July 13–17, 2013
101
Wednesday, July 17
Highlights
REGISTRATION
8 a.m.–3 p.m. Plaza Foyer
Poster Session 2 8:30–10 a.m. Grand Ballroom II
H.S. Physics Photo Contest Winners Plaza Foyer
Melba Newell Phillips Medal: Lillian C. McDermott
10–11 a.m. Grand Ballroom I
GREAT BOOK GIVEAWAY, 12–12:30 p.m. Plaza Foyer
Walking Tour of Portland, 4:30–6:30 p.m.
PERC Conference and Banquet, 8:30 p.m. Grand Ballroom I
PST2: Poster Session
Location: Grand Ballroom II
Date: Wednesday, July 17
Time: 8:30–10 a.m.
Odd number poster authors should be present 8:30-9:15 a.m.
Even number poster authors should be present 9:15-10 a.m.
(Posters should be set up by 8 a.m. Wednesday and then taken
down by 4 p.m. Wednesday)
A – Lecture/Classroom
PST2A01: 8:30-9:15 a.m. Designing Against Plug and Chug
Poster – Eugene Torigoe, Thiel College, 75 College Ave., Greenville, PA
16125;
Just because a question is numeric doesn’t mean that it has to be a plug and
chug question. This poster will outline some concrete strategies for ques-
tion design that penalize students who blindly plug numbers into equa-
tions. Regularly using these kinds of questions can reconfigure the class
reward structure, and shows students that their success will be directly tied
to their understanding of the equations they are use.
PST2A02: 9:15-10 a.m. Developing Scientific Reasoning in Pre-
H.S. Education Majors by Eliminating Possibilities
Poster – Jon D. H. Gaffney, Eastern Kentucky University, 521 Lancaster Ave.,
NSB 3140 Richmond, KY 40475;
One goal for a physics content course for pre-HS education majors is to
help students develop scientific reasoning skills, particularly with respect
to deductive and hypothetico-deductive reasoning. Opportunities for mak-
ing such development explicit arise in two separate units that build from
“Physics by Inquiry” materials. In magnetism, we use Sudoku to introduce
the concept of eliminating possibilities as deduction, and we use that pro-
cess to determine whether objects are permanent magnets, ferromagnetic
objects, or non-magnets. When studying electric circuits, we introduce
multiple possible conceptual models for electric circuits, and students are
tasked with the job of “busting” them by using hypothetico-deductive
reasoning. These activities allow students who are largely inexperienced
with scientific reasoning to play at some fundamental processes, provid-
ing groundwork for more intense evidence-based reasoning later in the
semester.
PST2A03: 8:30-9:15 a.m. Going to the Physical Situation:
Helping Students See Beyond Numbers
Poster – Jared R. Stenson, Gonzaga University, 502 E Boone Ave., Spokane,
WA 99258;
Dennis Gilbert, Lane Community College
This poster presents a deeper look at several practical issues that arise while
implementing a perspective of “going to the physical situation” in develop-
ing conceptual knowledge and problem solving ability in the classical
mechanics section of Calc-based General Physics. It describes challenges
and gives examples of efforts to effectively engaging students who are
sometimes resistant due to their familiarity and previous success using a
different approach. These efforts include framing elements of the course,
the choice of problems for discussion, and the exam structure.
PST2A04: 9:15-10 a.m. Going to the Physical Situation:
Problem-solving Chart
Poster – Dennis Gilbert, Lane Community College, 4000 E 30th Ave., Eu-
gene, OR 97405;
Jared Stenson, Gonzaga University
The poster provides details of a graphic chart on problem solving used in
