Microcontrollers are relatively inexpensive devices that you can program to collect data from a variety of sensor types and control external devices such as motors and actuators. Microcontrollers can be used in a variety of classroom activities and student projects. We will focus our workshop on using an Arduino Microcontroller to construct a mini-underwater vehicle that will seek out to hover at a desired programmed depth. We will also discuss how our students use Arduinos for fun, research, underwater ROV’s and general exploration. An optional pool-test of your mini-underwater vehicle will occur after the workshop at a nearby hotel pool. Note: you get to keep your mini ROV with Arduino. No previous microcontroller programming or electronics experience is required. You need to bring your own Windows, Mac, or Linux computer.

Modeling is about making and using scientific descriptions (models) of physical phenomena and processes. Modeling Instruction is a guided-inquiry method for teaching science by actively engaging students in all aspects of scientific modeling. The curriculum structures the course material around 6-12 key models. The focus in each unit is developing the model, deploying the model, and extending the model to new situations. The Modeling Instruction project is a national program that has trained thousands of middle school, high school, and undergraduate science teachers in activity-based learning using guided-inquiry and problem-based learning techniques. Most teachers report students achieving statistically significant learning gains in annual progress and increased physics enrollment within 2-3 years of implementation in their classrooms. Both beginning and veteran physics teachers who would like to try a more activity-based approach will benefit from this workshop, which introduces the Modeling Instruction approach. The materials can be used to replace or supplement direct instruction. This workshop offers an overview and introduces the key points of Modeling Instruction to help faculty decide if one of the full summer workshops (1-3 weeks long) is worth their time and effort. For more information on Modeling Instruction including summer workshops, go to https://modelinginstruction.org.

You may know the classic physics demo PIRA 5K20.30 by one of several common names. If you do not know what PIRA 5K20.30 stands for, then you will also learn about this extremely valuable resource while you build your very own Jumping Ring, Ring Flinger, or Elihu Thomson coil apparatus. The final product measures almost 0.5 m tall, and tosses rings up to 5 or 6 m high! You will be supplied with various rings including aluminum, aluminum with a split, plastic and a couple other various metals. You will also UNDERSTAND how these work! This is not as simple as magnetic repulsion.

As the author of the “Science 101” column in the journal Science and Children, I explain the physics behind many everyday phenomena, which should be understood by both the public as well as teachers of the next generation of citizens and voters. In this half-day workshop, participants will experience hands-on activities that illustrate common occurrences, and equally important, will become familiar with the misconceptions that are so pervasive among the public and many teachers. Some of these misconceptions are related to the Coriolis effect, action and reaction, static electricity, the Bernoulli effect, and much more. Participants will investigate phenomena, develop a much deeper understanding, and walk away with lessons and activities that can be used with a variety of audiences.

Contemporary physics can be difficult to integrate into curriculum. Hands-on activities are essential to help students understand these concepts. This workshop will give you hands-on activities for a variety of contemporary physics topics including radioactivity, gravitational waves and more. Participants will take home materials for many of the activities.

In this session participants will learn how to design and incorporate the latest technologies into their classroom to not only increase student motivation but also critical thinking skills. Specifically, this workshop focuses on virtual reality (observers being completely submersed in a simulated environment), augmented reality (a simulated environment is overlayed on the real world at some level), and video games (how we as physics instructors can utilize the advanced gaming engines found in multiple systems). There will also be a variety of platforms for participants to experience virtual reality to help determine what would work best for them in their classroom settings. Participants will initially go through labs that utilize this technology as students would followed by pedagogical discussions from faculty about how they have been implemented in the classroom. In addition, participants will begin to learn how to create curriculum materials for their own classroom utilizing these technologies.

This session will support the AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C – Mechanics and AP Physics C – Electricity and Magnetism courses and consist of three distinct sessions: 1) Updates to the Course, 2) The Exam, and 3) New Resources. Each session will provide participants with opportunities to share challenges and successes in implementing the resources, as well as learn of instructional strategies and approaches for enhanced teaching and learning. At the end of each session, presenters and participants will engage in Q&A.

In this workshop, we will show you some ways in which computation can be integrated into your introductory courses. The PICUP partnership has developed a variety of computational activities for introductory physics, and we will show you how you can take these PICUP materials and adapt them to fit your needs. PLEASE BRING A LAPTOP COMPUTER. In this workshop, we will focus on computational activities using spreadsheets and web-based “Trinkets” so you do not need to have any specialized software installed. After the workshop, participants who participate fully in this workshop can receive a $40 grant-funded rebate, making the final cost of the workshop $20 for AAPT members and $45 for non-members. This workshop is funded by the National Science Foundation under DUE IUSE grants 1524128, 1524493, 1524963, 1525062, and 1525525.

Incorporating writing into physics courses offers a number of pedagogical benefits, including reinforcement of conceptual understanding, deeper assessment of student learning, development of students’ professional writing skills, and improved prevention and detection of plagiarism. However, developing and assessing writing assignments for a physics course can be a daunting challenge, requiring physics educators to expand their means of assessment and address student expectations. At this workshop, participants will learn more about designing and assessing writing-based assignments for various course contexts, giving students effective and efficient feedback, helping students conduct peer review, scaffolding the writing process, incorporating authentic external audiences into writing assignments, and helping students transfer writing skills from other contexts. The workshop leaders will share writing-based assignments that they have found successful in their courses and help participants adapt and develop writing-based assignments for their own contexts. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop or tablet to the workshop.

GlowScript VPython is an open-source browser-based 3D programming environment used widely in physics education. The workshop has two goals: 1) give users of GlowScript VPython an understanding of the technical structure of the application, which can better inform their use of it, and 2) encourage those with extensive programming experience to contribute to the further evolution of GlowScript VPython. The first part of the workshop will feature a tour of the key elements of the software, which is written mainly in JavaScript. Next, participants will make and test changes to the application. Knowledge of JavaScript is not required, but significant experience in using some object-oriented algorithmic language is necessary such as Python or Java or C++. Bring your own laptop with the necessary software installed, as explained in the developer's section of www.glowscript.org/docs/GlowScriptDocs/local.html.

The story circle is a process that creates a distinctive kind of space for healing dialogue. Participants are encouraged to share a sense of mutual responsibility for the well being of the community and the individuals within it, and an understanding that what happens to one person affects all. Contemporary storytelling circles draw upon historical indigenous traditions practiced commonly in North America, the talking circle. When the Transformative Narratives™? model joins with a storytelling circle we hear stories from participants, and curate content from literary devices such as poetry, short fiction, letters, and micro essay. Two Florida communities gained national attention on gun violence with the shootings at Pulse Nightclub and at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. The residual impact of gun violence is reported as survivor’s guilt, depression, and suicide. How are physicists and other scientists holding space for themselves, students and workers in unpacking trauma, emotional instability, and physical and psychological safety while in the midst of political turmoil defining gun culture? Participants will experience an interactive story circle to heal and transform their stories while learning a skill to help others.

The Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) is a 25-item rubric that provides a percentile measure of the degree and type of student-centered, constructivist, inquiry-based, engagement in an instructional situation. RTOP scores correlate very highly with student conceptual gains. In this workshop, we will score video vignettes of teaching to learn how to use RTOP for guiding personal reflection and improvement and change of our own teaching; for mentoring peers, novice teachers and student teachers; and to establish a vocabulary for discussing reformed teaching practices. If you wish, you may bring a dvd of your own teaching to score.

Physics Education Research has long collected quantitative data sets. These data sets have been traditionally examined using descriptive statistics and classical analysis frameworks. Machine learning has expanded the traditional analysis toolbox by adding tools that are more adept at examining data commonly collected in PER (e.g., categorical data, text data, social network data). The University of Oslo/Michigan State University joint Learning Machines Lab (http://learningmachineslab.github.io) has created a collection of Jupyter notebooks that introduce researchers in DBER to machine learning. This workshop will bridge the gap between the traditional quantitative data sets collected by PER and new machine learning tools available in the python programming environment. Participants will be exposed to various modeling techniques (regression and classification) and will participate in a group research project using real PER data. Participants should bring a laptop with Anaconda Python 3.x installed.

How deep do you want to go in transforming or invigorating your physics classes for life science students, and yourself as an educator for this population? Jump in no matter where you are - use and do what is appropriate for you and your instructional situation, knowing that you can go deeper when you are ready. In this workshop, you will be guided through the three main components of the Living Physics Portal: (1) How to search, find, modify, and use curricular materials at different scales, and get help in implementation. (2) How to contribute your original materials or adaptations of others’ materials and get feedback from fellow faculty. You can start out at the “sandbox” level (private to registered educators) and grow to the peer-reviewed level, attaining scholarship in teaching and learning acceptable at many institutions (3) Share curricular ideas, concerns, or problems and get ideas from others, as part of the Living Physics Portal Community. You can start out with just giving comments, or implementation reports, then grow to enjoy more intellectual richness by joining a topic discussion, or curricular development group. Bring our own laptop, so you can take your own path through the Living Physics Portal. Bring your curricular ideas, activities, or particular needs, for small group discussion.

With the increased availability of 3D printers and other similar technologies, making has become a valuable tool to engage our students in creative projects and activities. In this session we will explore several different ideas on using both high and low tech methods to produce pop culture projects that teach design skills, tech skills, and basic electronics.

LaTeX is the de facto standard for publication quality document preparation in mathematics and science, yet few students ever learn to use it because of its steep learning curve. In this workshop, I will introduce LaTeX within the context of physics for instructors and students at all levels, including the introductory level, but without the steep learning curve. Participants will construct both simple and more complex documents using Overleaf, an online LaTeX editing portal for which accounts are free. I will also describe how to install LaTeX locally. Participants are asked to have previously created a free Overleaf account at Overleaf.com and to bring a laptop or tablet.

3D printing moves beyond simple pictures and animations, providing students the opportunity to use cutting-edge technology to build complex models that can be created and revised relatively rapidly. Research suggests such student-developed models encourage discussion and a more in-depth learning of science content. Students’ 3D models also represent their scientific understanding at a specific point in time, helping provide a physical portfolio of science learning. The rise of 3D printing in science education can be understood by examining the skills developed during hands-on activities, including problem-solving, critical and spatial thinking, patience, and resilience. In this workshop, participants will learn about 3D printing technologies, their use, and some of the ways 3D printing and tactile learning can be implemented in a science education setting. Participants should BRING LAPTOPS WITH ABILITY TO INSTALL FREE SOFTWARE. Recent examples from astronomy, including 3D printed constellations, stars, planets, galaxies, and more, plus associated activities, will be used to demonstrate effective methods and techniques. Participants will receive guided example lessons on how to design and print 3D models. Finally, participants will learn how 3D printing and tactile learning are especially beneficial for students with blindness/visual impairments, supporting the concept of Universal Design in Instruction.

The Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC) is a collaboration between Green Bank Observatory (GBO) and West Virginia University (WVU), with the goal to increase the scientific and information technology literacy among high school students. The program is also aimed at improving teachers' knowledge of the nature of science, the importance of information technology to scientific discovery, and methodologies for incorporating inquiry-based education into the classroom. The student participants have the opportunity to make significant scientific discoveries by searching the data obtained with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT), where previously unknown pulsars lie awaiting to be discovered. Through the PSC, the student participants can attend Capstone events at universities in their vicinity, come to the PSC camp at Green Bank in summer, and be eligible for college credit. This workshop is an opportunity for teachers to join the PSC and acquire experience in pulsar astronomy and data analysis, so that they can guide their students through the training. Participants are asked to bring their own laptops for the training and will be able to continue participation in PSC throughout the year through internet connection. Since this project is covered by a NSF grant, teachers who participate in this workshop will be mailed a reimbursement for the fee ($60 for members, $85 for nonmembers) after the workshop is completed.

Learn how CERN physicists make discoveries by analyzing real data yourself in an understandable visual format. Learn how to give this experience to your students to help them learn about not only the forefront of physics but the very physics they study in an exciting and interesting context. Bring your laptop!

Being aware of common student alternate conceptions in physics is beneficial when designing instruction to help students develop a coherent knowledge structure. It is thus not surprising that knowledge of common student difficulties is one aspect of what Shulman coined “pedagogical content knowledge”, or in other words, knowledge about how to teach a subject that is different from the content knowledge itself. This workshop will first explore the literature on the extent to which TAs (undergraduate and graduate students teaching labs and recitations) and instructors are aware of various introductory student alternate conceptions. Participants will identify common alternate conceptions of students in certain question and discuss potential uses in a professional development class. In addition, participants will discuss productive approaches to help both TAs and instructors learn about these alternate conceptions and integrate this knowledge into their pedagogical design.

Trinket (https://trinket.io) is a free web-based coding environment designed for education. A "trinket" is an editable, runnable program that can be embedded within any web page. Teachers and bloggers might embed a trinket in a blog post or LMS web page. Students can run the program, edit the program, save the program to their account, and share their program with others. A Trinket "course" is a web-based environment for teachers to easily create an outline and set of course pages. Authoring is in Markdown, an easy-to-use use markup language common to Jupyter, GitHub and other web apps. For physics teachers, Trinket allows you to easily create full-featured physics instructional pages with coding exercises (in a variety of languages including Python and GlowScript VPython), simulations, images, videos, and PDFs. Furthermore, a Trinket Connect account allows teachers to collect students' programming assignments. Trinket is ideal for teachers who integrate computing in introductory physics. In this workshop, you will create GlowScript VPython trinkets and a Trinket course with physics content (including mathematical markup with LaTeX) and coding exercises.

Over the last few years, there has been a push to integrate computational modeling earlier in the physics curriculum. Participants will work activities used in a typical two-semester introductory physics course ranging from conceptual level to calculus-based level. We have been using Glowscript (GS)(http://www.glowscript.org) as the computational modeling language and will use it in this workshop. Participants will learn some basic GS coding so that they can code some of activities used by the leaders in their classes. Several activities have been developed in conjunction with a series of workshops done as part of the ATE Physics Workshop Project and these will be shared with the participants. Additionally, we will discuss implementing computational modeling into your introductory physics classes. Participants are asked to bring their own laptops and to have created an account on GS before arrival.

High school physics teachers, in particular, have been found to be critical to inspiring young women who pursue undergraduate physics. Come to this workshop to learn how to be a part of a national campaign for high school physics teachers and their students, STEP UP for Women (Supporting Teachers to Encourage Pursuit of Undergraduate Physics for Women). During this workshop, learn about gender representation in physics in the U.S. and around the world, and engage in active strategies and two specific lessons that are demonstrated to enhance the physics identity of young women. If only one-third of high school physics teachers was able to recruit an interested young woman to a physics undergraduate program, gender imbalance upon enrollment would be offset. Undergraduate faculty have a special role to welcome and retain these young women. Whoever you might be, be a part of the change! (This workshop is fully funded by NSF #1720810. Participants who complete the workshop may seek full reimbursement of their workshop registration fee.)

In this workshop we will share many labs that are suitable for both high school and introductory college physics. The labs are challenging but not too difficult and, leave plenty of room for creativity! We have found success by limiting the goals for the labs to: 1. Fun and engaging, 2. Built in student choice, 3. Related to this week’s material. The labs are effective at engaging the students in problem solving and conceptual understanding. Merrell used this type of lab as a high school teacher and physics quickly became one of the most popular classes in the school. Adams, inspired by Merrell, has found that her college students no longer rush to leave, and in some cases stay to see how other groups do even after they’ve turned in their lab write up for the day! This workshop will allow you to try out these labs for yourself.

Ever wondered how to integrate a little bit of coding into a high school physics class without overwhelming your students or taking up lots of class time? This hands on workshop will provide an overview of simple, conceptually-motivated exercises where students construct games like asteroids and angry birds using a free in-browser editor that works great on chromebooks or whatever devices you have. Following that we will show you how to use stemcoding.osu.edu which is a free "learning management system" that is designed to facilitate using coding activities in sizable classes. This framework also includes assessment questions designed to probe whether students are building their conceptual knowledge as they complete the activities. We will share with you a full set of lesson guides and solutions for over 17 different simple coding activities for high school physics and physical science, all of which produce PhET-like interactives. If you have enjoyed seeing coding tutorial videos on the STEMcoding youtube channel (http://youtube.com/c/STEMcoding ) here is your chance to do a deep dive! The STEMcoding project is led by Prof. Chris Orban from Ohio State Physics and Prof. Richelle Teeling-Smith in the physics department at the University of Mt. Union. The STEMcoding project is supported in part by the AIP Meggers Project Award.

Join this fully reimbursible workshop to engage in integrated activities appropriate for high school and introductory college physics and astronomy teachers who want to teach with integration and authentic NASA data. Attendees will use resources developed and tested by physics education researchers through the NASA Space Science Education Consortium, including labs, lecture tutorials, clicker questions, and diagnostic assessments. These materials address topics that integrate Physics, Earth Science, and Space Science, including (1) coronal mass ejection videos to understand both simple mechanics as well as accelerations of relativistic particles, (2) sunspot data to understand period and frequency, (3) eclipses to understand geometric optics, and (4) auroral currents to understand electromagnetism. (This workshop is fully funded by a NASA Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number NNX16AR36A awarded to Temple University and the AAPT. Participants who complete the workshop may seek full reimbursement of their workshop registration fee.)

Participants in this workshop will have hands-on experience with research-validated active learning activities for the introductory laboratory—including RealTime Physics (RTP) labs using computer-based tools and video analysis—that have been used effectively in university, college and high school physics courses. They will also experience Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs)—a strategy for making lectures more active learning environments. These active learning approaches are fun, engaging and validated by physics education research (PER). Research results demonstrating the effectiveness of RTP and ILDs will be presented. Emphasis will be on activities in mechanics, electricity and magnetism and optics. The following will be distributed: Modules from the Third Edition of RTP, and the ILD book.

In this workshop we will demonstrate several examples of how computation can be integrated into upper-level physics courses in ways that will add value to the existing curriculum. The PICUP partnership has developed materials for a variety of physics courses in a variety of platforms including Python/VPython, C/C++, Fortran, MATLAB/Octave, Java, and Mathematica. Participants will receive information on the computational materials that have been developed, will discuss ways to tailor the materials to their own classes, and will learn about opportunities that are available to receive additional support through the PICUP partnership. PLEASE BRING A LAPTOP COMPUTER WITH THE PLATFORM OF YOUR CHOICE INSTALLED. This workshop is funded by the National Science Foundation under DUE IUSE grants 1524128, 1524493, 1524963, 1525062, and 1525525. The participant will pay up front for the workshop during registration and receive a refund after the workshop is completed in the amount of $40. The total cost of the workshop to each participant is $20 for AAPT members and $45 for non-members of AAPT.