Resources for College and University Physics Faculty

AAPT is an action oriented organization designed to develop, improve, and promote best practices for physics education as part of the global need for qualified Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics educators who will inspire tomorrow’s leaders and decision makers.
AAPT provides many resources for college and university physics faculty.

Publications and Educational Resources

• Effective Practices for Physics Programs (EP3) supports physics programs with collections of knowledge, experience, and proven good practice for responding to challenges and engaging in systematic improvement.
• OPTYCs - the national Organization for Physics at Two-Year Colleges
• PICUP 2021 Capstone Conference Report - This report provides a summary of the Partnership for the Integration of Computation in Undergraduate Physics 2021 Virtual Capstone Conference and the history and status of the PICUP organization.
• SPIN-UP Survey Report 2014 - This report describes the results of a 2014 survey of U.S. undergraduate physics programs and includes information on sizes of departments, characteristics of their courses and curricula, recruitment activities, and curricular reform.
• American Journal of Physics - AJP publishes papers that meet the needs and intellectual interests of college and university physics teachers and students.
• The Physics Teacher (TPT) - TPT publishes papers on the teaching of physics, and on topics such as contemporary physics, applied physics, and the history of physics—all aimed at the introductory-level teacher.
• AAPT/ComPADRE Digital Library - ComPADRE is a network of free online resource collections supporting faculty, students, and teachers in Physics and Astronomy Education.
• Partnership for Integration of Computation into Undergraduate Physics (PICUP) seeks to expand the role of computation in the undergraduate physics curriculum.
• Open Source Physics (OSP) provides curriculum resources that engage students in physics, computation, and computer modeling.
• Physics and Astronomy Education Resources from the NASA Space Science Education Consortium provide tested materials that help introductory physics, astronomy, and science education faculty promote active learning through integrated materials. Resources include concept questions, lecture tutorials, homework, and more.
• Phys21: Preparing Physics Students for 21^st Century Careers report provides guidance for physicists considering revising the undergraduate curriculum to improve the education of a diverse student population.  The report includes recommendations on content, pedagogy, professional skills, and student engagement and documentable student outcomes.
• The Phys21 Supplement summarizes the information used to prepare the Phys21 Report.  The sources include reports authored by professional societies, business and economic development groups, educational institutions, and professional consulting organizations.
• PhysPort is the home of physics faculty resources based on physics education research that support your teaching
• Physical Review Physics Education Research (PRPER) - PRPER is a fully open access journal that is sponsored jointly by APS, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the APS Forum on Education, and the APS Group on Physics Education Research.
• AAPT Recommendations for the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory Curriculum - Developed by a subcommittee of the AAPT Committee on Laboratories and endorsed by the AAPT Executive Board November 10,2014.
• AAPT eNNOUNCER - This e-newsletter is emailed to members monthly and contains upcoming dates and deadlines, member news and information, recent news from the worlds of physics and teaching, our current promotions and programs, and much more.
• Links to additional resources - You will find posters, guidelines, videos, international physics organizations, reports, and article collections and individual articles to support your physics and physical science teaching.

Networking and Academic Development

• Networking for TYC Instructors - Mentorship.
• Summer and Winter National Meetings - AAPT organizes national meetings annually each winter and summer.
• eAlliance - Create your own eAlliance, a peer mentoring group of other women physicists or astronomers, with whom you share important characteristics.
• Physics and Astronomy Faculty Teaching Institute - This workshop is designed to help new faculty at research and four-year institutions understand how to become more effective educators and support their quest to gain tenure.
• Two-Year College New Faculty Experience - This 18-month experience is designed specifically for Two-Year College Physics Faculty in their first five years of teaching.
• Physics Department Chairs Conference - These conferences, co-sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Physical Society, have proven to be valuable to department chairs in bringing them up-to-date on trends in physics research and education while providing an opportunity to meet and learn from other department chairs.
• Conference on Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences - The conference focused on introductory physics courses taken by the full spectrum of life science students, including pre-medical and other pre-health students, biology students aiming for careers in biological research or biotechnology, and students interested in ecology and related areas. 2014 Theme Issue: The Intersection of Biology and Physics, American Journal of Physics.
• Strategic Programs for Innovations in Undergraduate Physics at Two-Year Colleges (SPIN-UP/TYC) - SPIN-UP/TYC is a project to find exemplary physics programs at two-year colleges from which a large number of minorities and women enter science, technology, engineering or math programs at a four-year college or university.
• Physics Program Review - AAPT recognizes that undergraduate physics programs benefit from receiving feedback on the quality of the program.  In order to assist physics programs that are planning a review, we maintain a list of reviewers whose names will be supplied to institutions submitting requests. 

Awards and Recognition

• David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching recognizes outstanding achievement in teaching undergraduate physics, which may include the use of innovative teaching methods.
• John David Jackson Award for Excellence in Graduate Physics Education is presented to physicists and physics educators who have made outstanding contributions to curriculum development, mentorship, or classroom teaching in graduate physics education.
• Klopsteg Memorial Award
• Melba Newell Phillips Medal
• Oersted Medal
• Richtmyer Memorial Award

Grants and Scholarships

• Barbara Lotze Scholarship for Future Physics Teachers - These scholarships for future high school physics teachers, supported by an endowment funded by Barbara Lotze, are available only to U.S. citizens attending U.S. schools.
• Frederick and Florence Bauder Endowment for the Support of Physics Teaching - This endowment for the Support of Physics Teaching was established to support special activities in the area of physics teaching.
• AAPT Venture Fund - The Venture Fund is a resource for AAPT members, created to promote the development and marketing of innovative teaching products and services for physics and other sciences.