Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2017 PhysTEC Conference
Volume 62, Number 2
Friday–Saturday, February 17–18, 2017; Atlanta
Session P3: General Poster Session (4pm - 6pm) |
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Room: Hanover Hallway |
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P3.00001: The Teacher Education Alliance, Mines-UNC Partnership (TEAM-UP): Evolution and activities Kristine Callan, Wendy Adams, Stephanie Fanselow To help battle the shortage of highly qualified science and math teachers, Colorado School of Mines and University of Northern Colorado have recently created a unique partnership that plays on each institution's strengths to produce highly qualified STEM teachers. Mines prepares students with a strong understanding of STEM subjects, and UNC provides the coursework in education and pedagogy necessary to become a secondary science or mathematics teacher in Colorado. TEAM-UP began enrolling students in the fall semester of 2015, with additional students adding each semester. In this poster, we will describe: the evolution of TEAM-UP and the grant activity that has supported the program and our students. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00002: First Year Impact of the Learning Assistant Model on Undergraduate Physics Learning Assistants’ Dispositions Towards Teaching Science as a Profession Issam Abi-El-Mona, Trevor Smith, Philip La Porta, Patrick Chestnut, Karen Magee-Sauer This qualitative study aimed to elucidate college physics students’ dispositions towards science teaching and their beliefs about physics before and after participating as a Learning Assistant (LA). Research participants were 15 physics students (13 males; 2 females; 8 Juniors; 5 Seniors; 2 Sophomores) with most having been in their first year as a Learning Assistant (8 of 15) and registered in the Physics program (BS: 5; BA: 4). Pre and post surveys and a focus group interview served as the main instruments of data collection. Pre and post survey responses of participants’ involvement in the Learning Assistant experience were aggregated to see the impact on their dispositions towards teaching science as a profession and their beliefs about physics. Four of these 15 LAs also participated in a focus group interview designed to more deeply understand LA perceptions of teaching and identify successful/unsuccessful elements of the LA program. Findings from the surveys and focus group interviews show that participation in our LA program had little effect on students’ specific views about physics and physics learning, but had a measurable positive impact on their dispositions toward teaching as a profession. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00003: PhysTEC Project at Rowan University: Pivot to Sustainability Philip La Porta, Patrick Chestnut, Trevor Smith, Issam Abi-El-Mona, Karen Magee Sauer The Learning Assistant (LA) program within the Department of Physics & Astronomy at Rowan University has grown in leaps and bounds over the past three years. In Spring 2017 we placed 16 LAs in introductory physics classes (all into sections with an enrollment greater than 24 students) and two LAs in a local high school classroom. As our program grows we are pivoting from paying stipends to having LAs earn upper-division Physics course credit which helps create program sustainability. This also generates a win-win situation for the Physics Department, the LA program and the Students. This poster looks at some of the statistics, successes and challenges of transitioning our LA program. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00004: Common themes and outcomes in research-based physics teacher education David E. Meltzer Physics teacher education is normally viewed as an applied problem, and is typically investigated at the macroscopic level by assessing and probing overall program outcomes such as number and quality of graduates. There is little published research that examines individual program elements or that compares different programs to each other. However, examination of the literature reveals both common themes and frequently observed outcomes that characterize research-based physics teacher education programs. Common themes include close and extended supervision by expert physics educators, helping pre- and in-service teachers develop and test physics laboratory activities that guide students to deduce physics principles from their own observational data. A frequently observed outcome is improved physics performance by students of teachers who participate in research-based programs. Other common outcomes include better understanding of students' physics ideas, and an improved ability to develop and lead laboratory activities in which students are engaged in authentic investigations. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00005: Sowing Seeds: Growth of Physics Teacher Education at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Nathan Magee, AJ Richards, Lauren Madden, Melissa Chessler The physics department at TCNJ has adopted physics teacher education as a core mission of the department and we are working to build a consistently productive, sustainable, and high-quality program. We have averaged approximately 5 physics teacher certifications over the past 5 years, and are striving to grow the size and diversity of the program. Hallmarks of the TCNJ program are: 1) multiple paths: a four-year B.S. ``dual major'' in physics and secondary education leading to physics certification, and a 15 month MAT degree leading to physics certification for recent physics grads or career-changers; 2) significant effort dedicated to student recruitment from varied populations; 3) broad and integrated support by physics and education faculty and administration; 4) practical support for field experiences from a well-resourced school of education; 5) early and diverse experiences for development of pedagogical content knowledge; 6) building scientist identity: most future teachers engage in physics research; 7) scholarship and stipend support for most students; 8) early career teacher mentoring and network building. We advocate that most aspects of this model can be adapted to many other small-college physics departments where physics teacher education is not currently thriving. In addition to direct benefits to local and regional physics education at the secondary level, building a clear curricular path toward physics teaching can support robust enrollments and an enduring student pipeline for undergraduate physics departments at primarily undergraduate institutions. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00006: Physics Education Tracks at Vassar College Cindy Schwarz, Brittany Tompkins, Alexandra Trunnell At Vassar, we have a unique program for physics majors planning to get Physics Teaching Certification. Physics majors who wish to obtain Secondary Certification in physics must complete three additional courses beyond the 6 core courses. An independent project focused on physics education, independent work of Lab Development (developing and building three labs for HS physics) and Lab Apprenticeship (where they help the lab tech set up all the intro physics labs for the full year introductory physics course). Physics Minor with Teaching Emphasis is intended for those with other majors: students complete the following coursework above the introductory level, modern physics, classical mechanics, Lab Apprenticeship and, Lab Development and Senior Independent Work on physics education. Both programs also have recommended and required education courses. This poster will be presented by Professor Schwarz, the advisor for the program and two seniors who are currently enrolled in the program. We will discuss the pros and cons and our planned modifications as this plan was developed over 15 years ago and requirements for teaching high school physics have changed. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00007: “It’s okay to be wrong”: Developing identities of competence in the TXST LA program Hunter Close, Eleanor Close, Jessica Conn We analyze the experience of students in the Physics Learning Assistant program at Texas State University in terms of the existing theoretical frameworks of community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and physics identity (Hazari et al., 2010). We find that changes in practice facilitated by the LA program shift LAs’ sense of community membership and their understanding of what comprises competent physics participation. In interviews and written reflections, LAs report that participation in the LA community changes their ways of learning and of being a student, including shifts toward believing that diversity of ideas and approaches is valuable for learning and that it’s “okay to be wrong” and to ask for help. This suggests that the LA experience contributes to shifting students from fixed mindset to growth mindset learning orientation (Dweck, 1986). These findings show that a focus on supporting community membership is useful for effective LA program design. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00008: Making the tacit explicit: An interdisciplinary kinematics active learning tool Banjo Oriade We present an interdisciplinary, science active learning and assessment tool. At this poster you will actively engage the tool and see some of the data from using tools like this in an introductory physical science course. One utility of this tool is helping secondary and college introductory physics students acquire a better sense of acceleration in relation to velocity, and to the trajectory of moving objects. We have low and high technology versions. Both versions comprise 1) a record of student predictions elucidated by a set of questions prepared with elements of surprise and in the spirit of guided inquiry, 2) followed by experimentation, 3) analysis of data from student experimentation, and 4) pausing in a conclusion and reflection part in which the learner comes up with a question of their own to repeat the steps on. \footnote{Design from AJP 78, 1265 (2010)} Equipment needed for the experiment include a ball and a timepiece (or camera). The high technology version uses VideoPhysics. The central question in step 1) is "You throw a ball behind you from chest level in front of you. What are the odds that you catch this ball behind you, with the same hand that threw it without turning your body around?" Our tool aims at making tacit knowledge more explicit for learners. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00009: Developing an understanding of how LAs and faculty collaborate to promote effective learning Mel Sabella, Andrea Van Duzor, Felicia Davenport, Fidel Amezcua Collaborative relationships between faculty members and LAs can enhance the effectiveness of the LA model by leveraging the expertise of LAs and placing them in positions where they can co-think and co-design activities and lessons for the STEM classroom. Interviews with LAs and faculty members, in addition to video from weekly preparation sessions, illustrate the different types of partnerships that can evolve between LAs and faculty and help us understand the roles different factors play in these partnerships. We describe three types of partnerships that exist along a continuum: mentor-mentee, faculty driven collaboration, and collaborative. This data highlights the importance of student voice and weekly meetings between LAs and faculty members in an LA Program. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00010: An online community for faculty teaching physics or physical science to preservice teachers Edward Price, Fred Goldberg, Steve Robinson, Paula Engelhardt, Chandra Turpen, Melissa Dancy, Sean Smith The \textit{Next Generation Physical Science and Everyday Thinking} Faculty Online Learning Community (\textit{Next Gen PET }FOLC) provides opportunities to improve instruction, conduct classroom research, and study student thinking in the context of physics or physical science courses for preservice elementary teachers using the \textit{Next Gen PET} curriculum materials. Informed by research on course transformation, the \textit{Next Gen PET} FOLC is a structured and supported faculty community, which, together with high-quality, flexible curricular materials is intended to achieve far-reaching and sustainable educational transformation. The community includes i) experts who can provide long-term support and promote reflection, ii) an internal structure of faculty clusters, and iii) supporting tools such as curricular materials and communication platforms. Participating faculty will develop expertise through collaboration and knowledge generation. Currently, \textit{Next Gen PET} FOLC includes a project team and 10 faculty with extensive experience teaching previous versions of the materials; additional faculty participants are being recruited for summer 2017 (see http://www.ngpfolc.org/). This poster will describe the \textit{Next Gen PET} FOLC and how faculty can become involved. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00011: The History of New York High School Regents Physics. Keith Sheppard New York State (NYS) has a long, rich and well-documented history of involvement in U.S. High School physics education. The widely known Regents Physics examinations, for example, were first offered in 1878 and have been in continuous operation ever since. Over the last 138 years, millions of students have taken the exam, including at least twelve Nobel Laureates in Physics. Despite this background, recent histories of high school physics education make little or no mention of New York's remarkable contributions to the history of the field. This poster addresses this lacuna using original historical source material. It examines from the mid-19th century, how the physics course developed in the academies and high schools of New York, focusing on the syllabi produced, the examinations given, the textbooks used, the transition of natural philosophy to physics, how short courses became a one-year one-credit course, the introduction and incorporation of laboratory work and the methods advocated for teaching physics. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00012: Sparking Curiosity: Physical Science for Elementary Teachers Wendy Adams, Heather Taffe, Ansel Foxley, Kui Chen, Adrianne N. Larson PhysTEC support has allowed three new faculty members to adopt our research based curriculum in the Physical Science Concepts for Elementary Teachers course at the University of Northern Colorado. This curriculum is based on the ISLE framework and uses Peer Instruction as well as other research based practices. In this poster we will share pre/post conceptual data as well as CLASS results for the course before and after this new curriculum. The new instructors are showing student normalized learning gains between 48{\%} and 58{\%} and their students' personal interest in physics, as measured by the CLASS, increases between 6{\%} and 22{\%} as compared to decreasing by 13{\%} when taught traditionally. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00013: Air-Pulsed Carts and~Modeling Aid$:$ Instruments for Student Model-Based Reasoning Mark Lattery This poster describes two emerging and specialized tools for student model-based reasoning in introductory physics: programmable air-pulsed rolling carts and Modeling Aid. This project extends recent research on student models and modeling in elementary mechanics (Lattery 2016) and explores new ways to teach the nature and content of scientific model building in a university-level physical science course. Lattery (2016). Deep Learning in Introductory Physics: Exploratory Studies of Model-Based Reasoning. NC: Information Age Publishing. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00014: Rowan’s PhysTEC Program: Successes and Challenges Trevor Smith, Issam Abi-El-Mona, Philip La Porta, Patrick Chestnut, Karen Magee-Sauer Rowan University is in the middle of a three-year PhysTEC project to increase our production of highly qualified physics teachers for New Jersey schools. We have seen a rapid growth in our physics major population in recent years, and we are working to translate this into increased numbers of teacher candidates as well. The main thrusts of the project are holding targeted advising and information sessions for physics majors, providing research opportunities for undergraduates focusing on physics education, creating a Rowan Area Physics Teachers network, and growing the learning assistant (LA) program in physics (including placing two LAs in a local high school classroom). We report on the various successes and challenges of these efforts. We are particularly interested in the effects of the LA program both on the LAs (in terms of content understanding and dispositions toward teaching) and on the students in classes that have an LA. [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00015: Physics Teacher Preparation at Stony Brook University. Keith Sheppard, Robert McCarthy, Angela Kelly, Axel Drees Stony Brook University (SBU) has a long, rich history of collaboration between the physics department, the Institute for STEM Education (I-STEM) and K-12 schools. SBU has produced 85 certified Physics teachers since 1994 (60 physics majors and 25 physics minors). Both the Physics Department and I-STEM have "champions" who support physics teacher preparation. SBU is located on Long Island, which has over 250 certified physics teachers working in its 108 high schools so there is a large cadre of highly qualified and experienced physics teachers available to act as cooperating teachers. The region has an active physics teacher professional community including a professional society (LIPTA) and a newly created physics section of NYS Master Teacher Program, who help in mentoring new physics teachers. The PT program at SBU has numerous field experiences available with K-12 students and we actively recruit undergraduate students. Funding is available to support pre-service PTs. The Program requires a high physics content background with the vast majority of our graduates having completed 36 UG and 15 graduate credits in Physics (some specially aimed at teaching physics). All physics courses are taught in the physics department.~ [Preview Abstract] |
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P3.00016: Examining the Possible Factors Related to and Influencing the Sumter School District High School Students' Decisions to Enroll in Physics Courses Hui-Yiing Chang, Jessica Kohler, Jordan Ard Out of a total high school student population of 4740 in the Sumter School District (SSD) in Sumter, South Carolina, only 167 were enrolled in a physics course in the Fall 2014 semester. That constituted 3.52{\%} of that population. Enrollment in physics courses during Spring 2015 was 75, which constituted 1.63{\%} of the total high school student population of 4593. As advised by Lori Smith, Coordinator of Science and Fine Arts of SSD, enrollment in physics courses was insufficient. Since physics is a requirement for most science and engineering degrees, not having enrolled in a physics course during high school could ultimately impede a student's pursuit of such majors during college. This project aims to explore the factors that may have been related to or may have influenced the SSD high school students' decisions to enroll in physics courses. This was achieved by conducting an electronic survey among voluntary participants from the seniors of SSD, then performing a quantitative analysis of the results. These results and the conclusions drawn are intended to help educators increase enrollment in physics courses in Sumter and other school districts. [Preview Abstract] |
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