2010 Summer Meeting — Portland, Oregon

Make and Takes We Have Learned to Like

Do you have a favorite Make & Take to share? Make a poster, bring handouts, and even parts and tools to show how the make and take works. We will try to arrange space for construction. Bring lots of parts for the PIRA resource room and reach more teachers.

Video analysis

Video analysis is the technique of analyzing physical measurements made from digital videos. Have you created new classroom activities or demonstrations that use video analysis? Have your students done unusual or interesting projects with this technique? Share your ideas, experiences or results of educational research in this session.

Innovative Microcomputer Based Laboratory Activities Utilizing Recently Developed Sensors or Hardware

(Committee on Physics in Two-Year Colleges)

Advances in microcomputers, IC chips, wireless devices, and laboratory interfaces have inspired many into developing labs, demos, and activities for teaching physics. If you are one of those developers, we encourage you to share with us your findings.

Teaching with Technology

Technology gives physics students new ways to get data, analyze it, and communicate their results; it helps teachers present concepts and perform demonstrations; and it spawns unprecedented logistical nightmares. What does technology make possible? How can it work well in a real classroom? We're looking for presentations describing new insights into how to use technology effectively to promote student learning. Never presented at AAPT before? This is a great place to start!

Big Questions in Physics

Big questions in physics have helped drive research in physical topics for years. Historical information on the development and thinking about the big ideas would be perfect for this session. Also current research or information in answering the big questions in physics that are still unresolved would be perfect for this session.

Physics Education Research Around the World

(Committee on Research in Physics Education)

This is an invited and contributed session designed for reports from groups around the world working on Physics Education Research. We are interested on research approaches, perspectives and results in different countries; successes and challenges of this area of research around the world; and the effect of the structure of different school systems on research.

Teacher Preparation Around the World

(Committee on Teacher Preparation)

Papers describing the science content and pedagogical education of elementary (K-8 in the US) teachers in countries around the world that lead to official state certification or recognition

Biomedical Labs for Introductory Physics

(Committee on Apparatus)

Introductory Physics courses can better serve life science students by including life-oriented physics laboratory activities, providing motivational relevance and appropriate transfer experience. We invite all papers which showcase labs with a life-oriented or biomedical context. They can range from single activities to whole courses, and from modifications of typical labs to entire new activities. Pedagogical and assessment strategies are encouraged.

Biomedical Labs for Advanced Physics

(Committee on Apparatus)

Sophisticated biological research and medical techniques, as well as biophysics research, present opportunities for exciting labs appropriate for an Advanced Physics Lab course, especially for students with an interest in applying physics to the biological or medical realm. We invite all papers which showcase examples of advanced labs with a biological or medical context

Upper Division Laboratories: Ideas, Equipment, and Techniques

(Committee on Apparatus)

Presentations at this session should address "what", "how", and/or "why" for the advanced laboratory course. We welcome contributed talks which present new experimental techniques, novel equipment, unusual experiments, and helpful pedagogical approaches to upper-division undergraduate physics lab.

Using Literature and History to Teach HS Physics

The focus of this session will be strategies to use history and literature to enhance your HS physics class. We seek papers that discuss successful methods that use history or literature to increase student interest, increase scientific literacy or increase the "wow factor" of your HS physics class.

Online Workshops and Labs for HS Physics Programs

If you have set up an online physics class we would like you to share the hurdles that had to be overcome and how others can avoid the pitfalls. What were key things to know? How successful was the class?

Urban/Rural settings for HS Physics

Designing and implementing professional development that addresses best practices, curriculum alignment, content, pedagogy, assessments, research, and evaluation is always a challenge. The session will summarize the transformations that have evolved as PTRA addressed needs of both urban and rural teachers. Presenters will report on how they have been involved with the AAPT/PTRA program, the impact on teachers, students, future projects, and share successes and challenges.

Interdisciplinary Success Stories: Team Teaching

Presenters will report about different models for combining the teaching of physics with other subjects in today's classrooms. They will describe their model for interdisciplinary teaching; what subjects or topics are combined. They will also share how their team approach is implemented including staff involved, teaching environment, planning time and the benefits of adopting this method for their students.

2 to 4: Transfer Successes and Challenges Between TYCs and FYCs

(Committee on Physics in Undergraduate Education)

Students transferring from community colleges to four-year colleges and universities often face challenges (though most are successful at matriculating). What are the best practices and pitfalls to this transition? Let's learn from each other about what is working and what isn't. Please come tell your success (and/or horror) stories.

Keeping it real: How do we engage in authentic assessment in the physics classroom

Many of us are products of "traditional" undergraduate physics education where lecture and lab (when there was one) were seemingly only coincidentally related. Furthermore, we submitted homework, took tests, wrote lab reports and received our grades. Are there better ways? On-line homework/tutoring systems, lab practicals/practicums, 1-on-1 interviews are alternative modes of assessment. How do we keep it real?

Simulated Learning? Using Simulations to Teach Physics

Physlets, Easy Java Simulations, VPython, PhET... All of these simulations stand on the shoulders of so many others, but they are powerful tools to help students learn physics. Whether students interact with pre-existing sims (or even video games?) or write their own code, how do these activities enhance their physics learning?

Upper-Level Undergraduate Physics

Have you taught upper division physics courses for sophomores, juniors, and seniors? Do you have new ways of teaching or helping students learn about topics in these courses? If so, we would like you to contribute a talk in this session.

Physics and Technological Innovation in the Pacific Northwest

(Committee on Educational Technologies)

If you have knowledge about the role of physics in various technological innovations and/or possible ways of incorporating these ideas in the classroom, we would like you to contribute a talk.

Dealing with Mathematical Difficulties in Lower and Upper Division Physics Courses

How do you deal with students who have mathematical difficulties in Physics? We would like you to share your ideas and teaching methods with us.

Preparing Undergraduates for Different Career Goals

(Committee on Teacher Preparation)

How does your school or department prepare students with different career interests? Do you have different tracks? Do you have an internship program? Do you offer seminar on this topic ? If so, we would like you to share your approaches with us.

Reforming the Introductory Physics Courses for Life Science Majors III

The particular theme for the invited talks is identifying and characterizing physics aspects of biology-related disciplines (medical physics, biophysics, astrobiology, ?) to better answer ?What physics should be in the IPLS?? There will be a mini-poster session following the invited talks and posters on pedagogical reform of the introductory physics course for the life sciences are welcome. (The IPLS list-serve is ipls@mail.aapt.org.)

SPS Undergraduate Research and Outreach

Undergraduates are asked to contribute talks, whether relaying a local research or outreach effort, or disseminating work from an REU experience. Undergraduate mentors are also invited to present papers appropriate for an audience of undergraduates and other mentors. Undergraduates engaged in PER efforts are especially invited to submit an abstract.

SPS Undergraduate Research and Outreach (Posters)

Undergraduates are asked to contribute posters, whether relaying a local research or outreach effort, or disseminating work from an REU experience. Undergraduate mentors are also invited to submit a poster, especially if the preferred audience consists of undergraduates and their mentors. Undergraduates engaged in PER efforts are especially invited to submit an poster abstract.

Interactive Lecture Demonstrations: Physics Suite Materials that Enhance Learning in Lecture

(Committee on Educational Technologies)

This is a call for contributed papers by those who have implemented Interactive Lecture Demonstrations in their introductory physics courses.

Innovations in Teaching Astronomy

This session will feature innovative teaching strategies and methods that facilitate increased student understanding of astronomy.

Education in a Planetarium

Anyone who has ever been asked to teach a class in a planetarium knows the challenges this environment presents. We would like to have a session to discuss effective techniques for teaching in a planetarium and on education research involving planetarium education. Help your fellow teachers by sharing your experiences.

Student Projects in Astronomy

Come share hands-on activities that you have found excite students about astronomy. We want to share ideas and show possibilities that others might have never considered. Share interesting approaches that other might be able to implement.

Once a TIR Always a TIR

(Committee on Physics in High Schools)

Serving as a Teacher-in-Residence through the PhysTEC project has had a dramatic impact on the career of many master teachers. We seek contributed papers from any classroom teacher who has recruited teachers, provided an early field experience, taught a methods course or supported student or novice teachers in a mentoring role.

National Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics: Case Studies

This session seeks individuals from a wide range of physics teacher preparation programs that are willing to share the specifics of their program. Emphasis should be on program strengths, weaknesses and future challenges faced by each program.

Multiple Models for Mentoring II

(Committee on Teacher Preparation)

Mentoring is often crucial in the recruitment and retention of good teachers. How do we provide mentoring? What are examples of successful programs and practices for all physics teachers, including pre-service teachers to senior faculty? This panel of invited and contributed talks invites contributions that explore, describe or evaluate different models of mentoring.