Jon Anderson to be Honored as a 2018 Recipient of the Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

College Park, MD, November 13, 2017—AAPT has announced that Jon Anderson will receive the association's Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT, during the 2018 Winter Meeting in San Diego, California.

Anderson earned his B.S. and M.Ed. at the University of Minnesota and took Post - M.Ed. courses at Aurora University. He began his teaching career as a high school science teacher in 1986 and has taught at Southwest High School (Minneapolis), Thomas Jefferson High School (Bloomington), Mounds View High School (Arden Hills), and Centennial High School (Circle Pines), Minnesota.

"It's an incredible honor to receive this recognition from AAPT. Over the course of my career, my membership in AAPT has provided me with many benefits: excellent professional development, engaging conferences, the opportunity to meet and work with phenomenal colleagues, unique ways to serve my profession, and an enduring sense of community. I am proud that this community has selected me for this award."

As a long-time member of AAPT, Anderson has attended numerous national meetings as both a presenter and a participant. He is currently serving on the Committee on High School Physics, is the new Academic Coordinator for the PhysicsBowl, and was named an AAPT Fellow in the spring of 2017.

Anderson has been involved in the PhysTEC project since 2007, first serving as a Teacher in Residence (TIR) at the University of Minnesota. He became the coordinator of TIRs and Visiting Master Teachers (VMT), an AAPT position in the PhysTEC project, in 2009. 

As PhysTEC TIR Coordinator, Anderson organized and led training workshops for new TIRs. He also exposed the TIRs to new ideas, organizing workshops with leaders in physics teacher education and physics education research, and kept TIRs informed about the national PhysTEC project. 

Anderson has played a major role in promoting the role of the TIR to the broader physics community, and regularly organizes sessions at AAPT meetings in which TIRs give talks about their work. He has given numerous talks about PhysTEC TIRs at national and regional meetings. His writings have appeared in the APS Forum on Education Newsletter, PhysTEC News, National Science Foundation reports, and the PhysTEC website. He co-authored a peer-reviewed article on TIRs in the PhysTEC book, "Recruiting and Educating Future Physics Teachers," and worked tirelessly to gather and analyze the data on TIR roles and activities featured in the article.

Anderson has been involved in many other aspects of the PhysTEC project, bringing a critical perspective as a high school teacher and teacher educator. He served on panels to review proposals for new PhysTEC sites, provided feedback on subaward agreements with funded sites, and participated as a member of the Project Management Team (PMT). Anderson was also heavily involved in the PhysTEC Noyce project, which provided scholarships for future physics teachers and supported Visiting Master Teachers (VMTs) to mentor the scholars. Jon kept the VMTs connected with each other and with the larger community of TIRs. He also fostered the development of the Noyce scholars as new teachers, helping them get to the Summer AAPT Meeting, organizing in-person and online discussions, and sharing teaching tips and advice.

His service to the PhysTEC project has been invaluable. With his great enthusiasm for the teaching profession, his exceptional talent for mentoring physics educators, and remarkable skill at building professional community, Anderson has made a difference to the national community of physics teacher educators.

About the Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT
Established in 1953 and renamed in recognition of AAPT founder Homer L. Dodge in 2012, the Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT is presented to members in recognition of their exceptional contributions to the association at the national, sectional, or local level.

About AAPT
AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists—with members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage teaching practical application of physics principles, support continuing professional development, and reward excellence in physics education. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.

For more information: Contact David Wolfe, Director of Communications, dwolfe@aapt.org, (301) 209-3322, (301) 209-0845 (Fax), www.aapt.org.