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

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Agenda Preview

Sessions & Panels

  • 100Kin10: Training and Retaining Teachers

      • The 100Kin10 Partnership Effect: Many Hands Make Light Work

      • BE01
      • Sun 01/05, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by M Colleen Megowan- Romanowicz
      • Type: Invited
      • In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama outlined the need for 100,000 new STEM teachers within the next 10 years. Shortly thereafter Carnegie Corporation of New York and Opportunity Equation convened representatives from teacher education and professional development programs and foundations across the country and in June of 2011 the 100Kin10 partnership was launched at the Clinton Global Initiative Meeting. Of the 150 partner organizations 22 are funding partners. The rest are best-in-class organizations who prepare, develop, and retain excellent STEM teachers who are incentivized by funding from donor partners to work together and multiply the effectiveness of partners' programs. This presentation will highlight the work of a number of AAPT-affiliated associations and institutions that are 100Kin10 partners, discuss collaborations among these partners and outline how other organizations can join or connect with the movement.
      • 100Kin10: A Response from the STEM Community and Physics Organizations

      • BE02
      • Sun 01/05, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by Aline McNaull,
      • Type: Invited
      • In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama called for the training of 100,000 new, excellent science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers over the next decade. In my talk, I will describe this initiative, the partnerships that have formed, and the work being done at the federal level to improve the number of highly qualified STEM teachers. I will also provide an overview of the discussions within the STEM community in Washington, which includes scientific societies, research universities, and industry about increasing the number of highly qualified STEM teachers. Physics societies have played a major role in teacher pre- and in-service professional development at the local, state, and national levels. I will provide an update on the joint efforts of the American Association of Physics Teachers, American Astronomical Society, American Physical Society, The Optical Society, and American Institute of Physics to improve teacher training and professional development.
      • Strategies to Enhance the Joy of Learning and Teaching Physics

      • BE03
      • Sun 01/05, 5:30PM - 5:40PM
      • by C. Phillips
      • Type: Contributed
      • Pre-Service teachers are given the opportunity to engage in curriculum-driven, project-based learning projects and activities in the framework of an Introduction to Physical Science course. Learners work in teams to apply course content as they develop college-level peer presentations, classroom demonstrations and engage in skill building projects and activities, as well as formative and summative self-assessments. Future teachers are given the opportunity to design, test, and produce grade appropriate (K-12) lesson plans and activities, which are trialed with their peers and then shared with area school faculty mentors and their science students. Pre-Service teachers leave the course with their own lesson plans and activities to be added to their professional teaching portfolios. The course is specifically designed to engage the learner in self-directed exploration and discovery. The joy of learning and teaching is enhanced as students are given the opportunity to be actively engaged learners in a safe learning environment.
  • 21st Century Physics for the High Schools

      • The QuarkNet Data Portfolio: Using Data from 21st Century Experiments to Teach Entry-level Physics

      • AD01
      • Sun 01/05, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
      • by Thomas Jordan
      • Type: Invited
      • 21st century physics can seem obscure and esoteric. Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider have written 75 petabytes of data in just three short years. "Big Data" is in the public eye in news stories about Amazon, Google, or the NSA. QuarkNet has partnered with experiments at Fermilab, CERN, LIGO and others to gain access to datasets and created a Data Portfolio: a suite of investigations that allow students to explore the data and the physics encoded in them. Students can explore momentum conservation, mass-energy equivalence, pattern recognition, histogramming, and other topics using these data. The investigations range from simple to complex, from using paper-and-pencil to web-browsers, and from tens of minutes to days. The investigations allow the students to explore 21st century data and appreciate that they can study some aspect of even the most esoteric experiments. They can access Big Data and ask their own questions.
      • Connect Students to LHC Physics Using Cosmic Ray Detectors

      • AD02
      • Sun 01/05, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
      • by Francisco Yumiceva
      • Type: Invited
      • In 2012, the most powerful particle collider in the world known as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) discovered the long-sought Higgs boson particle; a crucial component of the standard model of particle physics. The LHC is now gearing up to collide protons at even higher energies that could open a window to observe new physics such as Supersymmetry, Extradimensions, or micro black holes. Classroom cosmic ray muon detectors that use the same technology as the experiments at the LHC are used to introduce particle physics to teachers and students. Cosmic ray studies give students a hands-on window to experimental particle physics. Similarly, masterclasses are one-day national events in which teams of students visit a nearby university or research center to gain insight into topics and methods of particle physics by analyzing data from the LHC experiments.
      • Nuclear Physics Provides Teachable Moments

      • AD03
      • Sun 01/05, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
      • by Margaret Norris
      • Type: Contributed
      • The American Physical Society piloted a program in 2012 pairing high school physics teachers with university physicists to develop new curriculum units for high school physics. A partnership of Black Hills State University and Chamberlain High School, both located in South Dakota, received a grant under this PAIR program (Physics And Instructional Resources) to develop a unit in nuclear and particle physics. Most of the funding was used to purchase classroom equipment. The unit was planned to be nine weeks long and culminate in a class field trip to the Sanford Underground Research Facility. While initially planned to cover both nuclear and particle physics, it was quickly discovered that nuclear physics provides much fertile material to teach critical thinking skills and other 21st Century skills. It also provides the opportunity to feature 21st century STEM careers in medicine, national security and energy. Successes and challenges will be discussed.
      • Graphene Supercapacitors: Getting Students

      • AD04
      • Sun 01/05, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
      • by Sarah Richter
      • Type: Contributed
      • This is a lesson designed to introduce students to physics research while learning about charge at the same time. Students will be able to experience 21st century physics by looking at the amazing properties of graphene and the different ways the material is made. Next, the lesson challenges students to envision how this new material could change capacitors and improve current technology. Finally, students will be able to apply the information by creating a LightScribed Graphene Supercapcitor, a lab that was developed as part of a summer RET program, that gives students a hands on opportunity to compare the new material with a traditional material in a capacitor.
      • Classification of Historical Experiments in High School Physics Course

      • AD05
      • Sun 01/05, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
      • by Genrikh Golin
      • Type: Contributed
      • The HS physics course describes with varying details many historical experiments. In the textbooks and popular scientific literature these experiments are referred to as great, crucial, key, fundamental, basic, etc. Though they all promoted the development of physics to a certain extent, not all of them are really fundamental. If these experiments are systematized by dividing them into groups based on their contribution to scientific practice and to the development of physics, the teacher can inform students about important aspects of the experimental method. The table that will be present during our contributed talk shows one such possible classification. This classification helps students to avoid the erroneous idea that all the historical experiments were equally important. It also shows students the range of tasks and problems resolved by experiments in science. Using the classification, a teacher can also choose the most typical experiments that are relevant for teaching.
  • A Potpourri of Astronomy and Physics Topics

      • Integrating Robotic Telescopes in Introductory Astronomy Labs

      • BF01
      • Sun 01/05, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
      • by Gerald Ruch
      • Type: Contributed
      • The University of St. Thomas (UST) and a consortium of five local schools are using the UST Robotic Observatory, housing a 17' telescope, to develop labs and image processing tools that allow easy integration of observational labs into existing introductory astronomy curriculum. Our lab design removes the burden of equipment ownership by sharing access to a common resource and removes the burden of data processing by automating processing tasks that are not relevant to the learning objectives. Each laboratory exercise takes place over two lab periods. During period one, students design and submit observation requests via the lab website. Between periods, the telescope automatically acquires the data and our image processing pipeline produces data ready for student analysis. During period two, the students retrieve their data from the website and perform the analysis. The first lab, "Weighing Jupiter," was successfully implemented at UST and several of our partner schools.
      • Teaching, Outreach, and Research with the Guilford College Observatory

      • BF02
      • Sun 01/05, 4:40PM - 4:50PM
      • by Donald Smith
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Guilford College Cline Observatory hosts a 16' optical telescope (connected to the worldwide SkyNet network of automated telescopes), two 2.4 m radio telescopes, a 10' optical telescope, several 8' telescopes, and a 50' planetarium dome. We use these facilities for public outreach, classroom instruction, and student research. In this talk, I will give examples of how we integrate learning activities across our resources: students learn about the universe through laboratory explorations using telescopes, recording images, and analyzing observations. We involve students in public outreach both through planetarium shows on campus as well as remote radio observations from public school classrooms. Students have also used the facility for senior thesis research projects, ranging from vibrational studies of the support pier to interferometric radio observations of sunspots. These examples will show how a small observatory can be a dynamic, productive facility to connect the dots between research, teaching, and public outreach.
      • Balls Rolling in Cones: New-ish Examples of Learning-by-Contrast

      • BF03
      • Sun 01/05, 4:50PM - 5:00PM
      • by Gary White
      • Type: Contributed
      • The motion of a ball rolling-without-slipping on a conical surface revealsmany analogies with classical celestial phenomena, and many contrasts as well. The initial conditions of the ball's "spin" can be adjusted so that one can observe quite different orbital periods even at a fixed orbital radius! Even so, the analogy with Kepler's Third Law--"(period squared)/(radius cubed) = constant"--is robust; for a ball rolling in a cone the dictum is "(period squared)/(radius) = constant," providing a nice contrast with real gravity, and with balls rolling in spandex wells for which the mandate is "(period cubed)/(radius squared) = constant," curiously.* Furthermore, one can choose to mimic the closed elliptical orbits of the planets--or not--by carefully selecting the conical angle and the ball's moment of inertia. Learning-by-contrast, at least for this author, is effective, and its benefits far outweigh any disappointment that celestial phenomena are not reproduced precisely. *see "The shape of 'the Spandex' and orbits upon its surface", Gary D. White and Michael Walker, Am. J. Phys. 70, 48 (2002)
      • What Frame of Reference Is Your Smartphone Accelerometer In?

      • BF04
      • Sun 01/05, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
      • by Jonathan Hall
      • Type: Contributed
      • Accelerometers such as found in smartphones respond to both acceleration caused by contact forces, and also to the gravitational field intensity when not accelerating. (When the device is accelerating in free-fall, the reading is zero.) The resulting measurements from the "smart" devices have been incorrectly reported as the acceleration several times in The Physics Teacher. Strategies for correcting this misunderstanding of acceleration will be discussed.
      • Weapons Development in Revolutionary France

      • BF05
      • Sun 01/05, 5:10PM - 5:20PM
      • by Ruth Howes
      • Type: Contributed
      • On March 30, 1775, Controller General Anne Robert Jacques Turgot appointedthe French chemist Antoine Lavoisier to a commission with three other members to run his newly created Gunpowder and Saltpeter Administration. As a perk, Lavoisier was given an apartment in the Arsenal belonging to the Gunpowder and Saltpeter Administration with ample space to establish a chemical laboratory. Lavoisier developed better methods for producing gunpowder which enabled the surplus supply which France used to supply the American rebels in their war with the British. Lavoisier and his colleagues worked in an effort to develop more effective explosives to reverse the French military defeats that marked the end of the ancient regime and the initial efforts of the revolutionary government to defend itself against most of the rest of Europe
      • Increasing AP Test Scores

      • BF06
      • Sun 01/05, 5:20PM - 5:30PM
      • by Thomas Haff
      • Type: Contributed
      • The evidence of increased AP (C exam) scores is anecdotal, but my studentshave experienced increase scores on the exam. This talk is not about increasing physics knowledge but how time-saving tips coupled with simple instructional techniques will give students more confidence and increased scores. 98% of my past students have passed the exam.
  • ALPHA Projects: Mentoring and Student Projects

      • The Sure-fire Foolproof Guaranteed (non-existent?) Project-mentoring System

      • FA01
      • Tue 01/07, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Eric Ayars
      • Type: Invited
      • Every student is different. Every project is different. It stands to reason, then, that every student project is different-squared, and mentoring student projects in any systematic way becomes a challenge. I don't have the one perfect answer to those challenges, but I hope to present some techniques for time and project management that can help to make student projects productive and beneficial for all concerned.
      • High Altitude Ballooning

      • FA02
      • Tue 01/07, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by David Pawlowski
      • Type: Invited
      • For the past two years, senior physics students at Eastern Michigan University have been tasked with researching, designing, building, and launching a weather balloon that must reach nearly 100,000 feet above the Earth's surface. While the students are given a list of the primary instrumentation for the balloon, they are asked to determine the best method for integrating the components. This presentation will introduce the details of this project and summarize the successful aspects of it as well as the parts that didn't always go so well. There may also be an image or two of southeastern Michigan from near-space
      • Mentoring Undergraduate Projects: The Hardest Part Is Before They Start

      • FA03
      • Tue 01/07, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
      • by Linda Barton
      • Type: Invited
      • Mentoring a successful undergraduate research or research-like project presents a number of challenges. Many of the largest hurdles can be avoided or minimized with careful forethought, before the work begins, by the mentor. In this talk, we discuss how to gauge a student's skill set and interests so as to place them in an appropriate project, and how to set realistic limits on the scope of a project. Strategies for fair yet rigorous assessment of student performance will also be discussed. Each of these issues are best addressed before a project ever begins. Examples are taken both from the mandatory year-long capstone project that all physics majors must complete, as well as sophomore and junior projects, at RIT. Finally, we reflect on how the traditional undergraduate curriculum could be improved to bridge the gap between classwork and research.
  • AP Physis 1&2

      • Overview of the New Advanced Placement (AP) Physics 1 and 2 Courses

      • HB01
      • Tue 01/07, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
      • by Scott Beutlich
      • Type: Contributed
      • This presentation will give an overview of the new Advanced Placement (AP)Physics 1 and 2 courses and will guide the audience through the Curriculum Framework that clearly defines what students will be expected to know and do by the end of each course. An overview of the guiding science practices that are now paired with essential knowledge in physics to produce student learning outcomes for each course will be provided, along with examples of how these learning objectives will be used to inform the dramatic changes in test questions for the new exams--including the emphasis on inquiry-based exam questions. The most recent released information from The College Board will be shared with the audience.
      • Overview of the New Advanced Placement (AP) Physics 1 and 2 Courses - Part II

      • HB02
      • Tue 01/07, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
      • by Martha Lietz
      • Type: Contributed
      • Part II of this presentation will continue the overview of the new Advanced Placement (AP) Physics 1 and 2 courses and will guide the audience through the Curriculum Framework that clearly defines what students will be expected to know and do by the end of each course. An overview of the guiding science practices that are now paired with essential knowledge in physics to produce student learning outcomes for each course will be provided, along with examples of how these learning objectives will be used to inform the dramatic changes in test questions for the new exams--including the emphasis on inquiry-based exam questions. The most recent released information from The College Board will be shared with the audience.
      • Whiteboarding and Multiple Representations to Improve Understanding: AP Physics 1 & 2

      • HB03
      • Tue 01/07, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
      • by Paul Lulai
      • Type: Contributed
      • The use of whiteboarding techniques and multiple representations for physics problems can help deepen students' conceptual understanding and help them succeed in AP Physics 1 & 2. The new AP Physics 1 & 2 exams intentionally investigate students' ability to translate from one representation to another. This session will look at specific ways in which both white-boarding and multiple representations can be implemented in the high school physics classroom to deepen student understanding and prepare them for the new AP Physics 1 & 2 course exams.
  • Alternative Grading Methods/Standards Based Grading

      • Standards-based Grading: Evolution Through Implementation

      • HC01
      • Tue 01/07, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
      • by Jeffrey Funkhouser
      • Type: Invited
      • Implementation issues can be addressed through a willingness to evolve thegrading standards and grade determination structures across multiple years. This is the process by which a private independent school in Texas has instituted and promulgated to other departments a standards-based grading (SBG) scheme. Initially used in one physics course by one teacher, the Greenhill School has slowly expanded use of SBG to almost all physics classes taught by three different teachers. Difficulties and solutions for this experiment in progress will be highlighted.
      • The Spirit of SBG

      • HC02
      • Tue 01/07, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
      • by Frank Noschese
      • Type: Invited
      • Perhaps you want to switch to SBG, but circumstances prevent you from doing so. In this session, we'll explore how many of the strengths of SBG can still be done within a more traditional grading system.
  • Apparatus Magic

      • Mission to Mars

      • EA01
      • Mon 01/06, 7:30PM - 7:40PM
      • by David Venne
      • Type: Contributed
      • Lego's Mindstorm robots will be the vehicle used to teach my student's thephysics of spaceflight and astronomy. Students will be expected to build and program martian rovers that will actually travel on a "Mars board." The rovers will be required to visit and test samples at two sites to determine what the Martian environment is like. Students will be exposed to a variety of STEM applications while at the same time having fun!
      • A Quantitative Comparison of Four Different Lighting Types

      • EA02
      • Mon 01/06, 7:40PM - 7:50PM
      • by Stephen Minnick,
      • Type: Contributed
      • Most students have little idea of the differences between the four basic types, incandescent, CFL, LED, and halogen, of household light bulbs being marketed. In order to drive home these differences and demonstrate the tradeoffs between lighting quality, efficiency, and costs, a new laboratory experiment has been developed suitable for high school and undergraduate students in basic science courses. For each lighting type, various quantities such as input power, light output, and efficiency are measured and then compared. Light quality from each bulb is determined by using inexpensive spectroscopes.
      • A Simple LED Light Source for Multiple Online Experiments

      • EA03
      • Mon 01/06, 7:50PM - 8:00PM
      • by Joseph Calabrese,
      • Type: Contributed
      • If experiments conducted outside of the physics laboratory are to become astandard part of online physics courses, the cost to the student must be minimized. Additionally any apparatus used by students without supervision must be easy to use. I will present a relatively inexpensive, easy to use, LED circuit that can be used for experiments in physical and geometric optics as well as a measurement of Planck's constant. Using one piece of apparatus for multiple experiments can help control costs. Using the same apparatus multiple times can help the student gain confidence and reduce the overall learning curve for the laboratory portion of an online course. Data from experiments will be shown.
      • The Magic (Demos) of Paramagnetism and Diamagnetism

      • EA04
      • Mon 01/06, 8:00PM - 8:10PM
      • by James Lincoln
      • Type: Contributed
      • This past summer I made a video on Diamagnetic and Paramagnetic substances. This gave me a chance to research and discover some of the more familiar materials that have these properties and figure out creative ways to demonstrate that they are influenced by magnetic fields; even when the effect is weak. In this talk I will explain what makes a substance Diamagnetic and/or Paramagnetic and provide ideas and tips for acquiring and utilizing the most familiar and most powerful among these substances.
      • Young's Modulus of Selected Metallic Wires Using Improvised Apparatus

      • EA05
      • Mon 01/06, 8:10PM - 8:20PM
      • by Judelyn Patero
      • Type: Contributed
      • In the elasticity of matter, the behavior of elastic materials are described in terms of elongation, external force applied to elastic materials, stress, strain, and elastic moduli such as Young's modulus, Shear modulus, and Bulk modulus. Demonstrations of this elastic modulus, particularly Young's modulus in the classroom are usual problem because acquiring an apparatus for this purpose is expensive. In this project, Young's modulus apparatus is fabricated. The improvised Young's modulus apparatus is tested using copper, stainless steel, and galvanized iron wires. The copper wire of diameter 0.42 mm has a Young's Modulus of 10.04 x 1010 N/m2 ± 6.783 N/m2 which is 8.7% than the known value. On the other hand, the Young's modulus of GI wire of diameter 0.555 mm and stainless steel wire of diameter 0.42 mm are 17.92 x 1010 N/m2 and 18.021 x 1010 N/m2, respectively. The improvised apparatus is functional and can be used for classroom experiments and demonstration. Keywords: Young's Modulus, Metallic, Improvised Apparatus, Selected
  • Bridging Teacher Preparation and Professional Development

      • Preparing Pre-service and In-service Physics Teachers to Teach Through Inquiry *

      • FE01
      • Tue 01/07, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Donna Messina
      • Type: Invited
      • The Physics Education Group (PEG) at the University of Washington has a long history of conducting courses for both pre-service and in-service teachers. Two major goals are: (1) to help teachers develop a deep and robust understanding of the pivotal topics in physics that they are expected to teach and (2) to provide them with the experience of learning in the way they are expected to teach (through a process of inquiry). These goals, together with ongoing research on the learning and teaching of physics, have guided the development of physics by Inquiry1. This talk illustrates the ways in which these materials help teachers learn (or relearn) physics content and model an approach to teaching through inquiry. Other course components that contribute to the professional development of both pre- and in-service teachers will also be discussed, including how these courses can help build professional learning communities between both groups.
      • Teachers in Industry: Bridging Academic and Real-World Learning

      • FE02
      • Tue 01/07, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Julia Olsen
      • Type: Invited
      • The Teachers in Industry program (formerly known as MASTER-IP) is now in its fifth successful year. Many teachers have never had practical experience with the content they teach, therefore this program bridges academics and real-world experiences. Our teachers are becoming teacher-leaders and mentors in their schools and some are gaining local and even national recognition. Highly skilled and creative STEM teachers are an asset to schools and districts across the state and to the businesses they work for in the summers. We provide a combination of paid summer work experience in Arizona businesses and industries combined with intensive coursework leading either to a Masters Degree in Teaching and Teacher Education or professional development credits, depending on the needs of each individual teacher. Our program is amassing significant research data, and this talk will describe the program model and results to date.
      • Teacher Preparation and Teacher Retention: A Missing Link

      • FE03
      • Tue 01/07, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
      • by James Flakker
      • Type: Invited
      • Physics teacher retention depends strongly not only on the education of teachers, specifically on their knowledge of the discipline (normative content and scientific inquiry practices) and ways to implement inquiry in the classroom, but also on the practical ability to enact this knowledge in the classroom and on the productive interactions with other teachers. The goal of this talk is to describe how a physics teacher preparation program can structure the clinical experiences of the pre-service teachers and develop a learning community of the in-service teachers to purposefully help the program graduates stay in the profession.
  • Broader Perspectives: Active Learning Strategies

      • Participationist Perspective on Modeling Instruction

      • FB01
      • Tue 01/07, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Eric Brewe
      • Type: Invited
      • Modeling Instruction is an active learning strategy built on the premise that science proceeds through the iterative process of model construction, development, deployment and revision. We adopt a participationist perspective on learning to analyze student engagement in the classroom. In this presentation we provide a theoretical background on models and modeling and describe how these theoretical elements are enacted in the introductory university physics classroom. Using video data, we link the development of a conceptual model to the design of the learning environment. We further discuss the implications of culture and context on the development and enactment of Modeling Instruction.
      • An Integrated Physics and Math Modeling-based Course

      • FB02
      • Tue 01/07, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Jorge De La Garza Becerra
      • Type: Invited
      • A course based on Modeling Instruction that integrates the teaching of physics and mathematics was designed and implemented at a private university in northern Mexico. This integrated Physics 1 and Calculus 1 course is based on the curriculum developed at Florida International University. This integration is structured having a modeling perspective of learning that allows the construction of increasingly robust models and the need for more sophisticated mathematics as the semester progresses. Also, this course relies heavily on active learning and cooperative learning. At the end of the semester, students commented that they perceive a better connection between the math and the physics topics and gains in the FCI were comparable to those in the Honors classes at the same university. Furthermore, in a final project done by students we found that those who used more representations were less likely to make mistakes. The university is working on the implementation of the entire sequence of integrated courses in physics and mathematics for engineering students.
      • Phenomenon-based Learning: Using Toys to Teach Physics

      • FB03
      • Tue 01/07, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Matthew Bobrowsky
      • Type: Contributed
      • In the spring, the first in a series of books on "Phenomenon-Based Learning" (PBL) will appear. Why PBL? 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.) Finland is now seen as a major international leader in education, and U.S. educators and political leaders have been traveling to Finland to learn the secret of their success. The PBL teaching philosophy combines elements of what's done in Finland with what's known about effective science teaching based on science education research to present science in ways that are both fun and educational. The approach includes progressive inquiry, 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.
      • Translation and Dissemination of the FCI in Japan

      • FB04
      • Tue 01/07, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Michi Ishimoto
      • Type: Contributed
      • For a decade, the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) has been considered an effective concept inventory in Japan. Several teachers have translated the FCI into Japanese to assess high school- and college-level students. In 2011, these teachers amalgamated several versions into a unified version. This presentation reports on the amalgamation process and on the problems encountered with the translation and implementation during this process. The unified version, along with a preface detailing its proper use and storage for users, has been uploaded to the Arizona State University Modeling Instruction website. I present the peculiar difficulties associated with translating the concept inventory from English into Japanese (two very different languages) and the misuses of the concept inventory owing to Japanese teachers' misunderstanding of its purpose. A brief statistical evaluation is also provided to verify the use of a unified translated version of the FCI for assessing Japanese students.
  • Classical Mechanics in the Upper-Level Core: Frontiers and the Classroom

      • Using Research to Investigate and Enhance Learning in Upper-division Mechanics

      • GD01
      • Tue 01/07, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
      • by Bradley Ambrose
      • Type: Invited
      • Researchers in physics education have repeatedly shown that traditionally taught introductory courses have minimal effect on the conceptual understanding, problem solving skills, and scientific reasoning ability of most students' including physics majors. Much of that research suggests that lingering difficulties can adversely impact student learning of more advanced material. Research in the context of sophomore/junior level courses in intermediate mechanics has been particularly fruitful in investigating student learning beyond the introductory level. Such research has also been invaluable in guiding the development and assessment of innovative instructional strategies that can complement (and exceed the effectiveness of) traditional lectures. This presentation will highlight results from research conducted at Grand Valley State University, the University of Maine (by co-PI Michael Wittmann) and pilot site institutions in the Intermediate Mechanics Tutorials project. We present evidence of specific student difficulties as well as examples of the use of guided inquiry in addressing these difficulties.
      • Classical Mechanics Activities Across the Paradigms in Physics

      • GD02
      • Tue 01/07, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
      • by Elizabeth Gire
      • Type: Invited
      • The Paradigms in Physics courses at Oregon State University are well knownfor blurring the traditional subdisciplines of physics. Topics in classical mechanics in particular are distributed throughout the curriculum and are often paired with topics from other subdisciplines. These pairings are chosen to reinforce conceptual and mathematical similarities among topics and to highlight important differences. The Paradigms in Physics courses also, and perhaps more importantly, feature a variety of active engagement instructional strategies. I will discuss a few of the classical mechanics activities with emphasis on their instructional goals and affordances, as well as the affordances of sequencing with topics in other subdisciplines. I will also comment on how these activities might be used in more traditionally structured classical mechanics courses.
      • Developing Practicing Physicists: Transformations in Middle-Division Classical Mechanics

      • GD03
      • Tue 01/07, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Marcos Caballero
      • Type: Invited
      • At most universities, upper-division physics majors are taught using a traditional lecture approach that does not make use of instructional techniques that have been found to improve many aspects of student learning at the introductory level. Furthermore, while the scientific community leverages computational modeling to understand many physical systems, much of our physics majors' experience solely emphasizes analytical problem-solving. At the University of Colorado, we have transformed our middle-division classical mechanics course using the principles of active engagement and learning theory, guided by the results of observations, interviews, and analysis of student work. We have also begun to implement computational modeling. We will outline these transformations including consensus learning goals, clicker questions, tutorials, modified homeworks, and more, as an example of what a transformed upper-division course might look like. We are beginning to examine how our transformations impact student learning and affect, and we will report on these results.
  • Cultural Relevance in the Physics Classroom

      • Culturally Relevant Physics Teaching Through Using CMPLE

      • EG01
      • Mon 01/06, 7:30PM - 8:00PM
      • by Natan Samuels
      • Type: Invited
      • We discuss a successful method for helping physics instructors shape theirlearning environments to be more representative of students' cultures and learning preferences. Physics instructors come from different backgrounds than their students, and have difficulty relating across cultures. Rather than focusing on boundaries, instructors can build upon shared classroom cultures that naturally develop. The Cogenerative Mediation Process for Learning Environments (CMPLE) is our formative intervention designed to help instructors better engage with students by first gaining awareness of learning and cultural issues. Then, instructors and students collaborate to design and implement pedagogical changes that are connected to their students' backgrounds. Using CMPLE, instructors have the advantage of knowing their methods are culturally relevant, through giving their students meaningful and active roles. We highlight CMPLE's use in a high school honors physics class using the Modeling Instruction curriculum, and a university course for pre-service elementary teachers using the PET curriculum.
      • Using Real Life Examples and Manipulatives in Conceptual Physics

      • EG02
      • Mon 01/06, 8:00PM - 8:30PM
      • by Virginia Hayes
      • Type: Invited
      • Students are motivated and excited when given real-life examples when a topic is introduced in physics. When I work with students, after a brief group discussion about real-life situations, the students must connect the physics to the specific situations. There are other times when students are given the key physics concepts and then are required to create a real-life example that is relevant to the physics concept. Students also use manipulatives to learn physics. Students are given these tools along with the physics concepts and their definitions to discuss the connection between the manipulatives and the terms. There are two reasons for using these approaches to teach physics to students in urban areas. Specifically, these techniques show the students that physics is everywhere. The other benefit is to help students see physics as relevant to them and for them to see themselves as scientists. In this talk I will describe some of my experiences as a science learner in the urban environment and how these experiences inform my teaching.
  • Dealing with Academic Dishonesty

      • Student Academic Misconduct: The Conflicting Motivations of Higher Education

      • EF01
      • Mon 01/06, 7:30PM - 8:00PM
      • by Louis Bloomfield
      • Type: Invited
      • Academic misconduct is a study in market forces and the corporatization ofthe academy. Students cheat when they believe it is in their best interest to do so. When the rewards are great and the risks are low, cheating is likely to be a problem. Institutions of high education also respond to market forces and often handle cheating in the same ways that companies handle misconduct by employees or clients. Faculty are torn in two directions, between the ancient academic ideal and the modern corporate academy. In this talk, I will recount my two-year immersion in the world of student academic misconduct, beginning in 2001, and discuss the complex motivations, market forces, and attitudes that I encountered.
      • Encouraging Academic Honesty at BYU

      • EF02
      • Mon 01/06, 8:00PM - 8:30PM
      • by R. Steven Turley
      • Type: Invited
      • In some sense academic honesty should be a natural outgrowth of the core values we have in a disciplines like physics which are devoted to the search for truth. Sadly, a large fraction of high school and college students admit to having cheated in some form at least once in their academic careers [1]. I will discuss ways we encourage academic honesty at BYU which include setting high expectations, establishing a culture of honesty, lowering the incentive and opportunity to cheat, and responding to students who cheat. This culture and environment makes cheating a relatively rare (but observed) occurrence on our campus. As a religiously affiliated school, BYU may be somewhat unique in the role that moral issues are integrated into our academic life. However, given the increasing emphasis in ethical responsibility in our discipline, I believe the principles we apply can be generalized to other institutions.
  • Distance Labs

      • Interactive Online Laboratories

      • FG01
      • Tue 01/07, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Mats Selen
      • Type: Invited
      • We have built an inexpensive battery-powered wireless laboratory system that allows students to do hands-on physics activities outside the classroom, guided by their own computer. The system, called IOLab, combines flexible software with a wireless data acquisition platform containing an array of sensors to sample and display real-time measurements of position, velocity, acceleration, force, rotation rate, orientation, magnetic fields, voltages, light intensity, sound intensity, pressure, and temperature. In this talk I will demonstrate the IOLab system and will show results from two clinical studies done at the University of Illinois to assess the learning outcomes of students performing Interactive Online Laboratories in an independent setting.
      • Do Labs Need to be Done in a Laboratory?

      • FG02
      • Tue 01/07, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Curtis Shoaf
      • Type: Invited
      • The Influence of Laboratory Delivery Method on Learning Outcomes. Studentsin an introductory algebra-based physics laboratory course were randomly assigned labs of different delivery methods. The methods where: Traditional, Virtual and Lab Kit. Each lab, despite using different methodology, was designed to address the same learning objective outcomes. Results of learning objective outcomes as well as students' satisfaction with each method will be discussed.
      • Lessons Learned Implementing Online Laboratories at the University of Arkansas

      • FG03
      • Tue 01/07, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by John Stewart
      • Type: Contributed
      • To increase access and to improve ease of transfer, the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville will be offering its first-semester, calculus-based physics class online to all 11 campuses of the University of Arkansas system beginning in the spring 2014 semester. This requires implementation of online laboratory experiences that were piloted at the Fayetteville campus during the fall 2013 semester. These laboratories used a mix of simulations and video recording of experiments to replace face-to-face laboratories. The interactive nature of the face-to-face laboratory was partially replaced by inserting quiz questions at points in the laboratory. A video recording of the instructor discussing each quiz question was made available to the students. This talk will report on the lessons learned in this project.
      • Using Mobile Devices in an Online Physics Laboratory

      • FG04
      • Tue 01/07, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Kendra Sibbernsen
      • Type: Contributed
      • A pilot class of the first semester of algebra-based physics lecture and laboratory was offered completely online at MCC in the fall term of this year. The laboratories used inquiry-based activities that focused on getting students to ask their own scientific research questions, take the data to answer those questions, analyze that data, and then draw conclusions. Students were encouraged to use the sensors in their own smart phones or tablets, such as the video camera for measuring motion, the accelerometer to measure acceleration, the microphone for measuring frequencies, and more. A report will be given on the successes and challenges of offering a physics class in this format.
      • Teaching Physics Labs at a Distance

      • FG05
      • Tue 01/07, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
      • by Andreas Veh
      • Type: Contributed
      • The presenter has been developing an at-home physics lab manual for a college introductory physical science lab. This talk covers: a comparison to published lab manual(s); the preparation for at-home labs; the successes and challenges of at-home labs.
  • Dual and Concurrent Enrollment

      • Dual and Concurrent Enrollment

      • TD05
      • Sun 01/05, 6:30PM - 7:30PM
      • by Paul Williams
      • Type: Ckrbrl
      • Concurrent and dual-credit enrollment between two-year and four-year colleges is becoming increasingly common. Join in on this topical discussion. We will share experiences with concurrent and dual enrollment, and discuss issues such as transfer of credits and articulation.
  • Effective Practices in Educational Technology

      • Challenges of Teaching a MOOC, Examples from 8.01x and 8.02x

      • GC01
      • Tue 01/07, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
      • by Saif Rayyan
      • Type: Contributed
      • How do you teach a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) with tens of thousands of registered students? Who are the participants in your course and how do you meet their needs? What level of activity do you expect throughout the course? What are the best practices in creating interactive content for your course? What level of involvement do you expect to have with your students? I will attempt to answer some of these questions by presenting examples from 8.01x (Introductory Mechanics) and 8.02x (Introductory Electricity and Magnetism), the physics MOOC offerings on the edX platform (http://www.edx.org). I will also present some of the challenges associated with creating the course, including the limitation of the current technologies and the high cost of producing high quality content.
      • Creating Online Learning Modules: Attending to Students Affect and Cognition

      • GC02
      • Tue 01/07, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
      • by Dedra Demaree
      • Type: Contributed
      • At the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship at Georgetown University, we have been assisting faculty with creating online learning modules using the HTML-5 based Rapid eLearning Content Development tools Adobe Captivate 7 and Articulate Storyline. These modules are being used to supplement learning as well as to flip classrooms. We have found that faculty are excellent at explaining the content in their modules but often do not have a clear template for how to address the holistic student experience in the eLearning environment. In this talk, I will focus on how to structure such modules for physics learning to attend to affective issues and help assure that students' working memory is focused on the physics content rather than side issues such as module navigation. The talk will illustrate key design principles for creating self-directed learning modules that are easy for students to navigate and useful in providing real-time feedback to both the student and the instructor.
      • Interactive Video Vignettes and Interactive Online Lectures*

      • GC03
      • Tue 01/07, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
      • by Robert Teese
      • Type: Contributed
      • The LivePhoto Physics Project is creating a set of Interactive Video Vignettes and testing them at multiple institutions. These are short, online activities that combine narrative videos with interactive, hands-on elements for the user including video analysis or making predictions based on replaying segments of a video. Vignettes can also contain 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 Online 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. The software will be demonstrated and the status of the development will be described.
      • Integrating Simulations into the Introductory Calculus-based Seqence

      • GC04
      • Tue 01/07, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
      • by Ximena Cid
      • Type: Contributed
      • The introductory sequence in physics has topics that are abstract and spatial in nature. These topics can be difficult for students to comprehend due to a variety of reasons, including increases in cognitive load. Previous research suggests that incorporating computer simulations can reduce cognitive load for specific topics, and thereby allowing students to dedicate more of their working memory to the task at hand. This talk will discuss the incorporation of computer-based interactive simulations, using the Glowscript language (based on the Vpython language), into various components of the introductory calculus-based sequence at the University of Washington.
      • It Is Not a Flipped Classroom!

      • GC05
      • Tue 01/07, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
      • by Taha Mzoughi
      • Type: Contributed
      • In an effort to enhance student learning in introductory physics classes, I had gradually transformed my classes into what is now commonly referred to, to my chagrin, as flipped classrooms. The courses follow a hybrid format where most of the learning occurs outside of class. Before class, students complete online multimedia quizzes, embedding both short lecture type recording segments and simulations. Class time is devoted to students solving problems in teams. Homework is completed online. In classes that include labs, students complete pre-laboratory simulation mediated activities. Preliminary results seem to indicate improvement in student learning as well as an increase in the interest and appreciation of the topics covered.
      • Technologies for Computational Physics

      • GC06
      • Tue 01/07, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
      • by Larry Engelhardt
      • Type: Contributed
      • It is generally recognized that computer simulations provide important tools for solving a wide variety of 21st century physics problems. In this presentation, we discuss the technologies that we use for teaching undergraduate physics students to create and use computer simulations. At the introductory level, students use the Python programming language for creating simulations and analyzing data. At the upper level, students learn parallel programming and execute their simulations on a high-performance computing cluster.
      • Teaching Free-body Diagrams and Geometrical Optics Using Interactive Whiteboards

      • GC07
      • Tue 01/07, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Tatiana Krivosheev
      • Type: Contributed
      • We present our experience of developing the interactive whiteboard flipcharts (IBWs) for the end-of-course exam review published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The supplement is designed for Texas high school students and is built around the state performance standards (TEKS). We focus on the advantages that the IBWs present in the classroom compared to standard whiteboard teaching. Specifically, we discuss constructing a free-body diagram and building ray diagrams for lenses and mirrors.
      • 3D Printing for the Undergraduate Lab

      • GC08
      • Tue 01/07, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Eric Ayars,
      • Type: Contributed
      • Three-D printing offers the potential to produce custom-designed parts as easily as we now produce custom-designed paperwork. That potential is starting to be met. Consumer-grade 3D printers are available at reasonable prices, and the technology has reached a point at which it can be cost-effective to print parts for laboratory and student-project use. This talk will focus on the current state of 3D printing technology, with examples of uses from the physics department at CSU Chico. It will address the types of materials and shapes that can be printed, the hardware and software required, advantages and disadvantages of various 3D printer features, and some of the costs and pitfalls one can expect to encounter.
  • Engaging Physics and Astronomy Students in Service Learning

      • Service-learning Perspectives from Engineering and Applied Science: How it Works

      • FC01
      • Tue 01/07, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Suzanne Keilson
      • Type: Invited
      • This talk will provide instructors and faculty new to service-learning with some background on the definitions and distinctions among service, service-learning, and engaged scholarship. Specific examples taken from engineering and applied science fields will be presented. Some information on national networks and resources such as Campus Compact as well as venues for scholarly publication will also be provided. Although it may seem daunting, bringing service or service-learning into the science classroom is a pedagogical option and one that can have benefits in engaging students, providing them with additional motivation for STEM studies, and help them see scientific issues in societal and cultural contexts as well as purely technical ones. The use of service-learning in undergraduate engineering education has grown rapidly in the past two decades. It is seen as an excellent methodology for meeting various accreditation learning outcomes (ABET) that promote integrating reflection and various so-called "soft skills" into the engineering curriculum.
      • Service Learning in Introductory Astronomy & Physics

      • FC02
      • Tue 01/07, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Michael Orleski
      • Type: Invited
      • Faculty in the Physics Department at Misericordia University incorporate Service Learning into some introductory astronomy and physics courses. Astronomy students conduct observation sessions for local school classes and the MU campus community. Physics students work with not-for-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Rails to Trails performing manual work. A key component of Service Learning is reflection on the service activity after it is completed. Astronomy students analyze how the preparation and operation of the observations aids their learning in the class and how it affects the attendees. Physics students analyze how they use physics, such as motion, forces, and levers, in the tasks they perform. A description of how Service Learning in supported at MU will also be presented.
      • Incorporating Service-Learning in Physics for the Life Science Majors: Pedagogy and Practice

      • FC03
      • Tue 01/07, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Irene Guerinot
      • Type: Contributed
      • While service-learning continues to gain credibility as an effective tool for helping students meet course learning objectives, many higher education practitioners still do not consider incorporating this pedagogy into their courses. In an effort to revitalize the introductory physics courses offered at Maryville College, and to engage students in active learning that demonstrates the relevance and importance of academic work for their life experience and career choices, I decided last year to implement service learning in one of my physics classes. My students assisted Maryville Junior High (MJH) students with preparations for the Science Olympiad Competition. In my talk I will discuss the development of this new material and how it facilitates mastery of the course's learning objectives.
  • Exhibit Hall Opens

      • Exhibit Hall Opens

      • EXH01
      • Sat 01/04, 8:00PM - 10:00PM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
  • Friday Registration

      • Friday Registration

      • REG01
      • Fri 01/03, 4:00PM - 7:00PM

      • Type: Registration
  • Goals and Assessment Tools for Instructional Labs

      • Goals and Assessment Tools for Instructional Labs

      • CD
      • Mon 01/06, 11:00AM - 12:00PM
      • by Mark Masters
      • Type: Panel
      • This panel will discuss both the goals of instructional labs and how we assess the achievement of those goals. It is critical that we understand that there are a variety of goals in laboratory. However, we need to have mechanisms to assess the success of these goals, whatever they may be. The panel will present their goals and describe assessment methods. The forum will then be opened up to the floor in hopes that a lively debate will ensue, as might be expected anytime someone mentions the four letter word known as “assessment” in polite company.
  • Graduate Student Topical Discussion

      • Graduate Student Topical Discussion

      • by PERCoGs President
      • Type: Ckrbrl
      • Come meet with fellow doctoral students to discuss topical issues.
  • Graduate Student Topical Discussion

      • Graduate Student Topical Discussion

      • TD03
      • by
      • Type: Cracker Barrel
      • Monday, January 6. Please email abigail.daane@gmail.com for time and location.
  • History and Philosophy

      • History and Philosophy

      • TD04
      • Sun 01/05, 6:30PM - 7:30PM
      • by Shawn Reeves
      • Type: Ckrbrl
      • We will continue and expand the discussion that began at our Winter 2013 meeting, exploring not only how history and philosophy shape our teaching, but how we might engage students in learning about history and philosophy of physics. We welcome leads on finding those with expertise in history and philosophy to share understandings, at future meetings, that might come in handy in the classroom. Philosophical approaches in the classroom are unavoidable, even if subliminal, so let's begin interpreting and shaping them. As we reconsider our undergraduate and pre-college curriculum, should we make recommendations for including philosophy or history explicitly?
  • How Do You Use Videos?

      • YouTube Physics - Not Just for Internet Celebrities

      • BD01
      • Sun 01/05, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Edwin Greco
      • Type: Invited
      • In this talk we will discuss our experiences implementing student created videos in our physics classes at Georgia Tech. We have implemented student-created videos in three different settings: large introductory courses with non-majors, freshman seminar, and as online tutoring resources for undergraduates. We will discuss our use of these videos in a variety of different aspects within our courses. For example, we have asked our students to create video solutions to physics problems, post-exam reflection exercises, and submit term projects as video presentations of their work. In our freshman seminar course, physics majors were asked to create video interviews with physics alumni as part of their career exploration. We will also discuss methods for evaluating student created videos and some of the difficulties that we have encountered along the way.
      • A Bullet-Block Experiment as a Capstone Mechanics Experiment*

      • BD02
      • Sun 01/05, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
      • by David Jackson,
      • Type: Contributed
      • Imagine a bullet fired vertically into a block of wood directly in line with its center-of-mass. Now imagine repeating the experiment with the bullet being fired off center. Would the block travel straight up in each case? Would the block rise to the same height in each case? These questions (and more) will be discussed in this talk, which focuses on how we used high-speed video to capture a fascinating (and very surprising) experiment that is difficult to perform in the classroom. This experiment was performed and filmed by the LivePhoto Group as part of the Interactive Video Vignettes project and elements are featured on Derek Muller's Veritasium YouTube channel.
      • The Bullet-Block Experiment: A Sample Interactive Video Vignette

      • BD03
      • Sun 01/05, 5:10PM - 5:20PM
      • by Priscilla Laws
      • Type: Contributed
      • The LivePhoto Physics Group has been creating and testing a series of Interactive Video Vignettes (IVVs) involving topics normally covered in introductory physics courses. Each Vignette includes videos of a physical phenomenon, invites the student to make a prediction, complete an observation or analysis, and, finally, compare findings to the initial prediction. Vignettes are designed for web delivery as ungraded exercises to supplement textbook reading, or serve as pre-lecture or pre-laboratory activities. A sample Vignette will be shown, and the speaker will comment briefly about ongoing research on the impact of Vignettes on motivation, learning and student attitudes. (NSF 1122828 and 1123118)
      • Video Capture and Analysis Projects to Engage Students

      • BD04
      • Sun 01/05, 5:20PM - 5:30PM
      • by Zenobia Lojewska
      • Type: Contributed
      • I will address how to use digital video motion analysis as a teaching toolin an introductory physics course. This presentation focuses on a Physics for Movement Science course geared towards Physical Education, Athletic Training, and Exercise Science majors. It is explained how students capture their own video clips and analyze them. Some of the video clips are presented.
      • Now You See It

      • BD05
      • Sun 01/05, 5:30PM - 5:40PM
      • by Nina Morley Daye
      • Type: Contributed
      • Come and see some of the ways I am using videos in my classroom. I am using videos for implementing a "flipped" classroom, virtual field trips and assessment.
      • Hybrid Visual-Tutorial Instruction Model to Learn the Concept of Density

      • BD06
      • Sun 01/05, 5:40PM - 5:50PM
      • by Sergio Flores
      • Type: Contributed
      • The University of Juarez and the University of Texas at El Paso have developed a hybrid instruction 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 density in the contexts of solids and liquids. Data were collected through a post-test, a pre-test and homework designed in the same context of the corresponding learning topics. Students are exposed to a 30-min video of the lab activities. This video is available for the students though 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 of both sets of groups, treatment and control groups.
  • Innovations in Research and Teaching Astronomy

      • State of the Art Astronomy: An Experiment in Online Learning

      • DB01
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
      • by Matthew Wenger
      • Type: Invited
      • Astronomy: State of the Art is a seven-week online astronomy course initially offered during spring semester 2011. This course was the first astronomy class offered through Udemy, an online learning platform. The target audience of Astronomy: State of the Art includes high school science teachers, college astronomy instructors, science center and planetarium educators, amateur astronomers, and members of the public. Over 5000 students are enrolled and it continues to grow weekly. This presentation will detail how the course is structured, how we use social media and live discussions to interact with students, and plans for a second version of the course that will be conducted concurrently with an on-campus "flipped" course for registered undergraduate students.
      • A New Model of Misconceptions for Learning Challenges in Cognition*

      • DB02
      • Mon 01/06, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by Stephanie Slater,
      • Type: Invited
      • Despite the substantial body of "misconceptions" literature, the development of an actionable theory of conceptual change to mitigate misconceptions continues to be less than satisfying. We offer a new, action-oriented cognitive model that allows us to operate on students' learning difficulties in a more fruitful manner. Instead of binning erroneous student thinking into a single construct, which leads to prescribing only a single instructional strategy, this new model suggests that "misconceptions" are a mixture of at least four learning barriers: incorrect factual information, inappropriately applied mental algorithms (phenomenological primitives), insufficient cognitive structures (e.g. spatial reasoning), and affective/emotional difficulties. Each of these types of barriers should be addressed with an appropriately designed instructional strategy.
      • Leveraging Cognitive Science Research to Create Better ASTRO101 Teaching Materials

      • DB03
      • Mon 01/06, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Timothy Slater
      • Type: Invited
      • In the course of learning astronomy, our goal for students is an enhanced understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry as well as deeper and more flexible conceptual understanding. However, a robust literature argues that students do not readily develop those complex understandings without purposefully targeted instruction. In response, scholars with the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education Research are creating and field-testing a series of learning experiences that leverage recent results in cognitive science and the learning sciences. One strategy is to provide instructors with in-class, learning activities extending and reinvigorating lecture-tutorial style approaches. A second is to provide computer-mediated, inquiry learning experiences based upon an inquiry-oriented teaching approach framed by the notions of backwards faded-scaffolding as an overarching theme. Early results strongly suggest that these two approaches enhance student learning as measured by the Views on Scientific Inquiry (VOSI) and the Test of Astronomy STandards (TOAST).
      • Engaging General Education Astronomy Students with Internet-based Robotic Telescopes

      • DB04
      • Mon 01/06, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
      • by Kimberly Coble
      • Type: Contributed
      • At Chicago State University we have implemented an observational project in our general education astronomy class using the Global Telescope Network (GTN), which is controlled using Skynet. We wanted to expose students to realistic practices used by professional astronomers, including proposal writing and peer review. The project consisted of the use of planetarium software to determine object visibility, observing proposals (with abstract, background, goals, and dissemination sections), peer review (including written reviews and panel discussion according to NSF intellectual merit and broader impacts criteria), and classroom presentations showing the results of the observation. GTN is a network of small telescopes funded by the Fermi mission and managed by the NASA E/PO Group at Sonoma State University. This work was supported by CCLI Grant #0632563 and IL Space Grant. Also see our associated presentation on Evaluating the Use of Internet-Based Robotic Telescopes for General Education by Berryhill et al.
      • Evaluating the Use of Internet-based Robotic Telescopes for General Education

      • DB05
      • Mon 01/06, 5:10PM - 5:20PM
      • by Katie Berryhill
      • Type: Contributed
      • Responding to national science education reform documents calling for students to have more opportunities for authentic research experiences, several national projects have developed online telescope networks to provide students with Internet-access to research grade telescopes. Internet-based robotic telescopes allow scientists and STEM educators to conduct observing sessions on research-grade telescopes remotely. This project examines the educational value of using Internet-based robotic telescopes in general education astronomy courses. Students at several institutions conducted observational programs using telescopes that are part of Skynet. Using a grounded theory approach, we examined what the students did or did not gain from the project, including students' understanding of the process of science. Analysis suggests that students value using research-grade instrumentation and develop deeper understandings of the nature of scientific research when formulating proposals for telescope use.(1)
  • Innovative Undergraduate Labs

      • Exploring Fluorescence in Homemade Candy Glass

      • EH01
      • Mon 01/06, 7:30PM - 7:40PM
      • by William Heffner
      • Type: Contributed
      • We present an investigation of the fluorescence observed in homemade sugarglass (hard candy). Our home-built "Fluorescent Monitoring System" utilized high-intensity LEDs for the excitation and the student grade Ocean Optics Red Tide Spectrometer to resolve the emission. The fluorescence was found to span between about 470 nm and 650 nm and the emission demonstrated a marked drop in intensity for LED excitation below green. We measured the fluorescence as a function of temperature and found it to decrease with increasing temperature. The fluorescence also increased as the glass caramelized (browned) with further heat treatment (cooking). Recent literature has shown similar fluorescence in caramelized sugars to be due to the production of carbon nanoparticles, and we propose the experiment as a cross-disciplinary and open-ended one for an undergraduate lab in physics, chemistry, or material science.
      • A Laser Range Finder for the First-Year Labs?

      • EH02
      • Mon 01/06, 7:40PM - 7:50PM
      • by Daniel Beeker,
      • Type: Contributed
      • An industrial laser range finder is evaluated for use in the first-year physics labs. Performance is compared to a typical ultrasonic motion detector.
      • Magnetic Field Measurements

      • EH03
      • Mon 01/06, 7:50PM - 8:00PM
      • by Barbara Wolff-Reichert
      • Type: Contributed
      • The existence of cheap commercial Hall effect sensors make it possible forboth high schools and colleges to create valuable experiments where their students can measure the magnetic fields that they study in their theoretical courses. This includes the fields from currents in a long straight wire, a wire loop, and a Helmholtz pair of wire loops, as well as their dependence on distance. Students can measure the on-axis magnetic field dependence as a function of distance for a small uniformly magnetized disk and discover the 1/r3 dependence. They can determine the local Earth's magnetic field. All these measurements require the calibration of the sensor by the student. This in itself, is a useful exercise in standards measurement. Something rarely done in this computerized-instrument age.
      • A Low-cost AFM for Undergraduate Students

      • EH04
      • Mon 01/06, 8:00PM - 8:10PM
      • by Yingzi Li,
      • Type: Contributed
      • Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an import tool in nanotechnology. This invention makes it possible to observe nanoscale surfaces beyond the resolution limitation of light microscopy. In this paper we developed a low-cost AFM with quartz tuning fork. It is easy for undergraduate students to obtain deep insights into the nano world with its simple operation and principle. Some parts of this device are designed to be operated almost completely manually and it is a way for student to understand the principle of AFM. This paper consists of three parts. The principle of quartz tuning fork is shown firstl, then mechanical structure and control system is introduced, and at last the results of experiments done by students are shown. The compare between these results and those that are obtained by commercial AFM shows the validity and usability.
      • SPAD- The World's Cheapest Single Photon Detector

      • EH05
      • Mon 01/06, 8:10PM - 8:20PM
      • by Jonathan Reichert
      • Type: Contributed
      • Chances are you already have several of the world's cheapest single photondetectors in your parts junk drawer. For those "n-the-know", these are called Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs), but most of us know them as LEDs. It turns out, if you reverse bias some LEDs with about 25 volts DC, they exhibit avalanche breakdown when a visible photon strikes the sensitive area of the p-n junction. Studying this breakdown phenomenon to confirm that it is a single photon event, and that it obeys the Poissonian statistics for some experimental parameters and not for others, is an important exercise for students. One only needs an LED, an operational amplifier, associated power supplies, oscilloscope, pulse counter, and a computer in order to study these pulses. These may be the world's cheapest single photon detectors, but they are also probably the world's most inefficient!
  • Inservice Preparation for Pre High School Teachers

      • PET and the PET Diagnostic at Buffalo State College

      • GG01
      • Tue 01/07, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
      • by David Abbott
      • Type: Invited
      • For more than a decade, Buffalo State College Physics has taught courses for pre-service elementary teachers, mostly using the Physics for Everyday Thinking curriculum and its precursor, Physics for Elementary Teachers. Over the last seven years, we have administered the PET Diagnostic Test to these students. We will present data and discuss lessons learned from the use of this instrument.
      • Energy: Deeper and Cheaper: Lessons Low Cost but High Potential Part 1

      • GG02
      • Tue 01/07, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
      • by Gene Easter
      • Type: Contributed
      • A workshop was given to local Orlando third to fifth grade teachers prior to this Winter 2014 AAPT Meeting by a number of PTRAs. In this talk we will share the difficulties and successes of that workshop and the philosophy and hopes for future workshops. Meant as a guide to teaching energy concepts using the cheap and the familiar, the workshop attempted to develop deeper conceptual understanding of energy storage, transfer, transformation and degradation. We emphasized cutting down the cognitive load by reducing jargon and providing concrete examples from everyday experience. Activities were chosen to align with the NGSS and CCSS and were drawn from Energy Theater (Seattle Pacific University), Operation Primary Physical Science, Robert Karplus, Fred Goldberg and Pat Heller among others.
      • Energy: Deeper and Cheaper: Low Cost High Potential Part 2

      • GG03
      • Tue 01/07, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
      • by William Reitz
      • Type: Contributed
      • A continuation of the discussion of a workshop presented in Orlando to grade 3 to 5 teachers prior to this Winter AAPT meeting. Part of the motivation to organize this workshop was to serve local pre-high school teachers of host city by utilizing the expertise of members who would be attending the meeting and introducing that community to the services of PTRA and AAPT. We will share the difficulties and successes of the workshop and the philosophy and hopes for future workshops.
      • Online Inquiry-based Physics Content and Pedagogy for the Enhancement of Science Teacher Development: Elementary and Middle Grades

      • GG04
      • Tue 01/07, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
      • by Chuck Fidler
      • Type: Contributed
      • With the advent of digital learning platforms, approaches to providing inquiry-based professional development can facilitate physics education for pre- and in-service teachers. This approach uses research-based methods of online techniques and combines a best-practice approach to learner-centered experimental-based physics education. The cohort-model design employs flexibility within an instructor-paced program, uses digital platforms accessible from off-campus web-based environments, and is cost-effective. Proving these types of experience proved to be a valuable mechanism for promoting successful physics education to educational professionals. Results (n=20) demonstrated this approach provides a sustainable platform for the growth and access to exceptional physics teacher development structure within the elementary and middle school levels. Specific design strategies encompassed sustainability concerns including access, cost, time, attendance, resources, availability, peer-collaboration, and professional application. Program development was supported by NASA.
      • Some Steps Toward Successful School Change

      • GG05
      • Tue 01/07, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Gordon Aubrecht
      • Type: Contributed
      • A project that has been running in a high-needs urban district in a central Ohio rural area for the past five years has resulted in changes in teacher behavior. The project involved a summer and school year content program, grade?level lesson development by teachers working together during the school year, and (most novel) the use of common grade?level formative assessment analysis by teachers. These measures helped teachers become more active and involved students in hands-on, minds-on activities. Originally, the participating middle school teachers worked independently and seldom consulted one another. Minimal consultation also occurred among high school teachers. Now, teachers now work together in coordinating lessons at grade-level through the grant-supported quarterly meetings. After several years, teachers began trading topics among the grade levels, and also started to trust that the teachers at lower grade levels addressed designated topics with students.
      • Science and Math Links: Research-based Teaching Institute

      • GG06
      • Tue 01/07, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Sydney Henson
      • Type: Contributed
      • Student success within the science classroom is most evident when the teacher possesses an effective skill set and is fully prepared with a variety of methods and techniques. The Randolph College Science and Mathematics Teaching Institute aims to build teacher knowledge with hands-on and inquiry-based teaching in science and mathematics. The project examines the benefits and improvements in attitude and success displayed by teachers after an intensive week-long institute held on the college campus. The Institute's lessons are led by faculty members from mathematics, science, and education, and are supported by summer research students. Pre- and post-institute self-reflective surveys of the teachers show a noted increased positive correlation towards teaching science and mathematics. We have also seen an increase in the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol scores for all teachers participating in the Institute including lesson design, procedural knowledge, propositional knowledge, communicative interactions, and student/teacher relationships.
  • Interactive Lecture Demonstrations - What's New? ILDs Using Clickers and Video Analysis

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

      • GH01
      • Tue 01/07, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
      • 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),(3), including those using clickers and video analysis.
      • Interactive Lecture Demonstrations: Effectiveness in Teaching Concepts

      • GH02
      • Tue 01/07, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
      • 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.
      • Clicker Questions for Interactive Lecture Demonstrations

      • GH03
      • Tue 01/07, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Tetyana Antimirova
      • Type: Contributed
      • Lecture demonstrations are often counterintuitive and potentially confusing to students. Just showing the demonstrations in class can often lead the students to incorrect conclusions. Requiring the students to make predictions about the demonstration outcomes improves the effectiveness of the demonstrations [1]. Clickers allow very fast collection of the predictions in large-enrollment classes. However, the success of this approach relies on the availability of meaningful multiple choice questions to probe the students' understanding. We will discuss the multiple-choice questions writing activities in a large introductory physics class as well as an upper-year independent study project in which the students themselves learn how to create multiple choice questions for the interactive lecture demonstrations. [1.] D.R. Sokoloff, R.K.Thornton (2006). Interactive Lecture Demonstrations, Active Learning in Introductory Physics, Wiley.
  • International Models of Physics Teacher Preparation

      • The Undergraduate-graduate Integrated Cultivation Mechanism of Government-supported Teacher-Students Majored in Physics: Taking ECNU as an Example

      • DF01
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
      • by Sudong Pan
      • Type: Invited
      • In order to attract more high-quality students to apply for normal universities, six national normal universities have enrolled tuition-free normal school students since 2007, and the students were mainly from Central and Western China. After getting their bachelor degree, teacher-students came back to their hometown as high school physics teachers, then after a year, they returned to the original university to peruse the education master degree part-time. In ECNU, teacher-students majoring in physics were cultivated based on the concept of integration between pre-service and in-service, their curriculum plan, cultivation methods and research skills training linked closely between undergraduate and graduate, expecting this could effectively cultivate a group of outstanding middle school physics teachers. This lecture will cover the following topics: 1. A brief introduction of Chinese tuition-free teacher-students; 2. The stage of undergraduate; 3. The stage of graduate; 4. The characteristics of this cultivation mechanism.
      • Standards and Practice of Teacher Preparation in Germany and USA

      • DF02A
      • Mon 01/06, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by André Bresges
      • Type: Invited
      • A central advantage of education in Math, Science and Technology is that the core science and its essential rules and models stay the same when educators and students travel from one country to another. This predestines STEM Education for both exchange programmes for teacher training students, and cross-cultural studies in language and the social sciences. Currently, we want to design a U.S.-German exchange programme for STEM teacher preparation courses that implements a network of universities and their cooperating schools. Goals are to make STEM education a more attractive field of work, balance the supply and demand of qualified STEM teachers, and foster international research in the PER community. Students and teachers should be encouraged to study or work in the field of STEM education in both countries, thus opening paths to international careers in STEM teaching. The Keynote therefore compares National Science Education Standards of both countries.
      • Models and Perspectives of International Student Exchanges in Teacher Education

      • DF02B
      • Mon 01/06, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by Nina Glutsch
      • Type: Invited
      • In Europe, e.g. Germany, teacher education has changed in the past years. By adapting the international Bachelor/Master degrees, the approach to a more practice-orientated teacher education has been focused on. Also, a more internationalised teacher education is emphasized. As it is neccessary for students -- our future teachers -- to deal creatively with diversity in schools and work with bi-or multilingual children, gaining the experience of living in another country and working in a foreign school system is highly supported by the University of Cologne. Successful concepts of other countries are seen to be a motivating factor for students in order to implement new and innovative ideas back home. However, teachers in general are still more "local activists" than "global players" (Jaritz 2011). Therefore, the University of Cologne is about to develop different exchange programs with schools all over the world, e.g. the U.S., South Africa, Uganda, Europe, and Finland.
      • Integrating Studies in Physics, Education and Teacher Preparation in Germany

      • DF03
      • Mon 01/06, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Stefan Hoffmann
      • Type: Invited
      • At the University of Cologne, seminar structures in the educational sciences embed students’ practical experiences during internships in schools and support the reflection of the students’ views of their own role as teachers, what qualities they think a "good teacher" must possess, and what they believe to be a successful education. More and more, teacher education focuses not only on performance but also on appreciation of individual accomplishments according to one's individual abilities and efforts. This talk focuses on examples of integrated science and education studies for teacher preparation at the University of Cologne, home of the largest teacher education institution in Germany (>10.000 educational science students). Highlights are the use of e-portfolio techniques, simulated physics lessons, learning-by-teaching, digital media usage and small "design-based research" projects for school internships. That way, students are able to combine their theoretical knowledge with practical experience.
      • Comparing Finland to Germany: Lessons Learned in Teacher Preparation

      • DF04
      • Mon 01/06, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by Meike Kricke
      • Type: Invited
      • Since the "PISA Shock" after 2001, educational research in Europe has recognized new emphasis on the success of the Finnish educational system: Finland is "seen as a major international leader in education" (OECD 2010, 118). The approach of integrating core sciences and education curricula in the one-phase teacher preparation studies, was identified as a key factor of success, as well as the intense use of dialogical reflection tools, like portfolio techniques in school and in teacher preparation. The focus is directed toward pupils at schools and students at universities. As is highlighted in this talk, adapting the key factors from the Finnish into the central European educational systems is not an easy task. One example of the University of Cologne is presented. It shows how Finnish key factors and educational ideas can be integrated into teacher education: "International teacher education laboratory -- Developing inclusive values and ideas through e-portfolios".
  • International Professional Development Opportunities for Teachers

      • Gaining First-hand Experience at CERN to Excite the Next Generation

      • EE01
      • Mon 01/06, 7:30PM - 8:00PM
      • by Jeff Paradis
      • Type: Invited
      • Inspiring students to pursue careers in science is an implied part of our job description. Staying current on the discoveries and research in the fields of science gives us the ability to help students connect to the content and how it impacts their lives. An international high school teacher program hosted at CERN -- in Geneva, Switzerland -- provides an experience for high school teachers to interact with colleagues from around the world and challenges their perspective on teaching physics, all while providing direct access to the particle physicists and engineers that are at the forefront of major discoveries. During this joint presentation, members of the U.S. delegation to the program in 2012 will share their experience, classroom resources and provide information on how teachers can participate in subsequent programs.
      • EinsteinPlus Summer Program

      • EE02
      • Mon 01/06, 8:00PM - 8:30PM
      • by Laura Flatt
      • Type: Invited
      • EinsteinPlus is an immersive week-long workshop on modern physics for highschools held every summer in the Stephen Hawking Centre at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada. Open to teachers from around the globe, it explores a range of topics including quantum physics, relativity and cosmology at a level suitable for high school physics students. Throughout, there is a strong emphasis on a hands-on approach and good pedagogy applicable to teaching both modern and classical physics, as well as opportunities to explore Perimeter's suite of in-class resources. The week also includes lectures by Perimeter physicists working at the cutting-edge of modern physics along with numerous informal interactions with them. This session will outline the workshop, opportunities to join Perimeter's Teacher Network and the application process.
  • Introductory Courses

      • Student Use of Office Hours: An Exploratory Survey-based Study

      • CF01
      • Mon 01/06, 11:00AM - 11:10AM
      • by Kristen Burson
      • Type: Contributed
      • Office hours provide an opportunity for student-faculty interaction, one key benchmark of student engagement. Yet this potential goes unrealized if students do not show up, or feel uncomfortable. Here we present and analyze the results from a survey of undergraduate students at a large, public mid-Atlantic research university that captured the factors influencing their attendance of office hours. With our results and analysis, we shed light not only on those factors that do influence student attendance of office hours, but also those factors that do not, in some cases confirming and in other cases negating commonly held assumptions. Survey results for physical science courses are compared to campus wide results. We conclude that in the current culture surrounding office hours individual instructors have limited agency in influencing student attendance and discuss best practices in light of the survey results.
      • Studio Physics for Life-Science Majors at Boston University

      • CF02
      • Mon 01/06, 11:10AM - 11:20AM
      • by Andrew Duffy
      • Type: Contributed
      • After two years of a pilot project, we are now in the first year of a large-scale studio physics implementation in the algebra-based introductory physics class for life-science majors at Boston University. In fall 2013, three of the five sections of the course were taught in a new 81-student studio classroom, using the traditional studio elements of round tables and active-learning with pre-class quizzes, worksheets, interactive clicker questions, directed peer learning, and experiential activities. With 241 students in the studio, and 200 students learning in the more traditional lecture/lab/recitation style, we are able to do a good comparison of the two learning modes. All students did the same pre- and post-tests (FMCE and CLASS), homework, quizzes, and the same midterm tests and final exam. We will report on the outcomes of our study.
      • Textbook Presentations of Weight: Conceptual and Associated Terminological Ambiguities

      • CF03
      • Mon 01/06, 11:20AM - 11:30AM
      • by Rex Taibu
      • Type: Contributed
      • The concept of weight is ambiguously defined (e.g., as the Earth's gravitational force on an object or as the force an object exerts on a measuring scale). But while the underlying physical constructs behind these different definitions for weight are well understood, it is unclear how the concept should be introduced to students. Our goal was to document language issues associated with the term "weight" in introductory physics textbooks, and to assess how textbooks deal with the alternative ways the term is used. Relevant passages from a sample of 20 textbooks were subjected to content analysis by two researchers with strong backgrounds in both physics and teaching. Results indicate that language issues were prevalent within and across the textbooks. The relation between the two physical constructs was rarely clearly presented, particularly in non-inertial reference frames such as spaceships or elevators. The study concludes by considering the implications for teaching.
  • Life after Retirement

      • Life after Retirement

      • AE
      • Sun 01/05, 2:00PM - 4:00PM
      • by Gordon Ramsey
      • Type: Panel
      • : This is a panel discussion on the opportunities for retired physics teachers.
  • Low Enrollment Teacher Preparation Programs

      • Developing a Nurturing Environment for Physics/Secondary Education Majors

      • CB01
      • Mon 01/06, 11:00AM - 11:30AM
      • by Robert Bishop
      • Type: Invited
      • Fostering a community that is supportive of secondary education physics teaching as a valued vocation is essential for giving students the vision and support they need to pursue a secondary education degree path. I will share what our department has been doing to create a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for students to consider teaching high school physics as a first choice rather than as the last choice for what they might do with their physics degree.
      • Sustaining a Physics Teacher Preparation Program at a Major Research University

      • CB02
      • Mon 01/06, 11:30AM - 12:00PM
      • 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. 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.
  • Mentoring High School Teachers

      • Mentoring HS Teachers - How did I get here?

      • DD01
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
      • by David Jones
      • Type: Invited
      • This is a talk on the details of mentoring HS physics teachers. I have evolved from a "Mr. Physics" teacher role into a slightly different role that involves mentoring high school teachers on many different parts of the "mentoring spectrum." My current professional role as the TIR at FIU has allowed me to actively participate in the mentoring of teachers through my interactions with HS teachers in our local physics teaching community. Mentoring other people who love and enjoy physics teaching has given me a burst of energy and enthusiasm toward teaching at a time in my career when energy and enthusiasm can be in short supply! I hope to highlight some of the different types of mentoring roles that veteran teachers may find themselves in at certain points in their teaching career...you never know when your career path may veer into the mentoring role!
      • Mentoring Teachers Through Conversations

      • DD02
      • Mon 01/06, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by Ximena Cid
      • Type: Invited
      • The Physics Education Group (PEG) at the University of Washington (UW) offers courses that directly impact teachers. One sequence of courses is focused on the preparation of pre-service K12 teachers held during the academic-year and the other sequence of courses provides professional development for in-service K12 teachers during the Summer Institute. In-service teachers who have participated in the Summer Institute, and who live within commuting distance of UW, also attend the academic-year Continuation Course. During the Continuation Course, teachers have the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers or with instructors from PEG as they continue to adapt their teaching practices. In addition, pre-service teachers are invited once a year to attend the Continuation Course in order to interact with current K12 teachers. This talk will focus on the discussions that take place during the Continuation Course and how mentoring develops organically through teacher-teacher interactions as well as through teacher-instructor interactions.
      • Mentoring Pre-service Teachers as Part of the Teaching Immersion Institute (TII)

      • DD03
      • Mon 01/06, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Kara Weisenburger
      • Type: Invited
      • Mentoring programs for teachers are traditionally implemented in high schools to increase the retention and promote effective teaching practices of a novice teacher. Chicago High School for the Arts, Gary Comer High School, and Chicago State University are collaborating on a project that introduces mentoring early to pre-service teachers as part of our Teaching Immersion Institute (TII). In this talk I will discuss the informal process of mentoring pre-service teachers through the TII course and describe how it fosters the relationship between pre-service and in-service high school teachers in a semester-long action research project. In addition, I will highlight resources and discuss the importance of including diverse mentoring experiences in a teacher preparation program.
      • High School Electronics Course with College Faculty Collaboration

      • DD04
      • Mon 01/06, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
      • by Andrew Rex
      • Type: Contributed
      • The APS Physics and Instructional Resources (PAIR) program supports teams of college and high school faculty members working together to improve physics education in the high schools. Supported by a PAIR grant, we designed and taught a project-based high school course in electronics, first during an intensive January term and then in the spring semester. We will discuss how our collaboration was supported by the PAIR program and will present test results from these first classes.
  • Monday Afternoon Break in the Exhibit Hall

      • Monday Afternoon Break in the Exhibit Hall

      • EXH07
      • Mon 01/06, 3:00PM - 3:30PM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
  • Monday Exhibit Hall

      • Monday Exhibit Hall

      • EXH05
      • Mon 01/06, 10:00AM - 4:00PM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
  • Monday Registration

      • Monday Registration

      • REG04
      • Mon 01/06, 7:00AM - 5:00PM

      • Type: Registration
  • NGSS

      • NGSS

      • TD01
      • Sun 01/05, 4:30PM - 5:30PM
      • by Trina Cannon
      • Type: Ckrbrl
      • NGSS-What impact will this have on your school and school curriculum or will it? Share your thoughts and concerns with others who feel the "pain and change".
  • New Technology for Enhancing Research

      • Using Eye Tracking to Explore Expert-Novice Differences

      • ED01
      • Mon 01/06, 7:30PM - 8:00PM
      • by Jose Mestre
      • Type: Invited
      • We describe three experiments that combine behavioral measures with eye-tracking data to explore expert-novices differences. Eye tracking is a technique by which an individual's eye fixations (locations and duration) are recorded while s/he performs a task, and has been commonly used in psychology/psycholinguistics in the past to study reading and other cognitive processes. As per the eye-mind hypothesis, where the eyes go while performing a task is a proxy for what people are attending to; thus one can draw inferences on task performance by combining eye tracking with theoretical models of cognition. Two of the experiments explore the fluidity of experts and novices in using different representations (e.g., text, graphical, symbolic) to portray physics phenomena. The third experiment applies a psychological reading comprehension model to explore whether or not physics novices and experts display deep understanding of problem solutions while reading them. Preliminary data and findings will also be presented.
      • Eye Tracking and Electroencephalography in Psychological Research and Education

      • ED02
      • Mon 01/06, 8:00PM - 8:30PM
      • by Jeffrey Bedwell
      • Type: Invited
      • Technology has provided tools that allow valuable insights into the mechanisms of many psychiatric disorders. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the disorders opens the door to improved treatment and prevention efforts.Two technologies in particular, eye tracking and electroencephalography (EEG), are being used in a current research project funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Specifically, the EEG signal is examined in synchrony with a visual processing task to produce visual-evoked potentials (VEPs), and abnormalities are assessed in relation to particular psychiatric symptoms. A remote eye tracker is used to ensure that the participant is looking at each visual stimulus on a computer monitor and will pause the presentation until the participant looks back at the center of the screen. This work highlights how this technology can be used to improve PER practices.
  • Optics Labs Beyond the First Year

      • Open-ended Laboratory Projects in an Undergraduate Lasers Course

      • BG01
      • Sun 01/05, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Chad Hoyt
      • Type: Invited
      • We describe the format and experience of an undergraduate Lasers course atBethel University. The course, which includes a standard, rigorous lecture portion, is built on open-ended research projects that have a novel aspect. It begins with four weeks of small student groups rotating between several standard laser laboratory exercises such as alignment and characterization of a helium neon laser. During the remainder of the course, student groups (2-4 people) choose and pursue research questions in the lab. Their work culminates in a group manuscript typeset in LaTeX and a 20-minute presentation to the class. Projects in the spring 2013 Lasers course included ultrafast optics with a mode-locked erbium fiber laser, quantum optics, saturated spectroscopy of indium, nano-optics and plasmonics (led by Nathan Lindquist), and improvements to a lithium magneto-optical trap. The experience in Lasers is representative of other upper-level courses at Bethel, including Optics, Fluid Mechanics and Computer Methods.
      • A Collection of Laboratory Projects for Modern Optics and Photonics

      • BG02
      • Sun 01/05, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
      • by A. Mallmann,
      • Type: Contributed
      • I will describe some of the 58 laboratory projects produced for the curriculum development project Optics and Photonics for the 21st Century--An Innovative Interdisciplinary Modular Laboratory Curriculum.* Each module includes a historical note and, if appropriate, biographical sketches; a discussion of practical applications; a discussion of the fundamental physics and mathematics for the projects; a statement of goals for a collection of projects; questions and problems; and a list of references. None of the projects are of the "cookbook" variety, and, except for the first module, for which an optical power meter is used, all the projects can be performed using equipment that is likely to be available in a typical college physics or engineering laboratory.
      • Optics in Advanced Laboratory Experiments

      • BG03
      • Sun 01/05, 5:10PM - 5:20PM
      • by Robert Deserio
      • Type: Contributed
      • We will report on the construction and progress made with two new optics-based experiments for the advanced lab: an optical tweezers and a molecular fluorescence correlation spectrometer. Optical tweezers trap micron-sized particles in suspension using a laser focused through a microscope objective. The scattered light is detected to encode the particle position as it is buffeted by Brownian forces. The position power spectrum is analyzed for the restoring force and damping. In the molecule fluorescence apparatus, a laser is focused through a microscope objective where fluorescing particles are suspended. The fluorescing volume is imaged at high magnification where a pinhole is positioned. Behind the pinhole, enhanced photon rates are observed when as few as one fluorescing molecule traverses the focal volume. The photon stream is analyzed for the focal geometry, the average number of molecules in the volume, and properties associated with diffusion and fluorescence. This work supported by NSF DUE award 1139906.
      • Spy Physics: Using a Laser to "Hear" a Conversation

      • BG04
      • Sun 01/05, 5:20PM - 5:30PM
      • by Timothy Grove
      • Type: Contributed
      • We will present a simply constructed laser experiment for students beyond their first year in physics. The goal of this particular experiment is to not only give students experience with laser interferometry, but to allow students to have greater excitement than they would normally get counting fringes or making precision measurements. Our experiment started when a student asked "Is it true that you could use a laser beam to detect a conversation in an office by its reflection off of a window." To accomplish this task we used a simple Michelson interferometer in which one mirror vibrated in response to a sound source. A speaker connected to a radio inside a small box with a tinted glass window served as a mirror for the laser beam and also represented the office that we were "spying upon." At present time, we have tried the experiment in two different ways--one in which the sound source is directly connected to the mirror (the easy version) and one in which the sound must propagate through air to vibrate the mirror (the harder version). We will demonstrate our results if the audio equipment is willing.
      • Microscopy as a Context for Upper-Division Optics

      • BG05
      • Sun 01/05, 5:30PM - 5:40PM
      • by Dyan Jones
      • Type: Contributed
      • We have undertaken the challenge of creating a novel upper-division coursein optics. This is particularly unique given that we do not have a physics major and therefore must appeal to other natural and life science majors. As such, we have created a course that centers on the principles of microscopy. This talk will describe how we use the construction of a transmitted light microscope to both frame the course and present fundamental optics content. In the first module, students learn about geometric optics while building the condenser system. Next, the students will learn the basics of microscopy by building the image path and bringing the images into a computer with a CMOS camera. In the final stage of the course, students apply their basic microscopy knowledge and further their understanding by building a novel microscope system.
      • Calibration of a Grating Spectrometer and Its Application

      • BG06
      • Sun 01/05, 5:40PM - 5:50PM
      • by Yongkang Le
      • Type: Contributed
      • A thorough calibration of a portable grating spectrometer will be reported. The calibration includes suppression of higher order diffraction, wavelength calibration and intensity calibration. Examples of application: such as measurement of the electron temperature in a glow discharge plasma and test of the Stefan-Boltzmann law, will be presented and discussed in detail.
      • Fiber Optics and the Physics of Medicine

      • BG07
      • Sun 01/05, 5:50PM - 6:00PM
      • by Mary Lowe
      • Type: Contributed
      • We developed two fiber optics modules that employ an active-learning, inquiry-based pedagogy to teach students the physics of fiber optics and its applications in medicine. The first module ("Level 1") is intended for introductory/ intermediate students of physics. The module integrates medical case studies, prediction, hands-on activities, direct instruction and problem solving. Building on basic geometric optics, Level 1 extends student learning in fiber optics to principles of illumination, numerical aperture and coupling, wave guiding, loss, and viewing. The second module ("Level 2") is designed for intermediate/advanced students interested in working with industrial optical fiber, and concentrates on the physics and experimental techniques of coupling laser light into a 200 um fiber. Topics include numerical aperture, coupling, beam waist due to diffraction and spherical aberration, optical alignment techniques, overfilling and underfilling of fibers, skew rays, and loss. Our materials have been classroom-tested, and instructors' guides are available.
  • PER: Investigating Classroom Strategies

      • Implementing, Documenting, and Assessing Evidence-based Physics Instruction*

      • AB01
      • Sun 01/05, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by David Meltzer
      • Type: Contributed
      • For at least 90 years, physics educators have attempted to improve instructional practices through systematic analysis of student-learning data. I will review some of the highlights of these investigations in order to focus on key issues and problems that have surfaced. For example, although some analysis of students' physics ideas had occurred in the 1930s and 1940s, implementation of instructional materials based closely on such research did not take place until the 1970s. I will also address the evolution in diagnostic instruments and offer perspective on issues related to statistical analysis of assessment data, the validity of observational protocols, and trade-offs between practicality and reliability. *Supported in part by NSF DUE #1256333
      • Challenges Faced by Learning Assistants in a Studio Physics Course

      • AB02
      • Sun 01/05, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Joshua Von Korff
      • Type: Contributed
      • Georgia State University's Learning Assistant program recruits undergraduates to assist with instruction in our introductory algebra-based physics courses. Although the Learning Assistant model has been shown to be effective at enhancing student learning, little is known about the obstacles that Learning Assistants face. How do these obstacles evolve over the semester, and how do Learning Assistants deal with them? In order to investigate these questions, we interviewed four learning assistants who were assigned to SCALE-UP studio physics courses. We arranged four interviews with each Learning Assistant and examined all of their weekly essays written for the required science pedagogy course. We analyzed this data using constant comparative analysis, a technique associated with the grounded theory approach to qualitative research. The Learning Assistants described many barriers that they encountered including student disengagement, difficulty finding the right question to ask, and others.
      • Facilitating Discourse in Physics Whiteboard Meetings

      • AB03
      • Sun 01/05, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • 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. However, few teacher-training programs instruct teachers on how to facilitate discourse in the classroom. Developed at Arizona State University, Modeling Instruction[2] emphasizes the role of student discourse in the construction of scientific knowledge by having students participate in large group conversations called whiteboard meetings. However, the novelty of this conversation format can inhibit student participation and make the facilitation of this discourse mode quite challenging. This research is a portion of one high school teacher's self study analyzing his experiences facilitating discourse in his attempt to move students closer to those practices espoused by the NGSS.
      • Video Resource for Professional Development of University Physics Educators

      • AB04
      • Sun 01/05, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Rachel Scherr
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Video Resource for Professional Development of University Physics Educators is being developed to support a wide range of university physics educators (four-year university faculty, two-year-college faculty, graduate teaching assistants, and undergraduate learning assistants) in engaging with key issues in teaching and learning. Based on compelling classroom video of best-practices university physics instruction, the resource is organized into "video workshops" that each introduce a significant topic in the teaching and learning of physics, such as formative assessment or cooperative learning. The topic is introduced through a captioned video episode of introductory physics students in the classroom, chosen to prompt collaborative discussion. Discussion questions prompt participants who view the episode to reflect on their pedagogical beliefs and on their own practice. The Video Resource will provide materials to be incorporated into a variety of professional development situations, including self-organized groups of professors, graduate TA training, LA pedagogy courses, and online professional development communities.
      • A Taxonomy for Identifying Visual Elements of Textbooks

      • AB05
      • Sun 01/05, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Juan Burciaga,
      • Type: Contributed
      • Visual elements are integral components of todays textbooks. The applications for these elements vary from simply breaking up the textual narrative ... to establishing a supplemental or an alternative narrative ... to summarizing or communicating key concepts. To better understand the impact of visual elements in the pedagogical framework of textbooks we have created a taxonomy to identify their roles. The taxonomy is being used to analyze the number and placement of visual elements in both a traditional text and a non-traditional one. The resulting analysis is being used as a basis for designing additional visual elements.
      • Representing Processes of Energy Transfer and Transformation**

      • AB06
      • Sun 01/05, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by Amy Robertson
      • Type: Contributed
      • Energy Tracking Representations [1,2], developed by Seattle Pacific University Energy Project researchers, are designed to track energy as it transfers and transforms in complex, real-world scenarios. Learners represent transfers and transformations by arrows that connect symbols representing forms of energy (e.g., K --> T represents a transformation of kinetic to thermal energy within an object, and K --> K represents a transfer of kinetic energy between two objects). Recent professional development efforts have supported teachers in not only identifying different kinds of transfer and transformation processes, but also in developing models for those processes. In this talk, we offer examples of the models K-12 teachers negotiated for specific transfers and transformations, and describe the effect of the negotiation process on their understanding of energy.
      • Describing Student Participation and Performance in an Introductory Physics MOOC

      • AB07
      • Sun 01/05, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
      • by John Aiken
      • Type: Contributed
      • We describe the results of an introductory physics Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) offered through Coursera during summer and fall 2013. This MOOC, modeled after an on-campus implementation of an introductory mechanic course, engages students in activities involving interactive lectures, homework, exams, forum discussion, and laboratories. Student demographics, participation, and performance on various assessment tools (e.g., the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation) will be presented. Specific challenges in data collection will also be discussed.
      • Peer Evaluations of Video Lab Reports by Introductory Physics Students

      • AB08
      • Sun 01/05, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
      • by Shih-Yin Lin
      • Type: Contributed
      • Assessing student performance becomes challenging when course enrollment becomes very large (~10^5 students). As part of an introductory physics Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) offered by Georgia Institute of Technology, students submit video reports on force and motion labs. Peer evaluation of reports provides the primary method for evaluating student laboratory work. This paper describes the methods developed and used to guide students in evaluating each others' video lab reports when the course is offered in summer 2013 and fall 2013. Results of how students' peer evaluation compares to experts' evaluation will be presented.
      • Implementing PER-based Materials in the Introductory Algebra-based Lecture-supported Mini-studio

      • AB09
      • Sun 01/05, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
      • by Jarrad Pond
      • Type: Contributed
      • We present the impact of incorporating physics education research-based (PER) materials into our lecture-supported mini-studios for introductory algebra-based physics. These courses are being redesigned to provide 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. Previously, worksheet materials for the three-hour lab portion of the mini-studio were mostly in-house designed. We have updated these worksheets with exercises from the Maryland Open Source Tutorials and the Minnesota Context-Rich Problem archive. Our previous results have shown lecture-supported mini-studios to perform similarly to or better than studio-based courses on standard conceptual and attitudinal assessments. We will investigate the sustainability of this trend with our redesigned worksheets, and document our struggles to identify existing PER-based materials for some topics.
      • Project-based and Team-based Learning

      • AB10
      • Sun 01/05, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
      • by Carolann Koleci
      • Type: Contributed
      • Have you ever journeyed to a learning environment in which students take ownership of their learning, one in which students are encouraged to take risks, a learning community in which life skills-sets are sharpened with real-world problem solving? Suppose in such a learning environment, all within the course of one year, introductory applied physics students: plan a manned or unmanned mission to Mars; design and build electromagnetic safe locking mechanisms; address the energy crisis; clean up the environment; design and build a musical instrument; and, create an intricate Rube Goldberg Machine. We invite you to Applied Physics 50*, a team-based and project-based learning community whereby students own their learning.
      • Spontaneous Formation of Learning Communities and its Reflection on Learning

      • AB11
      • Sun 01/05, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
      • by Binod Nainabasti
      • Type: Contributed
      • This study seeks to understand the patterns of formation of spontaneous learning communities outside the classroom from the students of a calculus-based introductory college physics class that is a studio-format course implementing the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE). We build up a network pattern among students from the self-reported data about who works with whom every week during the whole semester. Our study also analyzes the relationship between students' network position or status as they work together in groups outside the classroom, their interactions in the classroom, and their performance on homework and exams.
  • PER: Student Reasoning and Problem Solving

      • Learner Intuitions about Thermal Energy and Dispersal

      • FH01
      • Tue 01/07, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
      • by Abigail Daane
      • Type: Contributed
      • In most energy scenarios, thermal energy is produced and dissipated. For example, when a ball rolls to a stop, kinetic energy transforms into thermal energy that spreads into the environment. The ball's movement is a perceptible indicator of the presence of kinetic energy. The thermal energy, however, is likely to be imperceptible, and as the ball slows, the decrease of a perceptible indicator can seem to suggest a violation of the principle of energy conservation. We present data of teachers-as-learners working to identify evidence of energy which has lost its perceptible indicators. We argue that mechanisms of energy transformation constitute evidence of imperceptible energy for learners.
      • Characterizing Students' Use of Models During Experimentation

      • FH02
      • Tue 01/07, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
      • by Benjamin Zwickl
      • Type: Contributed
      • Models are simplified and abstract representations of real-world phenomenathat are used for creating and communicating scientific explanations. In this study we analyze students' use of models in a 30-minute think-aloud lab activity involving basic electronic and optical components. The framework used for our fine-grained analysis of modeling during experimentation was developed independently in the context of curriculum development for upper-division physics laboratories. We review general patterns in students' use of models, describe our coding scheme, and conclude with a discussion of implications for the design of modeling-focused lab activities and lab-appropriate assessments.
      • Do Visual-Spatial Abilities Impact Student Performance on Wave Tasks?

      • FH03
      • Tue 01/07, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
      • by Alexandra Lau
      • Type: Contributed
      • The wave phenomena typically discussed in introductory physics courses form the foundation for more advanced physics topics such as electrodynamics and quantum mechanics. However, it has been found that many students experience significant difficulties when they attempt to express a distance in terms of the wavelength of a periodic wave. The ability to perform such a basic task correctly is essential for understanding interference and diffraction phenomena. We hypothesized that the poor student performance on this type of task may stem from difficulties with visualizing the situation and reasoning spatially. We administered the Paper Folding Test (PFT) in order to assess students' visual-spatial skills. Then, we probed the relationship between these skills and student performance on tasks in the context of water waves. We have identified consistent and statistically significant differences in PFT scores between students who complete basic wave tasks correctly and those students who do not.
      • Influence of Visual Cueing and Correctness Feedback on Students' Reasoning

      • FH04
      • Tue 01/07, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
      • by Amy Rouinfar
      • Type: Contributed
      • Research has demonstrated that using visual cues to focus students' attention on relevant areas in diagrams and animations can increase comprehension and facilitate problem solving. In this study we investigate the effectiveness of visual cues and correctness feedback in conceptual physics problems containing a diagram with respect to comprehension and transfer of physics concepts. Students (N=90) enrolled in an introductory mechanics course were individually interviewed. During each interview students worked through four sets of problems containing a diagram. Each problem set contained an initial problem, six isomorphic training problems, and a transfer problem. Answers and explanations were given verbally. Students in the cued conditions saw visual cues on the training problems, and those in the feedback conditions were told if their responses were correct or incorrect. We discuss the influence of both cueing and feedback on students' reasoning.
      • The Role of Heuristic-analytic Theory in Probing Student Metacognition*

      • FH05
      • Tue 01/07, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
      • by Mila Kryjevskaia
      • Type: Contributed
      • It is commonly expected that, after instruction, students will consciouslyand systematically construct reasoning chains that start from established scientific principles and lead to well-justified predictions. Poor student performance on exams is often attributed to a lack of understanding or an inability to construct inferential reasoning chains. Psychological research, however, seems to indicate that thinking processes often follow paths that are strikingly different from those outlined above. The extended heuristic-analytic theory of thinking and reasoning suggests that two types of cognitive processes are involved in building inferences: heuristic and analytical. Some researchers argue that metacognition mediates the connection between the two. In this talk, we will illustrate the applicability of this theory to student performance on written questions and describe the theory's relevance to efforts to probe student metacognitive abilities.
      • Supporting Student Metacognition in Introductory Physics

      • FH06
      • Tue 01/07, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
      • by Alistair McInerny
      • Type: Contributed
      • Metacognition, or "thinking about thinking," is known to be central in thepractice of expert learners. Western Washington University introductory physics labs for science and engineering majors incorporate activities designed to encourage the development of metacognitive skills. In weekly writing exercises, students reflect on what they knew before instruction, what they learned during instruction, and how they learned it. Analyses of a large sample of student data has led to insights into how students' reflective writing can be used as a valuable source of data. Data will be presented and implications for both research and instruction will be discussed.
      • Problem Solving Reflection: Homework Versus In-Class Problem Solution

      • FH07
      • Tue 01/07, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Andrew Mason
      • Type: Contributed
      • A preliminary study in a spring 2013 introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS) course focused on a metacognitive activity of reflecting on a chosen homework problem during the initial portion of each lab over the duration of the course, with the assistance of a reflection rubric. Artifact data was gathered from a MPEX pre-post survey, students' reflection attempts and exam solutions, and a post-test reflection survey. Combined data suggested that students were of mixed-to-positive opinion of the metacognitive activity. While students appeared to benefit somewhat, many chose to obviate the exercise a priori by obtaining the correct solution for the homework problem in advance. To explore the robustness of these indications, implementations to the exercise were made to be more ergonomic to the course material and prevent this occurrence. We revisit the preliminary data from last spring in light of the fall semester's progress.
      • Investigating Impacts of Various Types of Equation Sheets on Problem Solving

      • FH08
      • Tue 01/07, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Bijaya Aryal
      • Type: Contributed
      • This presentation reports on a comparative study on students' problem solving performances when they use one of the two most popular open resources: either their own equation sheets or instructor-provided equation sheets. The study was carried out for four semesters in an introductory-level physics course. Student cohorts of previous two semesters were allowed to bring their own equation sheets for their tests whereas the student cohorts of the latter two semesters were provided the instructor prepared equation sheets. The results of the two implementations were compared using students' test scores and scores on various problem-solving categories indicated by a problem-solving rubric. This study revealed a relationship between student performance and the quality of their equations sheets. In addition, we found that use of instructor-prepared equation sheets have more positive influence on student performance as compared to student prepared equation sheets.
  • PER: Topical Understanding and Attitudes

      • Classroom Experiences Associated to Atudents' Disaffection with Physics

      • CG01
      • Mon 01/06, 11:00AM - 11:10AM
      • by Geoff Potvin
      • Type: Contributed
      • Often, research into physics education is focused on seeking out practicesthat improve student outcomes--such as improved conceptual gains, motivation, etc.--in comparison to the status quo of traditional/unreformed practices. Recently, we have instead validated a construct of student "disaffection" to identify practices that are significantly associated to this undesirable, negative student attitude. Using regression analysis on nationally representative college student data, we identify high school physics experiences that are associated to student disaffection including, importantly, having a teacher who relies more regularly on lecturing. There are gender interactions as well, such that women's disaffection is strongly related to their evaluations of their high school physics teachers (lower evaluations are associated to higher disaffection), whereas men show no such relationship.
      • Physics Identity Recognition: Coherence Between Teachers' and Students' Perceptions*

      • CG02
      • Mon 01/06, 11:10AM - 11:20AM
      • by Zahra Hazari
      • Type: Contributed
      • Prior research has emphasized the importance of recognition to physics identity development. In this study, we examine the coherence between students' perceptions of their physics teacher recognizing them and the beliefs of physics teachers with regards to students. We draw on data from four case studies of physics teachers and their classes. Our quantitative analysis revealed that one of the teachers, Dr. D, had a different coherence pattern. His students also perceived greater recognition and identified more as being a "physics person" than the students of the other teachers. Focusing in on a student with the lowest coherence, Kristina, we examine the ways in which Dr. D's actions served to help her feel recognized -- actions that superseded his beliefs about her. Our results indicate that despite his beliefs (about her and his other students on average), his actions facilitated students seeing themselves in positive ways with respect to physics.
      • Understanding the Relationship Between Physics Identity and Interdisciplinarity

      • CG03
      • Mon 01/06, 11:20AM - 11:30AM
      • by Tyler Scott
      • Type: Contributed
      • Much recent work in physics education research has focused on identity. Since physics identity is related to physics career choice and persistence, it is valuable to understand what helps students develop a physics identity and what other attitudes are related to physics identity. Recent work suggests characteristics of interdisciplinary thinking are related to having a higher physics identity. However, the nature of this connection is still unexplained. This qualitative study examines students' interdisciplinary actions and beliefs, particularly with respect to their physics classes, as well as their physics identity. Through analysis of interviews and classroom observations, we seek to explain how these actions and beliefs may be related to students' physics identity, i.e. the possible mechanisms by which one may influence the other and how such mechanisms are activated.
      • Investigating Physics and Engineering Students' Understanding of op-amp Circuits*

      • CG04
      • Mon 01/06, 11:30AM - 11:40AM
      • by MacKenzie Stetzer
      • Type: Contributed
      • As part of a new effort at the University of Maine 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 electric circuits and electronics. A major goal of this work at the physics-engineering interface is to probe the extent to which the nature of student understanding (including the prevalence of specific difficulties) depends upon the disciplinary context. In this talk, I will focus on our efforts to probe student understanding of basic operational-amplifier circuits using free-response questions. Preliminary results from questions administered in both physics and engineering courses will be presented. *This work has been supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. DUE-1323426, DUE-1022449, and DUE-0962805.
      • Probing College Student Ideas about Buoyancy and Pressure

      • CG05
      • Mon 01/06, 11:40AM - 11:50AM
      • by DJ Wagner
      • Type: Contributed
      • Numerous studies have identified student conceptions about buoyancy, but most of those studies involved children younger than 15 years old. As part of developing a standardized static fluids assessment, our research group is seeking to identify which of those conceptions persist into late high school and college. This fall, we used a Likert-style approach to our assessment, asking students to agree or disagree with individual statements (rather than choose from multiple options for a single physical situation). We also videotaped volunteers taking this assessment. This talk will report on some of our preliminary findings.
  • Partnerships between Two-Year and Four-Year Schools

      • Inquiry Lab Modules : Research-like Labs in a Community College

      • EB01
      • Mon 01/06, 7:30PM - 8:00PM
      • by Chitra Solomonson
      • Type: Invited
      • Partnerships between two-year and four-year colleges can be a win-win for both schools. This talk will describe one such partnership between Green River Community College and the University of Washington. The partnership exists at many levels -- the speaker, a two-year college instructor, works in a research lab at the University of Washington during the summer where she learns to fabricate and characterize organic solar cells. She uses this to create a research-like lab for her students in the calculus-based physics class at the two-year college. The talk will detail why the partnership works, the benefits for both institutions, as well as some of the hurdles that arise in building and sustaining the partnership. Ideas for similar partnerships will be discussed.
      • AACCESS: A Partnership to Recruit Students to Major in Physics and Chemistry

      • EB02
      • Mon 01/06, 8:00PM - 8:10PM
      • by Ramon Lopez
      • Type: Contributed
      • The Arlington Academy for Community College Exceptional Students in Science (AACCESS) is a partnership between the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and Tarrant Community College District (TCCD) that is funded by the National Science Foundation under its S-STEM program. AACCESS recruits talented students from TCCD who then transfer to UTA to major in physics or chemistry. AACCESS students receive a $10,000/yr scholarship, the opportunity to engage in research with UTA faculty, and academic support and mentoring. In this presentation, we will describe the partnership between TCCD and UTA, how students are selected and mentored, and how an AACCESS community of students has been created. The program is now entering its fifth year, so we have data that allows us to judge the effectiveness of the program. We will demonstrate that retention and graduation rates for AACCESS students are much higher than in the College of Science as a whole. Finally, we will share a variety of "lessons learned" that might prove useful to others contemplating similar projects.
      • Transfering from Red Rocks to Mines

      • EB03
      • Mon 01/06, 8:10PM - 8:20PM
      • by Todd Ruskell
      • Type: Contributed
      • Red Rocks Community College (RRCC) and Colorado School of Mines (CSM) havebenefited from a formal transfer agreement for about 15 years.  Roughly 30% of all students transferring to CSM originate at RRCC. We will discuss the steps we take to maintain the agreement, which include faculty-to-faculty meetings and recruiting events attended by CSM staff and faculty at RRCC. This agreement results in a nearly seamless student transition from RRCC to CSM, regardless of when students transfer. The agreement ensures a large enrollment in physics courses at RRCC, to the point that RRCC should be able to add a modern physics course to their offerings in the near future. And CSM is ensured that transfer students have a solid math and science background, including their understanding of physics.
  • Physics & Society Topical Discussion

      • Physics & Society Topical Discussion

      • TD02
      • Sun 01/05, 6:00PM - 7:30PM
      • by Stan Micklavzina
      • Type: Ckrbrl
      • Join your colleagues to discuss how AAPT members can contribute and coordinate efforts to teaching physics related societal issues such as science literacy, energy use and production, pseudoscience, and other topics bound to raise interesting conversations in the classroom, public venues, and even the dinner table with friends and relatives!
  • Physics and Society

      • WI Make Sustainability: Project-oriented Physics Sustainability Education

      • CA01
      • Mon 01/06, 11:00AM - 11:10AM
      • by Duncan Carlsmith
      • Type: Contributed
      • Creating solutions to the sustainability challenges of the future will require integrated teams and a comprehensive approach that address coupled sustainability problems such as water, finance, energy, health, food and community. Addressing these challenges in practice will require an educated workforce that has been trained to consider sustainability broadly. The University of Wisconsin/Madison is embarking on an ambitious plan to integrate and enhance research and education thrusts in sustainability science and practice across all parts of campus. WI Make Sustainability, an interdisciplinary project-oriented class using an open lab Physics Garage (www.physics.wisc.edu/garage), will be described.
      • Teaching Physics Using a Public Policy Framework

      • CA02
      • Mon 01/06, 11:10AM - 11:20AM
      • by Jennifer Perrella
      • Type: Contributed
      • Incorporating topics of interest to the general public into a physics course can be a daunting challenge. Yet doing so successfully can not only increase understanding of physics concepts as they apply in everyday life, but also can serve as a way to engage students who historically struggle in STEM classes. With the nationwide shift to Common Core standards and a resulting emphasis on literacy and critical thinking in all disciplines, public policy issues act as a structure upon which to build a physics class that incorporates these changes. A variety of performance tasks centered on policy issues such as helmet laws, wind turbine designs, and radio frequency identification can be used to assess student understanding of both the concepts and calculations of a physics course. This approach also aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards.
      • Net-Zero Energy Houses Revisited

      • CA03
      • Mon 01/06, 11:20AM - 11:30AM
      • by Celia Chow
      • Type: Contributed
      • Carefully considering all natural resources and elements, we can build net-zero energy houses at any location. Canadians did build the net-zero energy houses at their cold locations. We can learn and build them too. Why should we, modern people, waste so much energy in our life-time?
      • Physics of the Desert: Evaporation Gone Wild

      • CA04
      • Mon 01/06, 11:30AM - 11:40AM
      • by Eric Hagedorn
      • Type: Contributed
      • Living in the Chihuahuan Desert (in El Paso, TX) includes daily reminders of the effects of the enhanced evaporation rates of the high desert. Getting out of the pool when it is over 100°F (38°C) and shivering because the water is evaporating so quickly, using water evaporative coolers to cool one's home, plant leaves designed to minimize evaporation; these are all daily experiences that one can use to connect with the general public. Sharing these experiences can then be a segue to the underlying physical principles and an opportunity to discuss water conservation. A hands-on/minds-on activity with desert canteens allows even children to measure the temperature difference between a moistened cloth covered canteen and a dry one (at least 18°C difference). Activities such as these are an effective means of connecting physics educators with local environmental and resource conservation groups, expanding the breadth of our academic department's outreach efforts.
      • Solar Cookers, a Multiple-topic Apparatus for Lifelong Learning

      • CA05
      • Mon 01/06, 11:40AM - 11:50AM
      • by Shawn Reeves
      • Type: Contributed
      • We will discuss building and using solar cookers during a physics course to explore radiation, temperature, convection, energy, reflection, selective materials and other topics in physics and engineering. Students from 10 up have shown special interest in the physical concepts when couched in a discussion of cooking, something everyone appreciates. Food- and cooking-proof probes help students analyze processes, and misconceptions concerning sunlight and insulation may be addressed.
  • Physics for Non-Scientists

      • Developing General Scientific Literacy in Liberal Arts Students

      • FF01
      • Tue 01/07, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Karen Cummings
      • Type: Invited
      • We have developed and assessed a new introductory physics course for liberal arts students in which improving students' scientific literacy and attitudes toward science are the primary and explicit goals. At Southern Connecticut State University this course is a relatively large enrollment course with a laboratory component. The weekly laboratory activities include materials specifically developed for the course under an NSF CCLI (TUES) grant. These activities provide students direct experience with science as a process and routinely engage them in evidence based reasoning and model building. In this talk we will discuss our specific goals for the course and the materials developed. We will also present assessment data collected at Southern Connecticut State University including the initial and final states of our students' attitudes and beliefs about science and their scientific reasoning ability as measured with the Lawson test.
      • Physics for Non-Scientists Does Not Mean "Physics Light"

      • FF02
      • Tue 01/07, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Scott Calvin
      • Type: Invited
      • At Sarah Lawrence College, there are no formal majors, so there is not a sharp distinction between classes for scientists and those for non-scientists. This has led to the creation of a new type of class: the "open" course, meant to appeal both to students with considerable scientific experience and those with none. In order to do this, the subject matter must be orthogonal to the standard physics curriculum, and students need to be asked to draw on skills from a variety of disciplines. This talk will describe both the general philosophy used in designing these courses, and three specific courses of this type: Crazy Ideas in Physics, Rocket Science, and Steampunk Physics. While the curricular structure at Sarah Lawrence is unusual, it is hoped that insights gained from these courses can contribute to rethinking and reinvigorating general education courses at other institutions.
      • Bridge Building to Non-Science Majors and Helping Them Cross

      • FF03
      • Tue 01/07, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
      • by Jaime Demick
      • Type: Contributed
      • Non-science students are the future industrial, business, political and social leaders of the global society. The future of scientific research depends on the willingness of these leaders to support it. Therefore, it is imperative to successfully instill basic scientific knowledge in these students and to cultivate a positive attitude of respect and understanding, which they will carry forward into their respective career fields. The author has developed an undergraduate physical science course that attempts to engage students by making science relevant to their personal and professional lives. This is accomplished by 1. Investigating scientific history and progress and the social, political, and economic factors influencing them, 2. Examining the mathematics and principles involved in areas of science that students already encounter in their daily lives, and 3. Facilitating the self-discovery of the relevance of science to their fields through a series of short written assignments pertaining to climate change.
      • Development of a Blended Physical Science Course

      • FF04
      • Tue 01/07, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
      • by Sytil Murphy
      • Type: Contributed
      • A blended course combines both traditional and online course content. In summer 2013, a blended physical science course for non-science majors was developed. A majority of the lecture portion of the course was online while the laboratory portion remained traditional. The blended course was implemented during a summer session concurrent with course development. In this talk, the course, the materials developed, the data obtained after their implementation, and the subsequent refinements to the course will be discussed.
  • Physics for the Life and Health Sciences

      • The Challenges and Rewards of Teaching Physics for Biology and Medicine

      • DE01
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
      • by Jack Tuszynski
      • Type: Invited
      • I made a transition from condensed matter physics to biophysics following my sabbatical year in Europe in 1993/4. Since that time I made efforts to build a research program in biophysics and in computational biology. My efforts to teach physics for biology and medicine resulted in a textbook but the experience of teaching this course was less than satisfying. Subsequently, I published graduate-level textbooks in biophysics and taught biophysics to a class of physicists and various blocks and invited classes in various departments including Oncology and biochemistry. I also mentored medical students in the Discovery Learning blocks covering almost all areas of medicine and tried to introduce physical thinking whenever possible. I will describe this experience and my conclusions about where the greatest challenges and potential rewards lie in trying to educate life sciences students in quantitative subjects such as physics and biophysics.
      • Adventures in Bioelectricity

      • DE02
      • Mon 01/06, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by Francis Hart
      • Type: Invited
      • All objects have material properties, such as conductivity and permittivity. All objects also respond in some way to applied electric fields. Living systems are no different in these respects from any other material system. I will present three examples of bioelectric processes and their applications. The first two examples concern responses to applied electric fields. Galvanotaxis is the movement of cells under the application of a weak dc field. It presents a simple experimental system to investigate how cells detect the presence of an applied field. Electroporation is a clinical technique in which very strong electric fields are applied for very short times to cancerous tissue shortly after the administration of a cancer drug. The strong fields open pores in the cell membranes so that the drugs enter the cells more readily. The third example involves measuring the increase with time of skin's inter-electrode capacitance to determine its viscoelastic properties.
      • The X-Laboratory: A Freshman Laboratory Integrating Biology, Chemistry, and Physics

      • DE03
      • Mon 01/06, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by David Julian
      • Type: Invited
      • The Cross-Disciplinary Laboratory (X-Lab), part of the UF-HHMI Science forLife Program, has three main goals: increase STEM retention by helping students develop a synthetic, cross-disciplinary approach to understanding the natural sciences; engage students in inquiry-based experiments that model modern, authentic research; and train students in the key theoretical and practical skills necessary to participate meaningfully in modern biomedical research as undergraduates. The two-semester, six-credit course is targeted to STEM undergraduates as an alternative to traditional laboratory courses in general biology, general chemistry and physics. All laboratory activities and experiments merge key concepts from at least two of the traditional disciplines while emphasizing critical thinking, formulating and testing hypotheses, quantitative and analytical reasoning, and communicating results. The courses meet the traditional laboratory course requirements for all UF undergraduate STEM majors and the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine. More information, including learning outcomes and skills, is at x-laboratory.org.
      • A Virtual Optics Lab for Pre-health Students Using Interactive Screen Captures

      • DE04
      • Mon 01/06, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
      • by Ralf Widenhorn,
      • Type: Contributed
      • We present a lab exercise based on interactive screen experiments (ISEs) teaching geometrical optics and the functioning of the human eye. The ISEs use a large number of screen captures of an actual lab experiment and allows students to manipulate the experimental setup online using a computer. The online lab was given to students at University of Duisburg-Essen, Heinrich-Heine-University of Duesseldorf, Germany, and at Portland State University (PSU) in the U.S. The participants at the Germany universities took an introductory physics course as medical students, while the students at PSU were pre-health majors. We will present pre- and post-test data as well as demographic data and assessment of student attitudes toward the learning environment. We found significant learning gains and a positive response by students in Germany and the U.S. even though the educational systems and background differ significantly. The lab can be used instead of an in-class lab or as a supplement or homework assignment for pre-health students taking an introductory physics course.
      • Student Inquiry in Life Science Homework Problem Solving

      • DE05
      • Mon 01/06, 5:10PM - 5:20PM
      • by Nancy Beverly
      • Type: Contributed
      • Inquiry-based, real world homework problems for a first semester algebra-based physics course for life/health science students were formulated and answered by the students themselves. The standard end-of-chapter word problems typically give all the values of the unknowns and students often see this as having to determine what equation to use to plug the values into. But students will not use this kind of problem solving outside of physics class. An alternative is presented where students considered or created scenarios in which they raised their own questions of interest about a measurable quantity within the confines of a topic, determined a strategy for finding an answer, determined what information was needed for this strategy, found the needed information either by measurement, estimation or from the web and then calculated an answer to their question.
      • The Surprising Statistics of Birth Control: Thermodynamics for Health Science

      • DE06
      • Mon 01/06, 5:20PM - 5:30PM
      • by Michael Daugherity
      • Type: Contributed
      • Health Science students often see physics at best as an obstacle to overcome, and at worst as a waste of their time. However, by making physics interesting and relevant it is possible to motivate these students to cultivate a curiosity about the world which can last a lifetime. My algebra-based physics courses for pre-health majors have often struggled in the thermodynamics and statistical mechanics units. This talk will focus on two specific approaches that I have found to be effective. First, probability lies at the heart of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, but it is difficult to address the many common misconceptions such as the classic Gambler's Fallacy. A simple exercise in calculating probabilities associated with contraception provides a surprising illustration for students. Second, investing in discussing philosophical ideas such as the arrow of time helps to spark student interest.
  • Post Deadline Papers

      • Conceptual Understanding of First Order RC-filters

      • HA01
      • Tue 01/07, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
      • by Pieter Coppens
      • Type: Contributed
      • In a series of interviews conducted earlier [1], several engineering students showed problems with a basic electronic circuit, a passive RC-filter. To verify how widespread these problems are, a series of conceptual questions was developed and administered to a total of 181 students of four Belgian university colleges, both before and after laboratory instruction on the subject. This revealed several issues that persist even after instruction, including problems with voltage divider, Bode plots and current-based reasoning. A detailed analysis with student answer examples will be presented.
      • Evaluation of the NGSS' Support of Large-scale Assessment

      • HA02
      • Tue 01/07, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
      • by Thomas Regan
      • Type: Contributed
      • To evaluate the Next Generation Science Standards' (NGSS) support of a large-scale assessment system, I attempted to write items to the performance expectations (PEs) of Topic HS-PS2, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions. As background, the perspective of a large-scale assessment vendor/item writer on standards documents is described. Then, each of the PEs is carefully considered with respect to the guidance given to the item writer. Some difficulties encountered are: insufficiently characterized content and contexts, narrow student tasks, and questionable applications of inquiry activities. In addition, some language presents an inaccurate picture of what scientists do. Specific instances of these difficulties are presented. I conclude that these performance expectations, as written, require too much interpretation by the item writer to support a transparent large-scale assessment system. I will suggest improvements, noting also existing features of the NGSS that are conducive to transparent assessment.
      • Surveying Students' Understanding of Measurement Uncertainty and Proportional Reasoning

      • HA03
      • Tue 01/07, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
      • by Jeffrey Marx
      • Type: Contributed
      • As part of our NSF-supported curricular development efforts to create course materials to enhance the scientific literacy of undergraduate non-science majors, we are developing a survey instrument to probe this population's understanding of measurement uncertainty and proportional reasoning ability. By employing 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 those principles.
      • University Students' Reasoning of Transients in Electric Current Through a Conductor Wire

      • HA04
      • Tue 01/07, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
      • by Ane Leniz
      • Type: Contributed
      • Models have been proposed for teaching DC circuits (Chabay & Sherwood). Those models aim to encourage students to articulate macroscopic and microscopic levels of description and understand the physical processes underlying the steady state laws (Kirchhoff laws). The development and implementation of these teaching models, which are more detailed and explicit than often made explicit in the introductory textbooks to electricity, raise new questions about the structure of students' reasoning and understanding of transient states of the electric current. In this paper we present a study of reasoning of first-year engineering students on transient states of electric current at a phenomenological level (macroscopic) and at a microscopic level the mechanisms underlying the flow of electrons.
      • Technology Enhanced Teaching

      • HA06
      • Tue 01/07, 3:50PM - 4:00PM
      • by Shannon Feineis
      • Type: Contributed
      • Technology has enhanced how I use videos in my high school physics classes. I use Paul Hewitt's video series for introducing new topics to my students. I also use YouTube to show relevant video clips for demonstrations during my class discussions. My students find video clips related to class and they post them to my class website. I post Kahn Academy links to my website for students to use as review or if they have to miss a class. We use video analysis in class along with Vernier Logger Pro to take data and make graphs. I post video clips from labs or demos or from YouTube if students miss lab or demos so they can watch them at home. Videos have helped enhance my students learning while keeping them engaged.
  • Post Deadline Papers II

      • Exploring the Relationship between Elastic Potential Energy and Restorative Forces Using Springs

      • HD02
      • Tue 01/07, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
      • by Sairam Tangirala
      • Type: Contributed
      • In this undergraduate course embedded project, PHYS 2211K (calculus-based,studio-style Introductory Physics class) instructors designed an activity aimed at providing an intuitive understanding of the harmonic nature of elastic potential energy. The relationship between the elastic potential energy and work done by an elastic restorative force was studied using experimentally obtained data. The data plots obtained from the experiment were used by the students to interpret and understand the work-energy theorem for spring systems. As an extension, we plan to model a polymer as a chain of repetitive monomers (beads) connected via elastic flexible bonds (springs). To achieve this, we plan to employ the Hooke's law and other non-symmetric potentials to explore and interpret the relationship between derivatives and integrals.
      • Monitoring Variable Stars with a DSLR Camera

      • HD03
      • Tue 01/07, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
      • by Todd Brown
      • Type: Contributed
      • Contributions to active astronomy research are not completely confined to large institutions or groups with an array of expensive telescopes and CCD accessories. A standard digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera and tripod combined with freeware from the web is all that is required to collect, analyze and submit contributing data on bright variable stars. This presentation will center around the advantages and pitfalls of using the IRIS software package supplied by the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) to observe the well-known eclipsing binary Persei (Algol).
      • Project and Problem Based Pedagogy at Spelman College

      • HD04
      • Tue 01/07, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
      • by Sharah Yasharahla
      • Type: Contributed
      • Eight years ago the Spelman College Physics department decided to embarkon a journey of project and problem based learning. We wanted to increase student learning outcomes based on evidence from PER. Our implementation took the form of students investigating real phenomena, open-ended problems and design challenges. Students were assessed using pre- and post-tests and some of the laboratories were assessed via videos. Although we are in the process of working out specific conclusions from the assessment data, we want to report on our general observations and important results that seem to be emerging from the data. We have possibly seen some progress on motivation, engagement, data analysis skills, process skills, and collaboration skills, while being able to cover the same material and sometimes more. Some problems are training adjunct faculty, managing the classrooms, creating projects and problems, student assessments, creating strategies for effective group work outside of class. We are convinced that there is merit in this approach and we encourage the physics education community to enhance research on the implementation, such as dealing with dysfunctional groups and defining types of relevant data.
  • Pre-College PER

      • Assessing Whether and How Professional Development Affects Teachers’ Classroom Practices

      • BB01
      • Sun 01/05, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Andrew Elby
      • Type: Invited
      • PER-informed professional development with practicing teachers often focuses on deepening content knowledge and/or introducing specific curricula and pedagogical techniques [1,2]. By contrast, other professional development for practicing teachers focuses less on content and more on helping teachers rethink what counts as learning and teaching physics (or science) [3]. Assessing such projects is tricky; it’s hard to determine whether and how the professional development affects teachers’ classroom practices. Observation rubrics like RTOP [4] can detect changes toward more student-centered instruction but are not designed to assess the quality of classroom discourse in a nuanced way. In this talk, we discuss our halting first efforts to trace the effects of specific aspects of teachers’ experiences in our professional development program to changes in their classroom practices. Our big generalization is that generalizations are misleading; we observed large variations in what teachers took away from our program and how it affected their teaching.
      • The Enactment of Content Knowledge for Teaching Energy During Instruction

      • BB02
      • Sun 01/05, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by Robert Zisk
      • Type: Invited
      • Content knowledge for teaching (CKT) is a practice-based theory of the professional knowledge that a person needs in order to be able to effectively teach a subject (Ball, Thames and Phelps, 2008). Originally conceptualized in the subject of mathematics, our work is centered on CKT for physics, specifically in the area of energy. In developing the framework for CKT for teaching energy, we have identified the aspects and tasks of teaching physics, and more specifically, of teaching energy, that are needed for effective instruction. This talk will discuss the development of the tasks of teaching and demonstrate how these tasks are enacted in the classroom during instruction using video collected from a group of teachers during the teaching of energy.
      • Misconceptions in Wave Propagation and the Principle of Superposition: A Short Study of High School Level Understanding

      • BB03
      • Sun 01/05, 5:30PM - 5:40PM
      • by Layla Quinones
      • Type: Contributed
      • This study evaluates and analyzes misconceptions that high school studentshave regarding wave propagation, transmission. and the principle of superposition.Two groups of students in an inner-city high school were given surveys that sought to identify common misconceptions in wave-physics: a group of juniors who were learning about waves at the time the surveys were given, and a group of seniors who had previous instruction in introductory physics. Surveys consisted of open-response questions that presented basic concepts in wave propagation and superposition for both mechanical and sound waves. Results show that the most common misconceptions for both groups are in the transmission and superposition of waves. Misconceptions where characterized using the wave and object-like models described in the literature.(1)
      • Pre-high School Students' Understandings and Representations of Electric Field

      • BB04
      • Sun 01/05, 5:40PM - 5:50PM
      • by Ying Cao
      • Type: Contributed
      • This study investigated Chinese pre-high school students' (aged 15-16) understanding and representations of electric field when they were engaged in informal tasks as a group in class, playing a web-based electric hockey game and drawing comic strips about charged bodies as characters. The literature has reported high school and college students' performance after instruction by having them do textbook style questionnaires and have primarily focused on students' learning difficulties. This study focused on students' understanding prior to formal instruction and emphasized their strengths rather than weaknesses. I conducted post-class face-to-face interviews with three students, during which they were asked to explain their work in more detail. The results show that even before any formal instruction, pre-high school students possess rich ideas of electric field, and are able to produce representations that express features of electric field.
      • Characterizing Student-Educator Interactions in an After-School Physics Program

      • BB05
      • Sun 01/05, 5:50PM - 6:00PM
      • by Peter Madigan*
      • Type: Contributed
      • In order to study how undergraduate and graduate physics students approachteaching in an informal setting, we analyze their student-educator interactions as volunteers in an after-school physics program for children in grades K-8. We have collected in situ video footage of several university volunteers using hands-on, inquiry-based activities with students throughout the semester. Through qualitative analysis of the university educators' communication and children's affective response during these interactions, we are able to classify and compare different educators' approaches to teaching and learning. Additionally, we start to examine children's learning outcomes with these varied approaches through interviews with children and analysis of their science notebooks.
  • Qualitative and Ethnographic Methods in PER

      • Selecting and Analyzing Mountains of Data: Creating Ethnographies

      • BH01
      • Sun 01/05, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Idaykis Rodriguez
      • Type: Invited
      • Ethnographies may sometimes be viewed as a catch-all qualitative research method, but there is more to ethnographies than just collecting all types of data. Between participant observations, interviews, document analysis, and fieldwork it can be daunting to sort through all the data. This talk discusses how researchers organize, select, and analyze the multiple forms of data in an ethnographic study to tell a story about a group's culture. Within the specific example of an ethnography of a physics research group, I will present field notes of participant observation, interviews with group members, video recording of research meetings, and final group documents to understand graduate student development of writing scientific papers.
      • We Know It When We See It: Thinking Like Physicists

      • BH02
      • Sun 01/05, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by Eleanor Sayre
      • Type: Invited
      • A major goal of undergraduate education in physics is fostering "thinking like a physicist" (TLP) among physics students. This is an elusive goal because we're not really sure what TLP entails, but we know it when we see it. As a goal, it combines both technical content about physical systems with cultural ideas and values about physics as a field. In this talk, I discuss efforts to operationalize TLP using video-based observations of physics students and practicing physicists. I present some discourse markers for identifying when students are more likely to be physicist-like, and suggest strategies for both researchers and classroom teachers to promote TLP.
      • Epistemological and Methodological Consistency in Qualitative Research

      • BH03
      • Sun 01/05, 5:30PM - 6:00PM
      • by Mirka Koro-Ljungberg
      • Type: Invited
      • Qualitative research design can be viewed as epistemologically interconnected unit of theoretical perspective, research questions, and research methods. The articulation of one's epistemological and methodological connections is an important goal for qualitative researchers and this practice can work against perceptions of qualitative research as random, unintentionally intuitive, or nonsystematic. In this presentation I draw examples from the articles published in the Journal of Engineering Education to discuss the extent to which these articles appear epistemologically and methodologically consistent with the goals of qualitative inquiry. Based on my review of the articles, only very few demonstrated consistency. This lack of consistency may limit the rich, descriptive, and culturally important information that could be gained from qualitative inquiry. I call on researchers to expand their knowledge and use of qualitative methods and I encourage scholars to design studies with careful attention to the questions of knowledge and methods.
  • Recruiting and Retaining Physics Students

      • The Next Steps in Developing Inclusive Physics Departments

      • BC01
      • Sun 01/05, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Juan Burciaga
      • Type: Invited
      • Many departments operate under the assumptions that the key to developing inclusive departments is to focus on strategic recruiting. That somehow getting students from under-represented groups to enter the department was by itself a sufficient development to catalyze wide-spread change. But recruiting is just one step, and may not even be the first step, in developing a department that is diverse ... inclusive ... and excellent. But what are the steps that will allow a department to keep momentum moving toward a diverse, inclusive and engaged community of students and faculty? And how does such a community help promote and develop an atmosphere of excellence in the students? ...in the faculty? ... and in the department?
      • Establishing a Path to Mathematization for All Introductory Physics Students

      • BC02
      • Sun 01/05, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by Suzanne Brahmia
      • Type: Invited
      • Sensemaking in physics involves translating non-mathematical understandinginto conceptualized mathematics, and formal mathematical statements into narrative explanations. These processes, referred to as mathematization, have been studied in mid- to upper-level undergraduate physics courses (1,2). Successful students actively generate mathematical relationships to describe physical situations. This understanding becomes integral to their physics knowledge. As part of a collaboration between Rutgers, WWU and NMSU, we target the much larger population of high school and college students in introductory physics, developing curricular materials and methods in which students generate mathematically sensible explanations. We're also developing assessments of mathematical reasoning that is expected in a physics course. Unlike the successful upper-level students, these students tend to view math in physics as a process of memorizing and mastering algorithms. Socioeconomically disadvantaged school districts often have weak mathematics programs in the middle and secondary levels, so our findings may be particularly beneficial for these students.
      • Facilitating Undergraduate Community at Florida International University

      • BC03
      • Sun 01/05, 5:30PM - 6:00PM
      • by Laird Kramer
      • Type: Invited
      • Florida International University's (FIU's) Physics Department has transformed its undergraduate program over the past 13 years, leading to a 2,300% increase in the number of intended and declared majors as well as a 900% increase in the number of graduates (comparing current three-year averages to the early 1990s). FIU's undergraduate enrollment increased by 104% in the same period. To achieve these results, the department has taken a systematic approach to reforming the undergraduate experience, targeting introductory course transformations, revising the undergraduate degree programs (including a new teacher preparation program), promoting strong advising within the department, engaging local high school teachers, and establishing a major Physics Education Research Group. FIU, as a minority-serving institution in South Florida, serves as a unique laboratory to investigate how to effectively support success of historically underrepresented groups including women. An overview of the critical community elements will be presented.
  • Recruiting and Retaining Physics Students II

      • Increasing Physics Enrollments by Targeting Underrepresented Minorities

      • CC01
      • Mon 01/06, 11:00AM - 11:30AM
      • by Jesus Pando
      • Type: Invited
      • Underrepresented minorities (URM) such as African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans collectively accounted for less then 10% of physics bachelor's degrees in 2010 (NSF data). These groups comprised 32% of the population in 2010 and predictions indicate that this percentage will increase. There appears to be an untapped pool of students among these groups from which to recruit into physics programs. Yet despite repeated efforts over the last 20 years, the percentage of URM students in physics is little changed. This talk will outline some of the reasons why previous efforts have failed by identifying in broad terms, some of the characteristics of URM students that these programs have not addressed. Examples of programs that have addressed some of the unique issues the URM students bring to the table and hence, successfully attracted URM students, will be discussed.
      • Step Up to Physical Science and Engineering at Randolph (SUPER)

      • CC02
      • Mon 01/06, 11:30AM - 11:40AM
      • by Peter Sheldon
      • Type: Contributed
      • With the help of a National Science Foundation S-STEM grant, we have instituted a recruitment and retention plan to increase the number of physical science majors at Randolph College (total 600 students). While the grant provides scholarships to two cohorts of 12 students, our goal is to recruit 24 students each year into the physical sciences, and to retain them at a higher rate than the college as a whole. For three years prior to receiving the grant, we instituted some parts of the program, and we currently have four senior physics majors, nine juniors, and eleven sophomores, compared to our historical average of 2.7 physics majors/year. As well as an active recruitment program, we have a summer transition program, an industry mentor program, enhanced tutoring, a first-year seminar, and many start research early. In this presentation, I will elaborate on these programs, and discuss how we got it done.
      • Designing a Physics Major at an All-Women's College

      • CC03
      • Mon 01/06, 11:40AM - 11:50AM
      • by Jolene Johnson
      • Type: Contributed
      • St. Catherine University is a small women's liberal arts college in the upper Midwest. We have not a physics major in the past for a variety of reasons, but are considering adding a physics major. Our physics program will incorporate some traditional classes taught in innovative ways along with a large number of non-traditional innovative classes that are project based and designed to increase student retention and prepare them for future education or jobs. A few classes we are exploring include a robotics class, a study abroad service learning engineering project and biophysics. In this talk we will outline our proposed major and the research we have conducted to design our major. It is our hope that this major will increase the number of women expressing an interest in majoring in physics and retention of these students.
      • Authentic Research in the Undergraduate Curriculum at Austin College

      • CC04
      • Mon 01/06, 11:50AM - 12:00PM
      • 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.
  • Report of the Undergraduate Curriculum Task Force

      • Report of the Undergraduate Curriculum Task Force

      • AC
      • Sun 01/05, 2:00PM - 4:00PM
      • by Jerry Feldman
      • Type: Panel
      • The AAPT Undergraduate Curriculum Task Force (UCTF) is charged with: (1) developing specific recommendations for coherent and relevant undergraduate curricula (including course work, undergraduate research, mentoring, etc.) for different types of physics majors and (2) developing recommendations for the implementation and assessment of such curricula. The work of the UCTF over the past year will be discussed and plans for the coming year will be presented.
  • Report on the Graduate Education in Physics Conference

      • Report on the Graduate Education in Physics Conference

      • DC
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 5:30PM
      • by Juan Burciaga
      • Type: Panel
      • Highlights From the 2nd Conference on Graduate Education in Physics

      • DC01
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 5:30PM
      • by Renee Diehl
      • Type: Panel
      • The Second Conference on Graduate Education in Physics was held in January2013 with more than 100 participants from 74 different institutions. The conference aimed at fostering innovation and creativity in our approach to graduate education in physics, which for many departments is a rather new concept. However, the fact that the majority of physics PhDs ultimately find permanent employment outside academia, and the changing demands on academic physicists, have led many departments to review their programs and procedures. Presentations and discussions at the conference included the increasing attention being paid to broader and more flexible graduate curricula, forming industrial partnerships, strategies to increase diversity, professional skills training for graduate students and postdocs, improving mentoring practices and instituting family-friendly policies for graduate students. The participants in this conference included diverse group faculty from large and small departments, staff from industry and national labs, and graduate students and postdocs.
      • Preparing Graduate Students for Non-Academic Careers

      • DC02
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 5:30PM
      • by Lawrence Woolf
      • Type: Panel
      • One of the primary topics discussed at the conference concerned career development, since most graduate students will not have the academic careers of their advisors. Goals included reviewing the primary functions of physicists in industry, evaluating how students are currently prepared for these careers, and identifying how to fill gaps in preparation. A number of nonacademic physicists provided insight into meeting these goals. Most physics graduate programs in general do not purposely prepare students for a nonacademic career. Strategies for overcoming this shortcoming include advising students about these careers and providing training on broadly valued professional skills such as written and verbal communication, time and project management, leadership, working in teams, innovation, and proposal writing. Academic training should be expanded to include engineering and cross disciplinary problem solving and product development, developing prototype products and increasing their technological readiness, and working with software and toolsets common in industry.
      • Using Minimum Acceptable GRE Scores for Graduate Admissions Suppresses Diversity in STEM

      • DC03
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 5:30PM
      • by Casey Miller
      • Type: Panel
      • I will present data showing that significant performance disparities on the GRE general test exist based on the test taker's race and gender [1]. Because of the belief that high GRE scores qualify one for graduate studies, the diversity issues faced by 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 lead to a more enlightened search for the next generation of scientists.
      • Graduate Education in Physics: Problem Solving, Curriculum, and Approaches to Problem Solving

      • DC04
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 5:30PM
      • by Andrew Mason
      • Type: Panel
      • Physics problem solving for graduate-level students was first analyzed in a study by Chi et al. (1981), in which graduate students were expert-like problem solvers in categorizing introductory level physics problems. This hallmark study is revisited in light of graduate students' concerns with regard to further development of problem solving skills. Data collected with regard to attitudes and approaches toward problem solving is used to explore graduate students' own concerns and areas of growth towards an expert-like approach to problem solving. An investigation into the role of graduate-level core courses at the University of Pittsburgh was also conducted; topics explored include the advanced role of quantitative mathematical approaches in more rigorous material, the use of conceptual understanding within the core course material, and the degree of congruence of success in core courses with future success as researchers.
  • Responsive Teaching in Science

      • Responsive Teaching: A Practitioner's View

      • DG01
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
      • by Sharon Fargason
      • Type: Invited
      • Responsive teaching offers students the opportunity to learn science in the spirit of the discipline itself. Students work together to explain, question, model, test, and evaluate their own ideas, rather than follow a prescribed set of directions or recipes for experiments. The curriculum evolves on the basis of the ideas that students bring up, and the role of the teacher is to recognize, draw out, and build on the nascent scientific ideas that students offer. Data from my third grade classroom will highlight what responsive teaching is, how teacher pedagogy and planning are affected, and the ways that students develop skills and routines that are critical to the discipline of science.
      • The Content Outcomes of Responsive Teaching in Physics

      • DG02
      • Mon 01/06, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by Leslie Atkins
      • Type: Invited
      • "Responsive teaching" has been described as an instructional approach thatcan bridge the epistemological and content goals of physics teaching. That bridge, however, is never straightforward. For while there are regularities in student ideas and classroom dynamics, a consequence -- even a hallmark -- of responsive teaching is the idiosyncratic nature of student inquiries. Such variation is apparent in my own classes, in both the routes taken and the "destinations" that are reached. And even as I intend to cover similar sets of topics from one class to the next, I find that the final products of those inquiries vary from year to year, and the nature of these products can be difficult to compare to one other and even to the canon. In this talk, I discuss the content outcomes of a responsively taught inquiry course, highlighting both the significant physics that students learn, and the challenges that their ideas pose.
      • Learning to Teach Responsively: Implications and Challenges for Teacher Education

      • DG03
      • Mon 01/06, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Janet Coffey
      • Type: Invited
      • In this talk I'll consider responsive teaching from the perspective of teacher education--"what does it mean for how we think about work with prospective teachers?" Drawing on data from a one-year master's teacher certification program, I examine some of the more significant factors at play as prospective teachers learn to listen and respond to the substance of student ideas in science. Data suggests that learning to teach responsively has disciplinary grounding, which raises implications for science coursework for prospective teachers.
      • Trying for Responsiveness in Lecture

      • DG04
      • Mon 01/06, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by David Hammer
      • Type: Invited
      • The notion we are considering in this session, "responsive teaching," is of attending to, making sense of, and working with the substance of student thinking. Much of the point is epistemological: When student questions become the focus of conversation, students can see that their understandings and experiences are central to what is taking place. But it seems like a notion of teaching that's only for small classes. My purpose here is to consider possibilities in lecture, using one or two video examples from my attempts. I'll talk, mostly as a practitioner, about attending to student thinking in that context, how there is evidence for individuals and for the "class as a whole" in clicker tallies and in student statements, certainly, but also in affective displays, something like "the feeling of the room." Of course, interpreting the evidence is challenging, especially for on-the-fly decisions.
  • SPS Research and Outreach

      • SPS Mather Internship: US House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

      • AA01
      • Sun 01/05, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
      • by Nikki Sanford
      • Type: Invited
      • As a Society of Physics Student Mather Intern, I worked in the US House ofRepresentatives' Committee on Science Space and Technology. Nobel Laureate Physicist, Dr. John Mather, created this program to promote awareness of science policy among young physicists. In the Science Committee, I was directly involved in the legislative process through research projects, working with staff, and attending committee hearings and markups. I will discuss my experiences on Capitol Hill and interactions with Congressmen, staff, and experts in the scientific community. A physics/scientific background, along with opportunities from this SPS Internship with Congress has been extremely applicable and beneficial to my future career path and current studies at William and Mary Law School.
      • Undergraduate Research Component within College Physics Course

      • AA02
      • Sun 01/05, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Irina Struganova
      • Type: Contributed
      • I would like to share my experience of incorporating mini research projects in an honors college physics course. Students were given an option to choose to work on one of the following projects: Kepler Mission, Diffraction of Electrons, Photoelectric Effect, or the Cavendish Experiment. Assignments included learning basic physics principles related to the project, the history and the significance of a particular experiment, conducting a modern version of the experiment and/or the data analysis, and writing a paper. Developed guidelines and resources, as well as students' accomplishments, will be presented.
      • Undergraduates Creating a High Performance Computer Cluster

      • AA03
      • Sun 01/05, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Scott Garland
      • Type: Contributed
      • We present the student-led creation and management of Francis Marion University's new Patriot Cluster. Supercomputers have become essential tools for many computational scientists. Undergraduate access to such machines can, therefore, boost the competency of computational physics students who have opportunities to interact with them. For this reason, the Patriot Cluster's creation and resources are being used as tools for undergraduate education and research. This project is supported by the NSF EPSCoR RII Track 1 cooperative agreement awarded to the University of South Carolina.
      • Using a Semiconductor Defect to Connect Diffusion Lengths with Lifetimes

      • AA04
      • Sun 01/05, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
      • by Ashley Finger
      • Type: Contributed
      • When a semiconductor absorbs light, electron-hole pairs are generated and subsequently recombine. In this study, we use the light emitted by a semiconductor to compare two related properties of the recombination process. In the first experiment, we use an isolated defect to measure effective diffusion lengths, i.e. the average distance traveled by a charge carrier before recombining. In the second experiment, we measure effective lifetimes, i.e. the average time it takes for a charge carrier to recombine. We use these measurements to connect the temporal and spatial distribution of electron-hole pair recombination. These complementary properties can be used to further our understanding of charge carrier behavior in solar cell materials as a function of temperature and illumination.
      • Conquering Quantum Physics One Photon at a Time

      • AA05
      • Sun 01/05, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
      • by Jamie Garrett
      • Type: Contributed
      • PhysicsQuest is a story-based activity book for middle school students created by the American Physical Society that introduces them to physics concepts through hands-on activities. Free kits are provided to teachers or parents who register on the PhysicsCentral website, as a way to engage middle school students at an age in which many students become disinterested in science. As the Society of Physics Students PhysicsQuest intern, I developed easy-to-do, inexpensive extension activities to complement the activities provided in the latest kit. The topic this year is Quantum Mechanics. Students will explore the photoelectric effect, spectroscopy, absorption spectra, and angular momentum and rotation. This talk will highlight several of the activities created.
      • Modeling Mass-Radius Relationships of Planets Using Differential Equations

      • AA06
      • Sun 01/05, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
      • by Kevin Thielen
      • Type: Contributed
      • Models of mass-radius relationships for planets have been recently developed by making assumptions about the relationship between pressure and density in order to avoid having to work with more complex equations of state. In our model we construct a Non-linear Homogeneous Ordinary Differential Equation, whose parameters can be readily obtained experimentally, and solve it numerically by making an observation about the relationship of density and compressibility as a function of pressure. We then compare our numerical results to models such as the Preliminary Earth Reference Model (PREM) and models of pressure density relationships of materials from low pressures up to pressures within the region of the Thomas Fermi Dirac theoretical EOS where electron degeneracy pressure becomes a factor.
      • Evidence for Dark Matter in the Galactic Rotation Curve

      • AA07
      • Sun 01/05, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
      • by Melvin Ezell
      • Type: Contributed
      • The mass of the dark matter halo, or "missing mass" interior to the Sun's orbit was calculated by creating a galactic rotation curve for the Milky Way galaxy. This rotation curve was created by measuring the orbital velocity of interstellar hydrogen at different distances from the galactic core. A 4.6-meter radio telescope was used to collect data on the radio waves emitted by hydrogen at various galactic longitudes. Since hydrogen emits radio waves at a baseline frequency of 1.42 GHz, the Doppler shifted wavelengths observed provided a means to calculate the orbital velocity of the galaxy's matter. This rotation curve was then compared to the amount of visible mass in the galaxy and the missing mass was calculated. This research was converted to a laboratory exercise for undergraduate physics students at Campbell University which included a pre-assessment of content-specific knowledge and a post-assessment of learning outcomes.
      • Incorporating Data Visualization into ZENODO

      • AA08
      • Sun 01/05, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
      • by Kevin Sanders
      • Type: Contributed
      • ZENODO is a research hosting website made for all disciplines. It is builton the idea of all research shared, no matter the subject, no matter the status of the researcher. ZENODO was developed alongside and on top of INVENIO, a digital library software suite, produced by the Digital Library Technology group at CERN. This talk will cover some of the technologies that came into play, as well as my role of beginning to incorporate data visualization into the website during my time spent at CERN through the University of Michigan REU.
      • A New Approach to Optics for Life Science Majors

      • AA09
      • Sun 01/05, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
      • by Shauna Novobilsky,
      • Type: Contributed
      • Interactive learning strategies are frequently used in the teaching of introductory physics topics. Here we describe the development of a course for undergraduate students who are not majoring in the field of physics. By adapting the learning materials from a Studio Optics course and Optics for Biophysics course, we hope to create a course designed to bring interactive learning to the topic of optics. Adapting the course to fit our curriculum will require a reduction in the amount of mathematics in the course, but the majority of the course requirements from the courses mentioned above will remain. This will create an environment that integrates lectures, lab, and simple problem solving as well as a focus on a long-term project for the course. The hope is to create a course that is advantageous to non-physics majors who still have an interest in optics.
      • Behavioral Analysis Techniques for Mobile Phone Collected Data

      • AA10
      • Sun 01/05, 3:50PM - 4:00PM
      • by Yong Kwon
      • Type: Contributed
      • Bipolar disorder (BPD) is a severe and chronic mental illness that increases mortality nearly three-fold. Despite the use of mood stabilizers for many decades, BPD still disables many, and is listed as the ninth leading cause of disability worldwide. The ongoing suffering produced by this disease drives a clear need for improved treatment. This project aims to develop a smartphone intervention that will capture and feedback behavioral data to improve patient self-management and increase the effectiveness of psychological interventions to reduce symptoms and prevent relapse in BPD patients. The study is currently testing various techniques to capture the behavioral data in a useful form. Among them are, Eigenbehavior - identifying principle components of the daily behavior, Non- Parametric measure -- discovering intradaily and inter-daily activity pattern, and Detrended Fluctuation Analysis -- determining scale-invarianceness of the activity. We will discuss the effectiveness of above techniques for capturing the behavioral data.
  • SPS Research and Outreach II

      • Aerodynamics of a Vehicle Head

      • BA01
      • Sun 01/05, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
      • by Priyanka Kompella
      • Type: Contributed
      • Using a wind tunnel to detect the amount of drag with which each cone is affected, we will calculate what cone is most efficient for each sub-sonic speed. The type of cone head will be manipulated by (1) changing its angle at the tip and (2) the shape of the cone's surface (curved vs. flat). We can determine optimal velocity by observing the drag force on the cone and how the air moves around it. Through this experiment, we will be able to determine the most economical shape of a vehicle head for different speeds.
      • The 'Plane Out' of a Wakeboard Boat

      • BA02
      • Sun 01/05, 4:40PM - 4:50PM
      • by Hayley Alexander
      • Type: Contributed
      • As the velocity of the boat increases, the angle of the bow and wake increase to a maximum. As the velocity continues to increase the boat then begins to "plane out." We have developed measuring apparatuses to measure the angle of the wake, the angle of the bow, and RPMs to discover if there is a mathematical correlation between these measured variables. Come hop on our virtual boat!
      • Hang Glider Control Bar Placement's Impact on Glide Ratio

      • BA03
      • Sun 01/05, 4:50PM - 5:00PM
      • by Katherine Chun
      • Type: Contributed
      • A hang glider's descent is commonly measured as a glide ratio-- the ratioof horizontal distance traveled compared to vertical distance traveled. The purpose of this experiment is to find the maximum glide ratio by changing the glider's control bar position along the keel. By moving the control bar forward and backward along the keel, the position of weight on the glider is also moved along the keel. When the glider is dropped from a constant height, with the weight in different positions, the glide ratio changes depending on the horizontal distance traveled. This experiment and subsequent research seeks to find optimal positions of weight on a glider and to fix other variable elements of a glider's design in order to determine the glider with the greatest glide ratio.
      • Sensors and Measurement: the 2013 Science Outreach Catalyst Kit (SOCK)

      • BA04
      • Sun 01/05, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
      • by Caleb Heath
      • Type: Invited
      • A SOCK is a collection of materials and activities designed to be a self-contained outreach experience. They are produced by Society of Physics Students summer interns and provided to campus chapters (around 25 each year) in need of outreach materials to use with local classrooms or in other community outreach programs. Each year's SOCKs are organized around a theme. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) partnered with SPS on the 2013 SOCK with its theme of sensors and measurement. Though the detection and quantification of phenomena are essential to scientific inquiry, these topics have never before been the focus of a SOCK. Standards and measurement are explored through a variety of hands-on activities, while custom-made electronics (and optional smartphone integration) allow for cost-effective exploration of sensor technology. This talk will introduce the SOCK, and include demonstrations of our most popular activities.
  • Saturday Registration

      • Saturday Registration

      • REG02
      • Sat 01/04, 7:00AM - 4:00PM

      • Type: Registration
  • Stereotypes and the Princess Threat

      • Attitudinal Shifts in Introductory Physics Through an Equity Lens

      • GA01
      • Tue 01/07, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
      • by Adrienne Traxler
      • Type: Invited
      • Previous studies have documented gender and ethnicity "gaps" in grade or conceptual measures in introductory physics classes. The nature, causes, and remedies of these performance differences is of great interest to those attempting to improve the participation and retention of traditionally underrepresented groups in the field. Recent work at Florida International University found that women persistently lag behind men in Force Concept Inventory gains and student odds of success, even in reformed courses where both measures are higher than in traditional lecture. Here, I extend that work along the attitudinal dimension, reporting on six years of data from the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey. Data is taken from traditional and reformed sections of introductory physics and disaggregated by gender and ethnic representation. I will discuss patterns in student attitude shifts that tell a more ambiguous story than the "gap" narrative often found for conceptual measures.
      • Preservice Teachers' Knowledge of Women's Contributions to Physics

      • GA02
      • Tue 01/07, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
      • by Jill Marshall
      • Type: Contributed
      • Despite their underrepresentation in the field, particularly in professional positions, women have made critical contributions to physics. Still, previous studies have shown that many physics teachers and students are unable to name a woman physicist other than Marie Curie and describe her work in any detail. This presents an equity issue, as access to role models has been shown to mediate access to careers. To remedy this, efforts are under way to create an article pack on women in physics from The Physics Teacher and the American Journal of Physics as a resource for physics teachers. To evaluate the need for such a resource, I administered an assessment of knowledge of the contributions of women in physics to preservice secondary STEM education teachers, many of whom will ultimately teach physics. The results are compared with a prior survey of preservice elementary teachers and general education students.
      • Strategies for Identifying and Teaching Gifted Students in Physics and Astronomy

      • GA03
      • Tue 01/07, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
      • by Alice Hawthorne Allen
      • Type: Contributed
      • Gifted students in K-12 education become many of the students in our physics classrooms, but our training for university faculty positions contains little to no guidance on how to best teach and address their educational needs. Just based on population statistics and self-selection for additional education, all college classes are bound to have a gifted population regardless of institution and admissions selectivity, and independent of whether the students are identified as such. Recent research has also identified additional twice-exceptional students (i.e. individuals who are both gifted and have other special needs) where their exceptionalities mask each other and lead the student to not stand out academically. The extreme variability amongst gifted individuals makes teaching them an exceptional challenge. However, there are common characteristics that can be identified and teaching strategies that are successful in connecting with these students. These characteristics and strategies will be addressed in this talk.
      • Why Aren't They Here?: The Impacts of Society's and Physics' Cultures on Women's Participation in Physics

      • GA04
      • Tue 01/07, 12:50PM - 1:20PM
      • by Ramon Barthelemy
      • Type: Invited
      • The issue of women in physics has been an important conversation in recentyears when considering physics education. One aspect of this issue is not only the culture of physics, but also the culture of society at large. This talk will uncover the pressures of society that women experience juxtaposed with the culture of physics. It will be argued that women are both pushed away from physics by the culture of society at large and the micro-culture within physics. Points of discussion will include women in the media, the extreme competitiveness of physics, the conformity of physicists, and more.
  • Sunday Afternoon Break in the Exhibit Hall

      • Sunday Afternoon Break in the Exhibit Hall

      • EXH04
      • Sun 01/05, 4:00PM - 4:30PM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
  • Sunday Exhibit Hall

      • Sunday Exhibit Hall

      • EXH02
      • Sun 01/05, 10:00AM - 5:00PM

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

      • Sunday Morning Break in the Exhibit Hall

      • EXH03
      • Sun 01/05, 10:00AM - 10:30AM

      • Type: Exhibit Hall
  • Sunday Registration

      • Sunday Registration

      • REG03
      • Sun 01/05, 7:00AM - 4:00PM

      • Type: Registration
  • Sustainability of Teacher Preparation Programs

      • Sustainability Study of PhysTEC Sites

      • GE01
      • Tue 01/07, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
      • by Monica Plisch
      • Type: Invited
      • The Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) project conducted a study on the sustainability of teacher preparation programs at sites that had previously received PhysTEC funding. A consultant (Rachel Scherr) conducted site visits and/or telephone interviews with eight institutions, and gathered qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data included longitudinal data on program funding, staffing, and physics education graduates. In addition, sites completed a survey to document sustainability of individual key components, i.e. whether each component was maintained, evolved, grown, reduced, or eliminated. Case studies of individual institutions looked at the institutional motivation for sustaining programs, the role of the champion, and the mechanisms for sustaining program activities. Results will be synthesized where possible to identify common themes among sites.
      • Sustaining UTeach Programs

      • GE02
      • Tue 01/07, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
      • by Michael Marder
      • Type: Invited
      • UTeach began in the fall of 1997 at UT Austin as a new way to prepare science and mathematics teachers. In 2006 program leaders created the UTeach Institute, and through partnership with several organizations, particularly the National Math and Science Initiative, UTeach began expanding across the U.S. By January 2014, over 40 universities will be part of the UTeach community. The idea of UTeach expansion is that after an initial five-year investment from external partners, each university will become self-sufficient and sustain its new teacher preparation pathway on internal resources. The first cohort of 13 UTeach universities has now completed the funding cycle, and we can begin to assess whether or not the plan has worked. Based on evidence we have gathered so far, despite a very challenging funding environment for public universities, all the original programs have in fact been sustained, and the original plans have worked out as intended. I will present an overview of UTeach, and information on the current status of the national UTeach experiment.
      • Make It a Good Physics Program, Including Teaching, Teachers Follow

      • GE03
      • Tue 01/07, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Gay Stewart
      • Type: Invited
      • Some physicists still look at a good student who goes into high school teaching as a failure on the part of the department. To get a department behind programmatic changes that support the preparation of teachers, it helps if they can see the impact on the number of majors. Fortunately, at Arkansas, we have found that the two are one and the same. Good teaching, and good teaching skills, benefit all students, regardless of career path. Until UAteach, our UTeach replication, began in fall 2012, we did not have a separate advising sheet for teacher candidates. We still do not have a separate "track." In this presentation, we will explain how we went from an average of two to 25 graduates a year, many very successful by traditional standards (and coincidentally, from 0 to 6 teachers).
  • Teacher Preparation and Enhancement

      • Regular Classroom Tests as a Means of Motivating Teacher Trainees Learn Concepts in Electronics

      • BI01
      • Sun 01/05, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
      • by Kodjo Taale
      • Type: Contributed
      • This study was an action research that employed regular classroom tests tohelp students learn and understand some concepts in electronics. The participants were Level 400 students of the Department of Physics Education of the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. The study was carried out in two phases, pre-intervention and post-intervention activities. Students were taught for 12 weeks and at the end of each forth night, made to take a test made up of practical activities and essay-type test on the concepts learned in the previous two weeks. Most of student responses in the weekly tests reflected understanding of the concepts learned in that their scores improved and could set up simple practical activities in electronics and carry them out successfully in the laboratory. The outcome of this study shows that students, if tested regularly, may improve in their understanding of electronics and other physics concepts.
      • Tracking High School Physics Teaching in Iowa

      • BI02
      • Sun 01/05, 4:40PM - 4:50PM
      • by Jeffrey Morgan
      • Type: Contributed
      • In 2009, we surveyed Iowa high school physics teachers to ascertain their educational backgrounds, content coverage, and pedagogical approaches in their courses, and views of effective instruction, among others.(1) We repeated the survey in 2013, keeping many questions the same but tweaking others to gain new insights into the reasons some teachers leave the profession and the amount of inquiry-oriented instruction that teachers employ. We present survey highlights and trends observed over the four-year period that inform stakeholders in Iowa and similar states with significant numbers of small, rural schools.
      • Undergraduate Pathway to Teaching Physics at Georgia State University

      • BI03
      • Sun 01/05, 4:50PM - 5:00PM
      • by Brian Thoms
      • 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. Recently a teacher certification pathway within our BS in Physics program has been added to the existing master's level program. 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-on-residence. We will describe the recruiting and mentoring efforts and early success of the new undergraduate path to certification which is projected to produce four physics teachers in 2013-2014 and five in 2014-2015.
      • Exploring Technology-Enhanced Active Learning in Physics Teacher Education

      • BI04
      • Sun 01/05, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
      • by Marina Milner-Bolotin
      • Type: Contributed
      • Active learning pedagogies, such as Peer Instruction (PI), have been proven to be effective in undergraduate physics teaching. However, they are still rare in secondary schools and in physics teacher education programs. One of the reasons for that is methods instructors' mistrust of the pedagogical effectiveness of multiple-choice conceptual questions. While modern educational technologies open opportunities for using open-ended questions in PI, multiple-choice conceptual questions in teacher education are still underutilized. In this study Peer Instruction pedagogy was supplemented by the use of a collaborative online system--PeerWise (PW) (peerwise.cs.auckland.ac.nz). PI&PW pedagogy allowed researchers to investigate the development of questioning skills in secondary teacher-candidates through the use of peer collaboration. We report on the effects of PI&PW implementation in a semester-long physics methods course on teacher-candidates' content and pedagogical knowledge, on their attitudes about active learning, and on willingness and ability to implement active learning pedagogy during their practicum.
      • Investigating the Impact of Clicker-Enhanced Pedagogy in a Secondary Physics Methods Course

      • BI05
      • Sun 01/05, 5:10PM - 5:20PM
      • by Alexandra MacDonald
      • Type: Contributed
      • One of the most commonly explored technologies in contemporary STEM educational research is electronic response systems (clickers). Benefits of clicker-enhanced pedagogy include: encouraging active student participation, reducing anxiety, supporting formative assessment, and promoting conceptual understanding. Most studies, however, investigate the effects of these technologies in large undergraduate STEM courses. The role of clicker-enhanced pedagogy in small secondary or post-secondary classrooms is still relatively unexplored, especially in the context of teacher education programs. This study investigates whether clicker-enhanced pedagogy is effective in a small secondary physics methods course by considering its impact on supporting an inquiry-oriented curriculum, increasing the instructor's ability to diagnose gaps in teacher-candidates' pedagogical-content knowledge, and consequently to improve it. This study sheds light on developing teacher-candidates' capacities to utilize, design, and implement inquiry-oriented clicker-enhanced pedagogy, the impact of this process on their pedagogical-content knowledge and attitudes toward the value of conceptual learning.
      • Who is Teaching High School Physics in Central Florida?

      • BI06
      • Sun 01/05, 5:20PM - 5:30PM
      • by Jacquelyn Chini
      • Type: Contributed
      • The University of Central Florida has recently become a PhysTEC comprehensive site to promote the recruitment and training of highly qualified physics teachers in the Central Florida area. PhysTEC has identified several key components of successful physics teacher preparation programs, including efforts directed at our own students, such as a learning assistant program and early teaching experiences, as well as efforts directed at the teaching community, such as fostering communication and mentoring with and between local physics teachers. To better support the local high school physics teaching community and provide relevant mentoring to our future teachers, we need to understand the backgrounds of our local teachers. We will present results from a survey of the pathways local teachers took to their current positions, highlighting their certification process and other training, and discuss how these results will shape our future efforts to engage and support the high school physics teaching community.
      • In-service Teachers as an Inroad for Newly Certified Physics Teachers

      • BI07
      • Sun 01/05, 5:30PM - 5:40PM
      • by Steven Maier
      • Type: Contributed
      • As part of an ongoing professional development AAPT/PTRA program at NWOSU since 2011, ToPPS has provided K-12 Oklahoma educators opportunities to expand and deepen their understanding of physics. Now, the ToPPS project has taken on the goal of increasing the number of certified HS physics teachers in the state of Oklahoma. Because many ToPPS participants have little formal physics coursework, this has become a multi-year effort on the part of the program and the participants. In this talk, the means of achieving this goal through alternative certification will be discussed.
      • Transforming Physics Education at BU through Peer Learning and Mentoring

      • BI08
      • Sun 01/05, 5:40PM - 5:50PM
      • by Manher Jariwala
      • Type: Contributed
      • Boston University has seen significant transformation in its physics instruction, in large part due to two programs that incorporate peer learning and peer mentoring. We describe how our Learning Assistant (LA) program impacts not only the all of our physics courses and the students in these courses, but also the undergraduate physics major community. We also describe our Teaching Fellow (TF) peer-mentoring program, which not only helps train incoming graduate students in active-learning and student-centered pedagogy, but also fosters a community of practice around professional development. Finally, we discuss the synergies between the two programs that result in a vertical learning community within our department, from advanced graduate students to incoming undergraduate majors.
  • The "Magic" of Engaging Girls in Physical Science

      • SciGirls Seven: a Tool Box for Engaging Girls in STEM

      • EC01
      • Mon 01/06, 7:30PM - 8:00PM
      • by Patricia Sievert
      • Type: Invited
      • What if there was a simple list of research-based tools for engaging more girls in the physical sciences? Would you implement the ideas? Join us as we explore the SciGirls Seven and the AAUW report, Why so Few, which complement each other: one a 2-page list, the other a book providing a glance at the research that informed the list. Through my work as STEM Outreach Director and the Illinois Girls Collaborative Project, I have experienced successes and "learning opportunities" to share. How do I get 75-90% girls registering for some of my co-ed middle school STEM camps? The concepts can be used either in the classroom or out-of-school-time programs to increase the number of girls and other underrepresented groups interested in STEM.
      • "Mädchen machen Technik": A Girls' Summer Tech Program in Germany

      • EC02
      • Mon 01/06, 8:00PM - 8:10PM
      • by Barbara Hoeling,
      • Type: Contributed
      • We report on the two-day technology workshop for high school girls "Building a programmable LED display" at the University of Applied Sciences in Landshut, Germany. It was part of the program "Mädchen machen Technik", organized by the Technical University of Munich. Nine girls (ages 14-18) worked for two days toward the goal of designing a display with LEDs and controlling the lighting pattern of the LEDs via a programmable microcontroller chip.They learned how to use a protoboard to light LEDs in an electric circuit, and how to modify an existing computer program to achieve the desired lighting pattern of the LEDs. The individual programs were burnt into the microchips, and the LEDs were soldered onto a circuit board, which was then decorated. The girls participated with excitement, worked very hard, and had a lot of fun.
      • Physics for Girls Who Dance

      • EC03
      • Mon 01/06, 8:10PM - 8:20PM
      • by Kenneth Laws
      • Type: Contributed
      • It is well known that many more girls than boys participate in dance, particularly classical ballet. It is becoming recognized that young people are considerably more adept at understanding physical principles than adults give them credit for, if the use of jargon and sophisticated math is avoided. It is becoming increasingly recognized that understanding the physics of dance movement contributes to dancers' efficiency of learning dance and their proficiency of performing the movements learned. These facts combined lead to the conclusion that dance is an effective way of attracting girls into the activity of physics. Examples of the application of physics to dance movement include maintaining or regaining balance, maximizing the effectiveness of partnered pirouettes, and the creating of illusions such as floating horizontally during a leap. Examples will be demonstrated.
      • Getting Elementary School Girls Excited about Physics

      • EC04
      • Mon 01/06, 8:20PM - 8:30PM
      • by Michael Ponnambalam
      • Type: Contributed
      • The laws of physics are objective. However, their presentation is subjective. When the presenter has experienced with Einstein "a rapturous amazement at the harmony of Natural Law," when the presenter is passionate about physics, when the presenter is bubbling with infectious enthusiasm and explosive energy, and when that presenter sings and dances using the wavelength and vocabulary of little children, then the little ones experience an enjoyable excitement. In this paper, the author presents such an experience of the girls in the Elementary Schools in Belize in Central America.
  • The "Maturing" Field of PER and Its Associate Implications

      • Graduate Students in PER: Demographics, Trajectory, and Climate Experiences

      • GB01
      • Tue 01/07, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
      • by Ramon Barthelemy
      • Type: Invited
      • PER is a new and rapidly growing research subfield of physics. Graduate programs have begun to establish PhD programs in PER within departments of physics and schools of education. However, little research has been conducted exploring the experiences and pathways of graduate students into PER. This talk will present qualitative and quantitative data on the experiences and educational pathways of graduate students in PER. Preliminary data suggests that less than half of PER graduate students intend to specialize in PER at the beginning of graduate school and, instead, switch into the field. This suggests that not enough undergraduate students are aware of PER. Additionally, it was found the students in PER experience a positive national community that affects their persistence in the field.
      • The Growing Structure(s) of PER

      • GB02
      • Tue 01/07, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
      • by Michael Wittmann
      • Type: Invited
      • The field of physics education research (PER) has changed in many ways since I joined it in the mid 90s. We have specialized conferences (PERC and FFPER), specialized journals (the PER section of AJP and Phys Rev), and organizational structures focused on our interests and needs (the PER Topical Group and PERLOC). The funding opportunities have changed (NSF, PhysTEC, and much more), and our interactions have, as well (Facebook, PERticles, and blogging). In this talk, I reflect on the changes in the community, mostly as a storyteller, and speculate on where we might be headed next. With broader goals and richer interactions, we're asking meaningful questions that the community wasn't asking even a decade ago. What comes next? Who knows, but it'll be fun.
      • A Word of Caution About the Future of PER

      • GB03
      • Tue 01/07, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
      • by Lillian McDermott
      • Type: Invited
      • There seems to be an increasing tendency for research in physics educationto extend beyond primarily intellectual issues to others that involve social and psychological considerations. Some of these deserve serious attention, but there may be unfortunate consequences if such studies dominate the field. Being able to obtain and retain a regular faculty position in a physics department is much more likely when one's research has a strong disciplinary emphasis. It is hard to make a strong case for tenure or tenure-track positions in physics departments, or even to influence physics faculty, if the research is not sufficiently content specific. For PER to thrive, it is necessary that at least a few universities maintain PER groups (with at least two or three physics faculty) with strong programs to prepare graduate students and post-docs to be future leaders in the field.
  • The Magic of Astrophotography

      • PROMPT and the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network: Science and Education

      • AG01
      • Sun 01/05, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
      • by Dan Reichart
      • Type: Invited
      • Funded primarily by the National Science Foundation and recently by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Skynet is a growing collection of fully automated, or robotic, professional-quality telescopes under the control of software developed by the University of North Carolina. Spanning four continents, Skynet is an easy-to-use, web-based, shared resource between participating colleges, universities, and private individuals. Originally conceived to observe cosmic explosions called gamma-ray bursts, which are the deaths of massive stars and the births of black holes, Skynet has now taken over 6 million images for hundreds of professional astronomers, for thousands of college and university students, for thousands of high school students, and for tens of thousands of middle and elementary school students and members of the public.
      • Budget Astrophotography: How to Make the Most of Your Equipment

      • AG02
      • Sun 01/05, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
      • by Mario Belloni
      • Type: Invited
      • Over the past dozen years, the field of digital astrophotography has changed by leaps and bounds. With new computerized tracking and autoguiding mounts and digital still and video photography it has become easier and cheaper to take high-quality astrophotographs. While it is easy to spend $15,000 or more on a single astrophotography setup or even a single device (telescope, camera, and mount), taking simple, short exposure photos can cost anywhere from $50 to a few hundred dollars depending on how much equipment you already have. In this talk we outline the techniques that can be used to take astrophotographs with as little (additional) money as possible focusing on using iPhones, DSLRs and inexpensive web cams.
  • The Relevance of Laboratory and Apparatus

      • Transforming Upper-division Lab Courses: Goals, Curriculum, and Assessments

      • GF01
      • Tue 01/07, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
      • 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. Upper-division lab courses and undergraduate research experiences are the natural places where this training can take place. At the University of Colorado, traditional and PER faculty have been working together to comprehensively transform our Advanced Lab course and evaluate the impacts of these changes. I will discuss our effort to establish learning goals, transform the course, and measure the impact of the transformation on students' scientific process skills. As part of this effort, we developed a validated survey (E-CLASS) to assess students' attitudes and beliefs about experimental physics. This online survey is available to instructors at any institution that would like to learn more about the impact of their lab courses at all levels on students' attitudes about experimental physics. The survey is designed to give instructors actionable feedback to help them improve their courses.
      • Four-Semester Laboratory Course: A Ramp Toward Doing Science

      • GF02
      • Tue 01/07, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
      • by Anna Karelina
      • Type: Invited
      • Through discussions and group meetings with faculty members of the Occidental College, we formulated the learning goals of introductory laboratories for physics and engineering majors. Using methods and approaches of the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) [1] we were able to create a consistent four-semester course sequence to achieve these goals. The course prepares students for independent research in advanced lab courses, for summer research, and their future scientific work. At the end the course our students demonstrate that they have built up higher-level thinking skills and scientific abilities, such as the ability to design an experiment, to test a hypothesis, to analyze, to evaluate the results and many others.
      • Guidelines for the Undergraduate Laboratory Curriculum

      • GF03
      • Tue 01/07, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
      • by Joseph Kozminski
      • Type: Contributed
      • A subcommittee of the AAPT Committee on Laboratories has been established to review various documents relating to goals of the undergraduate lab at all levels and to recommend guidelines or goals for the laboratory in the undergraduate curriculum. We are working to develop fairly broad guidelines that cut across the various levels of undergraduate labs and that can be implemented at any college or university. Specific recommendations will be given for implementation in introductory and advanced labs. The guidelines and recommendations generated by the subcommittee will be presented in this talk.
      • MOOC Tools to Enhance Professional Development in the Advanced Lab

      • GF04
      • Tue 01/07, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
      • by Sean Robinson
      • Type: Contributed
      • I will describe recent experiences with the use of online education tools developed for the MOOC community (EdX) to enhance the purely residential educational experience for students in the MIT Physics advanced lab ("Junior Lab"). This is a rigorous academic subject that places heavy emphasis on the student's professional development as a scientist (e.g. oral and written communication, the troubleshooting process, professional scientific attitude, data analysis, reasoning about uncertainty), using experimental physics as the educational medium. Recent curriculum changes attempt to shift the content delivery phase for these broad learning goals into online preparatory exercises and video lectures, freeing up lab time with the faculty for more nuanced dialog and active practice. Preliminary and anecdotal results from the fall 2013 semester will be presented.
      • Ranking College and University Physics Programs, According to their Laboratory Curricula

      • GF05
      • Tue 01/07, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
      • by Gabriel Spalding
      • Type: Contributed
      • The number of instructional lab courses offered to undergraduate physics majors does NOT appear to scale with the size of the institution/faculty resources or with endowment/financial resources, but may instead simply reflect the degree to which individual programs explicitly co-value lab instruction, both as a developmental platform for students and as a foundation for their future careers in scientific and technical areas. This talk will share some of the data collected, highlighting a variety of curricular models, and the possibility of ranking physics programs, according to their laboratory curricula.
  • Tuesday Registration

      • Tuesday Registration

      • REG05
      • Tue 01/07, 8:00AM - 3:00PM

      • Type: Registration
  • Upper Division and Graduate Topics

      • Applying the Correspondence Principle to the Three-Dimensional Rigid Rotor

      • CH01
      • Mon 01/06, 11:00AM - 11:10AM
      • by David Keeports
      • Type: Contributed
      • According to the quantum mechanical correspondence principle, a quantum system can pass well as a classical system if the system's quantum numbers are very large. Application of the correspondence principle to some basic problems in quantum mechanics including the particle in a one-dimensional infinite well, the linear harmonic oscillator, and the two-dimensional rigid rotor is quite straightforward. However, the three-dimensional rigid rotor provides a greater challenge due to the complexity of the spherical harmonic functions that describe the rotor's angular orientation. I will explain why the seemingly classical rotation of a large rigid rotor in the xy-plane implies that quantum numbers J and MJ are equal and very large. Furthermore, I will demonstrate that the values of these quantum numbers imply a very simple spherical harmonic function that is consistent with the rotor's apparently classical behavior.
      • SpaceTime: A Software Tool for Teaching Special Relativity

      • CH02
      • Mon 01/06, 11:10AM - 11:20AM
      • by Randy Wolfmeyer
      • Type: Contributed
      • Spacetime diagrams provide a powerful tool to aid in the conceptual understanding of special relativity. The SpaceTime applet is designed to aid students in understanding how to create spacetime diagrams, set up diagrams for specific problems, and make accurate measurements from their diagrams. A lab activity is also developed for use with the applet in adding spacetime diagrams to an introductory physics program.
      • Teaching Undergraduates Space and Plasma Physics: Make It Fly!

      • CH03
      • Mon 01/06, 11:20AM - 11:30AM
      • by Dimitris Vassiliadis
      • Type: Contributed
      • We summarize an effort to develop a teaching unit on experimental space and plasma physics at the undergraduate level at the WVU Department of Physics in the last four years. We have focused on these topics due to their inherent popularity with students and due to the strengths of the research arm of the department. A small number of faculty and students participated in an introductory workshop in summer 2009 at NASA/Wallops Flight Facility, and a special topics course was developed in the fall. Since then a team of physics and engineering students has participated in the annual launch of a two-stage rocket from Wallops into the ionosphere and they have created a number of fluid, plasma, magnetism, and mechanics experiments. I discuss the course development, strengths and weaknesses of the approach, the student response to the project, the impact on their studies and post-graduation paths, and the experiments flown.
      • The IMAAS Plots: Helping Students to Understand Logarithmic Quantities

      • CH04
      • Mon 01/06, 11:30AM - 11:40AM
      • by Saami Shaibani
      • Type: Contributed
      • The everyday world is filled with phenomena whose values are represented by logarithms. Familiar examples include the Richter scale and the decibel unit, with entropy and other measures occurring at a more advanced level. Many students struggle when they first encounter logarithms in the mathematics classroom, even before they encounter it in the scientific realm. As a teacher certified in physics, mathematics and chemistry, with postgraduate status in the license, this author has a particularly suitable multidisciplinary background to combine aspects from all of these fields. The result of such a skill set is the creation of a novel device that promotes understanding of logarithmic quantities. A key feature of the device is its graphical nature, and the principles involved in various example plots here are readily applicable to other subjects. Students report an enhanced level of learning gained from employing the plots, and teachers have also made favorable comments.
  • Using History to Teach Astronomy and Physics

      • On the History and Future of Teaching Science Through History

      • DH01
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
      • by Travis Norsen
      • Type: Invited
      • For those interested in the incorporation of historical material into the physics/astronomy curriculum, Santayana's dictum -- that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" -- suggests taking a careful look at the surprisingly long and interesting history of this project. The talk will thus survey past and present attempts to bring historical content and themes into the science classroom, searching especially for practical lessons, convincing motivations, and viable strategies that might help history achieve more success in the future.
      • Contact with the Past, Hands on the Phenomena:Laboratory Activites in Ancient Astronomy

      • DH02
      • Mon 01/06, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
      • by James Evans
      • Type: Invited
      • Ancient astronomy is rich in opportunities for hands-on learning, about the natural world, as well as about intellectual and cultural history. This talk will illustrate some ways in which students can develop a deeper appreciation of the history of science while also learning some astronomy that is still perfectly valid and applicable today. Topics to be covered include constructing a sundial, making a parapegma (a star calendar), and predicting the position of a planet in the zodiac.
      • Teaching Physics with Conceptual History

      • DH03
      • Mon 01/06, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
      • by Chuck Winrich
      • Type: Invited
      • The Improving the Teaching of Physics (ITOP) Project at Boston University combines physics content with the conceptual history of physics and physics education research (PER) literature in professional development courses for physics teachers. Teachers are introduced to the history of conceptual development of mechanics, thermodynamics, optics, electricity, magnetism, electromagnetism and modern physics through readings from original and secondary sources. This historical development is exploited to help teachers better understand the nature of scientific models. It also supports readings from the PER literature in which misconceptions of modern students often echo archaic models. Interactive classroom discourse is fostered through the use of compare-and-contrast exercises between the archaic and modern theories. In addition to examples of these exercises, we will present examples of how the teachers use history themselves, and discuss the barriers they perceive to the use of history in the physics classroom.
      • Exploring Artificial Solar Systems with Ptolemy and Copernicus

      • DH04
      • Mon 01/06, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
      • by Todd Timberlake
      • Type: Contributed
      • I have developed a series of projects in which students model an artificial solar system based on their own observations.[1] The students use computer simulations to observe the shadows cast by a gnomon and the motion of planets against the starry background. From their observations students can construct detailed models for their solar system using either the principles of Ptolemy or Copernicus. By constructing both models, students gain a better understanding of the relationship between Ptolemaic and Copernican astronomy. This deeper understanding helps them to see why Ptolemaic astronomy was so successful and to appreciate the elegance of the Copernican model. Students can also verify that their Copernican model adheres to Kepler's laws of planetary motion.
  • Using Tablets in the Physics Classroom

      • An Electricity and Magnetism Problem-based Learning Experience Using Tablets

      • AF01
      • Sun 01/05, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
      • by Rosa Garcia-Castelan
      • Type: Contributed
      • A neutrino detection scenery taken from the Science 360 app is analyzed inthe problem-based learning (PBL) formalism. This activity was worked out in three undergraduate electricity and magnetism courses where 90 students majoring in engineering participated in the 2013 fall semester. Tablets were the main tool used in all PBL steps. The way in which the PBL technique was worked out before tablets were invented is contrasted with the way in which it is applied now with tablets.
      • First Year Experiences Using Tablets in Physics First

      • AF02
      • Sun 01/05, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
      • by Gail Van Ekeren
      • Type: Contributed
      • Our school adopted Physics First for all students three years ago, but this is the first year where all freshmen are taking the course. At the same time, this is our rollout year for every freshman using AMPLIFY tablets in all classes. The Amplify system allows in-class interaction through several very useful classroom tools including, of course, access to the Internet by every student at all times. With our ever advancing digital students, using tablets for classroom learning activities has opened up many avenues of instruction. We will discuss our successes and failures in implementing Physics First with tablets.
      • Augmenting Reality for Teaching with Tablets or Smartphones

      • AF03
      • Sun 01/05, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
      • by Anne Cox
      • Type: Contributed
      • Trying to find a way to engage students with tablets and smartphones? Now there's a way to make lab equipment "come alive" through the use of augmented reality. By aiming their camera at lab equipment, students can, at their own pace, get detailed image, video, and audio directions. This talk will demonstrate the use of the Aurasma App (http://www.aurasma.com) to use and build these resources for your lab and classroom.
      • How To Develop JavaScript Models for Tablets

      • AF04
      • Sun 01/05, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
      • by Wolfgang Christian
      • Type: Contributed
      • A free open source version of the Easy Java Simulations (EJS) modeling andauthoring tool is now available for teachers and students who wish to create simulations that run on any JavaScript-enabled device, including tablets. In this talk, I will describes the EJS 5 JavaScript platform and demonstrate how it creates ready-to-run simulations. Additional JavaScript simulations are hosted on and distributed from the OSP Collection of the ComPADRE National Science Digital Library and can be found by searching this library for "JS Model." The Open Source Physics Collection is available at .
      • Using a TabletPC as a Double-Sized Virtual Whiteboard

      • AF05
      • Sun 01/05, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
      • by Roberto Salgado
      • Type: Contributed
      • One complaint about using a TabletPC as a projected virtual whiteboard is that only one board is visible at a time, unlike the multiple whiteboard setup in a typical classroom. Using a DisplayLink USB graphics adapter and a second projector, we show how to ink on the primary desktop display while using the extended desktop display for something else (e.g., a screenshot of a past board or a PowerPoint presentation). We can interact with the extended display with a mouse, keyboard shortcut, or automated macro (AutoHotkey script).
  • What can MOOCs Do for Us?

      • What can MOOCs Do for Us?

      • DA
      • Mon 01/06, 3:30PM - 5:30PM
      • by Danny Caballero
      • Type: Panel
      • Massively open online courses (MOOCs) are quickly becoming a standard offering by many colleges and universities seeking to expand their brand and reach more potential students. But, what can MOOCs do for us - physics educators? In this panel, several MOOC authors will share their experiences with their own courses and discuss how they think MOOCs as well as other open online resources fit with our educational goals. That is, what can we learn from MOOCs to help us in our own teaching? Invited panelists include Louis Bloomfield (Virginia, How Things Work), George Djorgovski (Caltech, Galaxies and Cosmology), Terry Matilsky (Rutgers, Analyzing the Universe), Daniel Seaton (MITx, 8.MReV), and John Stewart (Arkansas).
  • Why do I Need a 3D Printer for my Physics Department?

      • 3D Printing: Student Projects and Undergraduate Research

      • FD01
      • Tue 01/07, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
      • by Andrew Dawes,*
      • Type: Invited
      • Student projects and undergraduate research labs operate on tight time schedules and often realize new equipment needs without advance notice. The ability to respond quickly by creating mechanical parts in-house can make the difference between finishing a project and waiting around for a delivery. I will present and discuss several student projects that have used the 3D printer in our physics department. These include printed parts for classroom projects, summer research activities, and community outreach programs. Additionally, I will give an overview of a typical part-creation workflow using free software tools.
      • Building a Justification for a 3D Printer Layer by Layer

      • FD02
      • Tue 01/07, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
      • by Mike Hicks
      • Type: Invited
      • Budgets are tighter than ever...but still, you really really want a 3D printer! Why? Because it would be really cool and fun! Unfortunately, cool and fun don't always win in the budget process. This talk is designed to add "quite useful" to your reasons by providing a list of concrete (or at least plastic) benefits, as well as ideas for how your students can meaningfully use 3D printing for labs and experiments. In addition, there will be a discussion of free 3D modelling software options and the variety of places to find ready-made models online. Finally, a realistic view on costs and maintenance will keep the discussion from being two dimensional.