FEd Invited Sessions for the 2014 March and April Meetings

Forum on Education Invited Sessions – March 2014 meeting

Bringing Newcomers into the Physics Community – The Importance of Growth and Community Support

(A38, Monday 8:00 AM, Chair: Angela Little, University of California, Berkeley)

• Developing mindful, collaborative, and resilient physics students through regular reflection and empathetic feedback, Dimitri Dounas-Frazer, California Polytechnic State University
• Building Bridges to Belonging: Mindsets that Reduce Stereotype Threat and Increase Participation, Achievement, and Learning in STEM, Catherine Good, Baruch College, CUNY
• Enlightened Searches for Talent are Needed to Bring Newcomers into Physics, Casey W. Miller, University of South Florida
• Title TBA, Kathleen Hinko, NIST – Boulder
• Panel Discussion: Common Themes Across “Bringing Newcomers Into The Physics Community”, Angela Little, University of California, Berkeley

Graduate Education: Sustaining Thriving Programs by Embracing Challenges and Opportunities in the 21st Century

(G38, Tuesday 11:15 AM, Chair: Theodore Hodapp, APS)

• Highlights From the Second Conference on Graduate Education in Physics, Renee Diehl, Pennsylvania State University
• Increasing Diversity in Physics at the PhD Level and Beyond, Keivan Stassun, Vanderbilt University (Winner of the Nicholson Medal for Outreach; Prize talk)
• The Landscape of Graduate Admissions: Surveying Physics Programs about Doctoral Admissions Practices, Geoff Potvin, Florida International University
• The future of the graduate physics curriculum and exam structure, Michael Thoennessen, Michigan State University
• Preparing Graduate Students for Non-Academic Careers, Lawrence Woolf, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

Assessment Issues in Physics Education

(S38, Thursday 8 AM, Chair: Eric Brewe, Florida International University)

• Research-based assessment instruments: Design, validation and interpretation, Wendy Adams, Wendy Adams, University of Northern Colorado
• Colorado Learning about Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS), Heather Lewandowski, University of Colorado – Boulder
• Using research-based assessment to improve teaching in your classroom and department: New resources on the PER User's Guide, Adrian Madsen, American Association of Physics Teachers
• Title TBA, Melissa Dancy, University of Colorado
• Title TBA, Eugenia Etkina, Rutgers University

Reichert Award Session: Preparing Students for the Transition from Instructional to Research Lab

(T38, Thursday 11:15 AM, Chair: Heather Lewandowski, University of Colorado - Boulder)

• Jonathan Reichert and Barbara Wolff-Reichert Award: Updating Lab Curricula via the Tom Sawyer method of painting a fence, Gabriel Spalding, Illinois Wesleyan University
• Building Scholars One Mistake at a Time, Marty Johnston, University of St. Thomas
• Results from a model of course-based undergraduate research in the first- and second-year chemistry curriculum, Gabriela Weaver, Purdue University
• Capitalizing on Community: the Small College Environment and the Development of Researchers, M.R. Stoneking, Lawrence University
• Using instructional laboratories and research experiences in physics to build better people, Sean Robinson, MIT

Forum on Education Invited and Focus Sessions – April 2014 meeting

Impacts and experiences with MOOCs

(C10, Saturday 1:30 PM, Chair: James Brown, Wabash College)

• A MOOC for Introductory Physics, Michael Schatz, Georgia Inst of Tech
• Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for Physics – and for You?, David Pritchard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Riding the MOOC Tsunami, Wolfgang Bauer, Michigan State Univ

AAPT: Physics in the life sciences

(H10, Sunday, 08:30 AM, Chair: Randall Knight, Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo)

• From Random Walks to Brownian Motion, from Diffusion to Entropy: Statistical Principles in Introductory Physics, Mark Reeves, George Washington Univ
• Optimizing Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences: Placing Physics in Biological Context, Catherine Crouch, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Swarthmore College
• Coordinating an IPLS class with a biology curriculum: NEXUS/Physics, Edward Redish, Univ of Maryland-College Park

Excellence in Physics Education Award: American Modeling Teachers Association

(J11, Sunday, 10:45 AM, Chair:  Michael Fauerbach, Florida Gulf Coast Univ)

• Excellence in Physics Education Award: Modeling Theory for Physics Instruction, David Hestenes, Arizona State Univ
• Excellence in Physics Education Award: Graduate Programs for Professional Development of Physics Teachers, Jane Jackson, Arizona State University
• Modeling Instruction: The Next Generation — building and sustaining a community of practice, Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz, American Modeling Teachers Association

AAPT: Readying Physics Departments to Engage in Teacher Preparation and Course Transformation

(M10, Sunday, 3:30 PM, Chair: Monica Plisch, APS)

• It starts with one: Leading change and forming partnerships for teacher preparation and pedagogical change, Laurie McNeil, Univ of NC - Chapel Hill
• Sustained programs in physics teacher education, Rachel Scherr, Seattle Pacific Univ
• Research on U.S. physics teacher education, David Meltzer, Arizona State Univ

Open Innovation Labs for Physics Undergraduate Independent Research

(X10, Tuesday, 10:45 AM, Chair:  Duncan Carlsmith, Univ of Wisconsin, Madison)

• Open Innovation Labs for Physics Undergraduate Independent Research, Duncan Carlsmith, Univ of Wisconsin, Madison
• Physics as a Platform for Teaching Innovation, John Brandenberger, Lawrence Univ
• The Innovation Hyperlab: a Physical and Curriculum Framework for Fostering Innovation From Grade School to Grad School, Randall Tagg, Univ of Colorado - Denver

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Disclaimer – The articles and opinion pieces found in this issue of the APS Forum on Education Newsletter are not peer refereed and represent solely the views of the authors and not necessarily the views of the APS.