is to exploit a scoring scheme into which partial credits are attributed to distinct steps of the solution and points are deduced for errors. In the present work, two studies have been conducted to investigate whether the alternative use of rubrics may improve the grading process. The first was concerned with determining whether or not the rubrics developed for a class of freshman mechanics improve the scoring when compared to the traditional method. The second study used a revised version of the rubrics to verify the hypothesis that, with proper training, grading problem-solving using rubrics increases grading speed, agreement between graders and overall transparency of the grading process.
  • PER: Modeling student engagement

      • Facilitating Discourse in the High School Physics Classroom

      • FF01
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
      • by Scot Hovan
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)[1] identify eight practices as essential to science and engineering, and several of these emphasize the role of students' constructing explanations, engaging in argumentation, and communicating scientific information. As a high school physics teacher using Modeling Instruction, this research will highlight one portion of a self-study analyzing experiences facilitating discourse in an attempt to move students closer to those practices espoused by the NGSS.
      • Analyzing Physics Students' Interaction Patterns in an ISLE Studio Class

      • FF02
      • Wed 07/30, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
      • by Binod Nainabasti
      • Type: Contributed
      • Students' interactions can be an influential component of an interactive learning environment. We analyze video data of students working together while they learn physics from two consecutive semesters of a calculus-based introductory college physics course that implements the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) curriculum. We consider students' interaction patterns from two different viewpoints. The first is based on their positioning, in terms of equity, during peer interactions. The second is based on the structure of cognitive processes as described in the revised Bloom's Taxonomy. Using comparative analysis we examine the relationship between students' interactions in these two viewpoints and their learning as measured by performance in class exams and conceptual understanding. Additionally, we will attempt to identify the key characteristics and behaviors of "successful students," namely those who are able to fully exploit the affordances of a highly student-centered learning environment that places an emphasis on self-directed learning.
      • Quantifying Patterns of Interaction in a Studio-based ISLE Physics Class

      • FF03
      • Wed 07/30, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
      • by David Brookes
      • Type: Contributed
      • We are interested to examine patterns of behavior and interactions amongstphysics students as they learn in a highly interactive and student-centered learning environment. This environment is an introductory level studio-based ISLE physics class taught at Florida International University. We use a descriptive statistical approach and network analysis to identify productive or unproductive behavioral factors and try to quantify how these factors affect students' learning. We will report on interesting features and patterns that we discovered. In particular we consider the relative importance of factors such as how students participate in peer discussions while working on class activities, how much they take advantage of informal learning groups outside of class time, how they participate in whole-class discussions, and even whether students arrive on time to class or not.
      • Describing Video Viewing Behavior in a Flipped Introductory Mechanics Course

      • FF04
      • Wed 07/30, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by John Aiken
      • Type: Contributed
      • In Fall 2013, Georgia Tech began offering a "flipped" introductory calculus-based mechanics class as an alternative to the traditional large-enrollment lecture class. This class "flips" instruction by introducing new material outside of the classroom through pre-recorded, lecture videos that feature in-video "clicker" questions. Classroom time is spent working in small groups solving problems, practicing scientific communication, and peer evaluation. Video lectures constitute students' initial introduction to course material. We analyze how students engage with online lecture videos via "clickstream" data. Clickstream data consists of time-stamped interactions with the online video player. Plays, pauses, seeks, and other events are recorded when the student interacts with the video player. Patterns in this behavior can emerge and be used to highlight areas of interest in the video and improve the overall video delivery for future iterations of this course.
      • Explanatory Coherence in an Introductory Physics for Life Scientists Course

      • FF05
      • Wed 07/30, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
      • by Benjamin Geller
      • Type: Contributed
      • Life science students crave coherence among the science courses that they are required to take, and are frustrated when these courses fail to talk to each other in meaningful ways. In an effort to bridge disciplinary divides, we have iteratively designed and implemented an Introductory Physics for Life Scientists (IPLS) course that aims to unpack the physical mechanisms underlying a number of authentic biological phenomena. We draw on case-study data to examine what it looks like for students in our course to make connections between fundamental physical principles and meaningful biological questions. In particular, we explore the multiple ways in which an explanation can be "mechanistic" in the context of interdisciplinary sense making, and the affective markers that indicate satisfactory explanation. We argue that achieving explanatory coherence in an IPLS course demands that we take up authentic biological phenomena for which highly detailed accounts are not practical.
      • Heuristics for Designing Interdisciplinary Learning Environments

      • FF06
      • Wed 07/30, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Chandra Turpen
      • Type: Contributed
      • Our research team has been engaged in the iterative redesign of an introductory physics course for life science (IPLS) majors to explicitly bridge biology and physics in ways that are authentic to the disciplines. In our efforts to transform the IPLS course, we draw on the work of others who have argued that high-quality science instruction recognizes, leverages, and cultivates the productive beginnings of scientific inquiry in students' science reasoning by engaging students in making sense of phenomena, building and refining models, and generating satisfying explanations. It is unclear however what this learning process should look like at the college level as students also build from and refine more formal disciplinary knowledge that they have developed across their academic careers. Reflecting on our successes and failures in developing this course, we will present our best articulation of what educators should attend to in designing such interdisciplinary courses.
      • Uncovering Long-Term Trends in Students' Engagement with Online Homework

      • FF07
      • Wed 07/30, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Craig Wiegert
      • Type: Contributed
      • A decade ago, web-based online homework was still somewhat of a novelty for many instructors; today it's a standard fixture in the introductory physics course. As online homework usage has grown, the ways in which students interact with this resource have changed. We present the analysis of seven years' worth of student usage data from one institution using the open-source LON-CAPA system. What implications do the evolving patterns of student activity have for instructors who want to maximize the pedagogical effectiveness of online homework?
      • Physics Identity and Defining Interdisciplinary Affinity: Moving Beyond Performance

      • FF08
      • Wed 07/30, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Tyler Scott
      • Type: Contributed
      • While interdisciplinarity is often considered a worthy goal of education and a tool for better teaching, definitions of interdisciplinarity vary among education researchers and practitioners. In addition, researchers and practitioners usually focus on student performance on coursework that is considered to be interdisciplinary. What this perspective lacks is a consideration of the affective domain, namely student beliefs and attitudes about interdisciplinarity. Building on hypothesized dimensions of interdisciplinarity, we draw from a large-scale national survey to build a useful measure of interdisciplinary affinity. We also investigate how interdisciplinary affinity is related to students' physics and general STEM identities.
      • Gender Differences in Introductory Physics Experience

      • FF09
      • Wed 07/30, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
      • by Jayson Nissen
      • Type: Contributed
      • A gender-gap favoring males in outcomes such as conceptual knowledge, self-efficacy, attitudes and beliefs is common in introductory physics courses [1]. We investigated this issue by measuring students' in the moment stated feelings of self-efficacy and motivation throughout their daily lives, including in an introductory physics course. We also used trait surveys to measure gender gaps in the course consistent with prior research [1]. We found gender differences in physics favoring males on both measures. These findings trace the larger negative effect on female students' attitudes and beliefs about learning physics and their physics self-efficacy to their experiences occurring in the midst of physics instruction. This confronts researchers, educators, and administrators with the need for developing and implementing more equitable physics instruction.
      • Beyond the Numbers: Finding Mechanisms to Support Diversity

      • FF10
      • Wed 07/30, 10:00AM - 10:10AM
      • by Vashti Sawtelle
      • Type: Contributed
      • Understanding issues of diversity and equity in physics has historically taken the lens of documenting broad patterns of participation of women and ethnically underrepresented groups. This work has explored reasons for differing levels in participation including conceptual understanding, physics identity, and student self-efficacy. A common aim of this work has been to examine the impact of these variables on the prevalence of underrepresented groups in physics. We present an alternative lens on diversity and equity that centers on better understanding and supporting student trajectories of participation over time. Drawing from case study data of a biology major in an introductory physics class, we argue that access to a professional community of scientists must start from exposure to, participation in, and developing an affinity towards a variety of scientific practices. We articulate how this perspective informs a model of supporting diverse students who are commonly disenfranchised from physics.
  • PER: Evaluating Instructional Strategies II

      • Interplay Between Beliefs and Learning in Mixed-level Introductory Physics

      • GE01
      • Wed 07/30, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Brent Barker
      • Type: Contributed
      • Introductory calculus and non-calculus physics classes are combined into asingle section with an additional calculus discussion section afterwards. Others have found a correlation between student beliefs about learning physics and conceptual learning. We investigate this correlation within our mostly life-sciences population and explore the effect of the calculus discussion section on these beliefs and learning.
      • Conceptual Gains with Embodied Learning in Resistive Circuits

      • GE02
      • Wed 07/30, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Alex Barr
      • Type: Contributed
      • We report on conceptual learning gains associated with an embodied learning activity for resistive circuits. The activity, Circuit Theater, involves students playing the role of electric charges as they act out the behavior of various circuits involving batteries and light bulbs. A subset of questions from the Determining and Interpreting Resistive Electric Circuits Concepts Test (DIRECT) were administered before and after Circuit Theater activities in a calculus-based physics course at Howard Community College. Normalized gains for students participating in Circuit Theater average 49% after one week of activities. We also report on possible learning retention suggested by performance on the unit exam and the final exam.
      • Teaching Quantum Mechanics through Project-based Learning

      • GE03
      • Wed 07/30, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by Gintaras Duda
      • Type: Contributed
      • Although there has been interest in problem/project-based learning in the PER community as an active engagement strategy, most work done to date, however, has focused on introductory courses. This talk will explore research on upper-division quantum mechanics, a junior/senior level course at Creighton University, which was taught using PBL pedagogy with no in-class lectures. Course time was primarily spent on lecture tutorials and projects, which included the alpha decay of Uranium, neutrino oscillations, spin oscillations/NMR, and FTIR spectroscopy of HCl. This talk will describe how PBL pedagogy was implement in an upper-division physics course and will explore student learning in light of the new pedagogy and embedded meta-cognitive self-monitoring exercises, and the effect of the PBL curriculum on student attitudes, motivation, and epistemologies.
      • Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) on Mach Zehnder Interferometer with Single Photons

      • GE04
      • Wed 07/30, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Chandralekha Singh
      • Type: Contributed
      • We are developing and assessing a quantum interactive learning tutorial (QuILT) on Mach Zehnder Interferometry with single photons to expose students to contemporary applications of quantum mechanics. The QuILT strives to help students develop the ability to apply quantum principles in physical situations, explore differences between classical and quantum ideas, and organize knowledge hierarchically. The QuILT also helps students learn about delayed choice experiments, first proposed by John Wheeler. It adapts visualization tools to help students build physical intuition about non-intuitive quantum phenomena and focuses on helping them integrate qualitative and quantitative understanding and discriminate between concepts that are often confused. Details of the development and assessment will be discussed. We thank the National Science Foundation for support.
      • Developing Metacognitive Skills in Conjunction with Conceptual Understanding of Physics

      • GE05
      • Wed 07/30, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Nathaniel Grosz
      • Type: Contributed
      • Effective learners possess a diverse repertoire of metacognitive skills that they consciously deploy to support and guide their thinking. Adopting new thinking approaches is complex and demanding for novice learners, but the process can be facilitated by instructors actively supporting the development of students' metacognitive skills. As part of an ongoing investigation of student reasoning approaches in physics courses, we wish to identify instructional strategies that are effective at promoting the development of metacognitive skills in conjunction with the development of conceptual understanding of physics. We have been probing the effectiveness of such strategies across multiple learning environments (e.g., interactive lectures, laboratory). We will present data from question sequences purposefully designed to evoke metacognitive behavior. Results from individual and group work will be presented and compared. Implications for instruction will be discussed.
      • Classroom Observation Coding to Study Success Factors in Studio Physics

      • GE06
      • Wed 07/30, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Larry Medsker
      • Type: Contributed
      • Improvements in student learning through interactive-engagement methods have been inconsistent over a range of institutions. Possible factors for these variations include institutional differences and instructor effectiveness. As part of a project to explore the key elements of successful algebra-based studio courses, we are conducting systematic observations and analyses of various classroom environments with regard to teaching methods, cognitive engagement, and instructor-student interactions. Our data are recorded as a chronological series of codes in the Teaching Dimensions Observational Protocol (TDOP) which reflect the classroom activities taking place at particular times. In order to test the efficacy of the TDOP computer-based tool, we are using an evidence-based approach for choosing an efficient set of codes grounded in PER. We will discuss the coding design process and our insights into studio-mode courses. We will outline the important factors impacting active learning in the classroom and discuss how the observations inform the broader study of successful studio physics.
      • Identifying the Different Implementations of Studio Physics: Document Analysis

      • GE07
      • Wed 07/30, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Ozden Sengul
      • Type: Contributed
      • Physics education research (PER) indicates that research-based instructional strategies (RBIS) such as studio classes and research-based text materials (Physics by Inquiry) could be used widely to improve students' learning gains and conceptual understanding. However, the effectiveness of RBIS is not universal; non-physics majors fail to understand subjects in algebra-based courses at some institutions. This could be due to many reasons, such as different implementations of studio physics or different teaching strategies. Course documents also have impacts on the learning environment. As part of a collaborative study among GSU, GW and UCF, we have collected and analysed available course documents, such as experiments and quizzes. The analysis is based on the differences between course documents (experiments, activities) among these three institutions and comparison of these documents to those prepared by the instructors with PER-based documents.
      • Student Characteristics Influencing Success in Studio Physics: First Steps

      • GE08
      • Wed 07/30, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Jacquelyn Chini
      • Type: Contributed
      • Studio physics courses and other interactive engagement methods have been found to improve student learning gains at multiple institutions. However, the same level of success is not found in all secondary implementations of these methods. There are several possible explanations for these differences in success, such as institutional differences and instructor effectiveness. As part of a project to explore the essential components for success of algebra-based studio physics courses, we would like to describe and compare characteristics of student populations at institutions with different levels of success. Studio-mode courses may be particularly vulnerable to differences in student populations since their student-centered nature places more responsibility on students. We will present the results of interviews conducted with faculty, student assistants and enrolled students at three universities to explore the characteristics they felt most significantly impacted individual students' success in studio mode courses and how these results inform the larger study.
      • Implementing PER-based Tutorials in the Second Semester Algebra-based Lecture-supported Mini-studio

      • GE09
      • Wed 07/30, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Jarrad Pond
      • Type: Contributed
      • Following the positive impact of the lecture-supported mini-studio format on student understanding in our first-semester algebra-based courses, we present the results of implementing the mini-studio format in our second-semester algebra-based courses. The mini-studio format provides improved integration of traditional lecture, recitation, and laboratory components for a large number of introductory students who cannot be served by our limited number of full-studio courses. During the three-hour laboratory portion of the mini-studio, students complete student-centered worksheets containing PER-based materials (e.g., exercises from Maryland Open Source Tutorials, Minnesota Context-Rich Problems, etc.) and then take quizzes on paper. Some students worked in our previous laboratory format, which entailed an instructor-led problem-solving session followed by individual quizzes completed online. We will investigate the effects of the mini-studio format on student understanding of second-semester material and on student attitudes toward physics and compare these results to those of other formats used for our second-semester algebra-based courses.
      • Implementing Computational Modeling in a High Needs High School Classroom

      • GE10
      • Wed 07/30, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Samuel Martin
      • Type: Contributed
      • We describe our current efforts to implement computational modeling and video analysis in the introductory mechanics curriculum at Clarkston High School, a Metro Atlanta public school. In collaboration with Georgia Tech,we have tested and implemented teacher-designed course materials. Clarkston serves a largely low-income refugee community. This causes unique challenges. Improving computer literacy is a large focus, and is necessary in preparation for the next-generation science standards. The classroom activities replace traditional lab activities with computer analysis using student-filmed videos, Tracker (free motion tracking software), and special scripts using the free programming language VPython. We discuss student performance and student engagement during lessons.
      • Physics I MOOC -- Student Performance Analysis

      • GE11
      • Wed 07/30, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by David Lieberman
      • Type: Contributed
      • We have analyzed the performance of students enrolled in University of Colorado Physics I MOOC. The performance of the MOOC students is compared with that of students in the "Brick and Mortar" version of the course, Physics 1110. Identical instruments (FMCE, exams, homework) were used to evaluate both groups. While the completion rate of students enrolled in the MOOC was much lower than for those in the "Brick and Mortar" class, MOOC students performed as well as and had learning gains as great as those in the "Brick and Mortar" class. When MOOC students are compared with a similar group of Physics 1110 students, based on FMCE pre-tests, their performance lags but still compares favorably with that of students in a typical Physics I class.
  • PERC Bridging Session

      • Technology and Instructional Reform: Beyond the Classroom

      • PERC01
      • Wed 07/30, 3:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by James Fairweather
      • Type: Invited
      • Research in postsecondary education has focused on the pedagogical effectiveness of technology in the classroom. Most relevant literature focuses on students' cognitive development, professional development of faculty members, and course and curricular translation into digital platforms. The AAU Initiative for the Reform of Undergraduate Education shows that many of the factors affecting the successful use of technology in STEM education lie beyond individual faculty members and students. Reward structures that influence faculty time allocation are set at the institutional level. Administrators select educational software to control costs rather than to maximize learning. This presentation draws on recent experience with the AAU Initiative to describe the variety of factors potentially affecting faculty and student use of technology in teaching and learning.
      • Apples and Oranges: Comparing a MOOC with a Standard Class

      • PERC02
      • Wed 07/30, 3:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by Michael Dubson
      • Type: Invited
      • In the Fall of 2013, we taught Physics 1 (Calc-based Mechanics) to 800 tuition-paying freshmen at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Almost simultaneously, we taught a MOOC version of the course, through Coursera, to an initial audience of 15,000 students from around the world. We made the two versions of the course as similar as possible. The MOOC students saw the same lectures, with the same Concept Tests, received the same homework assignments, and took the same exams with same time constraints, as the students in the brick-and-mortar course. The physics background knowledge FMCE pre-test scores of the two groups were remarkably similar, but less than 2% of those enrolled in the MOOC had the grit to complete the course. Those gritty 2% performed almost as well as our CU freshmen students with matching pretest scores.
  • PERTG Town Hall

      • PERTG Town Hall

      • TOP07
      • Wed 07/30, 11:30AM - 12:30PM
      • by MacKenzie Stetzer
      • Type: Topical
      • This is a meeting for members of the Physics Education Research Topical Group.
  • Perspectives in Particle Physics

      • The Future of Particle Physics Outreach and Education

      • CD01
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by Daniel Cronin-Hennessy
      • Type: Invited
      • Particle physics is more compelling than ever due to the excitement from the discovery of the Higgs boson and other boundaries broken by the Large Hardron Collider at CERN as well as the ongoing mysteries of neutrino physics, dark matter, and dark energy. Much of this story has yet to be told to the public and in our schools. Last summer, the Community Summer Study was held at the University of Minnesota to chart a recommended course for the particle physics community in the U.S. in the coming years. Among these recommendations was a robust program of education, outreach, and public engagement. We will examine these recommendations and discuss what they mean for physics education.
      • High School Students Exploring the World of Particle Physics

      • CD02
      • Mon 07/28, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Shane Wood
      • Type: Invited
      • With the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in addition to the popularity of the television sitcom "Big Bang Theory," many high school students today have at least heard of CERN, the LHC, and the Higgs boson. Students are often excited by the cutting-edge nature of this research and may wonder how it relates to topics studied in their introductory physics class. This talk will focus on opportunities for high school teachers and students to investigate the world of quarks and leptons using real data from the LHC through particle physics masterclasses and e-Labs, while covering required standards, including many Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
      • Merging Innovative Particle Physics Activities with Project Based Learning

      • CD03
      • Mon 07/28, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
      • by Evelyn Restivo
      • Type: Contributed
      • A presentation designed to highlight several projects merging the innovations associated with detectors and the LHC that allow students to merge experimental developments in physics with basic concepts. Project Based Learning provides a way to model and analyze particle motion, use magnetic tracker models, observe collisions of particles, demonstrate counting, compiling data, and calculating the rate of Cosmic Rays from a detector, plus determining the fluidity and number of collisions that indicate the presence of the Higgs Boson. Research has shown that using Project Based Learning improves retention and that using the spectacular physics events of the LHC will raise awareness in modern science and fundamental research, provide experiences that will help motivate students to understand the physical world which in turn will increase scientific literacy, and provide an avenue to develop the interest of mystery, awe, and discovery potential in science, especially physics, for all learners.
      • Connecting Secondary Classrooms in ND, SD, and MN to Tell the Neutrino Story

      • CD04
      • Mon 07/28, 5:10PM - 5:20PM
      • by David DeMuth
      • Type: Contributed
      • Utilizing the high-bandwidth networks in which K-12 institutions are connected, we will describe an overview and status of a project that will simultaneously connect classrooms in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota to tell the neutrino story. Middle and high school teachers receive professional development on hands-on STEM strategies, lessons are developed using the Next Generation Science Standards, implemented, and then the teachers act as co-facilitators for a simultaneous classroom event that focuses on neutrino production at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, detecting neutrinos at the MINOS experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory, at the NOvA detector in Ash River, MN, and finally at SURF in Lead, SD, where STEM careers will be emphasized in conversations that will occur with lead scientists at each location.
      • Higgs Boson, Future Discoveries on the Updated CPEP Particles Chart

      • CD05
      • Mon 07/28, 5:20PM - 5:30PM
      • by Gordon Aubrecht
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Contemporary Physics Education Project's first chart on fundamental particles and interactions and its updates currently grace the walls of a great number of physics departments and many high school classrooms. This talk presents the latest, post-Higgs version of our chart, originally developed about 25 years ago when a group of physicist-educators realized that we had a consensus theory--the Standard Model--that could excite interest in physics in both teachers and students. New features include the latest parameters for the Higgs and neutrino masses, background information, looking at future discoveries, and, of course, our beautiful and amazing graphics.
  • Physics On The Road: Developing a Manual

      • Physics On The Road: Developing a Manual

      • TOP09
      • Wed 07/30, 11:30AM - 1:00PM
      • by Steve Shropshire
      • Type: Topical
      • Join demonstration and outreach experts in a panel discussion on ongoing efforts to develop a "How-To" guide for physics on the road outreach
  • Physics and Society Topical Discussion

      • Physics and Society Topical Discussion

      • TOP03
      • Mon 07/28, 12:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Brian Jones
      • Type: Topical
      • Join your colleagues for an informal discussion about physics-related societal issues such as climate change, energy use, nuclear power, nuclear weapons, resource extraction, and pseudoscience. Share your ideas about effectively teaching these issues and communicating such information to the general public, and hear what others are doing as well.
  • Physics and Society: Current Topics in Energy

      • Traditional Utility Busines Models and What Challenges/Opportunities Lie Ahead as Sustainable Resources are Added to the Power Grid.

      • CF01
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by David McMillan
      • Type: Invited
      • Sustainability, reliability, quality of life, affordability, local self-reliance and technological empowerment are all themes that come to mind when thinking about the electric energy sector and how it will evolve in coming decades. Minnesota Power serves the largest industrial customers in the state and also serves most of the communities across northeastern and north central Minnesota. In 2005, the company served those customers with a generation fleet that was 95% coal and 5% renewable. Today, it serves those customers with a 25% renewable resource mix and is headed for 1/3 of its capacity being renewable within a decade. This presentation will focus on how traditional utility business models are evolving and what challenges --and opportunities -- lie ahead for utilities and their customers as more sustainable and more distributed resources are added to the power grid.
      • Electric Utility Resource Planning in Today's Environment

      • CF02
      • Mon 07/28, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Brian Draxten
      • Type: Invited
      • Resource planning for an electric utility used to be easy: Give customers all the electricity they want, when they want it, at the lowest possible price. Today, utilities need to balance the interests of rate impact, system reliability, environmental concerns, regulatory and legislative policy, and company shareholders. Least-Cost Planning has now become Public Policy Planning. How does a utility balance keeping the lights on (system reliability) with all of the other considerations above when making generation resource decisions? These decisions involve not only new generation sources but decisions on what to do with existing generation sources as well: Traditional dispatchable generation (nuclear, coal, and natural gas) vs. intermittent renewable sources (wind, solar, and biomass) vs. energy efficiency and demand-side management. Diversity is the key.
      • Energy, Environment, and Economics of the Electric Car

      • CF03
      • Mon 07/28, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by Richard Flarend
      • Type: Invited
      • After just three years of sales, more than twice as many electric plug-in vehicles have been sold compared to the first three years of hybrid vehicles. If this trend continues, even a small college may have dozens of electric cars requiring a campus public charging infrastructure. The economics of the electric car will be presented showing that they are the least costly vehicles to own and have lower emissions than any other form of transportation even when the generation of electricity is considered. Installation requirements, economics, and regulatory concerns of public charging stations will also be presented. Due to the "limited" driving range and charging time, electric vehicles may not be for everyone. Learn what real-world single-charge and daily driving ranges can be expected from an electric vehicle as well as the effects of extreme temperature.
      • Our Entropic Society

      • CF04
      • Mon 07/28, 5:30PM - 5:40PM
      • by Celia Chow
      • Type: Contributed
      • We love material things. On the other hand, we forget or did not understand the second law of thermodynamics. In our entropic society, we also forget that we have only ONE Mother Earth...
  • Physics in a Biological Context

      • A Summary from Three Opportunities to Explore the Intersection of Biology and Physics: Research and Education

      • AD01
      • Mon 07/28, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Mel Sabella
      • Type: Invited
      • Physics in a biological context has been part of the physics education discussion for some time, with focused sessions at AAPT Meetings, efforts to reform the algebra-based physics course, and textbooks that attempt to meet the needs of biology students. This effort has grown tremendously in recent years. Examining how our physics courses are and are not meeting the needs of biology students and whether these classes are capitalizing on the exciting physics in biological applications will be front and center this year, with three opportunities for the biology and physics communities, as well as the research and education communities, to engage in this ongoing discussion. In this talk we highlight some of the major contributions from the March Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences Conference, the June Gordon Research Conference: Physics Research and Education, and the summer theme issue of the American Journal of Physics, as these events serve as guides to exploring these intersections.
      • The 2014 Conference on Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences

      • AD02
      • Mon 07/28, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Robert Hilborn
      • Type: Invited
      • In March 2014, the American Association of Physics Teachers, with support from the National Science Foundation, hosted a conference on Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences (IPLS). The conference was attended by about 180 participants with representatives from both the biology and physics communities. I will report on the conference and the resulting recommendations on many topics related to IPLS courses including labs for IPLS courses, articulating learning goals and objectives, designing courses for a wide range of life science students, what life scientists expect when their students take IPLS courses, and the politics of changing course content and enhancing IPLS courses with research-based instructional strategies.
  • Physics in a Biological Context II

      • Analyzing NEXUS/Physics Laboratory Curriculum in a Large-enrollment Environment

      • EB01
      • Tue 07/29, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Kimberly Moore
      • Type: Contributed
      • UMd-PERG's NEXUS/Physics for Life Sciences laboratory curriculum, piloted in 2012-2013 in small test classes, has been implemented in large-enrollment environments at UMD in 2013-2014. These labs address physical issues at biological scales using microscopy, image, and video analysis, electrophoresis, and spectroscopy in an open, non-protocol-driven environment. We have collected a wealth of data (surveys, video analysis, etc.) that enables us to get a sense of the students' responses to this curriculum in a large-enrollment environment and with teaching assistants "new" to the labs. In this talk, we will provide a brief overview of what we have learned and a comparison of our large-enrollment results to the results from our pilot study. Additionally, we will share data examining the change in self-reported student goals, which we believe is an indication of our lab curriculum's impact on student thinking. (This work is supported by funding from HHMI and the NSF.)
      • Physics for the Life Sciences with the MCAT In Mind

      • EB02
      • Tue 07/29, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Michael Cherney
      • Type: Contributed
      • A new algebra-based General Physics option will be available to Creighton University students this fall. These courses are intended for life science majors. The conceptual reasoning, the attention to medical and biological applications of physics, the mental math skills and the new emphasis on research skills and methods that will be promoted in the 2015 MCAT are informing the development of the new syllabuses. This new General Physics offering divides the traditional first-semester college physics topics (including fluids and basic material properties) as well as rudimentary statistical analysis between a three-credit lecture course and a one-credit laboratory course.
      • Physics for the Life Sciences After the Introductory Sequence

      • EB03
      • Tue 07/29, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by Al Adams
      • Type: Contributed
      • I have designed and now taught a one-semester 3000-level physics course entitled "Intermediate Physics for the Life Sciences." The course was populated by both upper-level physics majors and students in biology with interest in professional schools in health care or biomedical research. The course is designed to 1) allow students with a recent introductory sequence experience the opportunity to apply the principles to systems of immediate interest to them, 2) explore many of the traditionally neglected topics in the introductory sequence that are of importance in biology, 3) explore some of the important ideas through laboratory measurements, and 4) allow students who will take the MCAT a chance to prepare for the physical science component. I will overview the curriculum and the pedagogical approaches taken in this first rendering, and then present assessment results for this first (spring 2014) offering.
      • Physics Active Learning (PAL) Problems in a Biological Context

      • EB04
      • Tue 07/29, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Nathan Frank
      • Type: Contributed
      • Engaging students from biology or health pre-professional programs in introductory physics courses presents a unique challenge. One way to increase student engagement is to design physics active learning (PAL) problems that show the connection between physics and biology. Often the biology is more complicated than can be accommodated in an algebra-based course, but simple models and demos can elucidate the physics of biological systems. This talk will show several examples of these types of problems such as the ATP Synthase molecule for rotational motion, virus springs, and the human body. Strategies for finding biology contexts and initial survey data showing positive student attitudes will also be presented.
      • A New, Ready-to-Use Axon Lab

      • EB05
      • Tue 07/29, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Joshua Dyer
      • Type: Contributed
      • I have created a new physics lab that illustrates physics within the humanbody. This lab demonstrates the dimensional aspects of resistance and teaches principles of resistivity (and conductivity) and circuitry. The lab also connects these physics concepts to biology curricula with axons and electrical impulse in animals. Furthermore, it demonstrates the physical cause of multiple sclerosis and asks students to examine ways that nature might solve this problem through evolution. This presentation will outline the design, procedure, and student analysis of this lab which is simple in construction and can easily be added to any curriculum.
      • Two Examples on How to Make AC Circuits Relevant to Pre-health and Life Science Students

      • EB06
      • Tue 07/29, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Ralf Widenhorn
      • Type: Contributed
      • AC circuits are included in all standard introductory general physics textbooks. However, while engineers taking this course may easily see the relevance to their field, life science and pre-health students often struggle to see how AC circuits are relevant to their future study. We will present two lab activities that teach AC circuits in a biomedically relevant context. A circuit lab on the electrocardiogram (EKG) shows how an EKG sensor acts as a band pass filter and removes high and low frequency signals. Students then observe how a RLC circuit can be used to build a simple band pass filter. A second lab on biomedical impedance analysis (BIA) explores the concepts of AC currents, AC voltages, phase shifts, phasor diagrams, and impedance measurements. In this lab students can calculate a person's body composition using measurements of impedance and phase angle from a small current injected into the human body. They can compare these results to measurements of RC circuits that model the resistive and capacitive characteristics of the human body.
      • Syllabus for Pre Medicine Physics

      • EB07
      • Tue 07/29, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Donald Franklin
      • Type: Contributed
      • Using OpenStax Physics you can design your course so your students will realize that physics is important for the pre-med candidate. Start with Chapter 32-Medical Applications of Nuclear Physics. Then Chapter 31-Radioactivity and Nuclear Physics. Then Chapter 30-Atomic Physics. Now you have your student's attention and can teach how Classical Physics is used to prepare pre-medicine majors!
      • Designing a New IPLS Course: Goals, Challenges and Early Evaluation*

      • EB08
      • Tue 07/29, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by David Smith
      • Type: Contributed
      • At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, we have embarked on a mission to redesign our introductory physics course for life science majors. Taking recommendations from recently published national reports and the research of others, our team has set out to develop a course that better suits the needs of the student population. Early development has included significant discourse with faculty from the biology department, with emphasis placed on identifying critical cross-disciplinary skills and authentic biological contexts. We will discuss the goals and objectives of this new course and the challenges faced during the initial stages of development. In addition, we will outline the early evaluation of our curricular materials as a result of their implementation during the first summer session at UNC-CH. *This work has been supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DUE-1323008.
  • Physics of Phun

      • A Case Study Using Extracurricular Activities for Interactive Physics Engagement

      • BJ01
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Devin Rourke
      • Type: Contributed
      • Extracurricular activities are valuable elements in a high school student's daily routine--they effectively teach the social, moral, and behavioral hidden curricula often missed in a traditional classroom. Still, these commitments crowd a high school student's schedule and add unmanageable stress, which threatens both their traditional academic performance and their overall health and well-being. Therefore, it is worth examining ways in which to academically engage students in the low-pressure, fun environment that extracurriculars provide. This report, and the workshop titled "The Physics of Sports" described herein, demonstrate that the pedagogy of informal science education through extracurriculars has many benefits aside from simply stress reduction. These benefits include active and interactive engagement, social learning, promoting personal identity, situated cognition, the role of play, and anthropomorphic epistemology, to name a few. We explore the existing opportunities, necessary conditions, and practical challenges in using extracurricular activities as an effective tool for cognitive development.
      • Back in the Day

      • BJ02
      • Mon 07/28, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Diane Riendeau
      • Type: Contributed
      • As electronic toys and games become more the norm, students have fewer experiences with the hands-on toys from "back in the day." What we remember from our childhood is a new experience for many of today's students. I will present several of these "old fashioned" toys that I have collected through the years and explain how I use them to teach a variety of physics concepts.
      • Getting Students Excited About Science with High Altitude Ballooning

      • BJ03
      • Mon 07/28, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Charles Niederriter
      • Type: Contributed
      • Many of us dream of exploring space, but there are not many ways to do so.Although it is difficult to get into deep space, near space is within our grasp. High-altitude balloons are released into the stratosphere, generally reaching between 60,000 to 120,000 feet before they burst and their payload is returned to Earth by parachute. Modern balloon systems generally contain electronic equipment such as radio transmitters, cameras, and GPS receivers, as well as a variety of scientific instruments. Not only is high-altitude ballooning a great way to introduce the electronics and programming skills needed to collect and analyze data from the spacecraft, it provides a fun way to explore scientific concepts from pressure, temperature and volume to cosmic radiation. We have begun offering summer camps to high school students in order to capitalize on the excitement of ballooning to get them interested in physics.
      • Use of NYTimes Sports Section To Help Teach Physics

      • BJ05
      • Mon 07/28, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by John Cise
      • Type: Contributed
      • The New York Times Sports section is usually rich with physics concepts (Kinematics, projectiles,Newton's second, Work,Energy, etc). Over the past six years I have developed a NYTimes Physics Applications site using news articles rich in Physics applications. http://CisePhysics.homestead.com/files/NYT.htm. Articles and graphics are copied into Word, edited to fit on one page with: Introduction, Questions, Hints and Answers. The author uses these one page web applications for: Introduction to concepts, quizzes, and student extra credit. My presentation will feature some NYTimes Sport section articles rich in physics applications. http://CisePhysics.homestead.com/files/NYT.htm
  • Post-deadline Abstracts (papers)

      • Dr. Seuss Made Physics Easy 4 Everyone!

      • GG01
      • Wed 07/30, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Shannon Schunicht
      • Type: Contributed
      • The study of Physics is overwhelming 2 most everyone! In particular, the non-physicist who has no interest, nor need for further studies. This is particular the case for this author who was involved in a mid-air collision to be rendered unconscious 4 three weeks. Everything had 2 b relearned, as nursing actions were reported as having been displayed upon awakening from the extended unconsciousness (19 days). Studies n recovery brought about a pragmatic discovery 2 compensate 4 the residual memory deficits. In particular, having each vowel:mathematical operation; i.e. a:multiplication => @, o:division => over, i:subtraction => minus, u:addition => plus, & e:equals. Most constants and variables are indeed consonants, e.g. z=altitude, s=reaction rate. Using this mnemonic technique, ANY FORMULA may b made into a memorable work/phrase. ******Upon attendance this author may be spied speaking with a hole in my head, or viewed on this authors web: mnemonicwritings.com The application of this mnemonic technique 2 Eastern characters has yet 2 b explored. Regardless its academic potential remains limitless as Delta X => 0
      • A Low Cost, yet State-of-the-Art Organic Solar Cell and Light Emitting Diode Fabrication Setup for Undergraduate Teaching and Research Laboratories

      • GG02
      • Wed 07/30, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Alexi Arango
      • Type: Contributed
      • A custom-designed research facility at Mount Holyoke College has been built to offer undergraduate students the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research typically reserved for graduate students at large research universities. The facility provides thin-film deposition capability for the fabrication of organic solar cells and light emitting diodes, a rapidly growing field of research that undergraduate students find particularly appealing. Operating within a modest budget, much of the instrumentation was simplified, reduced in size and uniquely configured in order to enhance user-friendliness, reduce processing times, limit maintenance and reduce noise. A significant fraction of the design work and assembly was carried out by students. Using the completed setup, students are routinely fabricating and testing cells within a two-hour laboratory period. The facility is a striking example of how undergraduate institutions can affordably provide a state-of-the-art research experience.
      • Development of Student Projects to Promote Sustainability

      • GG03
      • Wed 07/30, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by Blane Baker
      • Type: Contributed
      • As part of a recent effort to incorporate more renewable energy projects into our curriculum, we have partnered with various organizations to identify areas of need in locations such as Haiti and Native American Reservations in the U.S. Once such needs are identified, students and faculty work closely with personnel in those locations to determine appropriate projects for students in our Research Experience course. Two projects completed recently include a portable solar-powered, cell-phone battery charger and a 12 V lighting system for use in a community building. This talk will focus on discussions of designs of these projects as well as some of the experiments performed to test their feasibility.
      • From the Lab to the Class

      • GG04
      • Wed 07/30, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by John Branch
      • Type: Contributed
      • Teaching science in K-12 today is usually based on strict guidelines that focus on topics. These topics are usually on some statewide exam (i.e?FCAT, STAAR). With so much onus today on testing, students and teachers often miss out on real-world experiences. I had the opportunity to conduct research as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Brigham Young University (BYU). The Research for Teachers (RET) program at BYU allowed me to participate in some hands-on research (some of the results will be presented here) and bring these skills to the classroom in terms of getting students excited about science and participating in future research opportunities down the road.
      • Homework Help Using a Web-based Chat Room with an Equation Editor

      • GG05
      • Wed 07/30, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Daniel Beeker
      • Type: Contributed
      • Experiences using an open source online chatroom (mathim.com) with an equation editor (MathType) for online help sessions in a general science course are described.
      • Peer Grading in a Flipped Classroom and MOOC

      • GG06
      • Wed 07/30, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Scott Douglas
      • Type: Contributed
      • For our Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) and on-campus "flipped" introductory physics classes, we emphasized peer review and scientific communication as important elements of physics practice; our students prepared several short video lab reports, and we distributed these videos among the students for review. In a flipped classroom, the material traditionally presented during in-class lectures is instead presented online outside of the classroom; in our classes, the laboratory exercises were performed outside of the classroom, too. To facilitate the peer review of video lab reports, we developed an online peer-grading tool called Statistically Weighted Aggregate Peer Review (SWAPR) in fall 2013. To increase the reliability of grades assigned through SWAPR, we developed several methods of weighting students' responses by comparing student and expert responses to a set of "calibration" assignments. We discuss our statistical analysis of student vs. expert grading and the validity and significance of our calibration methods.
      • Raising Calculus to the Surface: Engaging Discovery Using Tangible Models

      • GG07
      • Wed 07/30, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Aaron Wangberg
      • Type: Contributed
      • The solutions to mathematics and science problems with multiple variables often rely upon the geometric relationships between mathematical objects. For most calculus and stem students, this geometric reasoning occurs after their algebraic understandings ? if at all. This presentation shows a new approach to multivariable calculus which encourages student discovery of the geometric properties of mathematical objects before formal introduction with algebraic expressions. Using tangible models, students are able to discuss the geometric (including coordinate dependent and independent) properties of such mathematical concepts as gradient, directional derivatives, level curves, integrals, and partial derivatives and the role of these concepts in solving contextualized problems.
      • The IceCube Astrophysics MasterClass

      • GG09
      • Wed 07/30, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by James Madsen
      • Type: Contributed
      • The IceCube Collaboration is launching a new educational program that willgive high school students the opportunity to learn about neutrinos and what they tell us about the universe while discovering a unique experiment: IceCube, a cubic-kilometer neutrino detector buried in Antarctica's ice. It is based on the highly successful particle physics MasterClass program. High school students, and accompanying teachers, will join IceCube scientists and staff and perform an analysis using IceCube data. They will also meet active physics researchers and will link up with student peers from other countries. The students will be introduced to IceCube through a lecture and then will work on a guided activity to reproduce a recent research result published by the collaboration in science. The students will participate in a web conference with the South Pole and, finally, they will discuss their results in a virtual meeting with other students from across the U.S. and from other countries in Europe. Examples from the MasterClass will be provided.
      • The Physics of a Uniform Gravitational Field

      • GG10
      • Wed 07/30, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Elisha Huggins
      • Type: Contributed
      • We compare two uniform gravitational fields. One is the repulsive gravitational field created by dark (vacuum) energy that causes the Hubble expansion, the other is in an elevator shaft at Harvard University. Both cause photon redshifts, one in the light from distant galaxies climbing against repulsive gravity, the other in photons sent up the elevator shaft from Glen Rebka at the bottom to Robert Pound at the top. And both redshifts can be explained as resulting from an expansion of space caused by a uniform gravitational field. But these fields are limited in strength. The space between galaxies expands, yet galaxies do not because the uniform repulsive gravity is overwhelmed by stronger forces inside the galaxy. In our analysis of the Pound-Rebka experiment, the space inside the elevator shaft expands, but the building does not because it was designed to to support itself against gravity. We also calculate the Hubble times for both uniform fields.
  • Post-deadline Session II

      • We Share Solar, a STEM Program to Build a Solar Suitcase

      • GH01
      • Wed 07/30, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Tiberiu Dragoiu Luca
      • Type: Contributed
      • We Share Solar is a STEM education program, which uses the building of a We Share Solar Suitcase (a 12V DC Stand-Alone Solar Power System) as a learning platform for solar technology. It is a program that is offered by the parent organization We Care Solar (CNN Hero). The We Share Solar kit (also referring to as Solar Suitcase) was developed to allow teachers to easily have all the necessary parts to build a solar electric system, and to provide a supportive educational program with enriching curriculum in solar energy literacy. In this short talk I will present the implementation of this program at my school.
      • Exploring Five Different Physics Concepts Using Soap Films

      • GH02
      • Wed 07/30, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Swapnil Tripathi
      • Type: Contributed
      • In this talk I will demonstrate how the topic of soap films can be used toteach various important physics concepts in a very engaging and novel way. I will discuss many experiments and demonstrations that will capture students' interest and can be performed with a moderate effort. Some advanced applications of soap films in science and engineering solutions will also be discussed.
      • A Dissociated, Progressive Introductory Physics Laboratory

      • GH03
      • Wed 07/30, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by Bruce Thompson
      • Type: Contributed
      • I am the current caretaker and reviser of an introductory mechanics laboratory in the first-year curriculum at Ithaca College. Substantial revisions since its inception in the 1980s have created a coherent laboratory experience that alumni remark upon as having continued relevance in their careers. The course is dissociated because students take it in the semester following their introductory mechanics course. It is progressive because multiple themes and skills are developed and refined over the course of the semester. Some of these themes are: logical thinking (digital circuit analysis, trouble shooting, raw data evaluation), dexterity skills (circuit wiring, Erector Set skills), physics (linear kinematics, pendular motion and energy, rotational dynamics), modeling (increasing sophistication in linearized modeling and model verification), analysis (linear graphical analysis by hand, min/max error propagation, spreadsheet calculation and graphing), communication (binary reporting, summary reports, extensive report). I will present an overview of the course.
      • Learning: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

      • GH04
      • Wed 07/30, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
      • by Nathaniel Lasry
      • Type: Contributed
      • Previous work on how students change conceptions in introductory physics courses has focused on conceptual gains without taking losses into account. We analyze Force Concept Inventory data collected before and after an introductory course for 13,422 students learning physics in high schools, two-year colleges, public universities and elite universities. When looking at individual answers, we argue that current gain metrics are only valid under the assumption that there are no losses. Across all students, we find mean losses of 30%, with little fluctuation from this value in all institutions except in elite universities (15%). This suggests that conceptual losses are important and that conceptual trajectories may be described as two-steps forward, one-step-backward. The instability of initially correct responses also provide more support for the resources model (positing conceptions as flexible and context-dependent) than for the misconception model (positing conceptions as deeply rooted and resistant to change). For conceptual assessments, we propose replacing current one-dimensional gain measures - that average over gains and losses- by a three-dimensional metric that reports students initial knowledge state and accounts both for gains and losses.
      • Flux and Divergence with an Overhead Projector

      • GH05
      • Wed 07/30, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Robyn Wangberg
      • Type: Contributed
      • The idea of flux and the connection between divergence and flux is often confusing for students. We designed an activity that lets students discover properties of flux and divergence using light from an overhead projector and a piece of thin, flexible Plexiglass. The activity provides opportunities to challenge students' conceptions and ultimately leads them to the divergence theorem with a visual aid.
      • Inexpensive Equatorial Mount Design for Medium-sized Telescopes

      • GH06
      • Wed 07/30, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Mark Jacobs
      • Type: Contributed
      • An equatorial mounting simplifies some astronomical imaging, but commercial options for telescopes used at small universities and some high schools (say 12 to 16 inch apertures) can be expensive. I describe a simple design that is relatively inexpensive, easy to build, adaptable, and that has given good results. Students can be meaningfully involved in both design and fabrication. The design gives good examples of basic concepts like torque and center of mass, while the fabrication can be done using sheet steel and standard metal shop equipment.
      • Complementarity in Teaching Revisited: Experiencing and Explaining the Tension

      • GH07
      • Wed 07/30, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Jared Stenson
      • Type: Contributed
      • This presentation revisits a talk I gave at a National AAPT meeting entitled "Complementarity in Teaching: Answering Questions and Questioning Answers." At that time I was a young, inexperienced graduate student. Now, nearly10 years later, I have experience teaching at community colleges and universities, public and private, large and small, focused on teaching or on research, teaching individually and in teams. These mutually exclusive but complementary experiences have reemphasized this theme as I have struggled to incorporate research-based methods into traditional environments. In this talk I will discuss this pedagogical tension in the context of Kuhnian paradigms while addressing epistemic beliefs, faculty approaches, curricular choices, logistical realities, and educational goals. Just as with its quantum counterpart however, this complementarity leaves us in the end with increased insight and a few more useful ideas but also with a better recognition that ambiguity is deeply rooted in the system.
      • A Virtual Quantum Research Lab to be Explored by Undergraduates

      • GH08
      • Wed 07/30, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Mathias Tomandl
      • Type: Contributed
      • We introduce a new technology-enhanced learning tool for modern experimental physics -- the Simulated Interactive Research Experiment (SIRE) -- which is used and evaluated in an undergraduate quantum lab course: The SIRE prototype is a complex and interactive simulation of an existing research experiment on matter-wave interference with macromolecules, driven by extensive and scientifically valid simulations of the experimental results. This also includes measurement artifacts and experimental limitations of the setup. Students can thus be trained in advanced modern experimental physics using state of the art learning tools. Many physics curricula provide courses on current research topics only in advanced semesters. SIREs open possibilities for active and curiosity-driven learning also to undergraduate students. Similar to a flight simulator, SIREs allow the students to manipulate all the relevant parameters in the experimental setup. They can control and interact with phenomena and experimental equipment that would otherwise be inaccessible outside of specialized research labs.
  • Post-dealine Session III

      • Alliance for Physics Excellence (APEX) at Alabama A&M University

      • GI01
      • Wed 07/30, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Barbara Cady
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Alliance for Physics Excellence (APEX) at Alabama A&M University, a partnership project funded by NSF and composed of state-wide agencies and institutions designed to improve secondary physics teaching in Alabama, will present challenges and successes of a state-wide transformation in physics teaching. As the second year of a five-year project is nearing completion, preliminary results are showing quantitative and definitive qualitative changes in attitudes, beliefs, and actions of in-service secondary teachers of physics. Vignettes from summer and academic year workshops and action research classroom activities will highlight the integrated approach of discipline content with pedagogical content knowledge as well as technological knowledge and skills into a theoretical innovative teaching model. Funded by NSF DUE-MSP targeted project 1238192 Project URL: http://apex.aamu.edu
      • Who's Reality Are We Augmenting? Exploring Students' Own Experiences

      • GI02
      • Wed 07/30, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Victoria Winters
      • Type: Contributed
      • Physics teachers have a long history of creating and employing digital tools to help students explore physics concepts and get excited about science. In this presentation, we review the common roles that digital tools play in physics learning and instruction, focusing on technologies that capture static or dynamic representations of the world and augment them by layering on scientific information, either in real-time or for later investigation. While many digital tools involve a carefully designed ideally behaving world or provide high resolution video of perfectly executed demos, we argue that there is value in tools that allow students to capture and explore their own physical experiences. We discuss the benefits and drawbacks to enabling students to digitally document and investigate their own experiential reality, informed by our ongoing development of a digital app that empowers middle school students to explore the energy, forces, and motion of their own playful performances.
      • The Multipole Expansion of the Electric Potential and Non-Spherical Nuclei

      • GI03
      • Wed 07/30, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by John Karkheck
      • Type: Contributed
      • The multipole expansion of the electric potential, developed in electrostatics, is a powerful tool for elucidating relationships between shape of electric fields and geometric symmetry of charge distributions. In standard texts, thorough development is given for the first two terms, the monopole and dipole terms. The third term, the quadrupole term, is analytically tractable in symmetric situations such as ellipsoids of revolution which serve as fruitful models for employing the quadrupole moment of non-spherical nuclei to estimate nuclear dimensions. A standard analysis found in nuclear-physics texts employs the assumption that deviations from sphericity are small, a condition that often does not hold. The approach here, based on the assumption of shape-independent nuclear density, results in an exactly solvable cubic equation for the semi-major axis. Comparison is given of results from the two approaches.
      • Squishy capacitor model of charged interfaces:negative capacitance, phase transitions

      • GI05
      • Wed 07/30, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
      • by Michael Partensky
      • Type: Contributed
      • The most common and natural component in the equivalent circuit of electrical double layers (EDL) is the electric capacitor C. First introduced by Helmholtz and further developed in numerous theoretical treatments, the EDL capacitor models allowed to understand properties of charged interfaces in chemistry, biology, plasma physics. The majority of EDL theories are based on the assumption of lateral uniformity, e.g. the studies of uniformly charged electrode in contact with electrolyte. The fascinating question raised in such studies is the possibility of negative capacitance (NC) in EDL or in its components. The issue of NC became especially important recently in applications to various nano-devices. We discuss the relation of EDL's NC to surface instabilities and phase transition. The adequate electro-mechanical model should allow for lateral non-uniformity of C (transition to a non-uniform state). We discuss the "squishy capacitor model" to demonstrate various types of surface instabilities and phase transitions related to NC.
      • Small Coordinated Cooperative Groups for Solving Homework

      • GI06
      • Wed 07/30, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
      • by Thomas Gredig
      • Type: Contributed
      • Micro-communities or group work has had a long tradition in physics courses starting in the 1970s. Generally, it has been found that teamwork contributes to more efficient student learning, if it is properly structured. The structure, however, is crucial, as otherwise teamwork is not useful. Here, we discuss how structured cooperative micro-communities can be implemented using asynchronous web technologies to foster interest and encourage critical thinking and problem solving. One particular example involves introductory physics students solving complex numerical problems that would be demanding for a beginner to approach, but can be solved with the help of a peer group. This method enables introductory students to explore real world phenomena by modeling them with the abstract concepts learned in class. This work has been supported by the Chancellor?s Office of the California State University through Gerry Hanley.
      • Preparing Students for Experimental Research

      • GI07
      • Wed 07/30, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Gregory Pawloski
      • Type: Contributed
      • Physics majors are exposed to numerous classes that provide a theoretical foundation. In addition many courses offer laboratory components with predefined projects that give the students a chance to develop basic data collection and analysis skills. However, opportunities for the students to formally develop professional research skills in which they confront problems without predefined solutions are often limited. At the University of Minnesota, we offer a capstone course in which the students undertake a research project that reflects the structure of an actual research environment. We require that each student undertakes a literature search to find a physical problem that can be experimentally studied, propose, design, and execute an independent experimental project to address that problem. I will discuss the pedagogy of this course and how we balance letting the students develop an independent and open-ended research project with pragmatic limitations of resources, time, and experimental feasibility.
      • InquirySpace: Powerful, free software for collecting, analyzing and modeling data

      • GI08
      • Wed 07/30, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Chad Dorsey
      • Type: Contributed
      • Wish your students could collect and analyze data all in one place? Want to analyze data from models and simulations as well as from probes and sensors? Come learn how powerful new NSF-funded software from the Concord Consortium can enable all this and more. The "missing link" for modeling-based approaches and perfect for anyone collecting and exploring data, InquirySpace provides free, open source tools that greatly expand the range and sophistication of meaningful open-ended science investigations. InquirySpace integrates three proven technologies?real-time data collection from probes and sensors, the versatile modeling environments of NetLogo and the Molecular Workbench, and the powerful visual data exploration capabilities of the Common Online Data Analysis Platform (CODAP), based on Fathom and Tinkerplots?and integrates them into a coherent, Web-based environment enabling rich, collaborative scientific inquiry. Come learn about the power of this tool and how you can access it for free today.
      • Beyond the Flipped Classroom: Student Generated Multimedia Learning Objects

      • GI09
      • Wed 07/30, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Firas Moosvi
      • Type: Contributed
      • Results and implementation details from a novel learning approach that extends the pedagogy of the Flipped Classroom (FC) is described in this study. Students in a large introductory physics class (N=805) were tasked with the creation of two learning objects (LOs) over the course of the term based on pre-reading material set for the whole class. An experienced TA screened the LOs for quality and relevance to the course with the best ones highlighted and incorporated into the lectures and tutorials. Implementation strategies that helped ensure a consistent submission rate over the course of the term spanning all topics are discussed. With a participation rate of over 80%, students appeared engaged and interested in the LO exercise and self-reported dramatic improvements in their understanding of the content based on a five-point scale despite the presence of many other assigned items in the course.
  • Poster Session I

      • Poster Session I

      • SPEC11
      • Mon 07/28, 8:30PM - 10:00PM
      • by
      • Type: Posters
  • Preparing Physics Teachers to Teach in Diverse Environments

      • Physics Teacher Education at Florida International University -- A Hispanic-serving University

      • BH01
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
      • by Eric Brewe
      • Type: Invited
      • Florida International University redesigned secondary teacher education programs in 2009. These redesigned programs allow students to earn degrees in physics and become certified teachers upon graduation. Florida International University is the largest source of STEM bachelors and masters degrees for Hispanic students. Thus, the students participating in the FIU physics teacher education program both represent a diverse cultural background and will most likely teach in a diverse community. Two hallmarks of our program are Modeling Instruction and attention to developing communities. In this talk we discuss these two features as they pertain to preparing preservice teachers for the diverse community of South Florida. As well we look forward to the implementation of FIUTeach as a further evolution of the teacher education programs.
      • Building on Learner Resources in Urban Pre-service Teacher Professional Development

      • BH02
      • Mon 07/28, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
      • by Andrea Van Duzor
      • Type: Invited
      • Too often in public discourse about urban education deficit thinking predominates with a focus on what students cannot do and the standardized tests that illustrate their failure. Alternatively, new teachers are more effective when they seek to help students build on their intellectual resources and capabilities. As we prepare our pre-service science teachers at Chicago State University, we focus on four elements: inquiry-based learning environments in science, early teaching experiences, explicit attention in pedagogical content knowledge courses on student resources rather than student deficits, and an emphasis on the professional nature of teaching. As a minority serving institution on the South Side of Chicago, our pre-service teachers often have experienced the impacts of deficit thinking in their own educational journeys. Inquiry learning and early teaching experiences build on our science pre-service teachers' resources while simultaneously modeling attitudes for the K-12 classroom.
      • Diverse Environments in Northern Colorado K-12 Schools

      • BH03
      • Mon 07/28, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Wendy Adams
      • Type: Contributed
      • Diversity in Colorado K-12 schools has taken on a new meaning in the past four years. We are no longer merely facing diverse socio-economic backgrounds. 25% of the students in our local district speak English as a Second Language (ESL) and over 10% are recent refuges to America. This past year there were 54 languages spoken in one local high school with many of the students entering school for the first time in their lives. One might think that science teachers would be insulated from many of these challenges, unfortunately various pressures in the school system result in this same diversity in the science classroom. The good news is that techniques that are effective for teaching ESL learners are consistent with techniques for effective instruction in science.
      • High-impact Practices in a Conceptual Physics Course for Future Elementary School Teachers

      • BH04
      • Mon 07/28, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Vazgen Shekoyan
      • Type: Contributed
      • According to the Association of American Colleges and Universities, a number of educational experiences are conducive to high-impact learning such as a) Learning Communities, b) Service- or Community-based Learning and c) Writing-Intensive Courses. We have incorporated the above mentioned high-impact practices in a linked Conceptual Physics and Introduction to Education courses for Childhood Education majors at Queensborough Community College. As a learning community, future elementary program where students teach selected physics topics to K-5 mixed-age groups of students. Students' lesson plan write-ups and pre school teachers have to register to both courses concurrently. We have assigned mutually beneficial assignments for further enhancement of the learning community. As part of service learning, we have formed collaboration with a local afterschool and post reflection assignments were few of the writing-intensive components of the class. We will discuss the evaluation and implications of our approach in this talk.
      • Wonder Questions: Eliciting Student Wonder for Knowledge, Inspiration and Motivation

      • BH05
      • Mon 07/28, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by Christine Lindstrom
      • Type: Contributed
      • Knowledge is unveiled because people ask questions, and their questions unveil what they already know. Since fall 2012, a flipped classroom approach has been implemented in physics courses in Norwegian Science Teacher Education in Oslo. Students complete a short online pre-work module, which includes asking a "Wonder Question" -- anything the student may wonder about that pertains to the topic, such as "How do night vision goggles work"? The purpose is to encourage students to connect new knowledge with previous experience, inspire wonder and help structure class time according to student interests. Some preservice teachers used Wonder Questions in their own practicums. One teacher received the following Wonder Question from a ninth grader who had learned that energy is conserved: "Can you please tell us a bit about the transformations of energy from the Big Bang until today"? The opportunities for teaching and learning offered by Wonder Questions will be discussed.
  • Reform Dissemination: Successful Examples

      • A Widely Disseminated, Discipline Crossing, Radical Reform: The SCALE-UP Story

      • DJ01
      • Tue 07/29, 8:00AM - 8:30AM
      • by Melissa Dancy
      • Type: Invited
      • Scale-Up is a radical reform geared toward high levels of student engagement utilizing integrated lab-lecture in a redesigned room. The first Scale-Up course was taught in 1997. Since then Scale-Up as spread widely across many institutions and disciplines. A recent survey identified 314 departments at 189 institutions in 21 countries that report being influenced by or using some version of SCALE-UP style instruction. Departments represented many distinct disciplines. We are in the process of studying the dissemination of SCALE-UP though a social network analysis, surveys, interviews, and site visits. Research questions include: How has knowledge about SCALE-UP spread? What leads a department to consider, adopt, modify or abandon SCALE-UP? How does the method of learning about SCALE-UP and departmental factors impact how SCALE-UP is implemented? In this talk we report on findings to date from this project.
      • "SCALE-UP" at the University of Michigan-Flint

      • DJ02
      • Tue 07/29, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
      • by Christopher Pearson
      • Type: Contributed
      • Inspired in part by the work of Beichner et. al. (http://www.ncsu.edu/per/scaleup.html), the introductory physics course environment at the University of Michigan-Flint has transformed from a typical arrangement of large-lecture/small-lab to an integrated lecture-lab environment. Necessary infrastructure changes were made possible through a generous gift from a physics alumnus and the David Zick Active Learning Classroom was created. An overview of the learning environment will be presented as well as observations gleaned from the initial use. A comparison of scores from the Force Concept Inventory and the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism before and after the creation of the classroom are used to assess changes in student learning due to the change in learning environment. Student retention and student comments as well as faculty load and staffing changes will also be discussed.
      • SCALE-UP, Scaled Down

      • DJ03
      • Tue 07/29, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
      • by Brandon Lunk
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Student Centered Active Learning Environment using Upside-down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP) project was designed to promote a style of classroom environment that brings the intimacy of small, discussion-based seminars and laboratories to large enrollment courses. Although the most recognizable characteristic of a SCALE-UP classroom is the architecture -- specifically the multiple large, round tables situated within a large capacity studio -- the SCALE-UP philosophy is meant to function more as a framework for establishing and maintaining interactive pedagogies. Thus even the small classes typical of many liberal arts and community colleges can be taught using SCALE-UP. In this talk, I will discuss my use of the SCALE-UP framework within small, 24 person introductory physics courses at Elon University.
      • Studying the Spread of Research-based Instructional Strategies: Rich Case Study of SCALE-UP

      • DJ04
      • Tue 07/29, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
      • by Kathleen Foote
      • Type: Contributed
      • Much time, money, and effort has been spent developing innovative teachingpedagogies. But, the majority of college instruction in physics fields is inconsistent with research-based recommendations. This project investigates the dissemination and implementation of research-based instruction by using a web survey to understand the spread of SCALE-UP (Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies). Responses from 659 people indicate that SCALE-UP is used at over 250 institutions worldwide and has also spread to disciplines beyond physics. Information about SCALE-UP has traveled through both formal and informal channels. Secondary sites frequently modify the original SCALE-UP model, which may impact the success of the implementation. According to the Diffusion of Innovations theory, the developer may need to change the message to continue increasing the number of sites beyond early adopters.
      • Transitioning Introductory Physics at UNC Chapel Hill

      • DJ05
      • Tue 07/29, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by Alice Churukian
      • Type: Contributed
      • At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill we have been teaching one reformed section of calculus-based introductory physics using the SCALE-UP (Student Centered Active Learning Environment for Upside-down Pedagogies) methodology since fall 2010. While the pilot study proved successful, we were unable to take the next step of "scaling up" to use this approach for all students. Beginning fall 2013 we adopted a Lecture/Studio methodology -- a hybrid of traditional and interactive engagement -- for all students. In this approach, students have one hour of lecture and two hours of studio twice per week. In this fashion we were able to offer large lecture sections for efficiency, but retain smaller, more intimate studios for hands-on, minds-on problem-solving and laboratory activities. How we got to where we are today, and the lessons learned along the way, will be discussed.
  • Reform Dissemination: Successful Examples II

      • Studio at CSM: Intro Physics and Beyond

      • FC01
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Patrick Kohl
      • Type: Invited
      • Studio and SCALE-UP (developed at RPI and NCSU respectively) have a long history in PER and at the Colorado School of Mines. CSM has been using Studio methods continuously since 1997, when the physics department implemented pilot sections of introductory calculus-based mechanics. Since then, Studio at CSM has expanded steadily. As of 2014, all of Physics I & II and Biology I are taught via Studio, along with pilot sections of Probability & Statistics. There are discussions in place to spread Studio to several other courses in the near term, including upper-division physics. In this talk, we'll briefly review the overall structure of Studio and some relevant performance data. The remainder will focus on the actual spread of Studio at CSM, highlighting a number of problems and how they were overcome, and reporting on the personal experiences of many of the instructors involved.
      • LEAP: A Learner-centered Environment for Algebra-based Physics

      • FC02
      • Wed 07/30, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by Paula Engelhardt
      • Type: Contributed
      • This presentation will focus on the curriculum development work that we have been doing with our algebra-based course sequence. LEAP* is guided by research on student learning of physics and builds on the work of the NSF supported project, Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET). Students work in groups to develop their understanding of various physics phenomena including forces, energy, electricity and magnetism, light and optics. Students utilize hands-on experiments and computer simulations to provide evidence to support their conceptual understanding. Traditional problem solving is scaffolded by using the S.E.N.S.E. problem solving strategy. An overview of the curriculum and assessment results will be presented.
      • Learning Assistants in Introductory Physics: Successes and Challenges at WVU

      • FC03
      • Wed 07/30, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
      • by Paul Miller
      • Type: Contributed
      • In the fall of 2011, the West Virginia University Learning Assistants (LA)program began. Since the funding came as a component of a larger grant, our situation was well-suited to replication. Our program was designed after attending the LA Workshop at the University of Colorado. From the perspective of three years of LAs in our courses, we report successes, challenges, and lessons learned for both semesters of calculus-based introductory physics. We present content learning gains (from the FMCE and CSEM) and attitudes (from the CLASS) data. We show that the program has improved learning gains overall and in some targeted categories, such as first-generation students. Finally, we document and explore differences in course readiness between fall and spring enrollees that were revealed through program assessment. (This project is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. EPS-1003907.)
      • Research-based Reform: Faculty as Change Agents in Multiple Departments

      • FC04
      • Wed 07/30, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Adrienne Traxler
      • Type: Contributed
      • The FIU Science Collaborative is a four-year project to reform undergraduate science education at Florida International University, driving institutional change through community building and faculty development across multiple departments. Each year, a cohort of faculty scholars undertakes transformation of their courses to incorporate and assess active learning. Scholars engage with reform in a variety of ways, from adoption of published research-based materials to creation of their own. We discuss examples and the bridges between faculty developers, faculty, and science education researchers that foster successful change.
      • Implementation of a Flipped Classroom Across Multiple Sections

      • FC05
      • Wed 07/30, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Scott Paulson
      • Type: Contributed
      • We have implemented a flipped classroom for our calculus-based introductory physics sequence. The course was delivered by five instructors to approximately 250 students. Prior to "flipping," different sections were in various stages of reform, though all included some degree of interactive engagement. In our flipped courses we have much greater uniformity across sections in terms of content coverage. Student attitudes and outcomes will be discussed in light of data from end of semester evaluations and FCI pre/post tests.
      • Seven Years of Change: Outcomes from the Science Education Initiative

      • FC06
      • Wed 07/30, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Stephanie Chasteen
      • Type: Contributed
      • In 2005, the Science Education Initiative (SEI) at the University of Colorado was launched as a $5 million, university-funded project to support departments in improving science education (http://www.colorado.edu/sei). The SEI has funded work across seven STEM departments and dozens of courses to institute a scientific approach to educational reform driven by three questions: What should students learn? What are students learning? Which instructional approaches improve student learning? The SEI is structured with a small team of central staff, and a cohort of Science Teaching Fellows-- postdocs, hired into individual departments, who partner with faculty to identify learning goals, develop instructional materials, and research student learning. Key elements of the program are its departmental focus and bottom-up structure. As the SEI draws to a close, we have an opportunity to reflect upon the impacts of the program. This talk will highlight the outcomes of the SEI model, including both affordances, and lessons learned.
  • Remembering John Risley

      • Remembering John Risley

      • FA
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
      • by Danny Caballero
      • Type: Panel
      • AAPT joins the North Carolina Section and the employees of WebAssign in this recognition of John Risley who passed away at home after battling a rare and aggressive form of cancer. John served on the physics faculty at North Carolina State University from 1976 until his passing last year. His early career was in the field of atomic physics.

        John had a tremendous impact on Physics Education and AAPT, particularly in areas of educational technology. In the late 1980s, John created Physics Academic Software, in collaboration with AIP, to publish peer-reviewed educational physics programs. In 1988, he and Joe Redish organized the Conference on Computers in Physics Instruction at North Carolina State University, which had a major impact on the field. During the 1990s, John developed summer workshops on educational technology for high school teachers and, later, oversaw the development of WebAssign, an online teaching and learning application used by millions of students worldwide.

        John was a passionate teacher and physicist who cared deeply about how students learned and how teachers taught. Please join friends, colleagues, and admirers of John in this session dedicated to his memory.
      • Bringing Textbooks to Life

      • FA01
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
      • by Ruth Chabay
      • Type: Panel
      • John Risley's vision of the future of physics education always included computers. At an early date he envisioned interactive online textbooks that seamlessly integrated exercises and problems with text. Now, as electronic textbooks evolve to include problem-solving activities, animations, video, and even computational modeling, we remember John's vision, reflect on how much textbooks have already changed, and speculate about the future.
      • John Risley and 30 Years of Computers in Physics

      • FA02
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
      • by Aaron Titus
      • Type: Panel
      • For 30 years, John Risley had an enormous impact on the use of computers in physics education. As editor of AIP's Physics Academic Software (PAS), John applied professional editorial resources and strategies to publish high-quality software that teachers could trust. Some of these applications, like Graphs and Tracks, EM Field, and Electric Field Hockey, are used to this day. John developed the Physics Courseware Evaluation Project (PCEP) to provide professional reviews of physics software and train high school teachers in the use of simulations and MBL software and hardware in the classroom. Finally, John oversaw the development of WebAssign and successfully launched this teacher-developed, publisher-independent online homework system so that it could be commercially viable, yet committed to a social mission. In this presentation, we will highlight computers in physics education during the last 30 years, connecting developments of the past to implementations of today.
      • John Risley's Influence on Physlets and Open Source Physics

      • FA03
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
      • by Wolfgang Christian
      • Type: Panel
      • John Risley was a pioneer of computer-based learning. He actively promotedthe use of computers in physics education at North Carolina State where he organized the first Conference on Computers in Physics Instruction in 1988 and founded both Physics Academic Software and WebAssign. His influence was especially strong in the North Carolina Section of the AAPT. In part due to John's influence, numerous computer-based learning projects were started in North Carolina. In this talk we will discuss his influence on two Davidson College curriculum development projects: Physlets and Open Source Physics. We discuss how our early experiments developing online curricular material have led to the second edition of Physlet Physics and Physlet Quantum Physics as stand-alone collections, joining Open Source Physics on ComPADRE to deliver almost 1,500 interactive exercises to teachers free of charge. Physlet Physics 2E: http://www.compadre.org/Physlets/ Open Source Physics: http://www.compadre.org/OSP/
  • Same Physics Other Ways

      • Restaging Classic Physics Demonstrations with Illumination and Virtual Instrumentation

      • EE01
      • Tue 07/29, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Urs Lauterburg
      • Type: Invited
      • Demonstrations are a vital part of the introductory physics lectures for science majors at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Performing the demos using a mix of modern techniques such as video projections, alternative lighting, and LabVIEW virtual instrumentation helps to emphasize the physical content. This allows the students to focus on the concepts involved. Some examples of how classic demonstration experiments are performed at the University of Bern's physics department are shown and discussed.
      • Some Students Centered Ways to Teach Physics Concepts

      • EE02
      • Tue 07/29, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
      • by Duane Merrell
      • Type: Invited
      • Physics teaching to a first-time student should be an exciting adventure. Using the idea of the "Same Physics Different Ways" I will outline how a rural high school grew its physics programs from one class to seven classes of physics. Highlighted will be physics activities and projects that my students still ask me about when I run into them 30 years later. The big ideas of the class from projects to problems all will be shared.
      • Using Direct Measurement Videos to Teach Introductory Mechanics

      • EE03
      • Tue 07/29, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Matthew Vonk
      • Type: Contributed
      • The video format has many advantages over other forms of information transfer. Videos lend themselves to group work and generate more discussion than written problems because the real world is more compelling, opened-ended, and messy than the sanitized versions of reality that physics students often deal with. For this reason (as well as many others) my collaborators and I have been working to create a library of short, high-quality videos of real situations that allow students to directly analyze and measure phenomena. In this talk I will discuss the advantages of using Direct Measurement Videos and will share highlights from our video library.
      • 10 New Physics Experiments with iPhone Slow Motion

      • EE04
      • Tue 07/29, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by James Lincoln
      • Type: Contributed
      • We have seen for many years the iPhone being a useful tool in the Physics Classroom. But now, there is a new feature that is ready to make big changes. The slow motion feature on the iPhone 5s provides a convenient enhancement for many physics demonstrations, both old and new, and in some cases it enables experiments that were previously impossible! In this talk I highlight 10 of these and provide tips for successful slow motion videos.
      • Slow-Speed Video

      • EE05
      • Tue 07/29, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Paul Nord
      • Type: Contributed
      • No sense in our bodies overwhelms the others more than vision. The digitalage has recently brought imaging technology at an affordable price. We can slow the ultra-fast splatter of a raindrop to a humanly understandable speed. We can see a world of things that happen in the blink of an eye. At the other end of the speed spectrum are those interactions that happen so slowly that the instantaneous motion cannot be perceived. The motion of the hour hand of a clock, the formation of an icicle, the melting of snow, or the oozing of a thick liquid all take so long that we cannot perceive the change. This talk will demonstrate a few new technological tricks to bring slow motions up to the scale of human perception.
      • Hearing the Spectral Components of a Sung Vowel

      • EE06
      • Tue 07/29, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Lyle Lichty
      • Type: Contributed
      • I will demonstrate a new and fun twist on an old standby. In the past we would use a PASCO Fourier Synthesizer to create an audible square wave from its Fourier components. By attenuating or enhancing a particular component in the square wave, students could distinguish that particular component once the full square wave was played again. With modern acoustic software packages this same demonstration can be performed using a recorded human voice instead of a square wave. A vowel sound sung by the instructor or a student is recorded. During a middle time segment of the vowel, one or more components are filtered out. The original vowel sound is played, followed by the filtered vowel and the original vowel again. Distinguishing the filtered components in the original sound can be both surprising and enlightening.
      • Old(?) Labs New(!?) Tricks

      • EE07
      • Tue 07/29, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by David Sturm
      • Type: Contributed
      • A look at a few "new" introductory lab ideas that aren't as new as they seem, and at some "old" standards included in texts of collected labs such as those by Cioffari or Wilson. These "old" standards still can be done with "pre-owned" apparatus, but with a team approach and "modern" (since 1905??) methodology.
      • Chasing Aurora: Learning Astronomy Through the STEAM

      • EE08
      • Tue 07/29, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by Richard Hechter
      • Type: Contributed
      • Making curriculum relevant and meaningful for students is critical to enhanced teaching and learning experiences. The Chasing Aurora Project, conducted in rural and northern Manitoba where the aurora borealis appears beautifully throughout the year was designed to teach the grade 9 astronomy cluster in a new and focused way by using the aurora borealis as the foundation for learning. This presentation will share elements of the project through which secondary-level students engaged in all elements of STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics) as part of their learning of astronomy. Specifically, student-taken photographs, art work, and calculations will be presented and triangulated with their comments and reflections towards using the natural world around them as the context for greater learning and exploration of this cluster.
  • Seeking Employment in Academia

      • The Liberal Arts College as a Professional Home

      • FB01
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Juan Burciaga
      • Type: Invited
      • Many applicants applying to physics faculty openings at liberal arts colleges may be under the assumption that a liberal arts college is like a small university. Others make the assumption that research is a lesser priority among these institutions. Both of these common assumptions are fundamentally flawed. Even those who attended liberal arts colleges as students have only seen selected aspects of the life of a faculty member. How do we tread a fine balance while applying to these schools? How can we open the door to the job market of the liberal arts institutions? How do we distinguish the faculty application to a liberal arts college to one for a research university? Should we be applying to liberal arts colleges?
      • Discipline Education Research: Need and Opposition

      • FB02
      • Wed 07/30, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Genaro Zavala
      • Type: Invited
      • In this panel I will discuss some ideas that are connected to employment in academia. I will talk about the existence of a need for universities to improve student learning in different disciplines. There could be many reasons for this need such as having a lower dropout rate, improve assessments of programs by accreditation agencies, the reception of students with different needs in the digital age, or any other cause. Among the many actions an institution can take, universities have realized that one way to achieve better learning is to hire professors who are dedicated to research in education of the disciplines. This is very positive for our community since we have seen that there have been, perhaps not the number of calls for recruitment needed, but there have been indeed such calls. This gap between supply and demand can be caused by the considerable opposition to have discipline education research as an area of research of the discipline itself. Throughout the America (the continent!), I have noticed that the "establishment" in the departments of sciences is very difficult to change. Professors of many years oppose that discipline education research belong to their disciplinary departments. This issue is important and we have to take action to strengthen the field and help the barriers to discipline education research disappear. As a community we should take concrete and measurable actions to make this happen.
      • Getting a Physics Position at a Two-Year College

      • FB03
      • Wed 07/30, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
      • by Thomas O'Kuma
      • Type: Invited
      • There are numerous physics positions each year at two-year colleges aroundthe nation. For these positions, there is a wide variety of candidate qualifications that these colleges list. In this presentation, I will discuss some of the qualifications that recent search committees valued, what you will probably have to do as a candidate being interviewed, and if selected, what you may experience as a new two-year college faculty member.
  • Stories, Replicas, & Kits

      • Sparks and Shocks: Using Replicas of Historical Instruments in Museum Education

      • DF01
      • Tue 07/29, 8:00AM - 8:30AM
      • by David Rhees
      • Type: Invited
      • We discuss various ways in which The Bakken Museum makes use of replicas or simulations of historical instruments, experiments, and demonstrations in education programs and exhibits for schools, families, and other audiences. Collaboration in the 1980s with Prof. Samuel Devons, Barnard, resulted in a series of institutes for high school science teachers incorporating historical simulations, also an "18th Century Electricity Kit" for middle school. Beginning in the early 1990s, versions were successfully integrated into field trips, then somewhat into school-based outreach in the late 1990s, studying static electricity, batteries/bioelectricity, and magnetism/electromagnetism. "Science theater" programs such as puppet shows, first-person interpretations (Ben Franklin, Mary Shelley), and short plays ("War of the Currents") also utilize historical simulations. A new exhibit, "Ben Franklin's Electricity Party," uses 18th century instruments to engage visitors. We analyze these programs' effectiveness, historical authenticity, comparison with programs elsewhere, and integration with historiography.
      • Scientific Instruments and Philosophical Toys: The Blending of Science, Art, and Culture

      • DF02
      • Tue 07/29, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Donald Metz
      • Type: Invited
      • The role of scientific apparatus and experimentation is well known to physics educators. Today, in modern classrooms, our students have access to a wide range of such materials. However, historically, many scientific devices were adapted to provide amusement in parlor games and as children’s toys. These “philosophical toys” were intended to raise questions about natural phenomenon and foster an understanding of new scientific principles. In this paper, we will pull back the curtain of achievements of people like the physicist Charles Wheatstone and suggest that many of their accomplishments and stories can be used in the teaching of science, especially in terms of the blending of art, culture, and science.
      • An Optical Outreach Kit for School and Community Outreach

      • DF03
      • Tue 07/29, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Justin Spencer
      • Type: Invited
      • We present a collaborative effort between 3M and The Bakken Museum to create a science encouragement kit for the 3M Visiting Wizards program. The program is part of a long 3M tradition that provides teaching materials and training to employees for science outreach in schools, science fairs, and other public venues. The kit was designed to teach a few fundamental principles of classical optics through the history of the camera obscura. Camera obscuras have been used for centuries as a means of projecting an image of the real world onto a surface, usually a canvas, so that it may be copied or studied. The use of the device in the paintings of Vermeer and other painters (the “Hockney-Falco Thesis”) is a hotly debated topic that is woven into the kit. As one of a few dozen kits created and used by 3M employees, this portable kit includes a collapsible black tent (the camera), a variable aperture and lens assembly (the pinhole and lens), an efficient collimated LED light source, and retroreflective garments, graphics, and eyeglasses. A laser pointer on a gimbal is used as an auxiliary part of the kit to teach the principle of image inversion in pinhole optics.
  • Strategies for Teachers and Professors to Support Female Students

      • Gateway to STEM: Improving 3-D Spatial Skills

      • FJ01
      • Wed 07/30, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Sheryl Sorby
      • Type: Invited
      • The ability to visualize in three dimensions is a cognitive skill that hasbeen shown to be important for success in engineering and other technological fields. For engineering, the ability to mentally rotate 3-D objects is especially important. Unfortunately, of all the cognitive skills, 3-D rotation abilities exhibit robust gender differences, favoring males. The assessment of 3-D spatial skills and associated gender differences has been a topic of educational research for nearly a century; however, a great deal of the previous work has been aimed at merely identifying differences. For nearly two decades, the author has been conducting research aimed at identifying practical methods for improving 3-D spatial skills, especially for women engineering students. This presentation details the significant findings obtained over the past several years through this research and identifies strategies that appear to be effective in developing 3-D spatial skills and in contributing to student success. Data obtained for students enrolled in introductory physics courses will also be presented.
      • Spatial Reasoning/Visual Cognition Skills -- Does it Matter?

      • FJ02
      • Wed 07/30, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by Ximena Cid
      • Type: Contributed
      • It is known that science students have higher spatial reasoning skills than non-science students, and previous research suggests that physicists have the highest spatial reasoning skills amongst STEM fields. Though a lot of research in engineering education has shown a correlation between success of female students and their spatial reasoning scores, little work has been done in physics. This talk will discuss some work that has been done exploring the relationship between spatial reasoning skills and student success in physics.
  • Sunday Registration

      • Sunday Registration

      • REG03
      • Sun 07/27, 7:00AM - 4:00PM

      • Type: Registration
  • Sustainability of Physics Teacher Prep Programs

      • Sustained Programs in Physics Teacher Education

      • DB01
      • Tue 07/29, 8:00AM - 8:30AM
      • by Rachel Scherr
      • Type: Invited
      • For over a decade, physics teacher education programs have been transformed at a number of institutions around the country through support from the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC), led by the APS in partnership with the AAPT. In 2012-2013, PhysTEC supported an independent study on the sustainability of its sites after project funding ends. The study sought to measure the extent to which programs have been sustained and to identify what features should be prioritized for building sustainable physics teacher education programs. All of the studied sites that sustained their production of physics teachers have a champion of physics teacher education and corresponding institutional motivation and commitment. The necessity of the champion was known from the Report of the Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics (T-TEP report) and borne out by this study. The necessity of institutional motivation and commitment is a finding of this study.
      • Driving Florida International University's Commitment to Physics Teacher Preparation

      • DB02
      • Tue 07/29, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Laird Kramer
      • Type: Invited
      • Florida International University's Physics Department revitalized FIU's physics teacher preparation program through a Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) Primary Partner award in 2007. The PhysTEC project started an undergraduate Learning Assistant (LA) program at FIU and provided impetus to reorganize FIU's science and mathematics teacher preparation programs into discipline-based programs. Over the past seven years, strategic advocacy and leadership has built an institutional commitment to teacher preparation that has resulted in an institution-wide LA program supporting over 150 LAs serving in six disciplines, five discipline-based teacher preparation programs, and significant external funding. These efforts laid the foundation for awarding of FIUteach, a UTeach replication project, in 2014. An overview of the critical steps and vital partnerships will be presented.
      • Sustainability: Obtaining Department Buy-In

      • DB03
      • Tue 07/29, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Gay Stewart
      • Type: Invited
      • Physics teacher preparation is the responsibility of physics departments, since those are the institutional units that provide physics education to university students. It is also a primary requirement for physics' long-term health in these days of the medical sciences' dominance. Still, some departments do not fully commit to this mission! At the University of Arkansas, one of the first PhysTEC sites, a model tied to two "champions" gained strong institutional support and is in a transitional phase of obtaining broader departmental support. The key to departmental buy-in has always been the appeal of the improvements to things traditionally important to the department, an improved undergraduate program and significant positive attention from administration. Cultivating the next generation of leadership has been an ongoing effort. Understanding what makes a "champion," and distributing this among faculty willing to commit some time and effort, but who have other primary passions, is the key.
      • Sustaining a Physics Teacher Preparation Program at a Major Research University: Challenges and Strategies

      • DB04
      • Tue 07/29, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
      • by Laurie McNeil
      • Type: Invited
      • Most research-intensive universities do not regard teacher education as being a strong part of their missions, and students who choose to attend them rarely do so with the intention of becoming high school teachers (and may not receive much encouragement from faculty to select such a career path). Further, only a small fraction of students will choose to major in physics. This means that a physics teacher preparation program at a major research university might expect its output to constitute less than a tenth of a percent of the students who receive undergraduate degrees in a given year. For such a program to be sustained, it needs (at least) two things: bigger partners, and ancillary missions. I will discuss how at UNC-CH we have formed strong partnerships across the science departments, and have embedded our program into the educational life of the College of Arts & Sciences, allowing it to thrive even though we graduate only a small number of (excellent!) physics teachers.
  • Teacher Communities: Supporting Beginning Teachers of Physics

      • STEMteachersNYC -- Starting an Effective Physics Teacher Support Organization

      • FI01
      • Wed 07/30, 9:50AM - 10:20AM
      • by Fernand Brunschwig
      • Type: Invited
      • STEMteachersNYC, affiliated with the American Modeling Teachers Association, has achieved strong growth since its founding by a group of physics teachers in May 2011, with a membership of 240 in February 2014. The group has organized a total of 32 highly workshops between founding and February, 2014, including four 3-week Summer Modeling Instruction Workshops and 28 three-hour weekend workshops. See STEMteachersNYC.org for details. I will describe the explicit organizing strategies and the process we used to generate this dynamic growth. STEMteachersNYC has successfully leveraged experienced teachers' expertise as workshop leaders and has been supported financially almost entirely through fees paid by the teachers attending the workshops. I will explore in detail the scalability of what we have done, as well as the potential for widespread implementation to support teachers, especially beginners, by enhancing their pedagogic content knowledge and teaching skills.
      • Making Collaboration Worth Your Time

      • FI02
      • Wed 07/30, 10:20AM - 10:30AM
      • by Kate Miller
      • Type: Contributed
      • "Collaboration": a buzzword frequently used but infrequently made meaningful. I am a first-year teacher and member of a team of four teachers in three districts (two states) that has successfully collaborated for three years. This group has been invaluable in improving my instructional design and implementation throughout my critical first year. Together, we align content on a near daily basis, use backwards planning, and create common formative/summative assessments. Our success stems from our group norms -- (1) a commitment to instructional alignment, (2) decisions made through consensus rather than majority, (3) a critical but respectful approach towards new ideas and (4) a reflective stance of our group processes. I will share tools, protocols, and technology that have allowed us to be effective and efficient in our collaboration. This team is supported by the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation which strives to support new science teachers in becoming expert teachers.
  • Teacher Training and Enhancement

      • Content Knowledge for Teaching Energy: Addressing Unexpected Moments

      • AF01
      • Mon 07/28, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
      • by Robert Zisk
      • Type: Contributed
      • Content knowledge for teaching (CKT) is a practice-based theory of the professional knowledge that a person needs to be able to carry out tasks of teaching in the classroom (Ball, Thames and Phelps, 2008). Specifically CKT addresses what teachers do (these activities are called tasks of teaching) and how their actions take into account students' prior knowledge and learning trajectories. One such task of teaching is dealing with unexpected ideas that students bring to the conversation and, therefore, unplanned moments in the classroom. In this talk, we will present two instances of teachers facing such unexpected moments in the classroom. We will then discuss how elements of Content Knowledge for Teaching and differences in teachers' CKT can be inferred from these moments through a combination of video analysis and analysis of the teacher's reflection on the moment.
      • Preparing Irish Secondary Science Teachers for Inquiry-based Science Education

      • AF02
      • Mon 07/28, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
      • by Paul Grimes
      • Type: Contributed
      • We have investigated Irish science teacher candidates' (TCs') views of inquiry-based science teaching (IBSE) through the lens of their experiences as science students. This study makes an inventory of the TCs' conceptions of IBSE. We describe a course designed to initiate re-enculturation to more appropriate ways of understanding IBSE: the teacher candidates engage in and critique a variety of inquiry-based activities. We report on the current culture of science teaching within the Irish school system and contrast it with the aims set out at policy level. We gain insight into the teacher candidates' ideas about IBSE and their cultural resistance to it. Specifically, we investigate what practices the TCs highlight as constituting IBSE and how they code the purpose of these practices. We describe how these practices and coded purposes reflect aspects of their professional pedagogical vision of IBSE.
      • Physics and Everyday Thinking at Western Washington University

      • AF03
      • Mon 07/28, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
      • by Andrew Boudreaux
      • Type: Contributed
      • At Western Washington University, historically a teacher training college,preservice elementary teachers take science content and methods courses in a multi-disciplinary Science, Math, and Technology Education program housed in the College of Science and Technology. Each year, ~200 prospective elementary teachers complete a 10-week physics course using Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET) [1]. The course is taught in multiple sections by faculty in physics, geology, and chemistry. Many students go on to take additional content courses in geology and biology that use curricula developed at WWU and modeled after PET. During these courses, written student data from quizzes, reflective writing assignments, and standardized assessments are routinely collected, providing a rich laboratory for investigations of student learning. This talk presents an overview of this thriving instructional program as well as brief examples of ongoing research.
      • Integrating the Next Generation Science Standards into Professional Development

      • AF04
      • Mon 07/28, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by Jennifer Docktor
      • Type: Contributed
      • The "A LOT of Science" project at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse provides professional development (PD) in Physical Science to in-service elementary and middle school teachers from high-needs school districts during summer institutes and ongoing weekend workshops. The PD is designed to incorporate the Next Generation Science Standards into project activities. We will summarize findings from all three years of the project, including teacher gains in content knowledge, student achievement data, self-reported use of inquiry-based pedagogy, and additional impacts of the partnership.
      • Alliance for Physics Excellence -- Addressing Alabama's HS Physics Teacher Needs

      • AF05
      • Mon 07/28, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
      • by James Harrell
      • Type: Contributed
      • The need for more qualified HS physics teachers in the U.S. has been well documented. In Alabama about 10% of practicing physics teachers has an academic major in physics and 25% of HS students are attending a school where physics is not offered. The Alliance for Physics Excellence (APEX) is a comprehensive NSF-MSP project designed to address this need by providing extensive professional development to 77 practicing physics teachers over a five-year period and scholarships for pre-service teachers. APEX is a partnership of institutions and agencies that provides professional development to enhance physics content knowledge and the skills to teach physics (physics PCK), and self-help activities such as classroom action research. APEX will have provided initial training to 44 teachers by summer 2014. This presentation will give an overview of the program and comprehensive baseline data on the classroom environment of these teachers.
      • A Qualitative Study of NITARP's Impacts on Teachers' Science Teaching

      • AF06
      • Mon 07/28, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Debbie French
      • Type: Contributed
      • This qualitative study describes how the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP) changed teachers' thoughts about astronomy and what happened in their classrooms. Teachers reported increasing astronomy content knowledge, incorporating the use of real data, and implementing new skills, programs, and research into their curriculum. They also felt more confident in teaching how scientific research is conducted. The results of this exploratory study showing positive impacts motivate us to more deeply study the underlying mechanisms in this and similar programs best poised to improve science education. Direct quotes and other qualitative data from participants will be used as evidence to these findings. These findings will be compared to the results of similar RET programs.
      • Training and Career Development of Physics Teaching Assistants

      • AF07
      • Mon 07/28, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Emily Alicea-Muñoz
      • Type: Contributed
      • In large introductory physics courses, Teaching Assistants (TAs) are the instructors with whom students most frequently interact. Consequently, it is essential that TAs receive appropriate training and preparation before they enter the classroom. In fall 2013, the School of Physics at Georgia Tech began preparing its new TAs through a training and mentoring program that covers pedagogy, physics classroom issues, and career development strategies. Here we discuss the elements of our pilot training program, its effects on TAs' attitudes about teaching, and the modifications and improvements we will be implementing for the next cycle of new TAs in fall 2014.
  • Teachers in Residence

      • Using and Sustaining the Teacher-in-Residence: A Ten-year Report

      • EC01
      • Tue 07/29, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Chance Hoellwarth
      • Type: Invited
      • The Science Teacher-in-Residence (TIR) has played an important role in producing more physics teachers at Cal Poly. The TIR position has been continuously supported for the past 11 years. Initially the position was made possible by a grant from PhysTEC, but the dean of the College of Science and Mathematics has continued to support the position. Over the 11 years there have been four different TIRs, and on more than one occasion there have been two TIRs on campus together. They have taught reformed courses, introduction to science teaching courses for potential teachers, as well as methods and education courses for credential candidates. They have supervised student teachers, built relationships with local teachers and the School of Education. This talk will discuss the impact the TIR has had on recruitment of more science teachers, the different roles they have played over time, and how the position has been internally sustained.
      • TIRs Working Outside the Box

      • EC02
      • Tue 07/29, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
      • by Alma Robinson
      • Type: Invited
      • Virginia Tech's PhysTEC program has just completed its third and final year of PhysTEC funding and the outlook for sustaining our PhysTEC program is promising. We have started a Learning Assistant program, developed a Physics Teaching and Learning course, expanded our outreach program, created stronger ties to the School of Education, and reformed some of our introductory physics courses to be more student-centered. In addition to discussing the role and responsibilities of the Teacher in Residence within these programs, this talk will also focus on the unique situation given to our TIR as an instructor in the Physics Department, a member of the undergraduate committee, and the adviser of our SPS. Through these avenues, the TIR is able to seamlessly incorporate the goals of PhysTEC throughout the physics department and increase awareness of PhysTEC programs to both students and faculty.
      • Matching Our Efforts to Their Needs: Year One TIR Reflections

      • EC03
      • Tue 07/29, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Kevin Thomas
      • Type: Contributed
      • The University of Central Florida (UCF) recently became a PhysTEC comprehensive site, which has enabled us to develop and expand several programs to support high school physics teaching. The PhysTEC teacher-in-residence (TIR) has been instrumental in expanding our existing Learning Assistant (LA) and outreach programs, as well as adding an in-service Teacher Advisory Group (TAG) and encouraging a community in which these efforts can flourish. This talk will highlight the results of an online survey that allowed us to better understand the needs of the local high school physics teaching community and how those results have informed our efforts to engage with that community. Specifically, the UCF TIR will discuss how the results have shaped his interactions with the TAG and local school districts and led to outreach opportunities for LAs in local physics classrooms.
      • Second Year PhysTEC Program at Alabama: An Update

      • EC04
      • Tue 07/29, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Penni Wallace
      • Type: Contributed
      • The University of Alabama, in its second year of a PhysTEC grant, continues to actively recruit physics majors to consider teaching as a career. In the fall, Alabama was also awarded a NOYCE grant in order to increase the number of math, chemistry, and physics teachers. This award, combined with a large pre-existing large NSF-MSP award provides scholarships to recruit and support pre-service physics teachers. In this talk, the second-year Teacher-in-Residence will discuss how the presence of two large NSF grants are being used to recruit students to the physics education track and provide an update on the program from the first to the second year.
      • TIR Roles & Possibilities

      • EC05
      • Tue 07/29, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by John Rowe
      • Type: Contributed
      • The presenter will discuss the many possibilities that a TIR position brings to a university. There will also be be a "check the boxes" list of things to consider when deciding to implement a TIR position.
      • The Part-time TIR and Classroom Teacher

      • EC06
      • Tue 07/29, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Elizabeth Walker
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Department of Physics & Astronomy at Georgia State University has begun an effort to increase the quantity and quality of high school physics teachers with an emphasis on increasing recruitment into teaching of students from under-represented groups. GSU is a large, growing, urban, research university with a diverse student body. As a new PhysTEC comprehensive site, our efforts include new recruiting, mentoring, and induction strategies, reform of introductory, calculus-based physics courses, and the addition of a teacher-in-residence (TIRs). TIRs are professionals in both physics and education, making them perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between the two often separate worlds. Ideally the TIR is available full time to assist with the sustained development of the physics education program. As a current classroom teacher and part time TIR, I will discuss challenges encountered during our first year of PhysTEC at Georgia State University.
  • Teaching Advanced/Honors Students

      • Keeping it Fresh: An introductory Physics Sequence for any Background

      • BD01
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
      • by Dwight Whitaker
      • Type: Invited
      • One of the biggest challenges with serving a diverse population of students with a range of high school preparations is to structure an introductory course sequence that doesn't repeat subjects for the well prepared or alienate the less prepared. At Pomona College we have restructured our first-year physics majors' sequence so that all students start with the same course. To keep the material fresh and challenging for all the students, they start with a course that covers material usually reserved for a third semester "modern physics" course (special relativity, quantum mechanics, and statistical physics). By pitching these subjects at a level that all students can grasp, we create a cohort of majors that all start in the same place, which we believe improves our retention of majors. After their first semester, students then take a semester of mechanics and E&M, which the most advanced students can place out of and move onto our upper-level offerings. We are now in our fifth year of this experiment and have seen an increase in majors compared the previous model. The student feedback has also been positive.
      • Lower Division Honors Physics at UC Davis

      • BD02
      • Mon 07/28, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
      • by Joseph Kiskis
      • Type: Invited
      • The Department of Physics at the University of California at Davis offers a five quarter lower division honors physics course. This is in addition to the two non-honors sequences of large courses---one for students majoring the biological sciences and one for those in engineering and the physical sciences. The honors course is primarily for physics majors and others in the latter group, but all majors are welcome. I will describe the origin of the course about a dozen years ago, its structure, texts, and teaching methods. One of the main course goals is to introduce students to special relativity and quantum mechanics during their first year.
      • Honors Labs within Traditional Lectures

      • BD03
      • Mon 07/28, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Matt Evans
      • Type: Contributed
      • Supplying a University Honors experience in physics is difficult due to the limited numbers of students seeking this option and constraints on faculty time. Our solution is to have all students participate in the same lecture, but supply the honors students with a separate laboratory. This enables us to craft more open-ended labs, dive deeper into the material, and challenge these exceptional students without disenfranchising our regular students. Examples of labs, assigned papers, and various grading methods will be shared.
  • Teaching the Women in Physics Course

      • Teaching a Women and Science Course at Barnard College

      • DA01
      • Tue 07/29, 8:00AM - 8:15AM
      • by Laura Kay
      • Type: Invited
      • I will discuss my course "Women in Science," which I have offered at Barnard College since 1992. The goals of the course are to familiarize students with the history, politics, and sociology of women's involvement with science. We begin by examining women's contribution to scientific discovery in various fields, and consider how women were affected by the professionalization of science and medicine. We look at the status of contemporary female scientists in the U.S. and the issues they encounter. We read accounts of contemporary women working as scientists and examine the science education of girls and women. We look at some of the feminist critiques of science as an institution and a methodology, and debate how these critiques apply differently to the biological and the physical sciences and whether they explain the variation of women's participation across different countries. We examine historical and contemporary 'scientific' ideas about gender, race, ethnicity and sexuality, and discuss the question of objectivity in science. We then consider how these relate to issues of women's participation in scientific endeavors.
      • Why Aren't More Women in Science, and Is Physics Different?

      • DA02
      • Tue 07/29, 8:15AM - 8:30AM
      • by Katherine Aidala
      • Type: Invited
      • I teach a course titled "Gender in Science" that attempts to answer the question, "Why aren't more women in science?" One major theme we address is how we must carefully identify what specific question individuals are trying to answer when following this broad line of inquiry, and how focusing on different fields within science might lead us to different answers. We mostly read primary literature from the social sciences, as well as review articles and reports from professional organizations and the government. Students learn to be critical readers of journal articles, applying the same standards to findings of discrimination as they do to papers that claim innate biological differences. Assignments include following up on a citation in a paper that we read for the course, and presenting this paper in class to their peers.
      • Transformative Teaching Techniques: A Women's Studies Course for STEM Majors

      • DA03
      • Tue 07/29, 8:30AM - 8:45AM
      • by Elizabeth Holden
      • Type: Invited
      • This session will benefit educators who are looking for transformative teaching methods to develop a better understanding of gender issues, more knowledge and more strategies to become active in eliminating gender bias, specifically within the fields of physics and engineering. I will discuss strategies used to create a classroom environment where students can learn about and discuss issues related to women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). I will also discuss techniques to help college students understand the connection of these issues to their own lives, and how to introduce women and other underrepresented students to support networks.
      • Teaching About Women in STEM: Understanding Race, Sexuality, and the Many Identities Women Hold

      • DA04
      • Tue 07/29, 8:45AM - 9:00AM
      • by Ramon Barthelemy
      • Type: Invited
      • Too often in the conversation of women in physics and STEM women are assumed to hold one all encompassing identity. Inevitably this identity is derived from the lives of upper-class heterosexual white women from educated homes. Rarely does the imagery of women scientists include people of color, lesbians, transwomen, or women from low socio-economic status. When teaching courses on gender and physics it is imperative that we include research, examples, and stories from the lives of diverse women. Rebranding physics as a potential home for many varied identities is critical for the success of the field. Starting this conversation in the classroom may be one tool to support the diversification of physics, particularly for women.
  • Technologies

      • Effect of Electronic Homework on Small College Physics Courses

      • EJ01
      • Tue 07/29, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Kristen Thompson
      • Type: Contributed
      • This report describes the impact of switching to an online homework system(Moodle) in a small liberal arts college environment for introductory algebra and calculus-based physics courses. As a first step, this study looks at the online homework's effectiveness by examining homework and test scores on both conceptual and numerical problems. This study also looks at the effect of online homework on instructor-student interaction and best practices working within the constraints of the Moodle system.
      • Student Strategies When Doing Problems

      • EJ02
      • Tue 07/29, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by David Pritchard
      • Type: Contributed
      • Using complete logs of student activities from Massive Open Online Courses(MOOCs), the RELATE group (http://RELATE.MIT.edu) has examined student strategies when doing problems. When students get an answer wrong, what resources do they use most frequently, for the longest time, and in which order. For example, do they look at worked examples and then read the textbook -- or the other way around? What strategy correlates with outcomes (if any) such as score on assessment, skills as defined by Item Response Theory, improvement in skill over the course and pre-/post-testing. The wide distribution of demographics and skills that MOOCs allow provides new challenges in isolating the habits of learning and resource usage of various student cohorts. This is part of the overall RELATE program for discovering the specifics of learning in the first-year undergraduate physics domain.
      • iDevices as Lab, Data, & Analysis Tools

      • EJ03
      • Tue 07/29, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Taoufik Nadji
      • Type: Contributed
      • The presenter will share a variety of experiments (including the one featured in TPT) that he conducts in his classes using iDevices (iPads, iPods, & iPhones) as data gathering, analyses, and lab tools. The presentation will feature actual footages of the said experiments as conducted with the students and the attendees will participate in at least two such experiments.
      • Physics of the Beatles

      • EJ04
      • Tue 07/29, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by David Keeports
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Beatles made their first Ed Sullivan Show appearance on the evening ofFeb. 9, 1964. I will present a talk that I wrote for my students to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Beatlemania in America. Innovation pervades the songs of the Beatles, and much of that innovation lies in sound recording techniques pioneered by their young engineer, Geoff Emerick. I will focus upon recording techniques in Beatles songs that are accessible to introductory physics students. Topics I will discuss include the audible spectrum of a guitar band, the use of vocal doubling, the bright sound of Vox amplifiers, novel uses of microphones and speakers, guitar feedback as musical sound, sound sampling, and envelope reversal. I will present numerous sound demonstrations that I constructed by using Logic, Apple's digital audio workstation.
      • Learning Astronomy from "Experience"

      • EJ05
      • Tue 07/29, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Kara Beauchamp
      • Type: Contributed
      • Many students come into our introductory astronomy classes with very little experience with the nighttime (or even the daytime) sky, yet they take concepts such as the structure of the solar system as self-evident, because they have been taught them from such a young age. While knowledge of the structure of the solar system is an important part of our scientific heritage, it is equally important for students to gain an appreciation of how that knowledge was developed. One step in that process is understanding retrograde motion of planets in the sky. It's one thing to read about retrograde motion and look at images in a textbook, and another thing to "observe" retrograde motion. Here I present an assignment in which students use a free planetarium program to simulate observation of the position of Mars over different timescales for several years, and then describe those observations.
  • The 5th International Conference on Women in Physics

      • The 5th International Conference on Women in Physics

      • TOP11
      • Wed 07/30, 11:30AM - 12:30PM
      • by Susan Ramsey
      • Type: Topical
      • The 5th International Conference on Women in Physics was held in Canada inMay of 2014. Come hear about the conference.
  • The Impact of the GRE and Graduate Admissions on Diversity in Graduate School

      • Using GRE Cut-off Scores Suppresses Diversity in Graduate Programs

      • AG01
      • Mon 07/28, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Casey Miller
      • Type: Invited
      • I will present data showing that significant performance disparities on the GRE Quantitative and GRE Physics Subject test exist based on the test taker's race and gender. Because of the belief that high GRE scores qualify one for graduate studies, the diversity issues faced by physics and all STEM fields may originate, at least in part, in misuse of the GRE scores by graduate admissions committees. I will quantitatively demonstrate this by showing that the combination of a hard cut-off and the different score distributions leads to the systematic underrepresentation of certain groups. I will present data from USF's PhD program that shows a lack of correlation between GRE scores and research ability; similar null results are emerging from numerous other programs. I will then discuss how assessing non-cognitive competencies in the selection process may be the key to an enlightened search for the next generation of scientists.
      • Comprehensive Graduate Admissions at Berkeley: Approaches and Outcomes

      • AG02
      • Mon 07/28, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Colette Patt
      • Type: Invited
      • UC Berkeley is one of the nation's top producers of science PhDs. It also is among the top-ranked institutions in awarding science PhDs to members of groups historically underrepresented in these fields. In 2001, UC Berkeley's admissions policy changed to no longer require GRE scores for graduate admission. Instead, the GRE requirement became a departmental option. Each year, departments that use the general GRE are encouraged to de-emphasize reliance on this test, in recognition of its limitations. Departments are advised to adopt comprehensive approaches to evaluation of applicants. This presentation explains the varied ways that departments respond to the university policy. It describes comprehensive review implementation and outcomes. In particular, the presentation focuses on the range of strategies used at Berkeley in the mathematical and physical sciences to increase diversity. It considers how new approaches intersect with traditional admissions criteria and degree outcomes.
      • Going Beyond Standardized Exam Scores in Graduate Admissions: Enhancing Diversity and Predicting Success

      • AG03
      • Mon 07/28, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
      • by Rodolfo Montez
      • Type: Invited
      • We present the approach to graduate admissions developed by the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge Program. The approach emphasizes a careful examination of applicants' basic academic preparedness together with noncognitive tracers of future success -- so-called "grit" or "performance character" -- and does not rely upon standardized exam scores such as GREs. This approach has enabled the Fisk-Vanderbilt program to identify and select large numbers of underrepresented minority students who are succeeding at the PhD level, making the program the nation's top producer of underrepresented minority PhDs in astronomy. We highlight outcomes of the program utilizing this "enlightened approach" to admissions, and share tools developed by the program for use by others.
  • The Role and Implementation of Upper-level E&M

      • Teaching Upper-Division Electromagnetism in the Paradigms in Physics Program

      • EF01
      • Tue 07/29, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Corinne Manogue
      • Type: Invited
      • To improve conceptual learning, the Paradigms in Physics program has reordered material from the subdisciplines and incorporated modern pedagogical strategies. In the electromagnetism part of our curriculum, we have: (1) reordered the content, e.g. to present potentials before electric fields; (2) exploited the geometric definitions of concepts like divergence and curl; (3) emphasized multiple representations, including kinesthetic representations of three dimensional geometry; (4) used the notion of accumulation (chopping and adding) for integral versions of fundamental laws; and (5) employed a wide variety of active-engagement pedagogical strategies. We will discuss some of these changes and present student results from new assessment protocols such as the CUE and ACER.
      • A Research-validated Approach to Transforming Upper-division E&M: Issues and Measures

      • EF02
      • Tue 07/29, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
      • by Steven Pollock
      • Type: Invited
      • Upper-division E&M is traditionally taught using a lecture approach that does not make use of many of the instructional techniques that have been found to improve student learning at the introductory level. At the University of Colorado, we are transforming upper-division E&M (and other courses) using principles of active engagement and learning theory. We are guided by extensive faculty conversations on course-level learning goals. Our work builds on a research base of observations, interviews, and analysis of student work. Here I will outline the nature of the consensus learning goals we developed, and some associated assessments and pedagogical transformations. We have examined the effectiveness of these reforms relative to traditional courses based on grades, interviews, and both attitudinal and conceptual surveys. This approach provides insights into the process and structure of curriculum and pedagogical change, as well as into student difficulties in these advanced undergraduate areas.
      • Ongoing Validation of an Upper-division Electrodynamics Conceptual Assessment Tool

      • EF03
      • Tue 07/29, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Qing Ryan
      • Type: Contributed
      • As part of an ongoing project to investigate student learning in upper-division electrodynamics (E&M II), the PER research group at CU Boulder has developed a tool to assess student conceptual understanding (the CURrENT: Colorado UppeR-division ElectrodyNamics Test). This instrument is motivated in part by our faculty-consensus learning goals and can serve to measure the effectiveness of transformed pedagogy. In this talk, we present measures of the validity and reliability of the instrument and scoring rubric. These include expert validation and student interviews, inter-rater reliability measures, and classical test statistics. This work is supported by the University of Colorado and NSF-CCLI grant #1023208.
      • Integration in Electrostatics with a Computational Perspective

      • EF04
      • Tue 07/29, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by David Roundy
      • Type: Contributed
      • Many students struggle to understand and use the principles of "chopping and adding" when integrating over a charge distribution to find the electrostatic potential or electric field. I will introduce a sequence of computational lab activities that help students to better grasp these concepts by writing python programs to compute these quantities numerically. Thus the students are literally adding up the potential (or field) due to small chunks of charge, which provides a perspective on integration in three dimensions that is complementary to the perspective students bring from their calculus courses. Theses activities have been developed as part of a laboratory course that runs parallel to the Paradigms in Physics sequence, and teaches the same physics content. However, the activities and the course should require little modification to work alongside a traditional course in electromagnetism. This work is funded by the NSF grant DUE-1141330.
  • The Work of the Undergraduate Curriculum Task Force

      • The Work of the Undergraduate Curriculum Task Force

      • CC
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 6:00PM
      • by Ernie Behringer
      • Type: Panel
      • The AAPT established the Undergraduate Curriculum Task Force (UCTF), in part, to develop specific, multiple recommendations for coherent and relevant undergraduate curricula. Please join your colleagues during this crackerbarrel to hear a brief summary of the work of the UCTF and to discuss significant curricular issues, including content, implementation, and assessment with UCTF members.
  • Translating Teachers' Research Experience into Classroom Practice

      • Real World Practices in a High School Classroom

      • CG01
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by Jamie Vargas
      • Type: Invited
      • The idea of "those who can do; and those who can't teach" is a common saying in the general public, but what if you could "do" and teach at the same time? As an early career teacher I have had the opportunity to not only do science but also to teach students how science is done in the "real world." In this talk I will provide a brief description of my summer research experience at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory through the STEM Teacher and Researcher (STAR) Program. I will also provide some examples on how this experience can be implemented into classroom practice under the guidance of the Next Generation Science Standards.
      • Design and Implementation of Practice-centered Physics Courses with The Compass Project

      • CG02
      • Mon 07/28, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Ryan Olf
      • Type: Invited
      • The Next Generation Science Standards establish Science Practices as the context in which students learn Core Ideas and Crosscutting Concepts, claiming, "students cannot fully understand scientific and engineering ideas without engaging in the practices of inquiry and the discourses by which such ideas are developed and refined.'' This interplay of science practice and content knowledge may seem foreign to individuals whose experience learning science has centered primarily around classrooms, but to science researchers it is undeniable. In this talk, we discuss how the process by which researchers approach new problems can inform the design and implementation of student learning in the classroom, with emphasis on examples from courses developed by The Compass Project at UC Berkeley for freshman and transfer students. In addition to serving students intellectually, The Compass Project's practice-centered courses help its students develop a supportive community, confidence, curiosity, and connections--- key ingredients for long-term success in science.
      • Preparing Students for Authentic Research Experiences Through Laboratory Courses

      • CG03
      • Mon 07/28, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by Heather Lewandowski
      • Type: Invited
      • Preparing undergraduate physics majors for future careers in experimental science is one of the main goals of our current physics education system. At the University of Colorado, we have been working to transform our upper-division laboratory courses to better prepare students for future undergraduate, industrial, or graduate experimental work. Through this process, we have developed learning goals, curricular materials, and assessments for two upper-division lab courses. The transformation process and measured outcomes will be presented.
      • Lab Notebooks: Adapting a Researcher's Approach for the Classroom

      • CG04
      • Mon 07/28, 5:30PM - 5:40PM
      • by Kathryn Schaffer
      • Type: Contributed
      • Many experimental physicists use lab notebooks as a tool for scientific reasoning, and not always in ways that resemble the formal documentation and analysis emphasized in many lab classes. When designing an inquiry-based course on "Waves" for a non-science audience, I reflected on the role that narrative lab notebooks play in my own research as a tool for "figuring things out" through writing, sketching, and questioning. In the Waves course I am experimenting with anchoring student inquiry and class discussion in lab notebook work that is modeled on a similar approach. I will present the rubric I am currently using to assess student notebooks and discuss some of my successes and current challenges.
      • Measuring Musical Consonance and Dissonance

      • CG05
      • Mon 07/28, 5:40PM - 5:50PM
      • by Michael LoPresto
      • Type: Contributed
      • A brief overview of some research on quantifying the sensations of musicalconsonance and dissonance and comparing it to the judgment of humans subjects and a description of several classroom and laboratory activities on the subject based the research.
  • Troubleshooting Apparatus

      • Troubleshooting Apparatus

      • TOP02
      • Mon 07/28, 12:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Luke Donforth
      • Type: Topical
      • If you have lab equipment that doesn't work or makes you believe in poltergeists, if you have a new use for old equipment that you want to share, or if you have stuff in storage you can't even identify, bring pictures and we'll have a roundtable discussion on keeping the objects of hands-on education functional.
  • Two Year College New Faculty Experience: Commencement Conference Update

      • Two Year College New Faculty Experience: Commencement Conference Update

      • BI
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
      • by Todd Leif
      • Type: Panel
      • Overview of the New Faculty Experience

      • BI01
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:10PM
      • by Scott Schultz
      • Type: Panel
      • The New Faculty Experience for Two-Year College faculty is an 18-month immersion and mentoring program offered to faculty in their first five years of teaching full-time at a two-year college in the United States funded by NSF grant # 1225603. This is the commencement of the third cohort of faculty to go through the experience. The presentation will consist of an overview of the 18-month experience, some statistical data on the participants, and the impact the project is making.
      • Two-Year College New Faculty Experience Participant Evolution

      • BI02
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:10PM
      • by Aurelian Balan
      • Type: Panel
      • As a graduate from the 2011 Two-Year College New Faculty Experience (NFE),and a leader in the 2013 NFE, I have observed and interacted from both sides of the experience. The NFE takes two-year college instructors, and teaches them how to engage students with innovative takes on active-learning techniques. Going through the experience as a participant, the impact on my instruction style was significant and beneficial. As a leader working with the next set of new faculty the following year, I was able to observe others experiencing the same transformation. I will elaborate on the impact this had on my teaching techniques. Material and techniques from both conferences will also be shared.
      • A Thousand Choices: Deciding Between Teaching Strategies

      • BI03
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:10PM
      • by Ian Freedman
      • Type: Panel
      • A Thousand Choices: If you're new to teaching or simply looking for new teaching strategies, you might have come across many different methods of active teaching. This presentation discusses some of the options you'll encounter and how to sort through the different options to find a teaching strategy that works well for you and your students.
      • Experiences and Challenges Implementing Active Learning Techniques

      • BI04
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:10PM
      • by Leilah McCarthy
      • Type: Panel
      • During the March 2013 TYC-NFE workshop, I learned several teaching techniques to get students more engaged in class. I left very excited to try these out in my classes. While these changes have completely transformed by classes, there have been challenges, especially pertaining to class size, classroom architecture, and lack of administrative support. In this talk, I will describe these challenges and why, despite the challenges, I would never go back to a traditional lecture.
      • Development of an Interdisciplinary Nanotechnology Laboratory

      • BI05
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:10PM
      • by Becky Treu
      • Type: Panel
      • Many programs and institutions have made great advances in developing a variety of interdisciplinary approaches, but systemic progress has been slow. The increasing complexity of science demands that concepts and methods from different disciplines be merged. In this multidisciplinary lab students in General Chemistry I employ redox reaction knowledge and wet chemistry techniques to fabricate silver nanoparticles while students in Foundations of Physics employ knowledge of color/light and quantum theory to characterize the nanoparticles. Students in Microbiology receive the characterized nanoparticles and test for their antimicrobial properties in e.coli streak plates. The goal of this laboratory is for students to understand that science takes time and builds on multiple concepts. It is also crucial for students to understand the importance of having strengths in multiple disciplines. Many of the most interesting and important problems in science can be answered only through collaborative efforts.
      • Interactive Lecture Demonstrations with Video Analysis

      • BI06
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:10PM
      • by Nathan Quarderer
      • Type: Panel
      • The lecture demonstration has long been part of the standard introductory-physics curriculum. Only within the last 15 years has an emphasis been placed on engaging the student throughout the process in an attempt to make the demonstration as interactive as possible. Video analysis has also been widely used to help supplement physics instruction, though has historically required cumbersome apparatus and additional software potentially making it a less accessible option. With the advent of smart phones and the technology that comes along with them, the tools required to perform simple video analysis are now at our fingertips. I have adapted several traditional lecture demonstrations to incorporate video analysis, and help engage the student in a truly interactive process.
      • Modifying Just-In-Time-Teaching to Encourage Student Reflection

      • BI07
      • Mon 07/28, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
      • by Andrew Morrison
      • Type: Contributed
      • Just-in-time-teaching (JiTT) is a teaching and learning strategy where a feedback loop is created between instructor and students in order to focus classroom activities toward concepts the class is having the most difficulty in understanding. Two important components of a JiTT strategy are short exercises done outside of class and the response to the exercises in class. In previous physics courses, my students have been assigned readings to complete as well as questions to answer online based on assigned readings. The instructor is responsible for reading student responses before the start of class and has the opportunity to adjust class activities to address concerns raised by students in their answers. This year, I modified the JiTT method to encourage student reflection on the activities completed in class and emphasize critical reading skills. The benefits and challenges of the JiTT method and present modifications are discussed.
      • TYC Leadership Institute: An Introduction to Leadership Development

      • BI08
      • Mon 07/28, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
      • by Brooke Haag
      • Type: Contributed
      • Informed by the principles of the Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) Summer Leadership Institute, this workshop was conceived to involve two-year college (TYC) physics faculty in experiential learning exercises to foster leadership skills. The workshop addressed a range of skills from effective communication to work-life balance via interactive activities and moderated discussions. In this talk, the framework of the institute will be detailed. Outcomes and future plans will also be discussed.
  • Upper Division and Graduate Courses and Labs

      • Flipped Upper-Division Physics at the Colorado School of Mines

      • CI01
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 4:10PM
      • by Patrick Kohl
      • Type: Contributed
      • The flipped classroom is gaining popularity as a way of blending the best of online and in-person education, but efforts so far have been mostly (though not exclusively) focused on introductory classes. At CSM, we have developed and implemented two upper-division physics courses that use full or partial flips. Students are asked to watch one or more videos before class as preparation, with the actual class period occupied by Q&A, clicker questions, and various other activities. One of these two courses, PHGN 440, is a senior-level elective on solid-state physics. The other, PHGN 462, is a core course on electrodynamics. In this talk we'll report on methods, motivations, impressions, and early data, including but not limited to Youtube analytics, a qualitative survey, course evaluations, and a PER-based content inventory.
      • Dynamics of Masses Subject to Counter Moving Flows

      • CI02
      • Mon 07/28, 4:10PM - 4:20PM
      • by Joseph West
      • Type: Contributed
      • The dynamics of objects accreting mass from a uniform background "mist" ofsmall particles are a staple of the "changing mass" component of advanced undergraduate mechanics courses. Such courses typically enroll high ability sophomores and juniors, and challenge students' abilities to model continuous processes. A short review of known accretion models that are particularly useful as they permit analytic solutions is given. In addition, another class of object-mist interaction models involving the motion of symmetric objects (prism, disk, and sphere) in counter flowing mists is introduced. These allow analytic solution for inelastic, non-accreting inelastic, and elastic object-mist interactions. Relative velocity and "sound barrier" effects are investigated and connections to a similar relativistic system are emphasized. Students are challenged to build increasingly complex simulations suitable for numerical modeling. We hope to test this topic in the next iteration of an advanced mechanics courses with web-enabled content.
      • Students' Approaches to Vector Calculus in Electrodynamics

      • CI03
      • Mon 07/28, 4:20PM - 4:30PM
      • by Paul van Kampen
      • Type: Contributed
      • Vector calculus plays an important role in post-introductory electromagnetism courses, but little research has been done on students' understanding of "divergence" and "curl" in an electrodynamics context. In this study we investigate second year students' conceptions of "divergence" and "curl". These students already completed an introductory electromagnetism course that leads up to Maxwell's equations in integral form plus at least two calculus courses including a chapter on vector calculus that focuses on proofs and evaluation. We report on the results from pre-tests and post-tests taken at the start and at the end of the 13-week semester. Both include open-ended questions that examine students' approaches to calculations, graphical interpretations and conceptual understanding. Analysis focuses on the solution methods and thinking processes rather than the answers. This work is the onset to a reformation of the tutorials in this matter.
      • Teaching Quantum Mechanics, and Quantum Statistical Mechanics to Sophomores

      • CI04
      • Mon 07/28, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
      • by Deepthi Amarasuriya
      • Type: Contributed
      • Most students are introduced to topics in quantum mechanics as sophomores,in Modern Physics. This material relies heavily on concepts and techniques covered in Differential Equations I, and Linear Algebra, which students may be taking concurrently, as well as on partial differential equations, special functions, and probability distributions, which are commonly taught at the junior level. I present some strategies I have successfully implemented in Modern Physics that help me teach the material effectively while helping students build the requisite mathematical foundation.
      • Student Understanding of the Physics of Hydrology

      • CI05
      • Mon 07/28, 4:40PM - 4:50PM
      • by Jill Marshall
      • Type: Contributed
      • For a full understanding physical hydrology, students must master conservation of mass, Newton's laws of motion, the second in particular, laws of thermodynamics (conservation of energy), and the relationship between flux, resistance, and gradient (analogous to Ohm's Law). Hydrology students do not always relate the specialized laws of hydrology to the fundamentals they learned in their physics class, and mathematical treatments do not always develop a conceptual understanding that promotes transfer. I will report on an extended study of student understanding in an upper division and graduate physical hydrology course, with and without the addition of COMSOL Multiphysics modeling activities in the curriculum. Student understanding was measured with a pre-/pos-t assessment and volunteer students were interviewed about their understanding in the course. This research was supported by a US National Science Foundation CAREER Grant (EAR-0955750).
      • Creating Novel Microscopes in an Optics Course

      • CI06
      • Mon 07/28, 4:50PM - 5:00PM
      • by Dyan Jones
      • Type: Contributed
      • Over the past two years we have been developing a non-traditional upper division optics course. The course is non-traditional for two reasons. First, the primary constituents are not physics majors, but life science students. Second, it expands the concept of Studio optics to include project-based learning that focuses on the students' creation of novel microscopes. This talk will be a report on the first full implementation of the course and will highlight the optical systems the students created as well as their biological applications.
      • Using an LED as a Single Photon Avalanche Diode

      • CI07
      • Mon 07/28, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
      • by Lowell McCann
      • Type: Contributed
      • The rising popularity of single photon experiments in undergraduate laboratories and Quantum Mechanics courses is giving more students an exposure to the detection methods and statistics involved in these types of investigations. However, the relatively high cost and high sensitivity of the Single Photon Avalanche Photodiodes (SPAD) used to detect the photons in these experiments can make faculty wary of letting students "play" with the detectors to investigate their behavior. In this talk, I will discuss the use of light emitting diodes (LED) as very inexpensive (and inefficient) SPADs that students can investigate without fear. The LED SPADs present a very rich parameter space for students to explore, and provide a wonderful application of their knowledge of electronics.
      • An Advanced Laboratory in Alpha- and Beta SpectroscopyII

      • CI08
      • Mon 07/28, 5:10PM - 5:20PM
      • by Frederick Becchetti
      • Type: Contributed
      • As part of a planned upgrade to our intermediate and advanced physics laboratory sequence, we have developed a low-cost, compact multi-functional apparatus for experiments in alpha- and beta-spectroscopy using multiple setups. As previously shown (Winter 2013 AAPT meeting, paper ABO6) it has provisions for a novel ring-magnet that is utilized as a high-efficiency beta spectrometer to demonstrate relativistic effects for energetic beta particles. The same device, w/o magnet as we will show, can be used for experiments in alpha-particle spectroscopy and Rutherford scattering. In particular, the use of the moveable silicon detector can provide detailed data on the energy loss and straggling of alpha particles in matter and the resulting sharp Bragg curve at the end of the range. The latter e.g. is a key feature in the use of ion beams in radiation oncology to target and kill cancer tumors with minimal collateral radiation.
      • Angular Distribution of Na22 Decay Coincidence Measurements: Novel Results

      • CI09
      • Mon 07/28, 5:20PM - 5:30PM
      • by Thomas Huber
      • Type: Contributed
      • A common advanced laboratory experiment in nuclear physics involves using a pair of gamma detectors to measure the decay products from Na22. Because Na22 decays by positron emission, the decay signature involves a pair of back-to-back 511 keV gammas from the positron annihilation, along with a 1275 keV gamma. The energy and angular distribution of decay gammas can be determined using a NIM coincidence trigger circuit and multichannel analyzer monitoring a pair of NaI(Tl) detectors mounted to a goniometer table. We will describe how accidental pile-up in the detectors leads to somewhat unexpected artifacts in the measured angular distributions and energy spectra. We also will describe a simple geometric model that can be compared to the experimental angular distribution to determine the effective diameter of the NaI(Tl) detectors. These observations significantly enhance the pedagogical value of this traditional advanced laboratory experiment.
      • It's (Not) Rocket Science: Undergraduate Goldstein

      • CI10
      • Mon 07/28, 5:30PM - 5:40PM
      • by Alan Grafe
      • Type: Contributed
      • An error in the rocket problem (Chapter 1, Exercise 13) in the third edition of Goldstein's graduate Classical Mechanics text is used as a case study for the use of computational research tools such as Mathematica in undergraduate Classical Mechanics courses. We will see that this computational tool allows for a much deeper exploration of the physics of the situation in a manner that is accessible to undergraduate students.
  • Using Games to Teach Physics

      • Review Games to Strengthen Skills and Add Fun

      • CJ01
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 4:10PM
      • by Elisa Cardnell
      • Type: Contributed
      • At the end of each unit, it is necessary to synthesize the material and apply it to problems. We discovered that a competition (even in which it was possible for all students to "win") was effective at engaging all students in putting together vocabulary, simple problem solving, units and theorems. However, some students are great at learning concepts, but struggle with applying the necessary equations to word problems. We developed a second review game that has students match multi-step physics problems with an assortment of equations in order to review the unit material and prepare for the unit exam.
      • Using "Power Grid" in a First Year Seminar

      • CJ02
      • Mon 07/28, 4:10PM - 4:20PM
      • by Jack Dostal
      • Type: Contributed
      • The strategy-based board game Power Grid demonstrates political, economic,and physical issues relevant to power generation and transmission. It is used in a First Year Seminar entitled Power and the U.S. Electrical Grid in which students learn about and discuss the interplay among these competing interests. The seminar is open to incoming freshmen of all backgrounds, but is commonly populated by prospective science and business/finance majors. The game opens up an avenue to discuss the physics behind power generation, energy density of natural resources, transmission wire power loss, and many other physics concepts. Gameplay mechanics and related activities will be presented.
      • Teaching Physics in a Tap-Happy World

      • CJ03
      • Mon 07/28, 4:20PM - 4:30PM
      • by Matthew Blackman
      • Type: Contributed
      • Are your students tap-happy for Flappy Bird? Fear not! A new generation ofeducational physics games is engaging students like never before. I am a physics teacher and a game designer determined to disseminate a new breed of educational physics games. Because the majority of the games currently available on the market suffer from a lack of sound pedagogy and creativity, I decided to make my own to combat these mundane, glorified quiz type games, and make them available to the physics education community for free. My games have received an overwhelmingly positive response by thousands of teachers across the United States and 40 countries. Join me as I demonstrate how my games can be a versatile and effective teaching resource, proven to get your students to stop tapping and to start thinking. You'll learn how the games can be used for student collaboration, to flip your classroom and beyond!
      • Card Games to Teach Scientific Thinking

      • CJ04
      • Mon 07/28, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
      • by Donald Smith
      • Type: Contributed
      • Leon Lederman, in his book The God Particle, uses a game as a metaphor forscience: imagine aliens trying to deduce the rules for soccer, but through a quirk of alternate evolution, they cannot see the ball. Through observation and deduction, they work out what is going on. In this talk, I will describe two card games, known as Mao and Eleusis, that can be used to bring this metaphor to life in the classroom and make the process of scientific deduction tangible, in a controlled environment, to the students. In both games the goal of the game is to figure out the rules. Many aspects of scientific inquiry and discovery map directly to the process of playing these games. I have used a multi-step procedure to introduce the students to a game, deepen their engagement with it, and then debrief and show how in playing the game, they naturally fell into scientific thinking patterns -- patterns that can be extended to the laboratory and reinforced throughout the semester.
  • Web Resources for Teaching Astronomy

      • Web Resources for Teaching Astronomy

      • TOP08
      • Wed 07/30, 11:30AM - 1:00PM
      • by Kevin Lee
      • Type: Topical
      • This topical discussion will look at several new astronomy offerings on the internet. Participants (who are encouraged to bring laptops and tablets) will then brainstorm in groups on how to best make use of these capabilities.
  • Wednesday Registration

      • Wednesday Registration

      • REG07
      • Wed 07/30, 8:00AM - 3:00PM

      • Type: Registration
  • What can PER Contribute to the Design of High Quality Distance Education?

      • Distance Education and Online Learning: Critical Lessons from the Conference

      • EG01
      • Tue 07/29, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Theodore Hodapp
      • Type: Invited
      • In June 2013, the American Physical Society (APS) in cooperation with AAPTbrought together individuals who have been using and experimenting with distance education and online learning environments and tools. Topics included Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), online on-campus courses, flipped classrooms, and electronic resources available to faculty and students. Education researchers discussed topics including cheating, assessments, simulations, and research agendas. This talk will provide an overview of broad and specific lessons from the presentations and discussions during the gathering. We hope to continue the discussions at this meeting -- please bring your thoughts, concerns, and questions.
      • MOOC-ing, Flipping and Blending Introductory Physics Lecture and Lab

      • EG02
      • Tue 07/29, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
      • by Michael Schatz
      • Type: Invited
      • We describe an effort to develop and to implement a college-level introductory physics (mechanics) course and laboratory as both a flipped/blended experience for on-campus students and, simultaneously, a Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) for off-campus participants. The course emphasizes a "Your World is Your Lab" approach whereby students first examine and capture on video (using cellphones) motion in their immediate surroundings, and then use free, open-source software both to extract data from the video and to apply physics principles to build models that describe, predict, and visualize the observations. Each student reports findings by creating a video lab report and posting it online; these video lab reports are then distributed to the rest of the class for peer review. In this talk, we describe a research-based approach to implementing and testing peer review methods, including a statistical analysis of student vs. expert grading and coding of student essay comments on peer work. We will also discuss the analysis of clickstream data from student interactions with lecture videos as a tool for improving the delivery of course content.
      • If You Don't Know Where You're Going, You Might Wind up Someplace Else

      • EG03
      • Tue 07/29, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
      • by Mats Selen
      • Type: Invited
      • As we ponder the future of education, we know that online components will play an ever increasing role. We anticipate that 10 years from now the educational landscape will be quite different than it is today. Indeed, advances in online educational technology have put us in the interesting position of having the tools to get there without really knowing where to go. This is a great opportunity for PER to lead the way, but the stakes are high and the questions are profound: What are the key outcomes of a post-secondary STEM education? How can these outcomes be assessed? Which ones can be achieved online? How do we reward the creation and dissemination quality online content? We explore these issues and suggest possible solutions.
      • How to Reduce Unproductive and Undesirable Behavior in Online Courses

      • EG04
      • Tue 07/29, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
      • by Gerd Kortemeyer
      • Type: Invited
      • One of the most frustrating components of educators' work is having to deal with academic integrity issues. These span from "gaming the system" and unauthorized or unproductive collaborations to plagiarism and plain cheating: learners are betraying their educators, fellow students, and eventually themselves. Particularly in online courses, the creation and maintenance of a culture of academic integrity is seen as a growing and badly understood challenge. This talk discusses research on student work and interaction patterns, and presents interventions to foster productive engagement with course content.
  • YES! High Quality Interactive online Labs ARE possible

      • YES! High Quality Interactive online Labs ARE possible

      • TOP10
      • Wed 07/30, 11:30AM - 12:30AM
      • by Cathy Ezrailson
      • Type: Topical
      • This Crackerbarrel session is designed as a forum to share what is possible (and currently underway)in the area of ONLINE physics and physical science labs. If you are currently conducting online labs, designing them or are just interested to hear what others are doing, please attend this session. Integrating sensors, iPhones, iPads, apps, simulations, YouTube and/or other web-based and computer-based technologies, physics labs are moving in new unforeseen directions at all educational levels.
  • YouTube Share-a-thon

      • YouTube Share-a-thon

      • TOP01
      • Mon 07/28, 1:30PM - 3:00PM
      • by Dean Baird
      • Type: Topical
      • Show us a favorite YouTube video for use in physics instruction. And tell us how you use it. We'll have a computer connected to the Internet, a projector and speakers. You bring the video's web address and, say, 50 copies of curriculum materials you use with the video (or a URL for the PDF). This session is always great fun in addition to being a treasure-trove of instructional gems; laughter is guaranteed!
  • iOS and Android App Show

      • iOS and Android App Show

      • TOP05
      • Mon 07/28, 4:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by Lee Trampleasure
      • Type: Topical
      • Do you have a favorite app for your physics classroom? Do you want to see others' favorite apps? Come to this "Show and Tell" for a cavalcade of apps--both "student" and "teacher" apps are welcome. Each presenter will get five minutes to show their app. You can sign up at the show or, to ensure you get time, you can sign up in advance at http://ncnaapt.org/appshow (this will also help us to avoid duplication). We'll have dongles to connect iPad/iPhones to the projector, and maybe some Android devices, but since devices have different connectors we suggest bringing your own (if you have one), and we'll also have a document camera to project any device that we can't connect. A list of all apps presented will be available to those who attend and those who can't.