Bulletin of the American Physical Society
76th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Section of APS
Volume 54, Number 16
Wednesday–Saturday, November 11–14, 2009; Atlanta, Georgia
Session DA: Education Policy and Outreach for Physicists |
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Chair: Paul Cottle, Florida State University Room: Amsterdam |
Thursday, November 12, 2009 1:30PM - 2:00PM |
DA.00001: Preparing Future Scientists and Engineers in High School: Where is the Physics? Invited Speaker: Although high school physics enrollments are growing, most state curricula make it easy for a student to avoid a physics course. Grading and graduation requirements may actually encourage a good student to skip physics. Often the physics course may be taught by a less than qualified teacher. Likewise, teacher licensure requirements and school hiring practices often encourage good teachers not to specialize in physics. I will discuss how such factors affect high school physics enrollments in North Carolina and elsewhere. As university physics instructors we should be aware of these issues and how we can support physics teaching and learning in the high schools. I will also review the activities of the AIP/AAPT/APS Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics, which is completing a review of pre-service and in-service physics teacher preparation programs across the US. These programs come in many forms that respond to the local school environments. They often involve close collaborations of the physics and education departments, flexible and creative curriculum requirements, and some faculty dedicated to shepherding undergraduates into physics teaching. We note that a university program that produces only two qualified physics teachers per year is considered successful. The Task Force is seeking common features of successful physics teacher programs to encourage other physics departments to enhance their own programs. The final report of the Task Force will be presented at the APS/AAPT Joint Meeting in February, 2010. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, November 12, 2009 2:00PM - 2:30PM |
DA.00002: Physics Taking in US High Schools and in the Southeastern US Invited Speaker: In 1987, only one high school graduate in five had completed at least one high school physics course. By 2005, this number had improved to one in three. Of course, national data can obscure regional differences. The Statistical Research Center (SRC) at the American Institute of Physics (AIP) has conducted a regular nationwide survey of a representative sample of high school physics teachers at both public and private high schools across the US since 1987. The seventh round of data collection was completed in June of this year. In this talk, I will present the most recent nationwide results and compare them to high school physics taking in SESAPS states. Attendees at this session will be among the very first to hear results from the 2008-09 survey. I will highlight the proportion of high schools offering physics on a regular basis, physics enrollments, and the variety of physics courses now being taught in US high schools. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, November 12, 2009 2:30PM - 3:00PM |
DA.00003: Designing Effective K-12 Educational Initiatives for Grant Proposals Invited Speaker: The National Science Foundation requires that grantees make an effort to extend the reach of academic research to communities beyond the laboratory and address the work's possible ``Broader Impacts'' to society. NSF CAREER awards and many of the NSF Research Center grant solicitations are even more explicit, requiring that grantees craft educational initiatives that are based in best practices, bring the academic research to the broader community, and positively impact the pipeline of students pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and careers. For new faculty, and even veteran faculty, these requirements for creative educational initiatives that significantly affect a community outside the confines of the laboratory can be very daunting. This presentation addresses how to design an effective educational plan that incorporates K-12 educational outreach, that will have a real impact on the target audience, and that can realistically be accomplished by a science faculty member. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, November 12, 2009 3:00PM - 3:30PM |
DA.00004: Using FIRST LEGO League Robotics Competitions to Engage Middle School Students in Physics Invited Speaker: As the nation and world grapple with looming crises in sectors such as energy, health care and the environment, it is critical that we keep today's youth interested in careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Studies indicate that many students lose interest in the sciences by ages 10-13, when they are in grades 4-8 in the U.S. educational system. Many of the interventions to counteract this trend focus on boosting interest in STEM in secondary schools and universities. However the case can be made that the greater need is actually earlier in the education of the child. How can we work with this age group in an exciting way that will promote the study of science? Student robotics competitions might be one effective answer. Programs are currently being run around the country and the world that engage young people in the study of science through robotic competition. Many of these programs rely on mentors to guide the students through the process, which in the most effective programs includes the study of physic concepts through engineering design. During this presentation we will discuss the options for participating in programs that help the students and teachers better understand the science, specifically the physics, which underlies robotics. In particular, we will focus on the international program called FIRST LEGO League (FLL), in which students ages 9-14 are challenged every year to construct a LEGO robot that can navigate and complete a course of theme-related missions. The FLL program is currently operating in almost every state in the U.S. and relies on recruiting qualified mentors and judges who want to impact young people's interest in STEM. Physics professionals can make a tremendous difference in the lives of these eager middle school students. [Preview Abstract] |
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