Below is a current list of workshops planned for the 2014 AAPT Summer Meeting. All workshop will be held on the campus of the University of Minnesota. 

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Some photos courtesy of minneapolis.org

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  • T01: Not Everyone Wants to go to Graduate School: How to be an Effective Mentor for "the Other 40%"

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Toni Sauncy

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Roman Czujko

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 13

    This workshop is intended to empower educators that have an interest in improving outcomes for undergraduate students who desire to enter the STEM workforce following the baccalaureate degree. The AIP Career Pathways project, funded by NSF has identified a set of common features and developed mentoring guidelines for faculty and advisors that will be presented in this interactive workshop session. The content of the workshop is based on analysis of information gained during site visits to physics programs at a range of institution sizes, types and locations, all with a strong record of students who successfully found satisfying STEM employment following graduation.

  • T02: GlowScript: An Easy-to-use Programming Environment for 3D Browser Animations

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 01:00 p.m. - 03:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Bruce Sherwood

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 50
    • Available: 39

    Using the web programming language JavaScript, it is now possible in modern browsers to use the WebGL graphics library to create 3D animations that run in a browser. However, WebGL is a very low-level library and is quite difficult to use directly. GlowScript, which is similar to the VPython programming environment (vpython.org), makes it easy to exploit the new capabilities of WebGL. For example, the one-line program "sphere()" displays a 3D sphere and permits zooming and rotating the view. The tutorial will offer a tour of GlowScript capabilities, including the writing of small programs that generate 3D animations. For more information, and to see some physics demos, visit glowscript.org and glowscript.org/#/user/Bruce_Sherwood/folder/MI/.

  • W01: Morning Tour of the Bakken Museum

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Shawn Reeves

    Co-Organizer(s)

    David Rhees

    Cost

    • Members: $10
    • Non-members: $10

    Seats

    • Max: 16
    • Available: 5

    Explore the connections between history, science, and engineering at this beautiful mansion and gardens. The Bakken houses the world's leading collection of books and artifacts on the history of electricity in life. A bus will take us to the site on Lake Calhoun.

  • W02: Integrating Direct-Measurement Videos into Physics Instruction

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Peter Bohacek

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Matthew Vont

    Cost

    • Members: $65
    • Non-members: $90

    Seats

    • Max: 50
    • Available: 24

    Direct Measurement Videos are short videos that students can analyze using physics concepts. Students make measurements directly from the videos using grids, rulers, frame-counters and other graphic overlays. Because numerical values are not provided, direct-measurement videos give students an opportunity to engage in more open-ended approach to problem solving. In this workshop, we'll share methods for using these videos as engaging problem-solving activities in introductory mechanics instruction. We'll see how direct-measurement videos change students' approach to problem solving. We'll share some fun and challenging activities to motivate students to stretch their ability to apply physics concepts to new situations. Both the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the new AP Physics 1 and 2 curriculum expect students to engage in a range of science practices. We'll demonstrate how student can use a single video develop scientific thinking skills such as asking questions, collecting data, solving problems, and presenting results. Participants will need to bring their laptops and have QuickTime player installed.

  • W03: Open-Source Electronics for Laboratory Physics

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Zengqiang Liu

    Cost

    • Members: $140
    • Non-members: $165

    Seats

    • Max: 16
    • Available: 0

    Open-source electronics are electrical circuits and devices whose designs are released to the public by the designers, so others may modify and improve them. Using open-source data acquisition electronics in laboratory physics will dramatically reduce the cost of laboratory electronics and empower instructors to develop new laboratory activities, demonstrations and exploratory projects with students. This workshop will improve participants' understanding of open-source electronics and their applications in laboratory physics. Many laboratory physics sensors and open-source devices will be introduced and demonstrated. The workshop provides hands-on experience in projects using laboratory physics sensors with an award-winning, low-cost, open-source electronic data acquisition platform. Attendees will acquire skills in circuit construction, soldering, computer programming and interfacing with sensors through these projects. Participants must bring a laptop. They can take home the open-source devices they use during the workshop.

  • W04: FPGAs in the Lab

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Kurt Wick

    Cost

    • Members: $75
    • Non-members: $100

    Seats

    • Max: 16
    • Available: 7

    In this workshop you will work with FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate-Arrays.) Unlike the older, traditional application specific standard products (ASSPs), such as the 4000 or 7400 series chips, FPGAs contain 100k or more logic gates which can be operated reliably in the MHz to GHz range. These properties make FPGAs ideally suited to be used in an advanced lab course teaching digital logic or to have them directly incorporated into lab projects. You will interface the Digilent's FPGA hardware boards and learn how to implement combinational and sequential digital logic using a graphical approach and a hardware descriptive language, such as Verilog. You will build an interactive 4 bit adder. Pulse width modulation (PWM) technique will be applied to build a digital-to-analog converter to play music. Time permitting, additional exercises may be implemented such as using an IP core to create a sinusoidal frequency synthesizer or a successive-approximation analog-to-digital converter.

  • W05: A Taste of ToPPS (cancelled)

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Steve Maier

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Brian Lamore

    Cost

    • Members: $70
    • Non-members: $95

    Seats

    • Max: 20
    • Available: 20

    Can professional development in physics truly be K-12? You bet! From the fundamentals to content appropriate for those with HS physics certification goals, Teachers of Physics and Physical Science (ToPPS) have been meeting at local sites to deepen their physics content knowledge while building a network of educators. Join us as we work through example AAPT/PTRA activities tailored for rural, multi-grade K-12 teachers.

  • W06: Inquiring into Radioactivity for Radiation Literacy

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Andy Johnson

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 35
    • Available: 29

    Nonscience majors CAN learn about radioactivity and ionizing radiation! The Inquiry into Radioactivity (IiR) Project has created a complete set of inquiry-based course materials for non-science HS and college students to learn about radiation. It's time for radiation literacy. Fun, research-based activities and powerful simulators help students gain fundamental understandings of radiation, atoms, ionization, and other issues. Students work out distinctions between EM and ionizing radiation, they discover the particulate character of radiation, and formulate basic models for beta and alpha emission. Most importantly, they abandon the contamination view of radiation and develop explanations for how radiation harms tissue. Participants will receive the complete IiR materials, also available at http://www.camse.org/radiation. The IiR project is supported by NSF DUE 0942699.

  • W07: Astronomy is a Verb: Engaging Novice Science Students in Scaffolded Astronomical Research (Cancelled)

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Stephanie Slater

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Timothy F. Slater

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 40
    • Available: 40

    How can we help astronomy students to do science themselves? In order for novice science students to effectively design, conduct, report, and defend science observations and experiments, they must be purposefully supported in each step of the scientific process before they are able to successfully pursue scientific questions of their own design. This participatory workshop provides strategies for bringing these two ideas together. It is an introduction to scaffolding strategies that teach students to fruitfully engage in scientific thinking and design astronomy investigations by mining online astronomy databases. Participants in this workshop will learn how to structure effective student learning experiences using online NASA databases. All participants receive copies of classroom-ready inquiry teaching materials for guiding students' inquiry in astronomy, based on the principles of a backwards faded scaffolding approach, developed by faculty at the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education Research. Bring your laptop.

  • W08: Making Interactive Video Vignettes and Interactive Web Lectures

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Bob Teese

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Priscilla W. Laws, Kathleen Koenig, Maxine C. Willis

    Cost

    • Members: $65
    • Non-members: $90

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 7

    The LivePhoto Physics Project is creating online activities that combine narrative videos with interactive, hands-on elements for the user including video analysis or making predictions based on replaying a short video. They can contain branching questions, where the user's answer affects the sequence of elements that follow. They are delivered over the Internet and run in a normal browser on the user's device. The same software runs both short Interactive Video Vignettes and Interactive Web Lectures for flipped classrooms or online courses. You will learn how to make vignettes and interactive web lectures using a free Java application. We will demonstrate the impact of select online activities on student learning. You need access to a web server to host your activities. Visit http://ivv.rit.edu/workshop to see detailed requirements for the video equipment and server you will need. (Supported by NSF grants DUE-1122828 and DUE-1123118.)

  • W09: Physics of Energy

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Abigail R. Mechtenberg

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Regina Barrera, Deena Patel

    Cost

    • Members: $80
    • Non-members: $105

    Seats

    • Max: 36
    • Available: 29

    AAPT educators embrace this Physics of Energy workshop for experimental (laboratories) and theoretical (simulations) curricula. The academic level is set for undergraduate engineers and physicists; however, the astute teacher can easily apply this to other students. During the experimental-part of the workshop laboratories will be executed in groups (starting with cookbook and moving to inquiry-based pedagogies through a novel experimental design approach). During the theoretical-part of the workshop, Homer Energy microgrid activities will be executed. All participants will leave with a USB of resources. Together the workshop will weave a coherent common thread for our Physics of Energy from mechanical to electrical energy, thermal to electrical, solar to electrical, and chemical to electrical energy. Whether motivated by energy security or environmental stability, physicists at all levels must play an active role in the scientific literacy of energy integrated coherently and systematically without personal bias. Participant's are encouraged to bring their own laptops.

  • W10: AP Physics 1&2

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Martha Lietz

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Connie Wells

    Cost

    • Members: $185
    • Non-members: $210

    Seats

    • Max: 14
    • Available: 0

    The new AP Physics 1 and 2 workshops will be rolled out for the school year 2014-15 with the first exams given in May of 2015. This workshop will introduce the participants to the new curriculum and give them ideas for inquiry-based labs.

  • W11: Learning Physics While Practicing Science: Introduction to ISLE

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Eugenia Etkina

    Co-Organizer(s)

    David Brookes

    Cost

    • Members: $86
    • Non-members: $111

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 3

    Participants will learn how to modify introductory physics courses to help students acquire a good conceptual foundation, apply this knowledge effectively in problem solving, and develop the science process abilities needed for real life work using Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE). We provide tested curriculum materials including: The Physics Active Learning Guide (30 or more activities per textbook chapter for use with any textbook, including a new ISLE-based textbook) in lectures, recitations and homework; (b) a website with over 200 videotaped experiments and questions for use in lectures, recitations, laboratories, and homework; and (c) a set of labs that can be used to construct, test and apply concepts to solve problems. During the workshop, we will illustrate how to use the materials in college and high school physics courses to have an explicit emphasis on using the processes of science and various cognitive strategies consistent with the NGSS. Please bring your own laptop to the workshop, if you own one. Make sure it has Quicktime installed. If you do not own a computer, you will be paired with someone who does.

  • W12: PIRA Demonstration Workshop I

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Dale Stille

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Sam Sampere

    Cost

    • Members: $115
    • Non-members: $140

    Seats

    • Max: 55
    • Available: 48

    Topics in this workshop cover the standard first semester of physics instruction from Mechanics to Thermal. It is taught by an experienced team of lecture demonstrators. The format allows for and encourages interplay between instructors and participants. It is recommended that both Lecture Demonstrations 1 and 2 be taken as this will cover the complete year of demonstrations needed for a typical course. The demonstrations used and exhibited will be based on, but not limited to, the PIRA top 200 list of demonstrations. See http://www.pira-online.org for more info on this list. Please note that this workshop is intended to expose as many demonstrations and ideas as possible to the participants. Since we will be doing approximately 100 demos during this workshop, time restraints DO NOT allow for extensive or in depth discussions of each demonstration. We will make every effort to answer all questions and concerns.

  • W13: Introductory Laboratories

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Mary Ann Klassen

    Cost

    • Members: $70
    • Non-members: $95

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 12

    Whether your lab curriculum is ripe for an overhaul or well-established, this workshop will provide new ideas to bring home to your institution. Six presenters from colleges and universities across the United States will each demonstrate their approach to a favorite introductory lab exercise. Attendees will have the opportunity to work with each apparatus. Documentation will be provided for each experiment, with lab manuals, sample data, equipment lists, and construction or purchase information. This workshop is appropriate primarily for college and university instructional laboratory developers.

  • W14: Afternoon Tour of the Bakken Museum

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Shawn Reeves

    Co-Organizer(s)

    David Rhees

    Cost

    • Members: $10
    • Non-members: $10

    Seats

    • Max: 16
    • Available: 0

    Explore the connections between history, science, and engineering at this beautiful mansion and gardens. The Bakken houses the world's leading collection of books and artifacts on the history of electricity in life. A bus will take us to the site on Lake Calhoun.

  • W15: Activity Based Physics for the Advanced HS classroom

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Maxine Willis

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Priscilla W. Laws, Steve Henning,

    Cost

    • Members: $68
    • Non-members: $93

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 8

    This hands-on workshop is designed for teachers in advanced physics classes (such as AP, International Baccalaureate and honors physics) who want to help students master concepts in mechanics through inquiry-based active learning. Participants will work with classroom-tested curricular materials drawn from the Activity Based Physics Suite (http://physics.dickinson.edu/~abp_web/abp_homepage.html). These Suite materials, based on the outcomes of physics education research, enable students to learn physics by collecting and analyzing data using flexible computer tools available from either Vernier or PASCO. Affordable access to the Suite materials for secondary school use is now available and will be discussed.

  • W16: Tinkering and Explorations in Science - Integrating Sensors and Data Acquisition with Arduino

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Brian Huang

    Cost

    • Members: $110
    • Non-members: $135

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 0

    At SparkFun, our focus is to excite the greater community to "tinker" and play with electronics. We strive to push the envelope for integrating electronics, technology, and programming into all populations. Using the simplicity and power of the open-source community, we will model several tools and hands-on demonstrations of physics experiments in the Arduino environment. One of the pillars of STEM education is to build, create, and invent. The Arduino platform is built around this idea and is easier than you think! We will explore areas of motion, forces, sound, and light with this low-cost microcontroller platform. We will also brainstorm ideas around teaching circuits, capacitance, and computer architecture through a variety of projects. Bring a laptop if you have one. We will have a limited number of laptops and hardware to give-away.

  • W17: Energy In The 21st Century (Cancelled)

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Pat Keefe

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Greg Mulder

    Cost

    • Members: $80
    • Non-members: $105

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 24

    We have found that engaging students in predictions of what form and how much energy will be used in the future is a very successful way to generate enthusiasm and further investigation of physics. Participants of this workshop will be introduced by way of experience to two different group projects that involve designing energy systems. These modeling exercises look at past energy consumption patterns and develop a plan for energy usage in the 21st Century. Other considerations such as population, costs and efficiencies are also used to further expand the discussion and decision-making that takes place.

  • W18: Tips for Putting Fire into your Teaching

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Michael Ponnambalam

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 40
    • Available: 30

    The Laws of Physics are objective, and hence may seem cold and impersonal. However, their presentation is subjective. Hence, the communication of Physics can vary from a "very boring" to a "very exciting" level, depending upon the skills of the presenter. Using dramatization, story-telling and a burning passion for Physics, the presenter of this Workshop has successfully communicated the beauty, the poetry, the wonder and the excitement of Physics to numerous students in Primary Schools, High Schools and Universities, and has won awards for this. During this Workshop, the participants will be given the opportunity to learn - and practice in small groups - the expert communication skills which will fill their teaching sessions with infectious enthusiasm and explosive energy. Further, they will learn - and practice in small groups - the details of the "holistic approach" which will raise their teaching to a "higher level."

  • W19: Skepticism in the Classroom

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Dean Baird

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Matt Lowry College of Lake County Lake Forest, IL

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 32
    • Available: 25

    We will present a variety of lessons, appropriate for the physics classroom, that focus on the skeptical and critical thinking nature of science. Some lessons involve obvious physics content; some bring in examples from the real world. Participants will leave with ready-to-use lessons and resources designed to bring healthy, scientific skepticism to their classrooms--lessons that slip into content-based physics instruction without disruption. Topics include fire walking, ghosts and angels, balance bracelets, pareidolia, back masking, media credulity, and more.

  • W20: Introductory Physics for Life Science - Curricular Materials and Activities

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Nancy Beverly

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Nancy Donaldson, Ralf Widenhorn, Dan Young, Evan Frodermann, Kim Moore

    Cost

    • Members: $80
    • Non-members: $105

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 0

    The recent Conference on Introductory Physics for Life Science, the Gordon Physics Education Research Conference on the Complex Intersection of Physics and Biology, and the American Journal of Physics special issue on the Intersection of Physics with Biology, have all broadened the scope of possibilities for activities and implementation for the Introductory Physics for Life Science. This workshop will present highlights from these events, as well as resources and repositories for the increasing number of materials for activities and curricular ideas. Participants will have the opportunity to experience some activities and materials as well as discuss their implementation issues, particular to their student population needs and institutional challenges.

  • W21: Simple Experiments for Learning the Strategies that Mirror Science Practices (Cancelled)

    Date/Time

    • Sat, Jul 26
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Gorazd Planinsic

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Bor Gregorcic

    Cost

    • Members: $65
    • Non-members: $90

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 24

    This is a hands-on workshop designed for teachers interested in using Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) system to engage students in practical work that mirrors scientific practice and thus helps them develop scientific habits of mind. Creation of successful practical ISLE problems relies on finding suitable experiments. The key features of such experiments are that they are simple, easy to build, that they allow students construct multiple explanations within the accessible curriculum domain and that they provide opportunities for the students to actively experience how experiment and theory are interwound. Obviously the requirements are tough and therefore it is understandable why such experiments are not easy to find. In the workshop participants will be solving different problems based on simple experiments with computer scanner and mobile phones using ISLE approach. Participants will work in rotating groups. At the end there will be a discussion about the results.

  • W22: Activities for Learning About Climate and Climate Change

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Brian Jones

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Paul Williams

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 30
    • Available: 21

    During the day, the earth is warmed by sunlight that shines on it. This is something that your students can see, something that they can feel. But, over the course of a day, the surface of the earth receives more radiant energy from clouds and the lower atmosphere than it does from the sun. The influence of this thermal radiation is critically important for an understanding of the earth's climate and how it is changing. In this workshop we'll share activities that make this invisible form of energy transfer tangible. We'll also share activities that illuminate other important but complex concepts, such as how climate models work, how feedbacks-both positive and negative-affect the climate. Our goal is to give you a set of tools to give your students a real understanding of the earth's climate and how scientists predict its development in the future.

  • W23: Creating Interactive Web Simulations Using HTML5 and JavaScript

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Dan Schroeder

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Andrew Duffy

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 20
    • Available: 0

    HTML5 and JavaScript have replaced Java and Flash as the leading technology for in-browser software, with the ability to deliver high-performance, graphics-intensive simulations over the Web to both personal computers and mobile devices. Participants in this workshop will learn to use this technology to create educational physics simulations that students can run on almost any computer, tablet, or smartphone that can browse the Web. The workshop will cover HTML basics, the JavaScript programming language, graphics using the HTML5 canvas element, and essential user-interface controls. Participants should have some prior programming experience (in any language) and must bring their own laptop computers with up-do-date versions of Firefox, Chrome, and a programmer's text editor such as Notepad++ or TextWrangler. Participants are also encouraged to bring ideas for simulations they would like to create.

  • W24: Integrating NGSS, Design, and Literacy

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Alice Flarend

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 20
    • Available: 12

    The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for integrating science content, practices and engineering design. This workshop will allow the participants to explore engineering projects that tie in real science content, rather than guess and check methods, as well as highlighting science practices. The Claims, Evidence and Reasoning model of scientific communication will be used throughout. This workshop is appropriate for all pre-college science teachers as well as teacher educators. Post-secondary teachers may find the explicit evidenced-based scientific reasoning useful, particularly for laboratories at the college level.

  • W25: What Every Physics Teacher Should know About Cognitive Research

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Chandralekha Singh

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 25
    • Available: 0

    In the past few decades, cognitive research has made significant progress in understanding how people learn. The understanding of cognition that has emerged from this research can be particularly useful for physics instruction. We will discuss and explore, in a language accessible to everybody, how the major findings of cognitive research can be applied to physics teaching and assessment.

  • W26: Extreme Engineering for the HS Students and Teachers

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Ken Cecire

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 25
    • Available: 18

    The Next Generation Science Standards strongly emphasize scientific and engineering practices: this can be a challenge for physics teachers. Meet this head on using data and design from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. The LHC is not only at the forefront of physics research but comprises some of the greatest engineering marvels of the 21st century. We will use LHC data and design in scientific and engineering investigations for your classroom and help you meet the new standards.

  • W27: Patterns Approach

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Bradford Hill

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Heather Moore, Jordan Pasqualin

    Cost

    • Members: $70
    • Non-members: $95

    Seats

    • Max: 30
    • Available: 24

    *Offered by AAPT's 2014 Zitzewitz Award for Excellence in Pre-college Physics winner and collaborators. The Patterns Approach for Physics is driven by the recurring question: "How do we find and use patterns in nature to predict the future and understand the past?" Students are continually engaged in scientific practices, starting with anchoring experiments that contextualize four common patterns in physics: linear, quadratic, inverse and inverse square. Inquiry and engineering experiences serve to spiral the anchoring patterns with new physics concepts, developing conceptual, graphical, and symbolic understanding. Each experiment begins with an initial guess that is contrasted with a data-informed prediction, found by extrapolation of the pattern in the data. This allows students to explicitly compare low-to-high-evidence predictions and builds an experiential case for why we engage in scientific practices. Creating models and discussing their limitations is also key. The Patterns Approach has been used within freshman and IB courses and is published in the March issue of The Science Teacher.

  • W28: Teaching Astronomy with Mobile Devices

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Kevin Lee

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Kendra Sibbernsen

    Cost

    • Members: $20
    • Non-members: $45

    Seats

    • Max: 40
    • Available: 20

    This workshop will cover many of the issues concerning usage of mobile devices with students in astronomy classes. We will 1) survey the existing simulations and apps available for teaching astronomy concepts, 2) demonstrate and discuss experiences with Pearson's advanced peer instruction software Learning Catalytics, 3) discuss relevant issues such as what to do about students who don't have access to a mobile device and how you keep students from using their mobile devices for other purposes in the classroom, and 4) discuss recent trends in student ownership, use, and capability of mobile devices. Participants are encouraged to bring a relatively recent mobile device (smartphone or tablet). We would like to thank the NSF for funding under Grant No. 1044658.

  • W29: Demo Kit in a Box

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Steve Lindaas

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Adam Beehler

    Cost

    • Members: $70
    • Non-members: $95

    Seats

    • Max: 40
    • Available: 22

    Are you looking for easy ways to infuse inquiry into your classroom? Don't have a demo manager? We will help you establish having several small demos conveniently packed into one box, ready for the classroom at any moment. You may bring your box to your class and use the demos to highlight lecture points, or use them when a student asks a question. Use a "Just-In-Time" teaching approach but with a demo twist! We will show you how to pack small demo kit boxes that pack a large instructional punch. Participants will leave with demos and a box!

  • W30: Interactive Engagement in the Upper-division: Methods and Materials from CU-Boulder

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Steven Pollock

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Charles Baily, Marcos Caballero, Bethany Wilcox

    Cost

    • Members: $72
    • Non-members: $97

    Seats

    • Max: 32
    • Available: 6

    The physics department at the University of Colorado Boulder has been developing active-learning materials and research-based assessments for courses beyond the introductory level: Modern Physics, Math Methods/Classical Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics, Electrostatics & Electrodynamics. We have shown that improved student learning can be achieved in advanced courses by adopting and adapting student-centered pedagogies and instructional techniques proven effective in introductory courses. This workshop will provide participants with an overview of the research base and course transformation process, along with a guided exploration of our online resources. Discussions of how learning goals for advanced courses differ from those for introductory courses will help you to adapt these resources to your classroom. We will provide practical demonstrations of how clicker questions and activities can be incorporated into advanced courses. Please bring a laptop. (You will also receive a flash drive containing a complete collection of our latest materials and assessments. See http://www.colorado.edu/sei/physics)

  • W31: Strengthening Mathematical Sensemaking in Physics

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Andrew Boudreaux

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Suzanne Brahmia, Stephen Kanim

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 6

    Physics Invention Tasks, a set of supplemental curricular materials appropriate for high school and college, provide students with opportunities for the generative and flexible use of mathematics. Through sequences of tasks, students make sense of physical quantities and laws, work which prepares them for future instruction and learning. An important feature is students' invention of algebraic descriptions of systems and phenomena. Participants will learn about the theoretical underpinnings of invention instruction* and gain experience with tested and freely web-available Physics Invention Tasks. Participants will also develop their own invention tasks and learn to modify large and small group activities to explicitly promote flexible and generative mathematical reasoning. Such reasoning is consistent with the NGSS science and engineering practices, but is often not well developed in traditional courses. *D. Schwartz and J. Bransford, A Time for Telling, Cog. Instr. 16 (4), 475 (1998).

  • W32: New RTP and ILD Tools and Curricula: Video Analysis, Clickers and E&M Labs

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    David Sokoloff

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Priscilla Laws, Ronald Thornton

    Cost

    • Members: $75
    • Non-members: $100

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 14

    RealTime Physics (RTP) and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) have been available for over 15 years--so what's new? The 3rd Edition of RTP includes five new labs on basic electricity and magnetism in Module 3 as well a new approach to projectile motion in Module 1. Some of these new labs make use of video analysis. Also new are clicker-based ILDs. This hands-on workshop is designed for those who want to make effective use of active learning with computer-based tools in their introductory courses. These active learning approaches for lectures, labs, and recitations (tutorials) are based on physics education research (PER). The following will be distributed: Modules from the Third Edition of RTP, the ILD book, the Physics with Video Analysis book and CD, and Teaching Physics with the Physics Suite by E.F. Redish. Organizer: David Sokoloff and Co-Organizers: Ronald K. Thornton, Tufts University Priscilla W. Laws, Dickinson College.

  • W33: PIRA Demonstration Workshop II

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Dale Stille

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Sam Sampere

    Cost

    • Members: $115
    • Non-members: $140

    Seats

    • Max: 55
    • Available: 47

    Topics in this workshop cover the standard second semester of physics instruction from E&M to Modern plus Astronomy. It is taught by an experienced team of lecture demonstrators. The format allows for and encourages interplay between instructors and participants. It is recommended that both Lecture Demonstrations 1 and 2 be taken as this will cover the complete year of demonstrations needed for a typical course. The demonstrations used and exhibited will be based on, but not limited to, the PIRA top 200 list of demonstrations. See http://www.pira-online.org for more info on this list. Please note that this workshop is intended to expose as many demonstrations and ideas as possible to the participants. Since we will be doing approximately 100 demos during this workshop, time restraints DO NOT allow for extensive or in depth discussions of each demonstration. We will make every effort to answer all questions and concerns.

  • W34: Research-Based Alternatives to Traditional Physics Problems

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Kathy Harper

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Thomas M. Foster, David P. Maloney

    Cost

    • Members: $80
    • Non-members: $105

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 3

    Accumulating research on problem solving in physics clearly indicates that traditional, end-of-chapter exercises in physics texts are not useful and may actually hinder students' learning of important physics concepts. The research also raises questions about the efficacy of such tasks for helping students develop "problem solving skills." In light of these results the question is: What alternative tasks can we use to help students develop problem solving skills and a conceptual understanding? This workshop will review the research and then provide examples of several alternative tasks and their use. Participants will also get practice writing alternative problems in a variety of formats for use in their own classrooms.

  • W35: Advanced Labs

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Jeremiah Williams

    Cost

    • Members: $85
    • Non-members: $110

    Seats

    • Max: 30
    • Available: 11

    This workshop is appropriate for college and university instructional laboratory developers. At each of five stations, presenters will demonstrate an approach to an intermediate or advanced laboratory exercise. Each presenter will show and discuss the apparatus and techniques used. Attendees will cycle through the stations and have an opportunity to use each apparatus. Documentation will be provided for each experiment, with sample data, equipment lists, and construction or purchase information.

  • W36: Cosmology in the Classroom

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Daniel Smith

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Kim Coble

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 25
    • Available: 5

    Recent observations, and advances in computation and visualization have led to a revolution in our understanding of the structure, composition, and evolution of the universe. Experts should not be the only ones, however, who understand the physics and data that provide overwhelming evidence for big bang cosmology and its dark matter-dark energy extensions. In the first part of the workshop we will present (1) our research on common alternate student conceptions in cosmology, and (2) interactive web-based exercises from a curriculum that helps students to master the scientific concepts and processes leading to our current understanding of the universe. In the second part, we will present classroom-tested labs on the Large Scale Structure, featuring data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, as well as a Cosmic Microwave Background lab utilizing data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. Participants should bring their own laptops with spreadsheet software and Adobe Flash installed. (Supported by NSF PAARE, AST-0750814, and the South Carolina Space Grant Consortium/NASA EPSCor.)

  • W37: LEAP: Learner-Centered Environment for Algebra- based Physics

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Paula Engelhardt

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Steve Robinson

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 30
    • Available: 12

    The Learner-centered Environment for Algebra-based Physics (LEAP) is a newly developed, two semester physics curriculum for algebra-based physics appropriate for both university and high school settings. The pedagogy and activity sequence is guided by research on student learning of physics and builds on the work of the NSF supported project, Physics for Everyday Thinking (PET). Students work in groups to develop their understanding of various physics phenomena including forces, energy, electricity and magnetism, light and optics. Students utilize hands-on experiments and computer simulations to provide evidence to support their conceptual understanding. Traditional problem solving is scaffolded by using the S.E.N.S.E. problem solving strategy. During this workshop, participants will be introduced to the LEAP curriculum and S.E.N.S.E. problem solving strategy, will examine and work through a sample of the types of activities students do including Java- and Flash-based simulations. *Supported in part by NSF CCLI grant #DUE-0737324

  • W38: Improving Assessment in your Courses Using Tools from the PER User's Guide

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Adrian Madsen

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Sarah McKagan, Eleanor Sayre

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 30
    • Available: 7

    In this workshop, you will learn about new online resources to address the needs of faculty and department chairs around assessment, available on the PER User's Guide (http://perusersguide.org). We expedite your search for research-based assessments by providing access and guides to specific assessments such as concept inventories, beliefs surveys, upper division assessments, and rubrics for measuring scientific skills. We include information about the background, validation, and guidelines for administration of assessments. To gauge how your students' scores compared to those at peer institutions, we provide a national database of research-based assessment scores. You can upload your students' assessment scores and compare to other students like yours, visualize your data, and view statistics. You will receive a report of your results and suggestions on how to improve. These reports can be used to improve your teaching, make a case for more resources, and for your tenure and promotion file.

  • W39: Strategies to Help Women Succeed in Physics Related Professions

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Chandralekha Singh

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 20
    • Available: 16

    Women are severely under-represented in physics-related professions. This workshop will explore strategies to help women faculty members in K-12 education, colleges and universities understand and overcome barriers to their advancement in careers related to physics. A major focus of the workshop will be on strategies for navigating effectively in different situations in order to succeed despite the gender schema, stereotypes and subtle biases against women physicists. We will also examine case studies and learn effective strategies by role playing.

  • W40: Research-based Materials for a New Introductory Quantum Mechanics Curriculum

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Antje Kohnle

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Derek Raine

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 40
    • Available: 30

    The Institute of Physics New Quantum Curriculum (quantumphysics.iop.org, simulations also at www.st-andrews.ac.uk/physics/quvis) consists of freely available online texts and interactive simulations with accompanying activities for an introductory course in quantum mechanics starting from two-level systems. This approach immediately immerses students in quantum phenomena that have no classical analogue, using simpler mathematical tools that allow a greater focus on conceptual understanding. It allows from the start a discussion of interpretative aspects of quantum mechanics and quantum information theory. This workshop will give participants an overview of the new curriculum and supporting materials for instructors (simulations, interactive engagement materials and texts), along with the opportunity to explore them in greater depth according to their individual interests. We will describe our iterative process of refining the simulations and activities, and give examples of in-class use and outcomes. Participants are encouraged to bring laptops. This work is supported by the UK Institute of Physics.

  • W41: Physics Mentoring Training (Cancelled)

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Renee Michelle Goertzen

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Monica Plisch

    Cost

    • Members: $75
    • Non-members: $100

    Seats

    • Max: 30
    • Available: 30

    Many faculty and graduate students are placed in mentorship roles, although they rarely receive formal training in how to be an effective mentor. The Physics Research Mentor Training Seminar provides training for physics faculty, postdocs, and graduate students who are in mentorship roles. Participants will work through a portion of a ten-week seminar that includes themes such as establishing expectations, maintaining effective communication, addressing diversity, and dealing with ethical issues. Participants will improve their own mentoring skills and will learn how to facilitate mentoring seminars using a facilitation guide. This guide was developed by physics researchers and researchers from the University of Wisconsin who have previously adapted several mentor training curricula. Within each topic, the guide provides learning objectives, suggested activities, and case studies for discussion. The workshop is intended to help physics researchers improve their mentoring skills, and to improve the experiences of the next generation of physicists.

  • W42: Using, Modifying, and Building Internet Problem-solving coaches for Your Students

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Leon Hsu

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Bijaya Aryal, Evan Frodermann, Ken Heller, Qing Ryan

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 30
    • Available: 18

    This workshop will introduce participants to a software system for creating and modifying computer coaching programs designed to help students develop expertise in solving problems in introductory physics. The coaches, which are delivered via the web so that students can use them at their convenience, provide students with individualized guidance and feedback while practicing using an expert-like problem-solving framework to solve problems. In addition, the software system allows instructors, even those with no programming background, to modify the coaching programs to be compatible with their teaching methods. We will discuss the motivation behind and possible uses of the computer coaches, along with the process used to build and test them. Participants should bring their own laptops to access the coaches and try building their own.

  • W43: Using the MIT MOOC to Teach You and Your Class Better

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    David Pritchard

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Raluca Teodorescu, Boris Korsunsky, ZhongZhou Chen and MIT RELATE group

    Cost

    • Members: $60
    • Non-members: $85

    Seats

    • Max: 30
    • Available: 11

    8.MReV, Mechanics ReView is a free online course whose Modeling Applied to Problem Solving (MAPS) pedagogy improves problem-solving expertise. You can use its ~ 300 highly praised problems directly or as inspiration for your own problems, and/or recommend it as advanced placement preparation for your students. Three offerings of Mechanics ReView have benefited over 300 physics teachers and 1000 students. Graduates praise the problems, the MAPS pedagogy, the discussion forums, and the availability of CEU credits. Based on Hestenes' seminal papers about modeling, MAPS generates problem-solving skills that transfer to a subsequent E&M course and helps students develop more expert-like attitudes towards science, particularly in problem-solving self confidence. The workshop will include innovative problem-solving and classification activities and discussions. Bring your laptop for a hands-on introduction to our MOOC. We seek users/collaborators for our materials, which can be freely modified. We acknowledge support by NSF, Google, and MIT.

  • W44: SCALE-UP 1

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Brandon Lunk

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Jon Gaffney

    Cost

    • Members: $65
    • Non-members: $90

    Seats

    • Max: 36
    • Available: 24

    The Student Centered Active Learning Environment using Upside-down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP) project promotes both a style of classroom environment and a set of pedagogical strategies that together integrate the intimacy of small, discussion-based classrooms and laboratories even in large enrollment introductory service courses. A successful SCALE-UP classroom is an active place, with round tables, whiteboards, and a pedagogy that encourages student collaboration. The actual design of such a classroom depends on class size, the institutional culture, and the needs of the faculty and students, but always the focus is on fostering relationships between students, faculty, and curricular materials. In this workshop, participants will learn about the philosophy of SCALE-UP, including how to use sample pedagogy, by working through a few of the same activities we give to our students. For more advanced topics, including curricular design, contact the workshop organizers.

  • W45: Physics and Toys II: Energy, Momentum, Electricity, and Magnetism Scheduling

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Beverley Taylor

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Stephen Luzader

    Cost

    • Members: $70
    • Non-members: $95

    Seats

    • Max: 36
    • Available: 7

    This hands-on workshop is designed for teachers at all levels in search of fun physics demonstrations, lab experiments, and interactive materials through the use of ordinary children's toys. More than 50 toys will be demonstrated, and the physical principles related to these toys will be discussed. The workshop will concentrate on toys that illustrate the concepts of kinetic and potential energy, linear and angular momentum, electricity, magnetism, pressure, temperature and properties of materials. You will have the opportunity to participate in both qualitative and quantitative investigations using toys. The workshop leaders have found that toys can be utilized at all grade levels from kindergarten through college by varying the sophistication of the analysis. These same toys can be used for informal presentations to public groups of all ages, whether children or adults.

  • W46: Physics Union Mathematics (PUM): Bringing Science and Engineering Practices to your Classroom

    Date/Time

    • Sun, Jul 27
    • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

    Organizer

    Suzanne Brahmia

    Co-Organizer(s)

    Eugenia Etkina Robert Zisk

    Cost

    • Members: $64
    • Non-members: $89

    Seats

    • Max: 24
    • Available: 13

    Physics Union Mathematics (PUM) is a set of supplemental curricular materials spanning middle school through high school designed to develop the Science and Engineering Practices outlined in the NGSS. An important emphasis of PUM is the implicit development of mathematical thinking and the explicit and appropriate use of grade-level mathematics in the context of science practices. Using the PUM curricular materials, participants will learn how to modify physical science and physics courses to incorporate Science and Engineering Practices and the Crosscutting Concepts outlined in the NGSS. We provide tested curriculum materials including: Sample materials from the PUM website (curriculum/solutions/assessments freely available after the completion of workshop) (b) a website with over 100 short invention activities designed to develop mathematical reasoning; and (c) a website with over 200 videotaped experiments and questions for use in classwork/laboratories/homework. Please bring a laptop with Quicktime if you have one.

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