AAPT Section News, July 2013
—Page 3
Listed below are some of the program highlights:
Keynote Speaker
The morning started with a keynote presentation by
Steve Spangler, the founder of SteveSpanglerScience.
com, who prestend a talk titled “Exploding Soda & Flying
Potatoes — Secrets to Creating Unforgettable Learning
Experiences.” Steve earned his credentials as an author,
teacher, toy designer, and Emmy award-winning television
personality. The abstract of his talk is as follows:
There are good teachers and then there are truly great
teachers. Understanding the differences in teaching
styles is the key to learning how to turn ordinary
moments into unforgettable learning experiences –
the kind that kids talk about at the dinner table and
remember for a lifetime. The secret to becoming
the best teacher possible is to learn how to engage
students on a whole new level using creative methods
that promote wonder and exploration. Steve Spangler
combines his experience as a science teacher and an
award-winning toy designer to create educational
experiences that make learning fun. In this special
kick-off to the conference, Steve will share insights
as to some exciting things that are taking place in
informal science education. Learn how to better
leverage the amazing assets available on YouTube
and how to use this medium to advance your own
efforts to reach more students. Steve will also share
some of his most memorable experiences over the
past 12 years and nearly 900 science segments as
the science education specialist on 9NEWS - KUSA
TV in Denver. Don’t be surprised if he scouts you
to appear on an upcoming Morning Show segment.
Guaranteed to make you laugh a little and learn a
lot… but watch out for those flying potatoes!
Morning Talks
The morning concluded with three ~25-minute contributed
talks. The titles and authors are:
•
Just-in-Time Teaching Pedagogy
, Dr. Gregor Novak
(USAFA/IUPUI)
• PhET
, Dr. Ariel Paul (CU - Boulder)
•
Ubiquitous Professional Development with the Global
Physics Department
, Dr. Danny Caballero (CU -
Boulder)
Business Meeting
The section business meeting was held right after lunch.
The meeting agenda included approval of previous minutes,
values that the CO/WY Section offer, and discussion of
possible recruitment efforts to expand future membership
and solicit participation. Officers’ reports were followed by
the election of new officers; President Elect, Vice President,
Secretary/Treasurer, Webmaster, and Members At Large.
The election results are:
• President Elect: Christine Vadovszki
• Vice President: Bethany Wilcox
• Secretary/Treasurer: Richard Krantz
• Webmaster: Adam Pearlstein
• Members At Large: Hank Weigel and Jared Krueger
The new VP, Bethany Wilcox, agreed to host our next CO/
WY Section AAPT meeting, in the spring of 2014, at the
University of Colorado – Boulder campus in Boulder, CO.
The Executive Board of the CO/WY Section of the
AAPT is now as follows:
• President: Brian Huang
• President Elect: Christine Vadovszki
• Vice President: Bethany Wilcox
• Past President: Cherie Bornhorst
• Secretary/Treasurer: Richard Krantz
• Members At Large: Katie Hinko, Hank Weigel, Jared
Krueger
• Webmaster: Adam Pearlstein
• Section Representative: Vince Kuo
Afternoon Talks
There were five ~20 minute contributed talks in the
afternoon. The titles and authors are:
•
The Boosting Engineering Science and Technology
Robotics Competition
, Joes Lopez (Rocky Mountain
BEST Executive Director)
•
Productive and Fun use of Lab Time!
Dr. Wendy
Adams (University of Northern Colorado)
•
Literacy in Physics
, Stephan Graham (Arrupe Jesuit
High School)
•
Using Arduino Processors in the Physics Classroom
,
Brian Huang (SparkFun)
•
Using Model Rocketry to Teach Physics
, Tom Spicer
(Valor Christian High School)
Acknowledgements
The Section would like to thank the Valor Christian High
School, for hosting the meeting, and the outgoing vice
president Tom Spicer for putting together the program.
Good luck Tom on your next position! Fly high.
—Vince Kuo, Section Representative
