Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2011
Volume 56, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 30–May 3 2011; Anaheim, California
Session G6: Excellence in Physics Education Award Session |
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Sponsoring Units: FEd Chair: Paula Heron, University of Washington Room: Terrace A-F |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 8:30AM - 9:06AM |
G6.00001: Excellence in Physics Education Award Talk: AAPT/PTRA Leader and the Participant Perspectives Invited Speaker: The AAPT/PTRA professional development model is an integrated and extensive framework focused on improving the quality of education in physics and physical science. This talk will focus on different aspects of the curriculum and how it combines educational research, best practice, and current technology to provide a thorough and unique learning experience for teachers and their students. The talk will discuss how the use of tools like Physlets, demonstrations and make, take \& do items, combine to engage student's interest. PTRA activities - employing both low and high tech methods - are used during professional development and serve as a model for student-centered classroom activities. Rather than relying on teacher or textbook authority, physical relationships are derived from laboratory data. Participants analyze the data using the concepts of graphical analysis to develop physical principles based on personal experience. The talk will conclude with examples of how techniques such white-boarding, Ranking Tasks and Practicums yield authentic assessment for understanding of basic physics principles. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 9:06AM - 9:42AM |
G6.00002: Excellence in Physics Education Award Talk: Evolving Evaluation and Evidence Invited Speaker: AAPT/PTRA institutes were part of the first NSF projects encouraged to design rigorous evaluations to determine the characteristic of effective professional development. The evaluation of the AAPT/PTRA program has evolved from documenting the number of teachers attending daily workshops to documenting gains in content understanding and confidence by conducting comparison study groups for over 30 institutes across the nation. Components of the current AAPT/PTRA evaluation model include documentation of teacher gains in content understanding, confidence, use of technology, changes in classroom practice, and student achievement. This talk will reflect on the evaluation components, the inherent challenges, components that were successful, and lessons learned. Results of the data collected on over 1000 teachers since 2003 will be shared. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, May 1, 2011 9:42AM - 10:18AM |
G6.00003: Excellence in Physics Education Award Talk: AAPT/PTRA - Part of the Solution Invited Speaker: With the help of National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Physical Society (APS), the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) has developed the Physics Teaching Resource Agent (PTRA) model for successful physical science and physics teacher professional development. This model includes development of peer mentors, systemic infrastructure, assessment instruments, and a curriculum based on experienced mentors and physics education research. The AAPT/PTRA curriculum is supported by a series of AAPT/PTRA Teacher Resource Guides. These guides serve not only as a personal resource for the teacher's professional development, but also are appropriate for teachers' continued use in their classrooms. The talk will discuss the unique features of the AAPT/PTRA Program, and outline how your university can form a partnership with AAPT to support teachers in your local area. [Preview Abstract] |
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