Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2007 Joint Spring Meeting of the Texas Sections of APS, AAPT, and SPS
Volume 52, Number 2
Thursday–Saturday, March 22–24, 2007; Abilene, Texas
Session AAPT3: AAPT III - Enhancing Physics Teaching |
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Chair: Paul Morris, Abilene Christian University Room: Foster Science Building 200 (Walling Lecture Hall) |
Saturday, March 24, 2007 10:40AM - 10:52AM |
AAPT3.00001: Physics on Broadway Paul Morris Over the last twenty years, several plays have been produced which deal with science and science related material. These plays provide excellent opportunities to get students in the humanities interested, and possibly even excited, in varioius ideas of science. I will discuss my use of these materials in a History and Philosophy of Science class aimed at students in the humanities. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, March 24, 2007 10:52AM - 11:04AM |
AAPT3.00002: Technology Based Tipers as an In-class Small Group Activity Paul Williams Tasks inspired by Physics Education Research (Tipers) address students. conceptual understanding of physics. By asking about physics concepts in alternative formats to back-of-the-chapter problems, student understanding can be elicited and further developed. Tipers can be used as in class activities, homework problems and test items. The author will present his efforts to incorporate technology into Tipers used as in class small group activities. The technology is incorporated both by making Physics Simulations a necessary part of the delivery of the Tipers and by recording student responses to the Tipers with clickers. Several sample activities drawn from DC circuits and Faraday.s Law will be shown. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, March 24, 2007 11:04AM - 11:16AM |
AAPT3.00003: Using Blackboard to Eliminate Homework Copying Terrence L. Reese It is well known that doing homework improves students understanding of the material that is being taught and instructors assign homework with this knowledge in mind. However, it is not uncommon for a teacher to receive homework assignments that are exact copies of each other. This happened regularly in my physical science class when I assigned written homework. In an effort to overcome this problem I adapted the Blackboard testing system for homework assignments. The Blackboard testing system allows the instructor to create a quiz which the students take over the internet. In this method the students are given an assignment containing ten problems and are given ten days to work them out. A quiz is created on Blackboard containing five of those ten problems and five multiple choice and short answer questions from the notes. The students are given ten days to take this quiz before it goes off. After completing the quiz the students are given their grade and which answers were correct and which ones were wrong. The Blackboard system randomizes the questions and answers making it harder for the students to copy answers directly as indicated by three years of data. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, March 24, 2007 11:16AM - 11:28AM |
AAPT3.00004: Using Simulations in Class Thomas L. O'Kuma There are a number of simulations available that make wonderful classroom tools to show and emphasize certain topical areas. This paper will present some examples of the use of simulations from Physlets to PhET that the author thinks make effective simulations. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, March 24, 2007 11:28AM - 11:40AM |
AAPT3.00005: Chaos Theory For Freshman: A Seminar with Laboratory Science Credit Bruce N. Miller Seminars aimed specifically at freshman have become popular in private colleges in the last decade. Here I describe a seminar on chaos theory that, in addition to a regular discussion forum, meets weekly in a computer laboratory. The course roughly follows the development of nonlinear dynamics, starting with sensitive dependence and the butterfly effect through bifurcations and even a touch of KAM theory. Clear distinctions are drawn between dissipative and conservative dynamical systems. Examples are taken from astronomy, biology, mechanics, meteorology, and idealized fractals. The laboratory sessions follow the course of the readings and feature the seminal nonlinear maps that stimulated the development of the theory. In addition to technical issues, the concept of a scientific revolution, and the meaning and possibility of free will are contemplated from the standpoint of dynamical systems theory. At the end of the semester students make a presentation based on a topic they select and investigate. I will present an outline of the class activities and some examples of the student presentations. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, March 24, 2007 11:40AM - 11:52AM |
AAPT3.00006: What Nanophysics is Appropriate in Which Physics Courses? Eric A. Hagedorn, Milijana Suskavcevic, Felicia Manciu Despite the trendiness of any and all terms with ``nano'' in them, nanophysics is appearing in college curricula in several ways: as stand-alone courses, in one strand of a seminar course, or integrated into existing courses. This presentation reviews approaches taken in the US and abroad but then suggests criteria for identifying appropriate nanophysics topics using both the literature and ``The Big Ideas of Nanoscience'' (Stevens, Sutherland, Schank, \& Krajick, 2006). Also discussed are considerations for fitting specific nanophysics topics into traditional physics curricula. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, March 24, 2007 11:52AM - 12:04PM |
AAPT3.00007: Activities in the Regional Collaborative for Excellence in Science Teaching UNT Jim Roberts The Regional Collaborative for Excellence in Science Teaching has been active in Texas since 1992 and at UNT since its beginning. In this presentation we discuss some of the activities in the program and how these have changed both the attitude toward science and the level of understanding of the basic principles of science. The activities are hands-on, minds-on activities that cause the students/teachers to think about what they are doing and why fundamental laws emerge from our experiences. These laws are then quantified by mathematical formulas, ``the icing on the cake.'' [Preview Abstract] |
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