Workshop page - wm2018

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• W01: (Cancelled) Teaching Assistant Preparation

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Michael Schatz

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Jordan Gerton, Emily Alicea-Munoz

  Cost

  • Members: $70
  • Non-members: $95

  Seats

  • Max: 16
  • Available: 14

  Students in large introductory physics classes spend approximately half of their in-class time (e.g., labs and recitations) supervised by graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs), which means TAs can have a large impact on student learning. Because of this, it is important for physics departments to provide adequate preparation and support for their TAs. This workshop aims to help participants develop/improve their graduate TA preparation efforts by adopting interactive and evidence-based teaching and learning strategies. We will go over the principles of instructional design and how they apply to developing a TA preparation program, methods of program assessment, and ways of providing continuing support for TAs. Participants should bring a laptop.

• W02: Tools for Departmental Self-Study and External Review

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Toni Sauncy

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Brad Conrad

  Cost

  • Members: $60
  • Non-members: $85

  Seats

  • Max: 24
  • Available: 17

  There is a growing call for revisiting the undergraduate physics experience to provide excellent preparation for a wide range of career trajectories. Several new resources, developed through federally-funded research projects, have been developed by AAPT, APS and AIP. This workshop will help departments of all sizes and types to develop strategies for reform aimed at incorporating the findings, results and best-practice suggestions in these resources, including Phys21: Preparing Physics Students for 21st Century Careers report (APS/AAPT) and The Career Pathways Project (AIP), with focus on using these resources as guides for program self-study and/or the external review process. Participants will be guided in developing a strategy for incorporating career development in their own programs and how these strategies might be used in developing long term goals for the department. IMPORTANT NOTE: Workshop fees will be partially offset with a stipend for participants who provide brief reports about how the strategic plans have been implemented in their departments/programs.

• W03: Using Glowscript in the Introductory Physics Classroom

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Dwain Desbien

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Thomas O'kuma

  Cost

  • Members: $60
  • Non-members: $85

  Seats

  • Max: 24
  • Available: 7

  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 (http://www.glowscript.org), and this is the computational modeling tool we will be using in this workshop. Participants will learn some basic glowscript 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 have created an account on glowscript before arrival.

• W04: Learn to Create Interactive Physics Simulations for Phones, Tablets, and Computers in Just 4 Hours

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Andrew Duffy

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Wolfgang Bauer

  Cost

  • Members: $70
  • Non-members: $95

  Seats

  • Max: 20
  • Available: 0

  You will learn how to author you own interactive physics simulations from scratch in HTML5, which is replacing Java and Flash as the dominant programming language of the web. In step-by-step exercises on your laptop computer you will experiment with how to draw and paint on the screen, how to use buttons, input fields, and sliders to allow the users to control your simulation parameters, how to work with images, and how to process mouse, touch, and keyboard inputs. Working step-by-step through instructive examples will allow you to create your own complete interactive simulations, which help your students gain physics insight.

• W05: (Cancelled) Strategies for Engaging Community Organizations for Successful STEM/STEAM Education Collaborations

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Ximena Cid and Dimitri Dounas-Frazer

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Ximena Cid, Josephine Talamantez, Alejandra Solorzano

  Cost

  • Members: $62
  • Non-members: $87

  Seats

  • Max: 20
  • Available: 18

  Teaching is fundamentally about individual and collective empowerment, but the four walls of the classroom often create artificial boundaries between our students and the communities in which they are embedded. In this three-hour workshop, we will learn several basic strategies that educators can use to engage their local communities in successful collaborations that focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) education. The goals of this workshop are threefold: (1) learn how to approach a community organization in order to inquire about a partnership, (2) learn how to establish a shared vision between educators and community leaders, especially when cross-cultural issues are at play, and (3) create a plan for initiating community collaborations. During the first half of the workshop, we will hear from two community leaders who are involved in existing collaborations in the San Diego area. Alejandra Solorzano will draw on her experience working with the San Diego Futures Foundation, an organization whose mission “is to improve lives in San Diego County by making information technology available to underserved populations by providing technology equipment, training, support, IT outsourcing, and digital media services to nonprofit organizations, disadvantaged small businesses, low-income households, people with disabilities, and seniors.” Josephine S. Talamantez will draw on her experience working with Chicano Park, a National Historic Landmark that represents decades of Chicano activism and community in San Diego as well as her 26+ years working with a State agency assisting in the development of community and organizational partnerships in the arts, historic preservation and STEAM based services statewide. Solorzano and Talamantez will focus on effective practices for approaching organizations, establishing shared visions, and addressing cross-cultural issues. During the second half of the workshop, participants will work individually or in groups to create plans for initiating partnerships with their local communities. Educators from the San Diego area may form one group, for whom Solorzano and Talamantez can be invaluable resources when it comes to identifying relevant ongoing community efforts and contacts. Nonlocal educators may form a second group; workshop facilitators will work closely with these educators to develop plans that are tailored to their particular community contexts. For more information about the San Diego Futures Foundation, please visit sdfutures.org. For more information about Chicano Park and the Chicano Park Museum, please visit chicanoparksandiego.com or chicanoparkmuseum.org

• W10: Making Good Physics Videos

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  James Lincoln

  Cost

  • Members: $60
  • Non-members: $85

  Seats

  • Max: 20
  • Available: 0

  Flipping the Classroom and the emergence of free online video hosting has led many of us to be asked to make videos of our lessons and demos. In this workshop, you will learn the five methods of video engagement, fast and effective video writing techniques, and beginner/intermediate editing skill competency that will improve your video quality and help get your message across more effectively. Your instructor is master physics teacher and filmmaker James Lincoln who has made over 100 science videos. Tips and ideas for effective and engaging physics demos are also included.

• W08: (Cancelled) PET High School to Implement NGSS

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Valerie Otero

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Shelly Belleau, Emily Quinty

  Cost

  • Members: $135
  • Non-members: $160

  Seats

  • Max: 20
  • Available: 3

  This workshop introduces high school physics teachers and teacher educators to curricular resources for implementing NGSS practices in the physics classroom. In addition to understanding physics, scientific practices, and students, teachers of NGSS must also recognize their roles as curating transformative educational experiences among students. As students make claims from evidence and establish principles from consensus (often for the first time), they undergo a kind of transformation in their understanding of the role of science education in their lives. In this workshop, teachers learn to manage the multiple demands of supporting students through this transformation while providing meaningful laboratory experiences and consensus building opportunities. By analyzing video and interview transcripts, participants will discuss their roles as teachers in helping students integrate physics content and scientific practices as they develop models, explanations, and principles that explain the physical world.

• W09: Improv for Physics

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Carolyn Sealfon

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Nancy Watt

  Cost

  • Members: $95
  • Non-members: $120

  Seats

  • Max: 30
  • Available: 22

  In this playful laboratory, we will experiment with applications of improvisational theater (improv) to enhance communication, collaboration, and creativity in physics education at all levels. As learners, teachers or scholars, we do our best work when our minds and bodies, thoughts and emotions are all working together like the sum of aligned vectors. In physics, we sometimes focus so much on people’s valuable mental and analytical skills (the cognitive domain), we can neglect other vital interconnected aspects of ourselves (such as our emotions, the affective domain, and our bodies, the psychomotor domain). Learning involves replacing fear of the unknown with enjoyable exploration. Using tools and techniques from improv, we will investigate strategies to connect people in uncovering solutions to problems, such as nonverbal body language, perceptions of status, team building, listening, stress reduction, overcoming inhibition, and fostering growth mindset. We can explore insights from positive psychology and martial arts rooted in Eastern philosophy, such as the concept of “flow” or “the zone”, that state when one is joyfully immersed in energized focus. All are welcome to join us and challenge assumptions in this camaraderie-filled workshop that is sure to deliver "aha" moments.

• W11: Designing Project-based Instructional Environments

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Paul J. Camp

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Eric Mazur, Kelly Miller, Laura Tucker,

  Cost

  • Members: $100
  • Non-members: $125

  Seats

  • Max: 24
  • Available: 2

  This workshop concerns the design process for creating a project-based instructional environment. If you're new to it or interested in other points of view, this is for you. We will describe two contrastive approaches motivated by PER and learning science, and the skill sets they target. Participants will then have time to begin working through the logic of their own instructional designs, including selection of promising projects and wrapping an activity cycle around them, as well as methods of assessment with opportunity for feedback from experienced instructional designers.

• W12: Preparing to Succeed in AP Physics 1 and 2

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Angela Jensvold

  Cost

  • Members: $89
  • Non-members: $114

  Seats

  • Max: 25
  • Available: 13

  We will practice writing questions in the style of the Physics 1 and 2 exam. We will practice grading a free response question and discuss common missing elements in student responses. We will look at sample inquiry style labs that will prepare students for the experimental design free response question.

• W13: Beginning Arduino and ROVs

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Gregory Mulder

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Evan Thatcher Heather Hill

  Cost

  • Members: $205
  • Non-members: $230

  Seats

  • Max: 24
  • Available: 9

  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.

• W16: (Cancelled) Fun, Engaging, and Effective Labs and Demos in Electricity, Magnetism and Optics with Clickers, Video Analysis, and Computer-Based Tools

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  David Sokoloff

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Ronald Thornton, Pricilla Laws

  Cost

  • Members: $75
  • Non-members: $100

  Seats

  • Max: 24
  • Available: 22

  RealTime Physics and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations have been available for over 15 years—so what’s new? Participants in this workshop will have hands-on experience with some of the activities in RTP and ILD including those using clickers, video analysis and computer-based tools to teach electricity, magnetism and optics. These active learning approaches for lectures, labs, and recitations (tutorials) are fun, engaging and validated by physics education research (PER). Research results demonstrating the effectiveness of these curricula will be presented. The following will be distributed: Modules from the Third Edition of RTP and the ILD book.

• W17: Writing and Evaluating Curricular Materials for the IPLS Portal

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Juan Burciaga

  Cost

  • Members: $65
  • Non-members: $90

  Seats

  • Max: 24
  • Available: 15

  The IPLS Portal is an effort by the physics and biology faculty and PER/BER researchers to design, develop and disseminate new curricular materials for the courses on introductory physics for the life sciences. An important element of this community and the Portal is for faculty teaching the course to share in writing, testing and using the new materials. But how do faculty transform the materials for their course into educational packages that can be shared by others in the physics community? What are the standards, criteria, and techniques of educational scholarship? How can a faculty member start writing, contributing and testing curricular supplements? The workshop is designed to introduce the concepts, practice, and standards of educational scholarship to those who are new to the field and to guide faculty who are already developing supporting curricular material through the process of submitting their material for community use and review on the IPLS Portal.

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  Date/Time

  Cost

  • Members:
  • Non-members:

  Seats

  • Max:
  • Available: 20

• W19: Introduction to LaTeX for Teachers and Students

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Joe Heafner

  Cost

  • Members: $60
  • Non-members: $85

  Seats

  • Max: 36
  • Available: 29

  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.

• W20: (Cancelled) Physics with Scuba

  Date/Time

  • Sat, Jan 6
  • 08:00 a.m. - 03:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Dan MacIsaac

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Julia Olson

  Cost

  • Members: $160
  • Non-members: $185

  Seats

  • Max: 20
  • Available: 20

  Human bodies are used to air pressure. The air pressure in our lungs, ears and stomachs is the same as air pressure outside our bodies. Fortunately, human bodies can adapt to a variety of pressures, including those that are far greater than the normal one atmosphere of pressure we experience in everyday life. Throughout this workshop, The Physics of Scuba, we will explore many foundational concepts in physics as they relate to scuba diving and the underwater environment and provide an opportunity for participants to engage in Scuba first-hand. We will explore pressure in gasses and water, buoyancy, and energy in the underwater environment in detail. The afternoon will build around the PADI Discover Scuba diving program, which introduces people to scuba diving in a highly supervised and relaxed manner. Finally, we will provide a space for reflection and discussion on the day’s activities.

• T01: (Cancelled) Fresh and Innovative Ideas for Labs

  Date/Time

  • Sun, Jan 7
  • 08:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

  Organizer

  Eduardo C. Valadares

  Cost

  • Members: $75
  • Non-members: $100

  Seats

  • Max: 24
  • Available: 0

  How about transforming a Physics Lab into an innovation environment, where fresh and innovative ideas are concocted and implemented by your students? In this workshop teams of participants will map out new possibilities relying on simple items widely available to experiece creative team work.

• W23: (Cancelled) Making Videos with iPads

  Date/Time

  • Sun, Jan 7
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Dan MacIsaac

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Andre Bresges, Kathleen Falconer, Florian Genz

  Cost

  • Members: $60
  • Non-members: $85

  Seats

  • Max: 20
  • Available: 19

  Participants will learn how to make short physics video vignettes for learning purposes using modern tablets with low cost applets. Participants will view examples, learn and practice how to plan, storyboard, shoot, simply animate, edit, caption and voiceover videos using tablets. Constructive critiques and guidance will be provided, as well as advice (comments, directions and rubrics) on how to incorporate student video projects into physics classes. We encourage you to come to the workshop prepared with a physics topic of interest to you, and a tablet. Draft videos and storyboards are also welcome -- the more you do in advance the more you can take away from the session. A limited number of loaner iPad tablets will be made available to participants without a device. This project is supported by the NSF, SUNY Buffalo State and the University of Cologne. Sample videos are available from Youtube.com/user/danmacvids

• W24: (Cancelled) A Learning Progression for Partial Derivatives in Calculus and Upper-level Physics Courses

  Date/Time

  • Sun, Jan 7
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Corinne Manogue

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Tevian Dray, Paul Emigh, Elizabeth Gire, David Roundy

  Cost

  • Members: $60
  • Non-members: $85

  Seats

  • Max: 30
  • Available: 29

  Explore a learning progression for partial derivatives that starts in multivariable calculus and extends throughout the upper-division physics program. The partial derivative is an important tool used throughout various sub-disciplines of physics, including the geometric combinations of partial derivatives in E&M (e.g., gradient) and the measurable combinations in thermodynamics (e.g., heat capacity). A learning progression is an idealized path of concepts and learning experiences for students to follow as they progress through different undergraduate courses. Workshop participants will try out examples of instructional materials designed to guide students along the learning progression. The workshop will especially focus on activities that help students build representational fluency by exploring derivatives using visualizations such as contour maps, kinesthetic activities, and three-dimensional plastic surfaces. Participants will also explore the Partial Derivative Machine (PDM), a mechanical device that serves as a tangible metaphor for the abstract partial derivatives in thermodynamics. This metaphor can be extended to any (two-dimensional) thermodynamic system, but the PDM is accessible to manipulation and therefore easier to understand. We will also share some of the results from our research on student understanding of partial derivatives at key points along the learning progression.

• W25: Fun and Engaging Labs

  Date/Time

  • Sun, Jan 7
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Wendy Adams

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Duane Merrell

  Cost

  • Members: $60
  • Non-members: $85

  Seats

  • Max: 40
  • Available: 15

  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.

• W26: Environmental Physics with Satellite Imagery and the Google Earth Engine

  Date/Time

  • Sun, Jan 7
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  JB Sharma

  Cost

  • Members: $60
  • Non-members: $85

  Seats

  • Max: 20
  • Available: 12

  The Google Earth Engine (GEE) is a scalable cloud computing platform to process satellite imagery on a planetary scale. This capability is accessible via broadband internet and is a powerful tool for contextual physics literacy ranging from the K12 to the undergraduate level. This puts ‘big data’ in the hands of students such that satellite imagery of where they live becomes a starting point to delve into the underlying physics concepts of satellite sensors, data acquisition and image processing. Concepts of sensor design, atmospheric interaction with radiation, orbital characteristics and digital image processing will be covered. This workshop will focus primarily on the Landsat Satellite system and will include hands on exercises that are suitable for both K12 and undergraduate education. Curricular material for GEE suitable for different levels of the P16 continuum will be provided to the participants. Javascipt literacy will allow access to more advanced functionality of GEE but is not necessary. The session will end with a discussion of possible projects that can be conducted by students.

• W27: Integrating Computation into Undergraduate Education

  Date/Time

  • Sun, Jan 7
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Larry Engelhardt

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Marie Lopez del Puerto, Kelly Roos, Danny Caballero, Norman Chonacky

  Cost

  • Members: $20
  • Non-members: $45

  Seats

  • Max: 40
  • Available: 17

  In this workshop we will discuss the importance of integrating computation into the physics curriculum and will guide participants in discussing and planning how they would integrate computation into their courses. 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.

• W28: LIGO and Interferometers

  Date/Time

  • Sun, Jan 7
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Ken Ciceri

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Dan Beeker

  Cost

  • Members: $80
  • Non-members: $105

  Seats

  • Max: 20
  • Available: 10

  Learn about how the LIGO experiment uses interferometry to detect gravitational waves and study the result. We will put together an interferometer and do other hands-on activities with LIGO physics. Bring your laptop to work with LIGO data.

• W29: A Suite of Research-based Physics Labs for Mechanics and E&M

  Date/Time

  • Sun, Jan 7
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Andrew Boudreaux

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Brian Stephanik

  Cost

  • Members: $60
  • Non-members: $85

  Seats

  • Max: 24
  • Available: 0

  PER has informed the design of a variety of student-centered instructional materials. Some have been stand-alone curricula (e.g., Physics and Everyday Thinking or PET), while others are more supplemental (e.g., Tutorials in Introductory Physics or TiIP). Relatively few have targeted the lab component of an otherwise traditional course. Recently, labs for mechanics and E&M have been developed and classroom tested at Western Washington University and Whatcom Community College. These labs, which draw on PET, TiIP, and the Minnesota Context Rich Problems for inspiration, use a three-part structure: guided experiments to promote conceptual understanding, a structured reflection, and an open-ended, quantitative challenge task. While focused on sense making rather than verification, the labs are scaffolded, and constitute an incremental step from traditional pedagogy. The labs can be used in conjunction with either a traditional or a “reformed” lecture, and lab sections can be taught by undergraduate or graduate TAs. The labs may be valuable for those considering implementation of student-centered instruction in just a single course component, especially perhaps in a course lacking a recitation. In this workshop, participants will work through selected lab activities, view classroom video of the labs in use, and discuss implementation.

• W30: (Cancelled) PTRA: Sound Off

  Date/Time

  • Sun, Jan 7
  • 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

  Organizer

  Sharon Kirby

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Ann Robinson, Bill Reitz

  Cost

  • Members: $70
  • Non-members: $95

  Seats

  • Max: 24
  • Available: 24

  An interactive workshop for pre-high school educators. Become familiar with properties of waves through the use of hands-on activities . We will work with both transverse and longitudinal waves, comparing and contrasting their properties and characteristics.

• T02: Improving the Epistemological Beliefs of Non-STEM Majors

  Date/Time

  • Sun, Jan 7
  • 09:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

  Organizer

  Keith Johnson

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Shannon Willoughby

  Cost

  • Members: $70
  • Non-members: $95

  Seats

  • Max: 30
  • Available: 20

  Epistemological beliefs can be defined as beliefs about what it means to learn and how knowledge is constructed. Research has shown that non-science majors who take general education science courses have degraded epistemologies toward science upon completion of these courses. This workshop will be geared toward discussing how to implement materials that strengthen the epistemological belief structure of students enrolled in the course, so as to help prevent this deterioration. Workshop content will focus heavily on materials we developed and/or utilized within our study which involved introductory astronomy students (predominantly non-STEM majors). In particular, we will share in and out of class activities where students practice employing the scientific method, writing tasks that encourage students to reflect on their understanding, and worksheets designed to engage students in the practice of skepticism when reading about science in the media. These changes are easy to implement and are designed to not take up excessive class time. As such, we hope that you bring your lecture schedules and consider making adjustments to them so as to include some of these activities. The session will close out with the participants brainstorming future activities aimed at improving student epistemic beliefs.

• T03: PTRA: Quantum Cryptography: An Applied Way to Teach the Basics of Quantum Mechanics

  Date/Time

  • Sun, Jan 7
  • 09:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

  Organizer

  Tommi Holsenbeck

  Co-Organizer(s)

  Karen Jo Matsler, Jan Mader, Janie Head, Elaine Gwinn

  Cost

  • Members: $75
  • Non-members: $100

  Seats

  • Max: 30
  • Available: 21

  Quantum mechanics is not only very different than classical physics, it also allows us perform tasks are impossible with today’s technology. This hands-on workshop is about the physics behind quantum cryptography – a mature technology allowing for unbreakable information security. Using affordable light polarizers, we will investigate two of the most fundamental quantum phenomena, namely the principles of quantum superposition and quantum measurement. We’ll then demonstrate how these quantum effects are leveraged to share a secret key between two parties in such a way that any attempt at eavesdropping will be detected.

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