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January 4–7, 2014
Sundayafternoon
BI07:
5:30-5:40 p.m. In-service Teachers as an Inroad for
Newly Certified Physics Teachers*
Contributed – Steven J. Maier, Northwestern Oklahoma State University,
Alva, OK 73717-2799;
Saeed Sarani, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
As part of an ongoing professional development AAPT/PTRA pro-
gram at NWOSU since 2011, ToPPS has provided K-12 Oklahoma
educators opportunities to expand and deepen their understanding of
physics. Now, the ToPPS project has taken on the goal of increasing
the number of certified HS physics teachers in the state of Oklahoma.
Because many ToPPS participants have little formal physics course-
work, this has become a multi-year effort on the part of the program
and the participants. In this talk, the means of achieving this goal
through alternative certification will be discussed.
*This project is made possible by funding from the Oklahoma State Regents for
Higher Education
/
BI08:
5:40-5:50 p.m. Transforming Physics Education at
BU through Peer Learning and Mentoring
Contributed – Manher Jariwala, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215;
Andrew Duffy, Bennett Goldberg, Mark Greenman, Boston University
Boston University has seen significant transformation in its physics
instruction, in large part due to two programs that incorporate peer
learning and peer mentoring. We describe how our Learning Assistant
(LA) program impacts not only the all of our physics courses and the
students in these courses, but also the undergraduate physics major
community. We also describe our Teaching Fellow (TF) peer-mentor-
ing program, which not only helps train incoming graduate students
in active-learning and student-centered pedagogy, but also fosters
a community of practice around professional development. Finally,
we discuss the synergies between the two programs that result in a
vertical learning community within our department, from advanced
graduate students to incoming undergraduate majors.
Session TD01: NGSS, Topical
Discussion
Location: Salon 12
Sponsor: Committee on Physics in High Schools
Co-Sponsor: Committee on Physics in Pre-High School Education
Date: Sunday, January 5
Time: 4:30–5:30 p.m.
Presider: Trina Cannon
NGSS—What impact will this have on your school and school
curriculum or will it have any? Share your thoughts and con-
cerns with others who feel the “pain and change.”
Session TD02: Physics & Society,
Topical Discussion
Location: Salon 11
Sponsor: Committee on Science Education for the Public
Date: Sunday, January 5
Time: 6–7:30 p.m.
Presider: Stan Micklavzina
Join your colleagues to discuss how AAPT members can contrib-
ute and coordinate efforts to teaching physics-related societal
issues such as science literacy, energy use and production, pseu-
doscience, and other topics bound to raise interesting conversa-
tions in the classroom, public venues, and even the dinner table
with friends and relatives!
Session TD04: History and
Philosophy, Topical Discussion
Location: Salon 8
Sponsor: Committee on History and Philosophy in Physics
Date: Sunday, January 5
Time: 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Presider: Shawn Reeves
We will continue and expand the discussion that began at our
Winter 2013 meeting, exploring not only how history and philos-
ophy shape our teaching, but how we might engage students in
learning about history and philosophy of physics. Philosophical
approaches in the classroom are unavoidable, even if subliminal,
so let’s begin interpreting and shaping them.
Session TD05: Dual and
Concurrent Enrollment, Topical
Discussion
Location: Salon 7
Sponsor: Committee on Physics in Two-Year Colleges
Date: Sunday, January 5
Time: 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Presider: Paul Williams
Concurrent and dual-credit enrollment between two-year and
four-year colleges is becoming increasingly common. Join in on
this topical discussion. We will share experiences with concurrent
and dual enrollment, and discuss issues such as transfer of credits
and articulation.
