AAPT Section News, December 2013
—Page 2
*A Tour of National Institute for Aviation Research at
Wichita State University
*The Grizzly Adventures Problem-solving challenge at
Butler Community College
A Contributed Poster session with the following
presenters and poster titles.
• Carl Rutledge, East Central University (OK)
Sunrise/Sunset on the Equinox: A Photo Project for
Astronomy Students
• Karen Williams, East Central University (OK)
Managing Increasing Enrollment in Upper Level
Laboratories
• Jim Hicks, Northeastern State University (OK)
Better than Flashcards: Using An Electronic Student
Response System in General Physics
• Elena Gregg, Oral Roberts University (OK)
Improving Performance through Motivation: Teaching
Biology Pre-Med Students Physics
• Jared Gavin, University of Arkansas at Monticello
(AR) w/Anabel de la Cruz, Juan Serna
Training Cellular Automata Using a Simple Conquer
and Prevail Scheme
On Saturday, a morning and afternoon set of activities
also occurred. These began with a continental breakfast
and the presentation of the Kansas Physics Teacher of
the Year to Mrs. Penny Blue of Lyons High School. Any
excerpt from the nomination said. “Penny uses Modeling
instruction to engage students. She has implemented a
physics course for freshman at Lyons high school. She is
also involved in quark-net (a professional development
opportunity for teachers in conjunction with Fermilab) .
She does presentations at KATS Kamp (Kansas Association
of Teachers of Science Kamp). She has also led a number
of graduate level workshops for in-service teachers at Fort
Hays State University, at Pittsburg State University, at the
University of New Mexico, and for Wichita USD 259.” We
celebrate Penny’s commitment to physics education with
this award.
Here is a list of the morning and afternoon speakers from
the presentation session.
Contributed Papers
• Making Physics Relevant: Project Based Learning
Approach,
C. Diane Phillips Northwest Arkansas
Community College (AR), w/Melody Thomas, NACC
• KU experience with Cosmic Ray Detectors,
Dave
Besson, University of Kansas (KS)
• SPS Advisers and Gender: Comparing AR-OK-KS to
the Rest,
Karen Williams East Central University (OK)
• Enhancing Interest in STEM through Robots,
Chris
Pettit, Emporia State University (KS)
• Modeling Instruction in Kansas,
Earl Legleiter
Legleiter Science Consulting (CO) w/Paul Adams
(presenter) Fort Hays State University (KS)
• Benefits, Challenges, and Implementation of Service
Learning in Physics,
Shannon Clardy, Henderson State
University (AR)
• Revitalizing College Physics at UALR,
Al Adams,
University of Arkansas at Little Rock (AR)
• Training Cellular Automata Using a Simple Conquer
and Prevail Scheme,
Jared Gavin, University of
Arkansas at Monticello (AR) w/Anabel de la Cruz and
Juan Serna
• The NWOSU ToPPS program: a content/pedagogy
resource, building networks and certifying teachers,
Steven Maie, Northwestern Oklahoma State University
(OK) w/Saeed Sarani Oklahoma State Regents for
Higher Education (OK)
• Demonstration of a Radio-controlled Tri-copter,
Brad
Newby Butler Community College (KS)
W/ Danny Mattern
• Helping Students Learn to Use Constant Acceleration
Formulas Properly,
Larry Weave, Johnson County
Community College (KS)
• A Survey of Kansas Physics Teachers - 10+ years later,
Paul Adam, Fort Hays State University (KS) W/Earl
Legleiter, Legleiter Science Consulting (CO)
• Use and Abuse of Equality in Solving Physics
Problems,
Jorge Ballester, Emporia State University
(KS)
• Using an iPad in the physics classroom,
Danny
Mattern, Butler Community College (KS)
• Science and Engineering Institutes: A Community
Outreach for Arkansas,
Shane Thompson, Arkansas
School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts (AR)
W/Morgan Nall and June Thompson
• Lunar Cycles and Earthquakes: Is there a Connection?,
Morgan Nall W/ Shane Thompson, Arkansas School
for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts (AR)
• A Top Ten List of Physics Misconceptions
Erica W/
Shane Thompson, Arkansas School for Mathematics,
Sciences, and the Arts (AR)
• Calibrating an Objective Assessment Instrument on
a Small Class of Students,
Emanuela Ene, Oklahoma
State University (OK)
The membership paused midway through the Saturday
meeting to have lunch and hear from a special guest speak-
er Steven L. “Jake” Jacobs and his talk titled: “Wizard
Tales: Mostly true stories from Discovery Channel, Myth-
Busters, and Mr. Wizard’s World.”
Jake is currently living in Wichita His undergraduate
experience emphasized physics, math, and chemistry. His
post-graduate education was in the fields of microbiology,
planetary geology and science education.
Currently serving as a science consultant for National
Geographic TV, Jake has served in a similar capacity for a
wide variety of entities including Nickelodeon (Mr. Wiz-
ard’s World), Mythbusters, Paramount Television (Algo’s
Factory), FOX Sports Network (Sports Science), ESPN
