FEd Invited Sessions at the APS March and April 2016 Meetings

Tim Stelzer, University of Illinois

Sponsoring invited sessions on physics education at the March and April Meetings is perhaps the Forum’s most visible activity. It is an opportunity to reach out to the larger physics community. We have some very interesting sessions lined up for this year’s meetings, so please show your support by attending if you plan to be in Baltimore or Salt Lake City.

APS March 2016 Meeting in Baltimore

Integration of Research and Teaching Excellence: Cottrell Scholars
Tuesday, March 15 at 11:15 a.m.
  • From Particle Physics to Education: The Role of Tinkering, Mats Selen, University of Illinois
  • Excellence and Diversity in Physics, and the Quest for Other Worlds, Keivan Stassun, Vanderbilt University
  • Undergraduate research: A win-win for both students and faculty, Thomas Solomon, Bucknell University
  • Interdisciplinary Biophysics Major with a Comprehensive Research-Based Capstone, Rae Anderson, University of San Diego
  • Untypical Undergraduate Research: Player Motion Analysis in Sports, Dinah Loerke, Denver University
Reichert-Award Session
Tuesday, March 15 at 2:30 p.m.
  • Advanced Instructional Labs: Why Bother?, Van Bistrow recipient of 2016 Reichert Award, University of Chicago
  • Investigating Student Ownership of Projects in Upper-Division Physics Laboratory Courses, Jacob Stanley, University of Colorado, Boulder
  • 8 Years of ALPhA’s Impacts / 45 Years of Developing Experimentalists with Few Resources: A Talk in Two Parts, Lowell McCann, University of Wisconsin, River Falls
  • Student-Driven Engagement: An Interdisciplinary-Team Research-Learning Renewable Energy Laboratory Experience for Undergraduates, Mark Tuominen, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
  • Open-Ended Projects in Undergraduate Optics and Lasers Courses, Chad Hoyt, Bethel University
Impacts and Experiences with Hybrid and Online Courses
Wednesday, March 16 at 11:15 a.m.
  • Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Class, Michael Dubson, University of Colorado, Boulder
  • Fully Online Introductory Physics with a Bona Fide Lab, Michael Schatz, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • A Blended Pedagogy for Expert Problem Solving, David Pritchard, MIT
  • Online activities to optimize in person learning, Tim Stelzer, University of Illinois
  • Lessons from two decades of hybrid and online physics courses at Michigan State University, Gerd Kortemeyer, Michigan State University
TA Professional Development: Excellent TA's making Excellent Researchers
Co-sponsored by the Division of Biological Physics
Thursday, March 17 at 2:30 p.m.
  • Using the TA to Prepare Students for Research and Employment, Kenneth Heller, University of Minnesota - Minneapolis
  • Mobilizing the Forgotten Army: Improving Undergraduate Math and Science Education through Professional Development of Graduate Teaching Assistants, Jordan Gerton, University of Utah
  • TA Professional Development: A Graduate Student's Perspective, Emily Alicea-Munoz, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • A Joint Pedagogy Course for Learning Assistants and Teaching Assistants, Joshua Von Korff, Georgia State University

APS April 2016 Meeting in Salt Lake City

Excellence in Physics Education Award Session
Saturday, April 16 at 3:30 p.m.
  • SCALE-UP, Student Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies, Robert Beichner, North Carolina State University
  • Online Interactive Video Vignettes (IVVs), Priscilla Laws, Dickinson College
  • Introductory labs; what they don't, should, and can teach (and why),Carl Wieman, Stanford University
Preparing and supporting university physics educators
Sunday, April 17 at 3:30 p.m.
  • Research-Based Assessment Affordances and Constraints: Perceptions of Physics Faculty, Eleanor Sayre, Kansas State University
  • Perceived Affordances and Constraints Regarding Instructors’ Use of Peer Instruction: Implications for Promoting Instructional Change, Chandra Turpen, University of Maryland
  • Characterizing Pedagogical Practices of University Physics Students in Informal Learning Environments -- Katie Hinko, University of Colorado, Boulder
Report from the Joint Task Force on Undergraduate Physics Programs
Saturday, April 16 at 1:30 p.m.
  • How the task force was formed, how it reached its conclusions, members of the task force, overview of report, and major findings, Paula Heron, University of Washington
  • How does (or should) private sector employment influence educational practice. Results of national surveys, reports from other organizations, recommendations for skills and knowledge to prepare students for diverse careers, Theodore Hodapp, American Physical Society
  • Motivation for report, implementation of findings, supporting structures in departments, dissemination, and next steps, Lawrence Woolf, General Atomics - Aeronautical Systems, Inc
Supporting and understanding physics identity development
Co-sponsored by GPER
Sunday, April 17 at 8:30 a.m.
  • Becoming Physics People: Development of Integrated Physics Identity through the Learning Assistant Experience -- Eleanor Close, Texas State University-San Marcos
  • Identity Development in Upper-Level Physics Students: Transitions In and Out of Physics -- Paul Irving, Michigan State University
  • The Role of Recognition and Interest in Physics Identity Development -- Robynne Lock, Texas A&M University
Engaging the Public Through a Variety of Collaborations and Initiatives
Co-sponsored by AAPT
Monday, April 18 at 10:45 a.m.
  • St. Albans Under the Stars: Connecting the Community with the Universe, Gerceida Jones, New York University
  • Rural Outreach in Maine: A Research-Driven Professional Development Teacher Community
  • -- Michael Wittmann, University of Maine
  • TBD -- Emina Stojkovic, Northeastern Illinois University
Building an inclusive STEM Community: The ACCESS Network
Co-sponsored by GPER
Tuesday, April 19 at 10:45 a.m.
  • CU Prime Diversity Workshops: Creating Spaces for Growth Amongst Organizers, Simone Hyater Adams, University of Colorado, Boulder
  • Promoting Student Ownership of University Science Programs: Towards Building a more Equitable Scientific Educational Experience, Anna Zaniewski, Arizona State University
  • Using Mindfulness and Metacognition to Support and Retain First Generation and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students, Corey Ptak, Rochester Institute of Technology
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.