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January 4–7, 2014
W14: Ben Franklin is my Lab Partner
Sponsor: Committee on History and Philosophy in Physics
Time: 1–5 p.m. Saturday
Member Price: $72
Non-Member Price: $97
Location:
160
Bob Morse, 5530 Nevada Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20015; rmorse@
cathedral.org
Benjamin Franklin’s experiments and observations on electricity
established not only his reputation as a scientist, but also our electrical
conventions and vocabulary, and the principle of charge conserva-
tion. In his letters, Franklin builds, tests, and defends his model with
skill and eloquence, arguing from experiment and sharing both his
wisdom and doubts, while clearly conveying his fascination with
electricity. As Franklin was not formally schooled in mathematics, his
theory was qualitative, and is an approachable example of hands-on
and minds-on construction of a conceptual model with explana-
tory power. In this workshop, developed by the author at the Wright
Center for Science Teaching at Tufts University, we will work with
Franklin’s descriptions to recreate several of his experiments using
modern, inexpensive materials. Participants will receive equipment
and a CD-ROM containing the workshop manual, a collection of
Franklin’s letters relating to electricity, and movie clips illustrating the
experiments.
W15: Implementation: Physics for Life and Health
Sciences
Sponsor: Committee on Physics in Undergraduate Education
Time: 1–5 p.m. Saturday
Member Price: $65
Non-Member Price: $90
Location:
310
Nancy Beverly, Mercy College, 555 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522;
Nancy Donaldson
Stephen Kanim
TIPERs are Tasks Inspired by Physics Education Research. These tasks
are not like traditional physics textbook problems, but rather, require
the students to think conceptually about a particular physical situa-
tion. They include ranking tasks, working backwards tasks, conflicting
contentions tasks, linked multiple choice tasks and others. In this
workshop, we will work with different kinds of tasks, discuss how they
might be effectively used in the physics classroom, and learn how to
write some of our own tasks.
W11: A Potpourri of Simulation
Sponsor: Committee on Physics in Two-Year Colleges
Co-sponsor: Committee on Educational Technologies
Time: 8 a.m.–12 p.m. Saturday
Member Price: $60
Non-Member Price: $85
Location:
310
Paul Williams;
Tom O’Kuma
A large number of simulations have become available over the last few
years. This workshop will look at simulations from a consumer’s point
of view with a focus on effectively using simulations in the physics
classroom. A number of strategies for incorporating simulations into
instruction such as free inquiry activities, guided inquiry activities,
lab activities (including quantitative data acquisition), and conceptual
exercises based on simulations will be explored. The workshop will
focus on three packages of simulations/animations that are available
for free on the web including PhET simulations, Physlet simulations,
and simulations and animations from the MIT TEAL site. As part of
the workshop, participants will design an activity which incorporates
a simulation. Participants who wish to run the simulations from their
own laptop are encouraged to bring their laptop to the workshop.
W12: Using ComPADRE
Sponsor: Committee on Educational Technologies
Time: 1–5 p.m. Saturday
Member Price: $60
Non-Member Price: $85
Location:
301
Bruce Mason, Homer L. Dodge Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, 440 W.
Brooks St., Norman, OK 73019;
The ComPADRE physics education online resource collections
provide a number of tools to help you find, organize, and share your
favorite resources with colleagues and students. Participants in this
workshop will use ComPADRE tools to create a personalized collec-
tion for a course, mentoring, or collaboration. Workshop attendees
should bring their own computers to participate. An exploration and
discussion of Open Educational Resources, both finding them and
using them, will be an important aspect of this workshop. A brief tour
of ComPADRE will also be included. The ComPADRE portal page is
at
.
W13: Sketch N’ Etch
Sponsor: Committee on Laboratories
Co-sponsor: Committee on Apparatus
Time: 1–5 p.m. Saturday
Member Price: $80
Non-Member Price: $105
Location:
105
Eric Ayars, Campus Box 202, Department of Physics, Chico, CA 95929-
0202;
Steve Lindaas
Make your own circuit boards! This workshop will offer hands-on
experience in the physical process of creating your own circuit board
from scratch. Participants will design, print, etch, and solder a really
cool electronic gizmo they can wear on their badge for the rest of the
meeting, making them the envy of all the other nerds. (Additionally,
the skills gained may be useful in building experimental apparatus for
physics labs.)
