Mission of AAPT/PTRA

The mission of the AAPT/PTRA Program is to improve the teaching and learning of physics topics in pre collegiate education for all teachers and students in the United States.

Goals of AAPT/PTRA

To accomplish this mission the AAPT/PTRA Program has several goals:

1. To give outstanding practicing high school teachers an opportunity to improve themselves professionally. This opportunity is provided at annual AAPT/PTRA Leadership Institutes. At these institutes PTRA leaders grow in the knowledge and skill associated with providing professional development for colleagues. The knowledge and skills include, but are not limited to, workshop leadership, workshop organization, physics content, teaching techniques, trends in science education, equity issues, et cetera.

2. To develop AAPT/PTRA Teacher Resource Guides. These Guides are designed to serve not only as a resource for the PTRA leader during professional development sessions but also for practicing teachers after attending an AAPT/PTRA professional development.

3. To do outreach professional development for teachers who have had limited opportunity to attend professional development related to the teaching of physics topics. In essence, this is our technique for spreading our excitement about teaching and learning physics topics.

4. To become the recognized provider of accessible, highest quality, physical science and physics pre college teacher professional development workshops.

5. To establish a system for the long term continuation of the AAPT/PTRA Program for providing accessible, highest quality, professional development for teachers of physical science and physics.