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Monday afternoon
(Formation Profession in Science Education) is a biannual course for
expert teachers that will become responsible for the in-service education of
science teachers in the first five years of the Italian secondary schools. The
research-based M-PFDS implement an integrated model of those meta-
cultural, experiential and situated for teacher professional development.
Udine University carries it out in e-learning modality while three other
Italian universities do it with courses in presence. It is based on school/uni-
versity cooperation. Particular attention is placed to match the interdisci-
plinary nature of the science education to offer the participants a rigorous,
certificated, and qualified formation based on the most recent development
of the pedagogical content knowledge. Participants become competent in
design-based research to be able to form other teachers to innovation in
teaching/ learning process.
PST1E11: 8:30-9:15 p.m. Integrating Practices and Core Ideas
into Introductory Physics Courses
Poster – James T. Laverty, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI 48910;
Marcos D. Caballero, Michigan State University
The current curriculum in most introductory college physics classes
nationwide centers almost exclusively on content knowledge. Many recent
national publications have called for an integration of scientific practices
(e.g. Construct and Use Models) into the curriculum to teach students
the process of science as well. In the Physics and Astronomy Department
at Michigan State University, we are working with faculty to incorporate
practices into the introductory physics courses. As part of this process, we
are developing assessment items that integrate both the practices and core
ideas of introductory physics. These items are being used as a stepping
stone to develop curricular changes in the courses as well. This poster will
focus on this development process and its current status.
PST1E12: 9:15-10 p.m. Instructors’ Understanding of Physics
Concepts Training Through in-lab Inquiry-based
Oriented Model
Poster – Sergio Flores Garcia, University of Juarez, El Paso, TX 79912;
Maria C. Salazar, Jaun L. Gonzalez, Oscar Ruiz, Eduardo J. Loera, Univer-
sity of Juarez
Inquiry-based physics is integrating in-lab learning approaches. At the
University of Juarez Mexico, we have established a physics teaching model
based on instructors’ abilities to explore and argue mechanics content ideas
of the environment. They develop skills to design and implement their own
in-lab learning activities through a 40-hour workshop in the physics lab.
The frame of reference is a compound of five phases: 1) Design, 2) Prepara-
tion, 3) Experimentation, 4) Measure, and 5) Discussion. Instructors have
to generate a general question, specific questions, and a hypothesis during
the first phase. These questions and the hypothesis are the central axis
of the cognitive strategy. The questions are designed to explore several
taxonomy levels and foster the development of intellectual abilities and
scientific skills. This instruction model will impact students’ conceptual
understanding. The rest of curriculum elements are: Pre-test, post-test,
rubrics and an acceptance survey.
PST1E13: 8:30-9:15 p.m. Infusing Pedagogical Content Knowl-
edge into Elementary Teacher Preparation*
Poster – Claudia Fracchiolla, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506;
N. Sanjay Rebello, Kansas State University
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is an important aspect in the
preparation of future teachers. We have recently redesigned the Concepts
of Physics (CoP) course for future elementary teachers at Kansas State Uni-
versity to infuse PCK into the learning experiences of the students. In this
poster, we will describe how this course integrates the process of learning
the physics concepts with learning of children’s ideas about those concepts.
The course is structured around the pedagogical learning bi-cycle (PLB),
which combines the learning of content knowledge with knowledge of age-
appropriate pedagogy. The integration is facilitated through a metacogni-
PST1E06: 9:15-10 p.m. “Is This Real Life”: Mixed Reality Training
for Learning Assistants
Poster - Jacquelyn J. Chini, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816;
Kevin H. Thomas, Malcolm B. Butler, Talat S. Rahman, University of Central
Florida
TLE TeachLivE™ is a mixed-reality classroom that allows participants
(typically K-12 pre-service or in-service teachers) to practice teaching with
simulated students. Similar to a flight simulator for pilots, TeachLivE™
allows teachers to refine their skills without risk to real students, and to
practice the same skills in the same instructional context several times. We
used TeachLivE™ with a class of Learning Assistants (LAs), who worked in
three-person groups. Each LA led a short discussion in the mixed-reality
class, observed the other LAs lead discussions, and reflected with their
teammates about the experience. After reflection, each LA re-taught the
same discussion. Finally, LAs were asked to write about what they learned
from their experience with regards to their pedagogical skills, specifically
use of questioning and formative assessment. We present findings about
what the LAs and instructors learned from this unique environment that
shows promise for enhancing the preparation of physics teachers.
PST1E07: 8:30-9:15 p.m. STEMteachersNYC – Starting an Effec-
tive Physics Teacher Support Organization
Poster – Fernand Brunschwig, Columbia University Teachers College, New
York, NY 10027;
STEMteachersNYC, affiliated with the American Modeling Teachers Asso-
ciation, has achieved strong growth since its founding by a group of physics
teachers in May, 2011, with a membership of 240 in February, 2014. The
group has organized a total of 32 highly successful workshops between
founding and February, 2014, including four three-week Summer Model-
ing Instruction Workshops and 28 three-hour weekend workshops. See
STEMteachersNYC.org for details. This poster documents what we have
achieved and describes the explicit organizing strategies and the process we
used to generate our dynamic growth. STEMteachersNYC has successfully
leveraged experienced teachers’ expertise as workshop leaders and has
been supported financially almost entirely through fees paid by the teach-
ers attending the workshops. The poster explores in detail the scalability of
what we have done, as well as the potential for widespread implementation
to support teachers, especially beginners, by enhancing their pedagogic
content knowledge and teaching skills.
PST1E08: 9:15-10 p.m. Recent Demographics of Physics
Teachers from Schools and Staffing Survey
Poster – David Rosengrant, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA
30144;
Greg Rushton, Gene Ray, Kennesaw State University
This project is part of a multidisciplinary team to study secondary physics
teaching using the School and Staffing Survey (SASS) between 1987 and
most recently 2011. We will investigate the following questions: How many
physics teachers are there in the United States? What are trends in the
population growth compared to other teacher groups in the past 20 years?
What proportion of those that teach physics do so as their main assign-
ment? What other subjects do physics teachers teach? To what extent have
physics teachers earned a physics degree at any level? What other back-
grounds do these teachers have? What has been the certification status of
physics teachers over time? To what extent has the racial and gender profile
of physics teachers changed over time? To what extent have the age and
years of experience distributions changed over time? We will also analyze
trends in early career physics teachers.
PST1E09: 8:30-9:15 p.m. Professional Development of Teacher
and Master PFDS
Poster – Marisa Michelini, PERU - DCFA - University of Udine, via delle
Scienze 208 Udine, 33100 Italy,
Stefano Vercellati, PERU - DCFA - University of Udine
The Master “Professione Formatore in Didattica delle Scienze” (M-PFDS)
