Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2011
Volume 56, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 30–May 3 2011; Anaheim, California
Session J13: Integrating Modern Physics into the K-12 Curriculum I |
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Sponsoring Units: FEd DNP Chair: Peggy Norris, Black Hills State University Room: Royal EF |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 1:30PM - 2:06PM |
J13.00001: Modern Physics for Kids Invited Speaker: But it's the last chapter in the book! What should young people learn about modern physics? The setting could be a school classroom or a university lecture hall, laboratory or computer lab. The experience should build understandings and relationships. The approach should involve engagement and exploration. We discuss several activities for secondary students based on experiences of the particle physics community. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 2:06PM - 2:18PM |
J13.00002: Nuclear Forensics for High School Science Catherine Mader, Heide Doss, Monica Plisch, Drew Isola, Kathy Mirakovitz We developed an education module on nuclear forensics, designed for high school science classrooms. The lessons include a mix of hands-on activities, computer simulations, and written exercises. Students are presented with realistic scenarios designed to develop their knowledge of nuclear science and its application to nuclear forensics. A two-day teacher workshop offered at Hope College attracted 20 teachers. They were loaned kits to implement activities with their students, and each teacher spent 3-7 days on the lessons. All who reported back said they would do it again and would share the lessons with colleagues. Many said that access to equipment and ready-made lessons enabled them to expand what they taught about nuclear science and introduce nuclear forensics. A few teachers invited guest speakers to their classroom, which provided an excellent opportunity to share career information with students. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 2:18PM - 2:30PM |
J13.00003: The Physics of LASERs: Inquiry Lessons for High School Physics Students Heide Doss, Ed Lee, Monica Plisch A set of three high school laser lessons were written and piloted in 2010 in celebration of the laser's 50$^{\rm th}$ birthday. These lessons look at properties of lasers, how lasers work, and applications of lasers. All or part of these lessons can easily be incorporated into discussions of electromagnetic radiation, the structure of an atom, quantized energy levels, and how atoms interact with radiation. They may also be modified and used in a middle school physical science class, to enforce current standards and introduce modern physics standards. How to incorporate these lessons with national science standards and how to modify them will be discussed. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 2:30PM - 2:42PM |
J13.00004: A High School Conceptual Modern Physics Course Jeffrey Berndt, Andrew Alton, Barbara Newitt, Margaret McMahan Norris In the Fall of 2009 in South Dakota, the Sioux Falls School District approved a pilot one-semester conceptual modern physics course, to be developed by local physics teachers with the help of local university physics faculty and science education experts. The course was developed over a series of inservice meetings with all physics teachers in the district, and learning outcomes focused on the nature of science and scientific process and underlying concepts, such as the underlying structure of the universe and scale from the very small to the very large, models, the nature of evidence, how to apply experimental tools and techniques and the value of science to society. For the final assessment, students were required to complete a project or scientific investigation. Underlying it all was the desire to excite students about science and contemporary scientific research, a topic seldom covered in standard physics courses. The course was successfully piloted in one school this fall, will expand to a second in the spring and a third next fall, until it finally serves over 6000 students in the district. Challenges in planning and implementing this unique course will be discussed. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 2:42PM - 2:54PM |
J13.00005: Physics for the 21st Century, a course in modern physics for teachers, students, and the pubic Noah Finkelstein, Stephanie Chasteen, Michele McLeod, Kelly Cramer Increasing attention is now being paid to what and how to teach modern physics in precollege environments. This talk will present the framework for comprehensive suite of materials that introduce teachers, students, and members of the public to cutting edge areas of investigation in physics. Physics for the 21st Century is course in modern physics for physics teachers, undergraduate non-science majors, and the interested public. The 11 units, accompanied by videos, interactive simulations, and a comprehensive Facilitator's Guide, work together to present an overview of key areas of rapidly-advancing knowledge in the field, arranged from the sub-atomic scale to the cosmological. The goal is to make the frontiers of physics accessible to anyone with an inquisitive mind who wants to experience the excitement, probe the mystery, and understand the human aspects of modern physics. The course materials are available at no charge at http://www.learner.org/, the web site of Annenberg Learner, part of the Annenberg Foundation. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 2:54PM - 3:06PM |
J13.00006: Topics in Astrophysics and Cosmology for K-12 Classrooms Robert Eisenstein Astronomy and cosmology are wonderfully attractive subjects to people of all ages. The beauty of the night sky and the availability of a vast amount of educational material on the web and on television make it quite feasible to develop educational activities in these areas that are suitable for almost any age group. I will discuss some of the experiences we've had doing this in Santa Fe via high-school courses, evening ``Science Caf\'{e}'' presentations and individual elementary school classroom discussions. This material naturally demonstrates the close interdisciplinary links between physics, chemistry and biology, and also offers excellent opportunities for exercises in scientific notation, logarithms, and algebra. [Preview Abstract] |
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