Saturday Evening Registration
- REG02B
- Sat 01/18, 7:30PM - 9:00PM
- AAPT Staff
- Type: Registration
Disney Springs
- Tue 01/21, 6:30PM - 11:30PM
- Type: Event
- Buses will depart on the hour and run a continuous loop from the hotel to the venue from 6:30pm – 11:30pm with final pickup at 11pm from venue.Bus location: Convention Center Porte-Cochere
21st Century Physics in the Classroom
Physics of Space for Young Children
- AC01
- Sun 01/19, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
- by Rachel Hallett-Njuguna,
- Type: Invited
- In an elementary magnet school with a Space Science focus, all students participate in standards-based lessons in a one-of-a-kind Kids Space Center. But the challenge tends to be how to make space-related physics accessible for children as young as 5 years old. With moon cars overcoming friction in Kindergarten, building solar sails in First grade, and using digital probes to measure heat and light in 3rd grade, our youngest students are exposed to complex ideas in order to create observations and inferences that will hopefully stay with them for years to come. In this session, these and other lessons will be shared as examples of how to engage young students in physics concepts while meeting their developmental needs.
Modern Research Data to Enrich the K12 Classroom
- AC02
- Sun 01/19, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
- by Adam LaMee,
- Type: Invited
- Are you still teaching 2D collisions with billiard balls? Try using Higgs boson decays instead. Why not use gravitational waves to follow up Slinkys in your waves unit? You’ll learn about accessible research data from CERN, LIGO, and other experiments tohelp students learn traditional science content. These are some of the same experiments your students have already heard about on social media, helping connect school to the world outside. We’ll also share techniques for embedding the next big experiment’s findings in your own curriculum. Options for paper and pencil, spreadsheet, and Python analysis.
Conveying the Science of the Large Hadron Collider
- AC03
- Sun 01/19, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Darin Acosta,*
- Type: Invited
- The Large Hadron Collider operating at the CERN laboratory in Europe is the premier facility for the exploration of subatomic physics. The scientific topics it seeks to address range from exploring the structure of matter at its smallest scale, studying the forces by which particles interact, producing and detecting dark matter that permeates the universe, and searching for further symmetries in nature. The research involves thousands of scientists worldwide. In this talk I will describe some approaches taken to convey the excitement and content of this scientific field to students, to other educators, and to the public at large. This includes activities with educators participating in the NSF funded QuarkNet program, which is focused to enable science teachers with research experience and tools. I also will share some personal experiences in outreach, and in teaching and training students from the high school to graduate student level.
21st Century Physics in the Classroom II
A Study of Beamline Muon Rates with Multiple Acceptance Angles
- BC01
- Sun 01/19, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
by Alex Bernat,, Joshua Simon, Shira Eliaser, MUSE Collaboration
- Type: Contributed
- Chicago area high school students evaluated muon rates in FermiLab’s MINOS tunnel. Two detectors were placed in the tunnel, with one horizontally aligned in the beamline and one aligned vertically, toward the access shaft and sky. Data was collected for six weeks as the two detectors were moved down the tunnel and away from the access shaft. We hypothesized that the horizontal detector in the beamline would accept neutrinos only from the beam when the detector was set to require coincidence between the three photomultiplier tubes in the beam line. We examined the muon rate from the detectors whose angle of acceptance included portions of the access shaft. Thus, the certain days of data required normalization for the active beam.
Infusing 21st Century Physics into the Classroom Using QuarkNet Data-Activities-Portfolio*
- BC02
- Sun 01/19, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
- by Deborah Roudebush,
- Type: Contributed
- The QuarkNet Data Activities Portfolio is a compilation of activities designed to infuse 21st century physics into the high school classroom. Features of the web site will be demonstrated, including the updated Pathways feature which allows teachers to search for activities related to the topic of the day.
Facilitating the High School Muon Underground Shielding Experiment (MUSE)
- BC03
- Sun 01/19, 3:50PM - 4:00PM
by Marybeth Senser,, Tony Valsamis, Allan Sears, Shira Eliaser, Nathan Unterman
- Type: Contributed
- A collaboration of 11 high school students from five high schools ran an ambitious experiment called the Muon Underground Shielding Experiment (MUSE) to measure muon flux in the Fermilab MINOS facility 100 meters underground. MUSE teacher sponsors discuss how the student project was managed: generating the research question, mentoring students in committees to address issues and develop solutions, fostering interschool collaboration, submitting a technical scope of work to Fermilab, coordinating with lab scientists and engineers, overseeing safety check, assembling resources from various schools, facilitating data taking, supervising analysis, and mentoring the reporting process. Trials and triumphs will be shared. Key takeaways will include how to cooperate with other schools, connect with STEM related institutions in the region, and direct a diverse group of students in a collaborative research project.
Teaching and Learning: What I Learned from the ACUE Modules
- BC04
- Sun 01/19, 4:00PM - 4:10PM
- by Irene Guerinot,
- Type: Contributed
- Physics is a particularly challenging subject, which demands quality teaching and special attention to the individual learning progress of each student. Both the teaching profession and the field of physics are in a constant state of change. Teaching strategies are emerging constantly and several organizations offer courses on teaching techniques, in an effort to improve student engagement, retention, and academic success. During the 2018-2019 academic year, I participated in an online course designed and presented by the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) on Effective Teaching Practices. I will be presenting materials, and strategies generated and implemented since the beginning of the 25module course. I will be concentrating on the following topics: growth mindset, engaging under-prepared students, designing effective assignments, and motivating goals.
Cosmic Ray Muon Rates Below Ground: Elevator Model
- BC05
- Sun 01/19, 4:10PM - 4:20PM
by Eleanor Winkler,*, Emmanuelle Copeland, Paul Graham, Nathan Unterman, Marybeth Senser
- Type: Contributed
- High school students measured muon count rates during descent and ascent in an elevator, going 103 meters underground at Fermilab’s MINOS access shaft. The vertically oriented detector included three angles of acceptance: six degrees, 21 degrees, and full sky. Students took data on the ascent and descent in the elevator to compare muon count rates vs. depth, in order to examine the immediate impacts of increased burden due to the surrounding rocks, dirt, and concrete, along with the impact of passing through the path of MINOS’ neutrino beam.
BiteScis: Engaging Research-based Physics Lessons Through Teacher-Researcher Partnerships
- BC06
- Sun 01/19, 4:20PM - 4:30PM
by Shannon Morey,, Nathan Sanders, Stephanie Keep, Kelsey Lucas
- Type: Contributed
- BiteScis (bitescis.org) is dedicated to engaging students by exposing them to current science research that provides context to the content they are expected to master. BiteScis lessons are developed in collaborative partnerships between high school teachers and early career STEM researchers. The development process provides relevant, useful, and unique professional development for both “BiteScientist” partners. The lessons that result are of the highest quality, standards-aligned, easy-to-implement, and are designed to root out misconceptions and provide a good classroom experience for teachers and students. This presentation will describe our model and present BiteScis’ physics resources currently available, which are all free and fully-editable, on our webpage. Like all BiteScis lessons, they affirm for students that the knowledge they are gaining in the physics classroom is the foundation for emerging research, from examining swimming dolphins to study conservation of momentum to discussing liver fibrosis to develop an understanding of mechanical waves.
Profiling Muon Flux in Fermilab's MINOS Tunnel
- BC07
- Sun 01/19, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
by Jacob Miller,*, Benjamin Grey, Nathan Unterman, MUSE Collaboration
- Type: Contributed
- High school students determined the effect of burden on muon flux by collecting data from Fermilab’s MINOS tunnel. Flux varied due to a change in burden created by a 103 meter access shaft. A profile of muon flux as a function of distance from the accessshaft was created by observing muon flux from different locations within the tunnel. We hypothesized that muon flux would decrease as the detectors moved away from the shaft. The results presented will provide insight into the capacity of burden to shield muons.
Determining Effects of a Neutrino Beam on Muon Flux
- BC08
- Sun 01/19, 4:40PM - 4:50PM
by Henry Seiden,*, Max Miller, Tom Blackmore, Anthony Valsamis, Allen Sears
- Type: Contributed
- During an experiment measuring muon flux in the MINOS tunnel at Fermilab, QuarkNet students detected muons from a neutrino beam traveling through their detectors. We will discuss the horizontal beam’s impact on the measured vertical cosmic ray muon flux.
Developments in International Masterclasses
- BC10
- Sun 01/19, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
- by Kenneth Cecire,
- Type: Contributed
- International Masterclasses (IMC) have developed since their introduction in 2005. Recent innovations include Masterclasses for International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGS) and World Wide Data Day (W2D2). IDWGS opens new pathways for high school girls to be encouraged in physics; W2D2 brings masterclass activities directly to high school classrooms. IMC has also experimented with masterclasses exclusively for university-level students. In 2019, IMC added the new MINERvA Neutrino Masterclass, the first offering in neutrino physics and the first based on a Fermilab experiment. In the MINERvA measurement, students are able to study interactions of a neutrino beam with carbon nuclei, using conservation of momentum to draw conclusions. Other new masterclass measurements for Belle II, MicroBooNE, and medical imaging planned for 2020. A longer-term goal is the creation of a DUNE masterclass measurement as that facility reaches the data-taking stage.
30 Demos in 60 Minutes
30 Demos in 60 Minutes
- BJ
- Sun 01/19, 5:30PM - 6:30PM
- by Wendy Adams
- Type: other
AAPT Presidential Transfer
AAPT Presidential Transfer
- PL03
- Tue 01/21, 10:30AM - 12:30PM
- Type: Plenary
AAPT Tweet-up
AAPT Tweet-up
- SPEC55
- Sat 01/18, 4:00PM - 5:30PM
- by Jerri Anderson
- Type: Event
AIP Science Award
AIP Science Award
- PL02
- Tue 01/21, 10:30AM - 12:30PM
- by AIP AIP
- Type: Plenary
- Raman Prinja won the 2019 AIP Science Communication Award in the Writing for Children category for his Planetarium, published by Bonnier Books in the U.K. and Big Picture Press in the U.S. He is a professor of astrophysics and head of department at University College London, and his research has focused on the evolution and properties of the most massive stars in the galaxy and their progression into supernovae. Prinja has been awarded the Pol and Christiane Swings research prize as well as UCL faculty and department teaching awards. When he’s not teaching and researching, Prinja is an active public speaker and regularly presents lectures to a wide audience range. He has made it his personal goal to bring the subject of astronomy to more diverse audiences, including children, and has written over 20 successful outreach-level science books.
ALPhA Open Meeting
ALPhA Open Meeting
- COM08
- Sat 01/18, 6:00PM - 7:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Committee Meeting
Academic Advising and Retention of Physics Majors
Academic Advising and Retention of Physics Majors
- FE
- Tue 01/21, 8:30AM - 9:30AM
- by Tengiz Bibilashvili, Toni Sauncy, Crystal Bailey
- Type: Panel
- Panel/contributed session
How Research Experiences Relate to Physics Identity, Retention, and Integration
- FE01
- Tue 01/21, 8:30AM - 9:30AM
by Zeynep Topdemir,, Brian Thoms, Joshua Von Korff, Amin Bayat Barooni
- Type: Contributed
- Research experiences are opportunities for students to gain essential skills that are needed in their careers. Also, research experiences are beneficial to shape students’ physics identities and which in turn may increase retention rates in undergraduatephysics programs. Twenty students at different stages of an undergraduate program were interviewed in order to understand how research experiences are related to students’ integration to the department, their physics identity development, and retention in the program.
Attitudinal and Motivational Factors in Graduate Physics Students
- FE02
- Tue 01/21, 8:30AM - 9:30AM
by Christopher Porter,, Andrew Heckler, Sara Mueller, Amber Simmons, Srividya Suresh
- Type: Contributed
- According to the American Physical Society, only 55% of physics graduate students who begin a PhD program are retained through the program to complete that degree. In an effort to improve retention, student experience, and diversity in graduate physics courses and programs, we are conducting a longitudinal study that examines cognitive and motivational factors through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Currently, six physics departments across the Midwest are participating in this study, and more are in the works. This talk will focus primarily on the results of graduate student surveys, which include minor modifications of validated scales on belonging, cost, physics identity, and several other factors. Differences between institutions will also be discussed. This study is at a middle point, such that most data will be cross-sectional. A more longitudinal picture will become possible after more years of data collection.
Advanced Labs (especially Contemporary Physics or Stat/Thermo)
An Advanced Lab Experiment on Measuring Magnetization in Permanent Magnets*
- BB01
- Sun 01/19, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
by Biplob Barman, Athos Petrou
- Type: Invited
- Magnetism has been intriguing mankind for centuries now. With the exploration of newer magnetic materials, it became essential to develop techniques to measure magnetization in these, especially from a pedagogical perspective. In this talk, we present a low-cost experimental technique to determine the magnetization of a permanent magnet, using readily available lab equipment. Magnetization M plays a key role in studying the response of magnetic materials to external magnetic field B. The proposed method discusses the effect of B (produced by a pair of Helmholtz coils) on a permanent magnet, suspended by strings and allowed to oscillate under the influence of the torque the magnetic field exerts on the magnet. The arrangement uses mechanical energy conservation principles to measure M via graphical analysis. While this experiment is suitable for both undergraduate Physics and Engineering majors, the extent of exploration rests with the instructor.
3 for $33: Advanced Experiments in Thermal Physics
- BB02
- Sun 01/19, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
- by Jed Brody,
- Type: Invited
- I describe three experiments that illustrate surprisingly mathematical thermal physics in simple objects. The equipment is cheaper than a textbook, cheap enough for online students to purchase and use at home. In the first experiment, a water column oscillates in a long plastic tube, sealed at the top. The water column's oscillations mysteriously reach their lowest frequency when the tube is about half full of water. In the second experiment, a laser shines through a block of Plexiglas chilled from below by ice water. The laser beam's deflection increases and then mysteriously decreases as the temperature decreases monotonically. In the third experiment, temperature is measured at the top of a nail whose bottom tip is immersed in ice water. The theoretical fit is a truncated infinite series in which each term requires the numerical solution of a different transcendental equation.
Using magnetism data to illuminate the build-up of the periodic table
- BB03
- Sun 01/19, 4:10PM - 4:20PM
- by David Van Baak
- Type: Contributed
- Every modern-physics textbook feels obligated to teach an atomic-physics justification of the periodic table of the elements, always described via the process of filling s-shells, p-shells, etc. But few textbooks display any actual data that illuminatesthe filling of the d-shells (in the transition metals) or the f-shells (in the rare-earths and actinides). This talk advocates the simple tabletop measurement of magnetic susceptibility as offering direct experimental evidence for the existence of partly filled d- and f-shells, as that measurement can directly detect the magnetic consequences of the spin-unpaired electrons that occupy a partly-filled shell.
The Rarely Observed Transientsin the Damped and Driven Simple Harmonic Oscillator
- BB04
- Sun 01/19, 4:20PM - 4:30PM
by Jonathan Reichert, David Van Baak
- Type: Contributed
- The driven damped simple-harmonic-oscillator problem is one of the most widely used models in all of physics, and most physicists appreciate the central role of resonance in understanding the solution of this problem. But not everyone appreciates that the textbook plots of resonance apply only to the steady-state solution that eventually applies. What is the character of the transient solution that applies during the wait for steady state? How long does that transient last? What the transient look like if the drive frequency mis-matches the system’s resonant frequency? This talk discusses how to think about the transient solution, shows a concrete example of these phenomena in TeachSpin’s torsional oscillator, and explains the counter-intuitive features that arise during the transient.
Investigating Physical Experiments in USTC
- BB05
- Sun 01/19, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
- by Zengming Zhang,
- Type: Contributed
- After studying experiments of general physics for three semesters, students hold good experimental skills and some measurement methods, have solider fundamental knowledge and understand some data processing methods and uncertainty analysis. During the fourth semester of lab class, they need to study the investigating physical experiments. During the advanced lab course, a group including 3 or 4 members from different majors such as physics, materials and optics focus on a project and finish it based on the sample synthesis, characteristic equipment and DIY for some special parts. These projects involve frontier research, improving experimental item, interesting physical phenomena and building a physical instrument to implement some functions and measurements. The students design the investigating content and method by themselves. Practice shows that the student’s operating skill, methods of analyzing and resolving problems are improved. Their active, innovative ability is excited.
Modeling Radiation Trapping in Alkali Vapors
- BB06
- Sun 01/19, 4:40PM - 4:50PM
by Stephen Spicklemire,, Monte Anderson, Jerry Sell, Jacob Malloy, Brian Patterson
- Type: Contributed
- We discuss an undergraduate capstone project involving the visualization of Monte Carlo simulations of radiation trapping in alkali vapors and comparison to experimental data. Radiation trapping is the confinement of light in atomic vapors by successive absorption and reemission of photons. If the vapor is sufficiently dense, the apparent lifetime of the atomic excited state, as observed in the fluorescence decay, may be significantly longer than the natural lifetime. The calculations modeled and visualized the random walk of photons in cesium and rubidium vapors in a small, temperature-controlled cell, from initial absorption using a broadband laser source to eventual escape and detection. The calculated effect on the measured lifetime was compared to the results of an experiment having the same geometry and utilizing a Ti:sapphire pulsed laser for excitation. This project has allowed undergraduates to meaningfully integrate numerical and experimental techniques and explore various modes of data visualization.
Applications of Deep Learning in Undergraduate Physics
Deep Learning for a Deeper Understanding of Physics
- AB01
- Sun 01/19, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
- by Jeffrey Groff,
- Type: Invited
- Deep learning is a specialized area of machine learning that is enabling amazing advances in areas such as self-driving vehicles, speech recognition, and computer vision. Both physics and deep learning involve developing models that make predictions, butthe approaches used are different. For example, a physicist’s approach is to start with first principles and add complexity as needed to increase accuracy. On the other hand, the deep learning approach is based on empirical models and parameter fitting. Nevertheless, students who study both approaches may develop a deeper understanding of physics. This talk will discuss the similarities and differences between, and the strengths and weaknesses of a physicist’s approach to predictive modeling and the deep learning approach. These two approaches will be explored by comparing how they can be applied to solve a classic physics problem.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Demonstrations
Comparing the Effectiveness of Online vs. Live Lecture Demonstrations
- CB01
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 12:00PM
by Kelly Miller,, Greg Kestin, Louis Deslauriers, Logan McCarty, Kristina Callaghan
- Type: Invited
- Nearly every introductory physics or chemistry course includes live lecture demonstrations, which can range from simple illustrations of a pendulum to elaborate productions with specialized apparatus and highly trained demonstrators. Students and instructors often consider “demos” to be among the highlights of these classes. Yet in some situations demos may be cumbersome, inaccessible, or otherwise unavailable, and online video demos could offer an effective and convenient alternative. We compared the effectiveness of live demonstrations with online videos under controlled conditions in the first semester of an introductory physics (mechanics) course. Students were randomly assigned to view either a live demo or a video. The same instructor presented both versions of the demo using an identical script. Compared with the students who saw the live demos, the students who watched the online videos learned more, and their self-reported enjoyment was just as high. These results suggest that videos could provide students with an equally effective learning experience when live demos are unavailable.
Meta-demonstration: Choosing a Lecture Demonstration Approach
- CB02
- Mon 01/20, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
- by Carolyn Sealfon,
- Type: Invited
- We will experience a familiar physics demonstration three ways: using the Interactive Lecture Demonstration (ILD) approach (Thornton & Sokoloff), using the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) approach (Etkina et al.), and as a traditional lecture demonstration. The audience will play the roles of students. We will then discuss the different approaches from both the student and instructor perspectives, focusing on learning goals and outcomes.
Answering FCI Questions with Student Experiments
- CB03
- Mon 01/20, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Charles Lane,, Ian Carey
- Type: Contributed
- "Teaching to the test" is generally not a good thing. We decided to try partially teaching to the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) during one session of an introductory-physics lab. We designed demonstrations/experiments to directly test 14 FCI questions. 47 students spent a two-hour lab session in the first week of classes moving between stations with the different setups. When they took the FCI as a post-test at the end of the semester, their average normalized gain was 0.65, higher than the normalized gain of 0.52 achieved by students in the adjacent 4 years. They fared better than typical on most individual questions, but performed significantly worse on a few.
Astronomy Education Research
A Modern Version of the Eddington Experiment
- FA01
- Tue 01/21, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
by Robert Sparks,, Juan Seguel, Stephen Pompea
- Type: Contributed
- The first experimental evidence supporting Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity was obtained in 1919 during a total solar eclipse. Two teams of astronomers led by British Astronomer Arthur Eddington measured the deflection of starlight near the Sun during a total solar eclipse, an effect predicted by general relativity. During the 2019 total solar eclipse, a team from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory led a group of students from the University of La Serena in an attempt to recreate these historic observations. Students used a modern Celestron 11 telescope and high-speed ZWO CMOS camera to capture data during totality and measure the small deflection of stars near the Sum. We are working on preparations to get more groups involved in observing this effect during the 2020 eclipse in Chile and are looking forward to bringing this project to the U.S. for the 2024 eclipse.
Developing Space Science Educational Materials to Supplement College Instruction
- FA02
- Tue 01/21, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
by Ramon Lopez,, Brad Ambrose, Ximena Cid, Darsa Donelan, Caroline Hall
- Type: Contributed
- This presentation will provide an update on the AAPT partnership with the NASA Space Science Education Consortium (NSSEC).Since 2015, a team under the auspices of AAPT has been developing instructional materials for use in post-secondary education usingspace science as the theme. The team has developed research-based activities (structured lecture-tutorials, peer-instruction styled concept questions, etc.) for use in introductory physics and astronomy, teacher preservice education, as well as upper division physics courses.Some of these materials are suitable for use in High School settings, though they have not yet been utilized in these settings. We will provide a review of our progress, as well as discuss how interested parties can collaborate with our team and the NSSEC in general.
Astrophysics and Astronomy Curriculum Enrichment Through LLNL and CFHT
- FA03
- Tue 01/21, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
- by Tessie Ford,
- Type: Contributed
- The purpose of this presentation is to share my experiences at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Teacher Research Academy (LLNL’s TRA) and Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope’s (CFHT) Maunakea Scholars Program. LLNL’s TRA provides opportunities forteachers to work with scientists in biotechnology, climate change, and astrophysics. As an astrophysics teacher intern, I worked with LLNL’s astrophysicists to help further resolve the Fe XVII emission problem and created a spectra for the lower transition energy levels of chromium. This experience allowed me to gain enough knowledge to become a Maunakea Scholars advisor. The program allows high school students to write project proposals to CFHT astronomers to receive telescope time for their own projects. These opportunities helped me to enrich my physics and astronomy curricula by teaching and engaging the students with modern scientific advancements. This work was performed under the auspices of the Department of Energy by LLNL under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344.
Considerations When Renovating SIUE's Outreach Sky Lab
- FA04
- Tue 01/21, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
- by Thomas Foster,
- Type: Contributed
- During the summer of 2019, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville undertook renovating our existing outreach site. Originally built in 1985 from donations made by Dr. William Shaw, the concrete pad with telescopes piers had seen it all and worse. Whenit was decided that the site needed a major overhaul, members of the University community came together to decide the priority list and budget for the renovations. This talk will discuss those decisions and the outcome of the new Shaw Sky Lab. We hope what we decided to do will help in your outreach decisions.
Astronomy Poster
Authentic Astronomical Research in Educational Settings Using JS9
- PST1C01
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Terry Matilsky,*, Eric Mandel, Pam Perry
- Type: Poster
- How can we provide an authentic research experience to students who want to find out what science is REALLY about? We couple JS9, a fun to use, web-based image display environment, with archival satellite data to allow students to perform astronomical analysis remotely using their browser. Energy spectra, light curves, periodic phenomena, and much more can be explored, using data from thousands of deep sky objects, spanning the gamut of observed energies, from infra-red emission to gamma rays. Since this system is platform independent, it is especially useful in the classroom, as well as in distance learning environments.
LIGO Analysis in a Few Lines of MATLAB Code
- PST1C03
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
- by Duncan Carlsmith,
- Type: Poster
- Analysis of open data from exciting big science experiments can engage physics students in courses incorporating computation. This poster illustrates how gravitational wave data from LIGO may be analyzed with a few lines of MATLAB code, reproducing results that led to a recent Nobel prize. The code is used in a tutorial exercise for first year undergraduates.
Modeling the Disk of the Milky Way Galaxy
- PST1C05
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Sarah Gonzalez,, Ava Doyle, Chris Huang, Heidi Jo Newberg
- Type: Poster
- The purpose of this project is to map stars within the disk of the Milky Way galaxy. We accomplish this goal through methods of statistical photometric parallax. Potential substructure has been identified and linked to galactic wiggles, the Hercules Aquila Cloud, and the Hercules Halo Stream.
NANOGrav Outreach through Homework Questions
- PST1C07
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
- by Carl Schmiedekamp,
- Type: Poster
- As part of the NANOGrav collaboration’s outreach activities, we have developed a set of homework questions that have the goal of increasing interest in the astrophysics related to gravitational waves and pulsars. NANOGrav is the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, a National Science Foundation Physics Frontiers Center. The questions are on common introductory topics such as density, rotational motion, and centripetal force but use pulsars and gravitational waves as the subjects of the situations described. The questions are targeted to introductory, algebra-based physics classes and are applicable for college as well as high school classes.The questions will be provided in text format via the NANOGrav website and with solutions on the Living Physics Portal and in WebAssign.
NASA and National Science Olympiad Universe of Learning Astronomy Program
- PST1C02
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
- by Donna Young,
- Type: Poster
- There are opportunities to become involved with the NASA UoL and NSO STEM Literacy Network. NSO, a well-established and successful program for 35 years, is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of K12 science education, increasing interest in science for all students, creating a STEM literate workforce, and providing recognition for outstanding achievement by students and educators. These goals are achieved by participating in events at invitational, regional, state and national tournaments, and incorporating Science Olympiad events into classroom curricula. Events address NGSS scientific practices, crosscutting concepts and core disciplinary ideas from every scientific discipline, including physics and astronomy. Participation at the post-secondary level by Science Olympiad alumni have resulted in opportunities for hosting an invitational, writing an invitational, regional or state event test, becoming an event supervisor, or contributing questions to the national test bank or mentoring teams preparing for competition in the space science events.
Pulsar Search Collaboratory -- Building a Research Community
- PST1C04
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Sue Ann Heatherly,, Harsha Blumer, Natalia Lewandowska, Kathryn Williamson, Cabot Zabriske
- Type: Poster
- The Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC), now in its 12th year, engages high school students, undergraduate students, K-12 teachers, and professional astronomers in a shared research enterprise -- to discover pulsars and radio transients and to understand their properties. The PSC is unique in that all of our "audiences" participate together in one community of practice. In this poster we will describe how the PSC works and discuss our findings; the new discoveries made by community members, as well as our educational research results.
Globe at Night
- PST1C06
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Robert Sparks,, Constance Walker
- Type: Poster
- Globe at Night is international in nature, inviting citizen-scientists around the world to measure and submit night sky brightness observations in their locale. It is designed to raise public awareness of the disappearing starry night sky caused by lightpollution. During ten days per month of moonless evenings, citizen-scientists worldwide record the night sky brightness in a “star hunt” for the faintest star visible. They then submit their choice of star map online or with a smart phone along with their date, time and location to help create a light pollution map worldwide.On-the-fly mapping can be used to see contributed observations immediately. Postcards, activity guides and report pages are available in multiple languages. STEM activities for young children (Dark Skies Rangers) and problem-based learning activities for older students (Quality Lighting Teaching Kit) are integrated with the program.
Best Practices in Educational Technology
Real-time Data Dashboards with Python
- CE01
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 12:00PM
- by Andrew Dawes,
- Type: Invited
- With the rise of enterprise data science, many new computational tools exist for gathering and presenting data in real-time. While not designed expressly for use in physics labs, many of these tools are useful for laboratory data collection and presentation. With a particular emphasis on the python language, and associated software packages, we present several use cases, and an overview of possible future applications for these new tools.
Promoting Problem-Solving Abilities through Web-based Interactive Video-Enhanced Tutorials*
- CE02
- Mon 01/20, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
by Kathleen Koenig,, Robert Teese, Alexandru Maries, Michelle Chabot
- Type: Invited
- Interactive video-enhanced tutorials (IVETs) involve web-based activities which lead students through a solution using expert-like problem-solving approaches, such as those needed for solving problems using Newton’s second law. The IVETs, which are basedin part on the tutorials created at the University of Pittsburgh, are designed using multimedia principles of learning and research on human learning and memory. The tutorials are adaptive and provide different levels of scaffolding depending on students’ needs. They are also affect-adaptive, such that additional guidance is provided to students who indicate they are confused, frustrated, or bored while completing the IVET. This presentation will showcase one of the IVETs and it various design features. Research results regarding students’ behaviors as they engage with the IVET, as well as the impact of the IVET on student problem-solving ability, will also be presented.
Using Jupyter Electronic Notebooks in Introductory Physics Laboratories and Beyond
- CE03
- Mon 01/20, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
- by Tatiana Krivosheev,
- Type: Invited
- We present our experience of converting traditional laboratory manuals used in the Introductory Physics Laboratory courses into an integrated Jupyter notebook: a web-based interactive computational environment to combine code execution, text, mathematics, plots and rich media into a single document. The electronic notebooks are provided to students as a free of charge, electronically shareable file. The Jupyter environment generates additional student learning opportunities such as numerical simulations and programming. Later on, students are able to transfer these skills to upper division and research courses. In particular, we demonstrate using these opportunities in the Projectile Motion, Brownian Motion, and Millikan Oil Drop experiments.
Dynamic Approach to Lines, Angles and Shapes at Primary Level
- CE04
- Mon 01/20, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
- by Inge Schwank,
- Type: Invited
- Physics is, inter alia, based on mathematical concepts. Among these also elementary geometrical concepts. Still, especially the latter are often neglected during primary school time. Mostly, dealing with figures such as squares, rectangles and trianglesis being reduced to a perceptual differentiation without developing and discussing their geometrical mathematical properties. This leads to the known difficulties that students e.g. despite their math education don’t consider a square to be a rectangle. Developing the angle concept is considered especially difficult. In the framework of STEAM-classes for second graders, we used a hot wire foam cutting machine that allows cutting program-controlled polystyrene panels. Eventually, we’re using ideas already introduced by Seymour Papert. By means of a programming language similar to turtle to control the cutting machine, algorithms for designing simple geometry shapes can be created. Certain geometrical figures are associated with distinct production processes combining distances and angles in a certain manner.
Board of Directors I
Board of Directors I
- EXC02
- Sat 01/18, 10:00AM - 4:30PM
- by Mel Sabella
- Type: Committee Meeting
Board of Directors II
Board of Directors II
- BOD02
- Tue 01/21, 3:00PM - 5:00PM
- by Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Committee Meeting
Bringing the Stars Into The Classroom
Bringing the Stars Into The Classroom
- CK
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 12:00PM
- by Katya Denisova
- Type: other
- Other Hands on
Celestron - PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope
Celestron - PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope
- EXH09
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 11:35AM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
- Amateur astronomers will love the user-friendly features of Celestron’s PowerSeeker series of beginner telescopes. The Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ is an easy-to-use and powerful telescope. PowerSeeker Series Celestron telescopes have been designed with acombination of value, quality, power, and user-friendly features to enhance the experience for first-time telescope users. This 127EQ telescope is the perfect choice for families in search of a high-quality telescope that is affordable and provides years of enjoyment. Powerful magnification and easy-to-use controls allow new astronomers to obtain crisp views of the Moon, the rings of Saturn, and Jupiter’s Galilean moons.The telescope’s sturdy and durable mount features large, easy-to-manipulate slow-motion control knobs, allowing users to track objects smoothly. The 3x Barlow lens is added to triple the magnification power of the included 20mm and 4mm eyepieces. This essentially provides you with four eyepieces, giving you flexibility to view a wide range of outdoor or celestial objects.We’ve included an accessory tray to store accessories conveniently and a free download of our BONUS Starry Night Basic Edition astronomy software with information on 10,000 celestial objects, printable sky maps, and more. The software can be used on your Mac, PC or laptop. It’s the best way to learn about the night sky and plan your next observing session. Additional accessories include a travel tripod. You can purchase this Celestron telescope with confidence from the world’s #1 telescope brand, based in California since 1960. You’ll also receive a 2-year warranty and unlimited access to technical support from our team of US-based experts. Tom Johnson founded Celestron in 1960 after building a telescope to share the night sky with his sons. Since then, Celestron has established itself as the world’s #1 telescope brand. Celestron telescopes are used by scientists in world-class research observatories and even aboard the International Space Station.
Celestron PowerSeeker 70EQ Telescope
Celestron PowerSeeker 70EQ Telescope
- EXH04
- Sun 01/19, 10:20AM - 10:25AM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
- Discover our Solar System with the Celestron PowerSeeker 70EQ! You’ll be ready to observe in minutes thanks to the quick and easy no-tool setup. The 70EQ provides bright, clear images of the Moon, planets, star clusters, and more for great nighttime viewing.The PowerSeeker mount comes with two slow motion control knobs that allow you to make fine pointing adjustments to the telescope in both Right Ascension and Declination axes, also referred to as RA and DEC.Accessories include a 20mm and 4mm eyepiece, a finderscope, and a 3x Barlow lens. The two eyepieces offer different magnifications for low and high powered views. The 3x Barlow lens triples the magnifying power of each eyepiece.Download Celestron’s Starry Night Software and learn about the night sky, celestial objects, and how to plan your next observing session. Celestron Starry Night Software is the premier astronomy software package on the market, providing resources and knowledge to view our solar system and beyond.
Committee on Apparatus
Committee on Apparatus
- COM14
- Sun 01/19, 10:00AM - 11:30AM
- by Gregory W. Putman
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Contemporary Physics
Committee on Contemporary Physics
- COM16
- Sun 01/19, 10:00AM - 11:30AM
- by Kenneth W. Cecire
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Diversity in Physics
Committee on Diversity in Physics
- COM17
- Sun 01/19, 10:00AM - 11:30AM
- by David Marasco
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Educational Technologies
Committee on Educational Technologies
- COM33
- Mon 01/20, 5:00PM - 6:30PM
- by Andrew D. Gavrin
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Govenance Structure (COGs)
Committee on Govenance Structure (COGs)
- COM11
- Sun 01/19, 8:00AM - 9:00AM
- by Gordon Ramsey
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Graduate Education in Physics
Committee on Graduate Education in Physics
- COM32
- Mon 01/20, 5:00PM - 6:30PM
- by Deepa N. Chari
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on History & Philosophy of Physics
Committee on History & Philosophy of Physics
- COM34
- Mon 01/20, 5:00PM - 6:30PM
- by Gen Long
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on International Physics Education
Committee on International Physics Education
- COM24
- Mon 01/20, 7:00AM - 8:30AM
- by Paul W. Irving
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Laboratories
Committee on Laboratories
- COM23
- Mon 01/20, 7:00AM - 8:30AM
- by Dimitri R. Dounas-Frazer
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Physics in High Schools
Committee on Physics in High Schools
- COM13
- Sun 01/19, 10:00AM - 11:30AM
- by Eldred 'Jay' Bagley
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Physics in Pre-High School Education
Committee on Physics in Pre-High School Education
- COM28
- Mon 01/20, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Shawn Reeves
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Physics in Two-Year Colleges
Committee on Physics in Two-Year Colleges
- COM35
- Mon 01/20, 5:00PM - 6:30PM
- by Nathan Quarderer
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Physics in Undergraduate Education
Committee on Physics in Undergraduate Education
- COM15
- Sun 01/19, 10:00AM - 11:30AM
- by Joseph F. Kozminski
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Professional Concerns
Committee on Professional Concerns
- COM18
- Sun 01/19, 10:00AM - 11:30AM
- by Kathleen Ann Falconer
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Research in Physics Education
Committee on Research in Physics Education
- COM25
- Mon 01/20, 7:00AM - 8:30AM
- by Gina Passante
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Science Education for the Public
Committee on Science Education for the Public
- COM37
- Mon 01/20, 5:00PM - 6:30PM
- by Brian A. Pyper
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Space Science and Astronomy
Committee on Space Science and Astronomy
- COM38
- Mon 01/20, 5:00PM - 6:30PM
- by Benjamin G. Jenkins
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Teacher Preparation
Committee on Teacher Preparation
- COM29
- Mon 01/20, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Duane B. Merrell
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on Women in Physics
Committee on Women in Physics
- COM30
- Mon 01/20, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Wendy K. Adams
- Type: Committee Meeting
Committee on the Interests of Senior Physicists
Committee on the Interests of Senior Physicists
- COM31
- Mon 01/20, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
- by David M. Cook
- Type: Committee Meeting
Communicating Across Difference: Strategies for Navigating Complex Contexts
Communicating Across Difference: Strategies for Navigating Complex Contexts
- BF
- Sun 01/19, 4:00PM - 5:30PM
- by Jennifer A. Sandoval
- Type: Event
- This workshop focuses on interpersonal and instructional communication contexts walking participants through essential conceptualizations of equity, inclusion, and diversity. This session focuses on increasing self-awareness in order to equip attendees with equity minded competence for the workplace and the classroom. Topics include understanding power and privilege and intersectional identity in order to navigate communication effectively in spaces of difference. Participants will learn how to practice calling out and calling in as well as how to become an accomplice in situations where they can leverage their privilege to amplify others experiences.
Communicating Across Difficulty: Navigating Identity and Conflict
Communicating Across Difficulty: Navigating Identity and Conflict
- CL
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 1:00PM
- by Jennifer A. Sandoval
- Type: Event
- This session specifically addresses the unique challenges of being an effective conflict manager when identify difference in involved. We will engage in discussion about how the notion of “civility” has been used to silence communities of color. Discussion will also highlight ways to expand understandings of our scripts and cultural expectations about conflict in order to be more effective across difference. Participants will walk through challenging real-life scenarios and work to increase their ability to navigate the discomfort of conflict and difficult conversations.
Critical Methodologies and Intersectionality Frameworks in Research
Intersectional Consciousness, Black Feminism(s), and Critical Race Theories for the Collaborative Physics Educator
- EI01
- Mon 01/20, 7:30PM - 8:00PM
- by Mildred Boveda,
- Type: Invited
- Informed by intersectionality as conceptualized by Black feminist theorists, this presentation emphasizes the unique contributions Black feminism(s) and Critical Race Theory offer the academy. Situated in special education and teacher education research,the presenter will discuss how she developed the intersectional consciousness construct to facilitate collaboration with colleagues outside of special education, such as physics educator. Intersectionality provides a lens for examining how systemic oppression enacted on those with multiple minoritized and marginalized identities—e.g., ableism, ageism, classism, colonialism, heterosexism, imperialism, nationalism, patriarchy, religious bigotry, white supremacy—interconnect in nuanced and complex ways. These intersecting and systemic challenges exist within the P-12 and higher education contexts. Centering the scholarship of people of color is critical for diversifying the epistemologies considered viable in physics education. This presentation will review methods for engaging in dialogue about intersectionality and critical race theory, and discuss tools for developing the equity-oriented mindsets of physics educators.
Critical Frameworks and Methods Using Critical Authethnography as an Example
- EI02
- Mon 01/20, 8:00PM - 8:30PM
- by Myrtle Jones,*
- Type: Invited
- Autoethnography allows a member of a cultural group to account for their experience systematically. (Ellis, Adams, Bochner 2011) Because it is a member of the cultural group accounting for their own experience, it is often very liberating for the autoethnographer and provides a more authentic depiction of the culture. In autoethnography, those within the culture are inclusive researchers, decentering power structures. Autoethnographers use a variety of different data to generate the narrative such as memoirs, photographs, diaries, recordings, and other audio-visual material, and it may also include interviews or writing of other who can corroborate the data or conclusion. So, it is similar to narrative research in this vein as well. This talk will also review ways in which autoethnography has been used in STEM Education research.
Which Truths Shall We Speak To Power? How Research Choices Affect Efforts to Reduce Educational Inequities
- EI03
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:00PM
- by Julie Posselt
- Type: Invited
- Critical methodologies and other studies of power in educational settings name problematic practices and inherited assumptions among teachers, faculty, and/or educational administrators. However, those same people may become key players in reducing inequities and improving education. Whether practitioners engage seriously with our findings and reevaluate their assumptions and practices, may hinge upon 1) our own theoretical choices as scholars and 2) our ability to communicate results and implications in meaningful language. In this talk, taken from the Quaker call to “speak truth to power,” I propose that theoretical perspectives from relational sociology are fruitful for this type of work due to their dynamic conceptualizations of power. Relational sociology depicts power in and responsive to connections, transactions, and relationships, rather than painting power as a substance or property inherent in individual people and their behaviors. I will illustrate the consequences of our theoretical choices by interpreting the same set of ethnographic field notes from constructivist, critical, and relational perspectives on power; then, I will present ethical implications for researchers and practical implications for engaging with educators as learners.
Digikit Resources
Digikit Resources
- TL01
- Sun 01/19, 9:00AM - 10:00AM
- by Mark Hannum
- Type: Event
- Come join us to look at new innovative resources from NASA and AAPT for your classroom.
Digikit Resources
- TL02
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:30PM
- by Mark Hannum
- Type: Event
- Come join us to look at new innovative resources from NASA and AAPT for your classroom.
Early Career and First Timers Social
Early Career and First Timers Social
- SPEC10
- Sun 01/19, 12:00PM - 1:30PM
- by Jerri Anderson
- Type: Event
Education Research meets Contemporary Physics
Angular Displacement as a Vector
- CI01
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 11:40AM
by William Dittrich,, Leonid Minkin, Alexander Schapolov
- Type: Contributed
- Should angular displacement be considered a vector quantity? This question will be discussed, and a new vector definition will be introduced which helps students understand the axial vector nature of all rotational quantities like angular velocity, angular acceleration, torque, angular momentum and angular work. This axial vector definition of angular displacement is capable with the conventional scalar definition, can be used to derive all conventional rotational kinematics and dynamics relations, and since it is an axial vector as well - it helps students see a clear relationship between angular and rotational equations.
Study of the Tidal High with Variation of Acceleration Due to Gravitational Force Causing by the Changes of Angular Position of Earth from the Sun and the Moon
- CI02
- Mon 01/20, 11:40AM - 11:50AM
- by Baaz Pathan,
- Type: Contributed
- Present study of “Study of the tidal high with variation of acceleration due to gravitational force causing by the changes of angular position of earth from the sun and the moon” is an effort to form a mathematical modal that relates the variation of tidal heights due to variation of the orientation of vector sum of gravitational forces acting between Earth –Moon and Earth –Sun. In this mathematical model, we are using basic principle of calculus with Newton’s law of gravitation. This study is an account of the variation of the heights of tide by mathematical approximation which will be the worth for scientific understanding of Tidal heights and their behaviors.
Effective Practices in Educational Technology
Using Homework Platform OneUp with Gamification Features for Physics*
- FB01
- Tue 01/21, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
by Xiuping Tao,, Darina Dicheva, Keith Irwin, Christo Dichev, Elva Jones
- Type: Contributed
- Gamification – the use of game design elements in non-game contexts – increasingly attracts the interest of educators due to its promise to foster motivation and behavioral changes in learning. However, the support available to instructors who want to apply gamification to their courses is still very limited. To address this problem, we implemented a course gamification platform, OneUp Learning, that is aimed at facilitating the process of gamifying academic courses and enabling tailoring of the gamification features to meet the vision of the course instructor. We will present experiences using the platform for general physics at Winston-Salem State University. We will show comparison of using it with and without the gamification features and also will provide information about how to become an instructor user of the platform.
Changing Attributes of Students in a Project-based STEM Media Course
- FB02
- Tue 01/21, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
by Kathleen Falconer,, Florian Genz, André Bresges
- Type: Contributed
- While the personal and professional attributes of successful students in physics have been studied, the same can’t be said for physics students who create physics content media for use in the classroom. We will discuss the changes in the personal and professional attributes of students in a STEM course for the creation and use of media in the school classroom. The students’ reflective writings and pre/post online surveys were analyzed using grounded theory. In a preliminary analysis, the students’ view of self-management and self-motivation, especially in regards to peer/group learning seems to be more accepting through their experiences in the course. There is mixed evidence for change in the students’ worldview for the creation of media for classrooms. Their view of the usage and utility of media seems to be changeable as well. The analysis of additional data to saturation of categories is ongoing and we will report upon the results.
Teaching of Relevance in Algebra-based Physics Classroom
- FB03
- Tue 01/21, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
- by Gen Long,
- Type: Contributed
- In this presentation, we report an ongoing exploration of the teaching of College Physics to non-major students including Biology, Toxicology and Biomedical, etc. In our mostly traditional classroom setting, we try to educate the students about the relevance of physics to their own majors, which wasn’t emphasized in previous teaching practices. We provide specific examples of physics applications in their disciplines through in class teaching and discussions, as well as post class assignments. We’re also working on to find out whether or not this helps students learn more actively, through self-assessment, and assessment done on the learning outcomes. Pre and post assessments on physics and math prerequisite were also conducted.
Engaged Quality Instruction through Professional Development
- FB04
- Tue 01/21, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
- by Nancy Ruzycki,
- Type: Contributed
- Engaged Quality Instruction through Professional Development (EQuIPD) is a Department of Education funded, Teacher Quality Program to train teachers in Inquiry, System Thinking, and Technology to support student core content model building. This programtrains teachers in 10 Florida School Districts in use of technology for data collection and analysis (sensors and probes), simulation and modeling (computational) along with pedagogy (inquiry, modeling cycles) to support student development of core content models grades K-9. This professional development model is especially useful to support teacher and student development of core content models in physics. This talk illustrates how teachers have used this PD approach to build out model inquiry lessons for Force & Motion and Energy Transfer in elementary grades using sensors and probes to collect and analyze data and simulations (including Scratch programming & CoSpaces AR) to predict behavior and refine models.
Technology and Materiality in Physics Instruction at Historic Wellesley College
- FB05
- Tue 01/21, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
- by Joanna Behrman,
- Type: Contributed
- From its founding, Wellesley College was a center for the instruction of women in physics, and by the mid-20th century, the college could claim an outsize role in launching women into physics-related occupations. A key part of Wellesley’s success stemmedfrom the importance the physics professors placed on teaching students familiarity and confidence with a wide range of technologies and tools. Over time, the types of technologies taught changed with the changing range of occupations open to women. Mechanical facility improved the students’ career prospects, but also, as one professor wrote, “to sharpen the pencil sharpens the eyes.” Teaching students to attend to the materiality and function of technologies also taught them to notice their function and skill with their other senses. From microscopes and lathes to radios and automobiles, Wellesley physics students “sharpened” various kinds of tools over the years, and in conjunction sharpened their mind as well.
The Software and Hardware Used to Create Video Lectures
- FB06
- Tue 01/21, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
- by Timothy Duman,
- Type: Contributed
- At a small liberal arts university, the number of physics majors is usually less than 10 students in a year. To increase the number of student taking the upper-level courses, we offer most of these courses every other year. To reduce the conflict with student schedules, we don’t have a set time for these courses during registration. We try and find a time that will fit into all the students and faculty schedules after registration. Inevitability we have a situation where students cannot meet at the same time and place. The development of single concept video lectures, recorded class lectures and problem solving video lectures that are post to YouTube and linked to a LMS was started so that students would have access to the same information that would be presented in a face-to-face class. The presentation will discuss the software and hardware used to create these resources.
Powerpoint Instruction that Speeds Learning 40% Faster than Traditional Methods
- FB07
- Tue 01/21, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
- by Nathan Bezayiff,
- Type: Contributed
- Powerpoint technology can increase the speed at which content can be taught by as much as 40%. Proper and extended use of powerpoint techniques can enable an instructor to move through material 40% faster than traditional whiteboards or chalkboards. Clear animations, drawings, and explicit steps accelerate student understanding much faster and with far greater clarity than traditional whiteboards—especially in the dissemination of proofs, problem-solving examples, and DIY animations. Extensive powerpoints—beyond occasional graphics and animations--- greatly accelerates the quickness with which students absorb material. The powerpoint, problem-solving techniques I have developed can also be adapted to the education of mathematical problem solving in any field. I will also discuss how the extra class time such powerpoint usage allows permits a much more real-world, “hands on” physics curriculum than traditional whiteboards methods.
Dynamically Generated Plots in LON-CAPA Online Assignments
- FB08
- Tue 01/21, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
- by Todd Timberlake,
- Type: Contributed
- The online homework system known as LearningOnline Network with Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach (LON-CAPA) offers several advantages for both easing the burden of grading and fostering productive student collaboration. One useful feature of LON-CAPA is that it can display plots of author-defined functions or data sets with parameter values generated randomly for each student. Assignments that include these plots can be used to assess student understanding of how to interpret and extract information from technical plots. I will give a brief overview of LON-CAPA and then present examples, drawn from physics and astronomy, of meaningful assignments that incorporate dynamically generated plots.
Games, Spreadsheets, and Quantum Wave Function Collapse
- FB09
- Tue 01/21, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
- by Shira Eliaser,
- Type: Contributed
- Teach quantum wave functions to high school students by tying into their math knowledge of probability and games! This activity pairs a student-run coin flip game with real-time graphing in Excel or Google spreadsheets. As students to track the progress of their game in rounds played and results possible, the histogram onscreen illustrates the wave function collapse from a Gaussian bell of all probable outcomes to a single outcome restricted by past results. This activity presents a way to teach quantum mechanics without calculus as well as developing students' spreadsheet and programming skills.
Effective Undergraduate Departments - Curriculum, Inclusion, and Career Pathways
Effective Undergraduate Departments - Curriculum, Inclusion, and Career Pathways
- SPS07
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:30PM
- by Brad Conrad
- Type: Event
Executive Programs Committee
Executive Programs Committee
- COM09
- Sun 01/19, 8:00AM - 9:00AM
- by Jan Landis Mader
- Type: Committee Meeting
Exhibit Hall Open (Monday)
Exhibit Hall Open (Monday)
- EXH07
- Mon 01/20, 10:00AM - 4:00PM
- AAPT Staff
- Type: Exhibit Hall
Exhibit Hall Open (Saturday)
Exhibit Hall Open (Saturday)
- EXH01
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
Exhibit Hall Open (Sunday)
Exhibit Hall Open (Sunday)
- EXH02
- Sun 01/19, 10:00AM - 5:00PM
- Dan Crowe
- Type: Exhibit Hall
Feedback Session
Feedback Session
- TL11
- Mon 01/20, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
- by Mark Hannum
- Type: Event
- Come share your thoughts in person in a discussion about how AAPT K12 programs is and can better meet your needs.
Field Trip tp Universial Walk
Field Trip tp Universial Walk
- Mon 01/20, 6:30PM - 11:30PM
- Type: Event
- Buses will depart on the hour and run a continuous loop from the hotel to the venue from 6:30pm – 11:30pm with final pickup at 11pm from venue.Bus location: Convention Center Porte-Cochere
Finance Committee
Finance Committee
- COM01
- Fri 01/17, 7:30PM - 8:30PM
- by Thomas L. O'Kuma
- Type: Committee Meeting
First Timers' Gathering
First Timers' Gathering
- SPEC02
- Sun 01/19, 7:00AM - 8:30AM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Flipping the Physics Classroom
Flipping the Physics Classroom
- TL08
- Mon 01/20, 2:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Vanessa Logan Wentzloff
- Type: Event
- Flipping your classroom can save time, energy and help all students succeed. But how do you do this efficiently and effectively? Join Vanessa Logan Wentzloff, a teacher who has been flipping for 5 years in several different settings, and learn how to flip and why to flip and how to helps students at all levels, including how to flip AP classes.
Four Current Space Missions Making History
Gaia Satellite: Visualizing a Billion Stars for Science and Education
- EC01
- Mon 01/20, 6:30PM - 7:00PM
- by Jackie Faherty,
- Type: Invited
- On April 25, 2018, the European space agency (ESA) released the second catalog of the Gaia mission. Contained in these data are nearly 1.4 billion parallaxes and proper motions, over 7 million radial velocities, photometric data in Gaia’s three bands (G,R, and B), variability information, and effective temperatures for a subset of objects. The Gaia results provide a unique opportunity for astronomers, data visualizers, and educators. Stellar positions and velocities enable us to map the Milky Way and examine the dynamics of stellar streams, co-moving companions, hypervelocity stars, nearby moving groups, and solar system encounters. From a visualization perspective, real time rendering of Gaia data is a challenge. In this presentation, I will show the results of our visualization efforts with the Gaia catalog at the American Museum of Natural History. The visuals generated for this talk isolate scientifically rich data and stories, which can lead to scientific discovery and will illuminate Gaia data for students, teachers, and the general public.
Asteroid Sample Return Mission Hayabusa2
- EC02
- Mon 01/20, 7:00PM - 7:30PM
- by Makoto Yoshikawa,
- Type: Invited
- Hayabusa2 is the second sample return mission from asteroids following Hayabusa. The target asteroid is Ryugu, which is a C-type near Earth asteroid. Hayabusa2 was launched on Dec. 3, 2014, and it arrived at Ryugu on June 27, 2018. At first, we observed Ryugu by the remote sensing instruments on board. Then Hayabusa2 released two small rovers (MINERVA-II-1) in September 2018 and one lander (MASCOT) in October 2018. The 1st touchdown operations to get the surface material was done on Feb. 22, 2019. The impactor operation to create a small crater on the surface of Ryugu was executed on April 5, 2019. And the 2nd touchdown to near the artificial crater was carried out on July 11, 2019 to get the sub-surface material. Hayabusa2 will leave Ryugu at the end of 2019 and return to the Earth at the end of 2020.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission
- EC03
- Mon 01/20, 7:30PM - 8:00PM
- by Humberto Campins,
- Type: Invited
- NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample return mission is currently at asteroid Bennu and will deliver a pristine sample back to our planet in 2023. Bennu is a potentially hazardous asteroid and also a likely target for space mining. Scientifically, objects like Bennu are of great interest as they may have brought pre-biotic organic molecules and water to Earth. Most of the predicted characteristics for Bennu, including size, shape and composition, match the findings very well. However, there have also been exciting surprises. The surface is covered with more and larger boulders than expected, and the spacecraft has discovered particles being ejected from Bennu by an unknown process. In other words, Bennu is an active asteroid!
The James Webb Space Telescope Mission
- EC04
- Mon 01/20, 8:00PM - 8:30PM
- by Matthew Greenhouse,
- Type: Invited
- The James Web Space Telescope is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. It is the largest space telescope ever constructed that will extend humanities’ high definition view of the universe into the infrared spectrum to reveal early epochs of the universe that the Hubble cannot see. The Webb’s science instrument payload includes four sensor systems that provide imagery, coronagraphy, and spectroscopy over the near- and mid-infrared spectrum. The JWST is being developed by NASA, in partnership with the European and Canadian Space Agencies, with science observations proposed by the international astronomical community in a manner similar to the Hubble. The final stages of pre-flight testing is underway in all areas of the program.
Friday Registration
Friday Registration
- REG01
- Fri 01/17, 4:00PM - 7:00PM
- AAPT Staff
- Type: Registration
Game Room
Game Room
- SPEC12
- Sun 01/19, 9:00PM - 11:59PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Get the Facts Out
Get the Facts Out
- TL03
- Sun 01/19, 12:30PM - 1:30PM
- by Drew Isola
- Type: Event
- Join an exploration of unexpected trends in the data on educators in the United States while discussing perceptions of STEM teaching in society.
Get the Facts Out: Changing the Conversation around Physics Teacher Recruitment
Research Design of the Get the Facts Out Project
- DB01
- Mon 01/20, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
by Wendy Adams,, Savannah Logan, Richard Pearson III
- Type: Invited
- The Get the Facts Out (GFO) project is a joint effort between four national societies and the Colorado School of Mines to change the conversation around grade 7-12 physics, chemistry, and math teaching careers. We have developed a toolkit of recruitment materials which are designed to be customizable and adaptable to the local situation. To develop these materials and better understand best practices around recruiting math and science teachers, GFO has a rigorous research arm. Our research includes the study of both student, faculty, and the general public’s perceptions of the teaching profession including development of instruments to measure these. We also have embarked on a study to identify emotionally engaging ways to share facts about the profession. Finally, to measure the effectiveness of the project, we have an aggressive research design that includes annual collection of qualitative data from eighteen departments and quantitative data from another 57 departments.
GFO Copywrite: Development of Materials for Recruiting STEM Teachers*
- DB02
- Mon 01/20, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
by Savannah Logan,, Wendy Adams
- Type: Invited
- There is a serious shortage of secondary science and math teachers across the United States. Part of this shortage can be attributed to a lack of research-based recruitment materials. To this end, we have developed written and visual materials for recruiting future teachers as part of the Get the Facts Out (GFO) project. We began by working with a marketing expert to develop tag lines, sentences, and other written material based on our research on perceptions of the teaching profession. We then tested and refined these materials through faculty and student focus groups at several demographically and geographically diverse U.S. universities. Most recently, we collected large-scale data via a national online survey. Our findings provide insights into optimal recruitment strategies, and we will share some of our unique findings based on location, demographics, and target audience.
Statistical Analyses of the PTaP.HE, a Faculty Perceptions Instrument
- DB03
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
by Brian Pyper,, Savannah Logan, Richard Pearson III, Wendy Adams
- Type: Invited
- Following the development of the Perceptions of Teaching as a Profession (PTAP) survey—which measures students’ interest in and views of teaching as a career—we have developed a new instrument that measures university faculty’s perceptions of teaching asa profession. Here we will share the outcomes of a factor analysis of data collected from approximately 800 faculty, our recommended scoring strategy, and preliminary results. We will also discuss the potential impact of faculty perceptions of the teaching profession on our future science and math teacher workforce. This work is part of the Get the Facts Out project which is supported by NSF DUE-1821710.
A Theory of Change for Getting the Facts Out*
- DB04
- Mon 01/20, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
by David May,, Monica Plisch
- Type: Invited
- GFO’s Theory of Change guides how partner societies will conduct national messaging campaigns to the broader STEM community while directly supporting more customized, in-depth campaigns on individual campuses, led by “local champions” from among each institution’s STEM faculty. These local campaigns (including the recruitment of local champions) are supported by (1) direct member engagement by societies, (2) GFO’s extensive resources for conducting such campaigns, and (3) expert “change agents” hired by the project to facilitate workshops and online communities. These local and national campaigns are intended to engender more realistic perceptions of the teaching profession in students and in the faculty and others who influence their career choices. These changed perceptions are expected to lead to an increase in the number of students who enroll in STEM teaching certification programs.Specific examples of how this theory has informed the project will be shown.
Gskyer Telescope, 80mm AZ Space Astronomical Refractor Telescope, German Technology Scope
Gskyer Telescope, 80mm AZ Space Astronomical Refractor Telescope, German Technology Scope
- EXH06
- Sun 01/19, 3:20PM - 3:25PM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
- Are you fascinated by the various celestial objects in the night sky? Do you love to explore the solar system and the Milky Way? If your answers to these questions are yes, then the Gskyer Telescope, 80mm AZ Space Astronomical Refractor Telescope is all you need in your life.This model can keep you intrigued with the night sky, thanks to its ease of handling and the phenomenal features it flaunts. It is equipped with high-quality components for an increased durability, making it a long-lasting investment. In short, this instrument is ideal for future astronomers and beginners.
High School
History in the Physics Classroom: Teaching Guides Highlighting Marginalized Physicists’ Stories and Discoveries*
- CD01
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 11:40AM
- by Hannah Pell,
- Type: Contributed
- The Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics offers a free collection of nearly 60 teaching guides that highlight the invaluable contributions of women and minorities to the history of physics. The lesson plans introduce students to a diverse set of role models whose often-forgotten achievements significantly shaped contemporary physics. The guides are easily adaptable to fit into social and natural science courses from K-12 and satisfy a wide variety of national education standards in science, history, social studies, and writing subjects. Additionally, the lessons are designed to encourage acknowledgement of and discussion about ongoing diversity issues in STEM. In this talk, I provide an overview of the lesson plans and their structure, discuss several examples in-depth, and argue the importance of incorporating historical and sociological contexts into the physics classroom, with the goal of increasing high school students’ engagement with and curiosity for the discipline.
AP Physics, Language Learners and Multiple Representations
- CD02
- Mon 01/20, 11:40AM - 11:50AM
- by Igor Proleiko,
- Type: Contributed
- The new format of AP Physics 1 and 2 Exams presented a new set of difficulties to English learners. My experience of teaching in China gave me a perspective of using all representations available in the exam papers: verbal descriptions, graphs and pictures, choices for answers to multiple choice questions. Having students to explicitly establish the correspondence between these representations improves understanding of the statement of the problems even for the students who do not always have all of the requisite vocabulary.
Bridging the Gap Between Research Scientist and Physics Teacher
- CD03
- Mon 01/20, 11:50AM - 12:00PM
- by Elmarie Mortimer,
- Type: Contributed
- Stepping into the world of high school physics teaching from a research scientist background can feel like crossing the bridge into an abyss. There is the daunting task of making sense of all the educational buzzwords such as 3 Dimensional Learning and Instructional Scaffolding. There is the doubt of being able to inspire creative thought and infusing research skills such as Argumentation and the Engineering Design Process into a high school laboratory session that is often only 90-minutes. We will discuss how the researcher/ teacher can bridge this gap and help students take charge of the learning process. Emphasis will be placed not only on combining and adapting various techniques to improve the students’ content knowledge and skill set, but also on the well-being of the student. The final product should be a learner who can approach any challenge, including research, in a scientific way.
Presenting Student Lab Results Using Posters
- CD04
- Mon 01/20, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
- by Suzanne Smedberg,
- Type: Contributed
- Studies show that labs are a vital part of the classroom experience, but in inquiry-based courses traditional reports can be difficult. Additionally, an out of class writing assignment adds unnecessary stress that is detrimental to the educational process. The use of white boards or posters allows students to develop, express, and exhibit understanding of the concepts within of the framework of proper science practices. Examples of labs and assessment tools will be provided.
Space for All: Building Inclusive Teaching Strategies
- CD05
- Mon 01/20, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
- by Kayla Stephens,
- Type: Contributed
- Clear learning objectives for your course are vital in preparing for a successful academic year. This talk will focus on conscientiously addressing inclusiveness within lesson plans and the classroom environment. Along with suggested best practices, thisdiscussion will emphasize how addressing student backgrounds and learning abilities can result in students feeling equally valued and ultimately leading to academic success.
Merging the Gap Between High School and College, a Collaborative Experiment
- CD06
- Mon 01/20, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
- by Andrew Maginniss,
- Type: Contributed
- Since 2015, Chattanooga State Community College has worked closely with the neighboring STEM high school offering physics as a senior science class. It has been co-taught by a college professor and high school teacher such that some students are receiving college credit while others are taking it for high school credit. The mix of students work together in small groups discovering the principles of physics using an inquiry-based curriculum. One of the main goals of this project was to provide students who choose not to take the class for college credit with exposure to a college level curriculum in the company of peers while still being assessed at a high school level. Student performance was evaluated using pre and post testing with the Force Concepts Inventory (FCI). The data has not only demonstrated the success of the project, but has also helped the course adapt into what it is today.
STEP UP: Connecting Student Goals to Physics*
- CD07
- Mon 01/20, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Thomas Head,, Robynne Lock, Zahra Hazari, Geoff Potvin, Raina Khatri
- Type: Contributed
- We conducted an experimental study in fall 2018 on the effects of STEP UP project interventions, which included a Careers in Physics lesson. In this lesson, students explored the profiles of modern day physicists and the many career options available to physics majors. The students then connected physics to their own career aspirations. In this talk, we discuss how students’ perceptions of physics align with their own career goals through the lens of agentic and communal goals. We examine to what extent the lesson communicates that communal goals align with physics and how this perception varies with gender. Data collected include student open-ended survey responses, survey items, and student work such as a career profile in which students envision themselves achieving their career goals with a physics degree.
Wireless Power Transmission Lesson for AP Physics
- CD08
- Mon 01/20, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
- by Elizabeth Hondorf
- Type: Contributed
- In this lesson students will learn about electromagnetic induction then will apply that understanding to develop and optimize wireless electricity transfer devices. Students will research applications of wireless power transmission in modern devices and homes. Students will have to use their prior knowledge of electrical circuits, magnetic fields and the behavior of charged particles in a magnetic field. After participating in a lesson on magnetism and mutual inductance the students should understand how a wireless power transmission (WPT) system works. A guided inquiry activity will prepare students to take their designs further on their own to develop and optimize a functional WPT system. Students will conclude the lesson by researching applications for WPT in modern devices and homes. This session will demonstrate the materials and methods needed to create small wireless power systems.
History of NASA
Space from the Ground Up
- DD01
- Mon 01/20, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
- by Kenneth Lipartito,
- Type: Invited
- Most images of spaceflight stress the flight and living and working in space. Few give attention to the work that goes on before liftoff, to the ground operations that take place at the Kennedy Space Center. This talk will explore the operational side ofthe technology of space flight. It questions the highly rational view of management structures and the designed centered logic of systems engineering, and argues for the importance of importance of hands on learning and the highly innovative and even experimental nature of operational work. The Challenger and Columbia accidents and the failure of the space shuttle to live up to its promise reflect the subordination of operations and the overly abstract systems engineering and management structures of the space program.
NASA Space Grant - 30 years of Aerospace Workforce Development, the Oregon Experience
- DD02
- Mon 01/20, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
- by Jack Higginbotham,
- Type: Invited
- The NASA Space Grant program was created by Congress in 1987, “… to help maintain America's preeminence in aerospace, science and technology. Through the establishment of state-based consortia … institutions provide leadership and support for program objectives in their state and nationally by interacting with other universities, by broadening joint activities with NASA and aerospace-related industries, and by providing public service functions, such as support to elementary and secondary schools and to the public.” From the Oregon/NASA Space Grant experience, there many ways student treks towards aerospace careers are influenced and inspired by decadal public investment in NASA education efforts. The key to such success in Oregon is nurturing a path of successive opportunities building from the point of a student’s inspiration, to engagement, then education and finally STEM employment. These strings of opportunities will be presented with an eye to the emerging importance physics plays in the STEM pathway.
Sex in Space: The History of NASA’s Women Astronauts
- DD03
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
- by Amy Foster,
- Type: Invited
- The Soviet Union launched Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, in June 1963. The United States did not succeed in launching its first woman into space, Sally Ride, until June 1983. What circumstances explain the significant lag in the U.S. space program’s decision to launch its first female astronaut? How do politics, culture, and technology influence this decision to not launch a woman until well after the Soviet Union accomplished the same feat? While these are complicated questions, this talk proposes to provide some answers to the why and how women flew in space.
Integrating Women into the Astronaut Corps
- DD04
- Mon 01/20, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
- by Joanna Behrman,
- Type: Invited
- The Soviet Union launched Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, in June 1963. The United States did not succeed in launching its first woman into space, Sally Ride, until June 1983. What circumstances explain the significant lag in the U.S. space program’s decision to launch its first female astronaut? How do politics, culture, and technology influence this decision to not launch a woman until well after the Soviet Union accomplished the same feat? While these are complicated questions, this talk proposes to provide some answers to the why and how women flew in space.
How do YOU Outreach?
The Seeding Your Future Initiative: STEM Outreach for Grades 5-12
- BE01
- Sun 01/19, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
by Sytil Murphy,, Jordan Mader
- Type: Invited
- The Seeding Your Future Initiative started in fall 2014 with the goal of providing STEM outreach in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virgina and surrounding four-state area. The Initiative began with the Seeding Your Future Conference. This conference targets 5th-8th grade girls, with the goal of the participants gaining or maintaining an appreciation for the wide variety of STEM fields, their abilities within these fields, and the applicability of STEM to everyday life. Throughout the day, the participants interact with role-model women in STEM during the panel discussion and during the hands-on workshops they complete. In September 2015, the Seeding Your Future Workshop Series began for 8th-12th grade students. Workshop Series events are held monthly during the academic year and feature a two-hour in-depth hands-on STEM activity. Due to grant funding, all program activities are free of charge to participants.
The “SPOT” Model for Training Outreach Ambassadors
- BE02
- Sun 01/19, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
by Kathryn Williamson,, Sophie de Saint Georges, Sue Ann Heatherly
- Type: Invited
- “SPOT,” an acronym for both the “Space” and “Science” Public Outreach Team, is an outreach model that leverages a “train the trainer” approach to amplify the outreach impacts of small teams of scientists and educators by training early-career graduate and undergraduate students to become outreach “ambassadors.” SPOT was originally developed for Mars mission outreach at Montana State University in 1996, and it has since grown to multiple research settings (ex: solar physics, gravitational waves, and water quality research) and to multiple states (with hubs in Montana and West Virginia), reaching tens of thousands of K-12 students annually and operating at low institutional costs. In this talk, I will describe success and lessons learned from implementing SPOT, as well as provide advice for how to adopt (and fund) the SPOT model for your own outreach settings.
Eclipse Soundscapes to One Accessible Universe: Making Astronomy Outreach Accessible
- BE03
- Sun 01/19, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
- by Henry Winter,*
- Type: Invited
- The Center for Astrophysics and NASA have been working to make astronomy outreach more accessible to traditionally underrepresented groups. However, making the catalogue of NASA’s images of our cosmos accessible to people who are blind and visually impaired (BVI) seemed like a daunting task. The Eclipse Soundscapes Project showed that it is possible to translate images into multi-sensory experiences that are informative and engaging to a wide spectrum of learners including, but not limited to people who are blind and visually impaired. Using the newly developed Rumble Map technology, variations in light and dark were encoded with audio signals that were specifically designed to shake the user’s mobile device. Due to the extremely sharp contrasts in light and dark, encoding the eclipse imagery used in the Eclipse Soundscapes Project was fairly straightforward. However, NASA has imaged many thousands of astronomical objects, such as super nova remnants, planetary nebula, open clusters, and other planets to name just a few. Each different type of object has unique characteristics that make multi-sensory encoding of their images challenging. In this presentation, we will summarize the Eclipse Soundscapes Project and the Rumble Map technology that came from it. We will show our plans for using lessons learned from that project to inform the next phase of accessible image encoding and solicit the community for guidance and feedback.This work is supported by the NASA Space Science Education Consortium grant #NNX16AL62A to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Physics Workshops for High School Sophomores in Jamaica
- BE04
- Sun 01/19, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
- by Michael Ponnambalam,
- Type: Contributed
- Physics Outreach was started by this author in Jamaica in 2006. It was multi-pronged, reaching out to students in Primary, Middle and High Schools, Colleges and Universities - as well as the general public. As a result, the number of students in Introductory Calculus-based Physics at the University of the West Indies, Jamaican Campus nearly tripled within four years. This presentation focuses on the work done for the high school sophomores.
Giving a Feynman Lecture on Physics as Richard Feynman
- BE05
- Sun 01/19, 5:10PM - 5:20PM
- by James Lincoln,
- Type: Contributed
- At PhysicsCon, January 4, 2020, I will have portrayed the world-famous physicist Richard P. Feynman and delivered one of his Feynman lectures. In this talk, I share this experience, what motivated it, and how it was received. I also answer logistical questions about the performance and explain how other institutions can also share in the fun of such an impersonation.
The Devil's Staircase: Communicating Physics and Math with Music
- BE06
- Sun 01/19, 5:20PM - 5:30PM
by Timothy McCaskey,, Luis Nasser
- Type: Contributed
- This talk will discuss a musical project where the compositional forms are inspired by phenomena in math and physics such as cellular automata and fractals. Our work has allowed us to perform science outreach in different ways: we can play rock shows where the science is communicated informally or present colloquium talks for general undergraduate audiences and musicians. Various visual aids accompany our finished album product. Questions we consider include how to focus material for different audiences and incorporate the ideas into future courses we teach.
How to Start Your Undergraduate Program with Contemporary Physics
Atoms and Waves: Starting Physics Education with a Big Question
- DE01
- Mon 01/20, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
- by Beth Parks,
- Type: Invited
- The course “Atoms and Waves” was created to introduce first-semester students to the excitement of contemporary physics, and, at the same time, to allow incoming students to complete at least one semester of calculus before starting mechanics. While we normally think of modern physics as requiring significant mathematical sophistication, careful consideration of topics yields a syllabus that allows students to explore an exciting question in physics--does matter consist of particles or waves?--and simultaneously introduces them to foundational ideas in physics. Teaching topics such as photon energy, interference, and atomic spectra allows introductory-level students to better understand (and even participate in) current research, allowing them to more quickly integrate into the physics department. The textbook [1] and laboratories we’ve developed provide enough breadth to allow instructors to choose the topics that they find most compelling, in order to inspire students to study physics.
A Decade of Teaching Contemporary Physics First at Pomona
- DE02
- Mon 01/20, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
- by Thomas Moore,
- Type: Invited
- Since 2009, Pomona College's introductory physics course for potential majors (Physics 70) has started with special relativity, quantum mechanics, and statistical physics. (We offer half-courses in mechanics and in electricity and magnetism in the springsemester for students who need them.) Shortly after that transition, the number of physics and astronomy majors jumped up sharply and has remained significantly higher since. This talk will explore why we chose to make this shift, how we designed the course, how we have evaluated its success, how we have continued to modify the course to respond to changes in the background and demographic profile of our students, and some of the surprises we encountered along the way.
Beginning with Modern Physics -- How It Is Working at a Regional Comprehensive University
- DE03
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
by Michael Carini,, Scott Bonham, Richard Gelderman, Douglas Harper, Ting-Hui Lee
- Type: Invited
- In the fall semester of 2007, the Physics and Astronomy Department at Western Kentucky University changed its physics curriculum such that students would begin with a course covering introductory modern physics, rather than classical mechanics. This change was patterned after a similar change reported to be successful in improving student success at Colgate University. In this presentation, I will report on the evolution of this course over that past 12 years and our perceptions of the effectiveness of this change to student learning and success.
Labs to Teach Quantum Physics to First-Year Students
- DE04
- Mon 01/20, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
- by Enrique Galvez,
- Type: Invited
- We discuss our efforts to offer labs to complement teaching quantum physics in the first semester of the physics curriculum. Our offerings include kinetic theory, Brownian motion, quantization and quantum interference.
Inclusive Communication 101
Inclusive Communication 101
- AH
- Sun 01/19, 1:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Jennifer A. Sandoval
- Type: Event
- Language is dynamic and powerful, but consistently has tremendous impact on the lived experiences, especially for black, indigenous, people of color and other communities that experience marginalization and oppression. This session focuses on constructing a shared, inclusive vocabulary that is person-centered and uses the most contemporary best practices for equitable and inclusive language. Inclusive Communication 101 covers multiple modes of communication as well as culturally competent and equity minded practices for the intersection of race/ethnicity, sexual/romantic orientations, gender expressions and identities, and disability.
Increasing African American bachelor’s degrees in physics and astronomy: Results and recommendations from the National TEAM-UP study
Increasing African American bachelor’s degrees in physics and astronomy: Results and recommendations from the National TEAM-UP study
- EG
- Mon 01/20, 6:30PM - 8:00PM
- by David Marasco
- Type: other
- In response to the recent drop in the number of physics degrees earned by African American student, the AIP formed the Task Force to Elevate the representation of African Americans in Undergraduate Physics and astronomy (TEAM-UP). TEAM-UP’s goals included understanding, specifically from the viewpoint of African American undergraduates, what their experiences are within the physics and astronomy culture and what factors lead them to persevere; learning from physics departments that have experienced some measure of success in attracting and retaining African American students in these fields; understanding how the overall landscape of physics and astronomy culture and climate contributes to the persistence (or not) of African American students; and uncovering what impedes or promotes the culture change necessary for persistence. In December of 2019 TEAM-UP released it report, this session features an introductory talk and a panel to discuss and digest the report's findings.
Integrating Outreach into the Student Experience
Learning from Engaging: University-Community Partnerships as a Model for Student Development
- EB01
- Mon 01/20, 6:30PM - 7:00PM
by Noah Finkelstein,, Michael Bennett
- Type: Invited
- We present the model of the Partnership for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC), a program designed to leverage and enhance the capacities of university students, children, and the institutions seeking to support their development. Building on the several-decade standing Fifth Dimension model of after-school programming as a mechanism to support university student learning alongside the development youth in foundational literacy skills, PISEC focusses on pathways to engage universities and communities in mutual support of each other through STEM education. We discuss theoretical foundations for the program, demonstrate positive outcomes for community-based participants, and share practical insight into the enactment of PISEC’s long-standing efforts. In particular, we discuss the structure’s intentional focus on positively impacting university students’ frameworks for physics through community building, partnership development, and preparation for public engagement; simultaneously we also find university students develop skills in physics, teaching, and science communication.
Building Physics Identity Through Teaching in Informal Physics Environments
- EB02
- Mon 01/20, 7:00PM - 7:30PM
by Katie Hinko,, Brean Prefontaine, Claudia Fracchiolla
- Type: Invited
- How does involvement in informal physics experiences affect university students' physics identities? In this presentation, we take a research-based approach to look at how participation in public engagement events and programs can provide significant experiences for undergraduate and graduate students as they navigate their other roles and responsibilities as students. We look at data from three different informal physics programs (afterschool program, demo show, music/physics) that can each be considered a Community of Practice. We describe the structural components and cultural practices of each program that act as a mechanism for allowing students to become more centrally involved in the informal physics activities of the groups. Some key factors to increasing students' membership include having 1) meaningful interactions between other members of the group, 2) the ability to develop skills in presenting physics content, 3) opportunities to take on leadership roles. We conclude with some ideas on how to leverage these findings to support students at your institution.
Student-centered Physics Outreach at Texas A&M
- EB03
- Mon 01/20, 7:30PM - 8:00PM
- by Tatiana Erukhimova,
- Type: Invited
- Can physics outreach become not only a service provided by an academic department to the public but also a unique learning opportunity for students? This talk will discuss successful physics outreach programs at Texas A&M which put students at the centerof all outreach activities and make outreach an important part of their educational experience. As one example, teams of undergraduate students mentored by graduate students work throughout the school year on the design and fabrication of new physics demonstrations, and then show their demonstrations at the annual Physics & Engineering Festival attended by thousands of visitors. As another example, students bring physics experiments to First Fridays in downtown and football games. In RealPhysicsLive project, students create entertaining videos for middle and high school audience, which highlight physics concepts through demonstrations and experiments. We will share the ideas how to build such programs and keep students engaged.
Physics Majors Motivated When Supporting K-12 and Public Outreach Efforts
- EB04
- Mon 01/20, 8:00PM - 8:10PM
by Richard Gelderman,, Jason Boyles, Michael Carini
- Type: Contributed
- Western Kentucky University's Physics & Astronomy hosts multiple annual large events featuring science outreach for the public and/or K-12 audiences. The success of these outreach events involves substantial costs, but we find the benefits clearly dominate our equation. After decades of experience, it is clear that the most significant benefits to our department are the positive experiences for our undergraduate physics majors that help support these large events provide. Working the outreach events are important chances to reinforce the effectiveness of learning opportunities built around engaging hands-on/minds-on learning activities. Additionally, preparatory meetings with the student volunteers give us a chance to reinforce valuable skills that otherwise are hard to fit into a physics major's program of study -- such as teamwork, leadership, and communication. It was less obvious to us when we realized that our majors find these to be engaging and motivating interruptions to their regular schedule. Exit interviews with graduating students make it clear that the role our students play is internalized as a meaningful and positive example of practice as a physics professional, as much as being part of a research project or academic achievement.
The Impact of Service Learning on Students in an Introductory Astronomy Course
- EB05
- Mon 01/20, 8:10PM - 8:20PM
- by Tracy Hodge,
- Type: Contributed
- Service-learning is a teaching strategy that integrates meaningful community service with course learning goals. We have modified the laboratory component of the introductory astronomy course for non-majors to include a significant service-learning requirement. Students work in teams to design an outreach activity that will introduce fundamental concepts of observational astronomy to K-12 students and their families. Here we report on the effects of participation in the project on students attitudes and self-efficacy towards science among two cohorts of students (N=38) who participated in the redesigned course. Student were administered the Introductory Astronomy Diagnostic Survey and Survey of Attitudes Towards Astronomy both pre- and post-experience. Students were also required to submit a reflective essay on how the experience impacted their attitudes about science and its accessibility to non-scientists. Preliminary results demonstrate a modest increase in self-reported interest in astronomy and ability to understand astronomy concepts.
Family Physics Night at TLU - A
- EB06
- Mon 01/20, 8:20PM - 8:30PM
by Toni Sauncy,, Calvin Berggren, Josh Fuchs
- Type: Contributed
- The Texas Lutheran University (TLU) Family Physics Night event attracts around 400 visitors to our small campus each fall. Over the past seven years, the TLU Physics Department faculty and TLU Society of Physics Students Chapter, along with nearly every student enrolled in physics courses, have worked together to present a robust evening of physics to the regional community. TLU is located in Seguin, a small (population 27,000) south central Texas town surrounded by many rural school districts. Family Physics Night draws K-12 students from the region, along with their families, for an evening of experiential learning that begins with a public lecture, followed by three hours of hands-on, themed activities. All classes in the department participate with class projects that are developed, constructed and presented by students with faculty guidance. Family Physics Night has become a valuable recruiting tool and an essential component as we strive to engage and retain our physics majors.
Interactive Lecture Demonstrations: A Research-Validated Strategy to Improve Learning in Lecture
Interactive Lecture Demonstrations:Whats New? ILDs Using Clickers and Video Analysis
- GA01
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
by David Sokoloff, Ronald Thornton
- Type: Invited
- The results of physics education research and the availability of computer-based tools have led to the development of the active learning materials for the introductory physics course. Some of these materials are designed for hands-on learning in the lab, for example the student-centered laboratory curriculum, RealTime Physics (1), (2). One reason for the success of these materials is that they encourage students to take an active part in their learning. This interactive session will demonstrate through active audience participation materials designed to implement active learning in lecture, Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) (3) including those using clickers and video analysis.
Interactive Lecture Demonstrations: Effectiveness in Teaching Concepts
- GA02
- Tue 01/21, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
by Ronald Thornton,, David Sokoloff
- Type: Invited
- The effectiveness of Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) in teaching physics concepts has been studied using physics education research based, multiple-choice conceptual evaluations. (1), (2) Results of such studies will be presented, including studies with clicker ILDs. These results should be encouraging to those who wish to improve conceptual learning in their introductory physics course.
Effective Teaching and O-AMAS Model
- GA03
- Tue 01/21, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
by Yudong Li,, Qian Sun, Yongfa Kong
- Type: Contributed
- In order to make our classroom teaching more effective, we design the course of College Physics for undergraduates with O-AMAS (Objective-Activation, Multi-learning, Assessment and Summary) model based on outcomes/objectives principle. At the beginning of the class, demonstration experiments or interesting problems are sent out to excite students’ engagement in the class. During the class, we keep the activation by using multiplex learning modes, including direct learning, co-operative learning, and independent learning. In order to monitor the learning outcomes, we use APPs to make process and summative evaluations. At last, we use games or activities to summarize the class content. The O-AMAS mold help us to maintain students’ learning interest and attention during the class time.
Make Optics Course Education More Effective by DEAR Cycle
- GA04
- Tue 01/21, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
by Qian Sun,, Yudong Li, Zongqiang Chen, Jing Chen, Yongfa Kong
- Type: Contributed
- As an important course for undergraduates with a major in Physics, Optics provides sophomores great chance to connect theory and experiments. Generally, in the teaching process of Optics, lecturers pay high attention to the demonstration experiments. We developed a new teaching strategy, in short DEAR cycle?--including demonstration, exploration, argument and research. Demonstration experiments, especially the ones based on daily necessaries & groceries, are used to active students learning interest. We assign exploration questions originated from the course context to the students as group works each week. And the students present and argue their exploration results. Selected outstanding students have chance to apply innovation project. With the help of DEAR cycle, students are excited from acceptor of knowledge to potential creator of new ideas.
Introducing Computation in Physics Classes
Integrated Computational Modeling Curricular Resources for Physics First
- DA01
- Mon 01/20, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
by Rebecca Vieyra,, Colleen Megowan Romanowicz, Melissa Girmscheid, Jess Dykes
- Type: Contributed
- This presentation will use concept maps to present a visual overview of how a group of 30+ physics teachers have integrated computational modeling into the first five units of Modeling Instruction for Physics First. It will include an overview of the integrated conceptual knowledge as it is embedded into unit objectives, as well as the flow of computational knowledge-building as it relates to a progression through qualitative energy, constant velocity, uniform acceleration, and balanced and unbalanced forces.
A Computational Approach to University Physics
- DA02
- Mon 01/20, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
- by Michael Butros,
- Type: Contributed
- The university physics sequence at Victor Valley College (VVC) is integrating computational techniques in the curriculum. These computational techniques are in terms of using open source software (SCILAB) and requiring the completion of PICUP assignments. This presentation will introduce the methodologies used to teach the university physics sequence and how computation is incorporated within them.
Assessing the Value of Video-Game-like Coding Activities for Introductory Physics*
- DA03
- Mon 01/20, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
- by Chris Orban,
- Type: Contributed
- The STEMcoding project has developed a number of “Physics of Video Games” that are fusion of PhET-like web interactives and traditional coding activities. A crucial question is whether these activities do anything more than build student’s familiarity with computer science. I briefly overview efforts to assess growth in conceptual physics knowledge from completing these activities. Our hypothesis is that these activities naturally encourage students to look more critically at the behavior of a physics-rich digital game than they would if the code behind an interactive were hidden. Student data from the Ohio State Marion campus will be presented, which is a two-year regional campus serving the larger Columbus campus.
Anim: A Language-Agnostic, Accessible 2D and 3D Animation Tool
- DA04
- Mon 01/20, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
- by Walter Freeman,
- Type: Contributed
- The ability to visualize simulation results is a crucial benefit to integrating computation. Students gain a deeper appreciation of phenomenology by watching a physical model come alive on the screen than by only looking at equations on paper. However, most animation tools are far from ideal. They often have clumsy syntax that is difficult to remember, require a significant computer-science burden of knowledge from the students, and are specific to a particular programming language or environment. To fill the need for an accessible, flexible animation tool, I have written an opensource tool that acts as a command-line filter, ingesting text and creating 2D/3D animations using an OpenGL backend. This allows students to generate attractive animations using only the pipe feature of the shell and the print command in their favorite programming language. Anim is flexible, language-agnostic, and allows students to focus their efforts on physics rather than syntax.
Visualization of the electric field of a charge undergoing arbitrary motion in three dimensions
- DA05
- Mon 01/20, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
- by Duncan Carlsmith
- Type: Contributed
- The classical theory of electromagnetic radiation is generally left to advanced undergraduate or graduate courses, leaving beginning undergraduates with a conceptual disconnect between their studies of electromagnetic theory, relativity, and optical and other electromagnetic wave phenomena, both classical and quantum. The idea of propagating kinks in electric field lines provides an intuitive explanation for the generation of a radiation component in the field of a charge instantaneously accelerated. Exact expressions for the full field for other motions are quite limited, and complicated. Visualization of the electric field of an accelerated charge undergoing an accelerated motion in three dimensions, computed from exact but implicit analytic expressions with a MATLAB code, is demonstrated and applied to a variety of standard example processes including synchrotron radiation and bremsstrahlung. The code itself has been used as a capstone tutorial in computational techniques for 1st year students.
Assessment of Computational Worksheets Implementation in a Quantum Mechanics Course
- DA06
- Mon 01/20, 3:50PM - 4:00PM
- by Scot Gould,
- Type: Contributed
- An undergraduate upper division quantum mechanics course was taught using a computer algebraic and numeric system, Maple™. Virtually all course content and solutions to example problems were disseminated through Maple worksheets. Students where encouraged, but not required, to use Maple. Homework assignments included traditional hand solved problems as well as problems that required the aid of a high-level computer package. Two of the exams were traditional, two computational. Each student’s capability to use Maple to solve the problems and present the output in a readable worksheet was assessed by the instructor at the end of the semester. More than one-third of the students could perform and properly present all multi-variable calculus, linear algebra, and Dirac notation algebra calculations and derivations in a single Maple worksheet. Students nearly universally felt the computational helped them better understand the physical principles and to make the material more accessible and interesting.
The Coming Revolution in Physics and Engineering Education – Computational Calculus
- DA07
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 4:10PM
- by William Flannery,
- Type: Contributed
- Modern math and physics began in the 17th century when Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity and the laws of motion, and derived the equation for the acceleration of a falling object in a gravitational field. The same formula is now derived in high school physics classes. This is a differential equation, i.e. an equation for a rate of change, and Newton developed analytic calculus to solve differential equations. However this equation is analytically unsolvable. Computers have revolutionized physics and engineering because they make it easy to compute approximate solutions to differential equations, even unsolvable ones. The basic method of computational calculus is known as Euler’s method. Euler’s method is simple, intuitively clear, and easy to learn: it can be taught to high school science students in a single one-hour lecture. We present Euler’s method and show how to compute trajectories for Newton’s apple, orbits, and the Apollo mission. http://berkeleyscience.com/TheComingRevolution.pptx
Introductory Courses
Playing School: Pros and Cons of Gamifying Your Physics Class
- CC01
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 11:40AM
- by Kimberly Shaw,
- Type: Contributed
- At its best, gamification can offer a sense of engagement in learning and higher motivation, but also offer students a sense of challenge, control over their learning, and can provide recognition of different mastery levels. (Faiella and Ricciardi, 2015). Literature on this technique often ties to online learning, but the principles involved are readily adaptable to a lower tech and face to face setting. Something as simple as “levelling up” provides a new reward structure, and a sense of accomplishment, that often is lacking in a STEM classroom. However, to be effective, there must be something valued by the student in that process of levelling up, or the game will not be played. I will present preliminary results from three semesters of using free and low tech methods to gamify introductory level physics courses, including discussion of implementation challenges in addition to successes and failures.
Camera Obscura: Incorporating HACD and Student-Driven Inquiry into College Physics Curricula
- CC02
- Mon 01/20, 11:40AM - 11:50PM
by Stephanie Bailey,, Rafael Palomino, Asher Wassernan
- Type: Contributed
- As part of a large introductory physics course on waves and optics for life science majors at UC Santa Cruz, students were challenged to turn a room into a camera obscura. This project describes an effort in spring 2019 to incorporate humanities, arts, crafts, and design (HACD) practices into the college physics curricula. In small groups, they had to choose a hypothesis from a set provided (or one of their own), and design and conduct an experiment to test this hypothesis. The provided hypotheses included a) the clarity of the image formed in a camera obscura varies with the size of the pinhole, b) the clarity of the image formed in a camera obscura varies with the distance between the pinhole and the image plane, and c) the clarity of the image formed in a camera obscura varies with the shape of the pinhole. These hypotheses were provided in order to support students in explicitly engaging in an experimental design process that connects to a hypothesis. Additionally, students had to take digital photographs of the scene outside the window, the image being projected, and the setup. Projects were peer reviewed and grades were based on creativity, thoughtful responses to questions, workflow that demonstrates forethought and planning, results that demonstrate a technical understanding of the pinhole camera model, and photos (scene, image, setup).
Reaction Time!
- CC03
- Mon 01/20, 11:50AM - 12:00PM
- by Walter Thompson,
- Type: Contributed
- Hanging out at the coffee shop, J'onesse challenges her friend: hey Holden, "If you can catch this dollar bill between your fingers, I'll buy desert!" Grasping, it falls gently (but swiftly) through his fingers. In this session I will present a simpleclassroom activity to apply basic physics to measure reaction time. No stopwatches, no phones, no equipment... just a ruler and inquiring minds.
Understanding Why Validating Our Students Improves Their Learning of Physics
- CC04
- Mon 01/20, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
- by Rebecca Lindell,
- Type: Contributed
- Students in introductory physics courses often express frustration and fear of the course. Faculty often inadvertently reinforce these ideas by how they communicate to the students both inside and outside of the classroom. Examples of this are the well-known example is the physics or math professor who says on the first day “Look to the right. Look to the left. Look in front of you. Look behind you. Only one of you will make it through this course” to simple frustration faculty experience/ and communicate to the students during office hours meeting where the students seem to be unprepared and cannot verbalize their questions. The above two examples are examples of the communication practice of invalidating. Within the field of communication, validation refers to the practice of first acknowledging students’ frustrations/ fears, then expressing understanding of why they feel frustrated/ fear and finally working together to overcome students’ frustration/ fear.
ACES: an Arduino Controlled Exoplanet Simulator
- CC05
- Mon 01/20, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
by Freja Guttesen,, Ian Bearden, Marta Mrozowska
- Type: Contributed
- We have developed a small model of a planetary system to demonstrate the detection of exoplanets. The apparatus consists of a light bulb at the center (the star), and two orbiting interchangeable 3D printed spheres (the planets). Since an orrery is a representation of our solar system, we call this an exorrery. Students place a light sensor outside the system to measure the “star’s” light intensity as a function of time. The decrease in light intensity as the “planets” traverse the star allows students to calculate the size of the planet relative to the star. Allowing students to freely choose both the sizes of the planets and the position of the light sensor quickly leads to very productive discussions regarding differences between our model and the actual physical system, as well as concepts such as solid angle, detection thresholds, and the difference between an eclipse and a transit.
Feezya, My Love
- CC06
- Mon 01/20, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
- by Taoufik Nadji,
- Type: Contributed
- Teaching Feezya (Physix) has to emanate from a deep love for the subject matter. The author shares his personal love journey with physics as described in his TPT article. In the process, the attendees will learn excellent pedagogical methods that should enable their students to appreciate physics and possibly fall in love with it too.
GFO PTaP 2019: Preliminary Scores and Analysis*
- CC07
- Mon 01/20, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Richard Pearson III,, Savannah Logan, Wendy Adams
- Type: Contributed
- In coordination with the "Get the Facts Out" project (GFO), thousands of undergraduate student responses regarding their perceptions of secondary teaching as a profession were collected through an online survey (the PTaP). Responses include students fromcommunity colleges, undergraduate-focused universities, and research-focused institutions. Discipline-dependent analysis is also derived for those undergraduates in physics, chemistry, and mathematics, the founding interest groups associated with GFO. The presented 2019 PTaP data will be followed in subsequent years across the same institutions and disciplines to identify the impact of local GFO programs on the overall view undergraduate students have of the teaching profession across the United States.
Using Physics Topics to Teach First-Year College Writing
- CC08
- Mon 01/20, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
by Kristen Thompson, Anthony Kuchera, John Yukich
- Type: Contributed
- The ability to effectively communicate science is an essential skill for early-career scientists to acquire as part of their education. Students are typically introduced to academic writing in one of two ways: in a writing course staffed by humanists with little experience with science writing, or across the curriculum where writing is secondary to course content. At Davidson College, students are required to complete a one-semester writing intensive course taught by faculty across the institution, including those in the natural sciences. Such a model encourages students to self-select a writing course that both interests them and is tailored toward their future career goals. To benefit students interested in the craft of technical writing, the authors have developed writing courses that take a writing-focused approach by allowing physics content to facilitate a knowledge of writing. In this talk, I will describe our experience as physicists participating in our college’s writing program.
Introductory Labs/Apparatus
Ditch the Manual….Free the Lab!
- AG01
- Sun 01/19, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
- by Patrice Edwards,
- Type: Contributed
- Students are often bored by the common laboratory experience. They are used to getting a laboratory assignment, reading the instructions, and replicating the experiment. Turn it in, get a grade, and repeat the process the next week. But what if they actually had the opportunity to be more involved in the lab construction process? In this observation, students were given the opportunity to do such a thing with "Do It Yourself" labs. Students were paired in groups of two and then given a topic such as capacitance. The students were then able to make their own lab reports. They created the procedure, picked out the equipment, and then chose the questions for their lab during the first week. Students then switched the labs with their partner the next week and performed their experiment. Compared to traditional laboratory exercises, the students in this observation were very engaged in the process.
Determining Ballistic Pendulum Effective Mass via Varied Projectile Launch Speed
- AG02
- Sun 01/19, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
- by James Sanders,
- Type: Contributed
- A ballistic pendulum launcher is modified so that the launching speed of the projectile can be varied in a controlled manner. A plot of the square root of the maximum displacement height against the launch speed yields a straight line. The slope of this line can then be used to determine the effective mass for the pendulum, and hence its moment of inertia. We have done this for three pendula of varying mass distributions, and in all cases we have obtained an effective mass of within <2% error compared to theoretical calculations of the effective mass.
Designing Laboratories for Online Instruction using the iOLab Device
- AG03
- Sun 01/19, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
by Louis Leblond,, Melissa Hicks
- Type: Contributed
- Scientific laboratories are among the most challenging course components to integrate into online instruction. Available technology restricts the design and nature of experiments and it can be hard to replicate the collaborative lab environment where frequent and immediate instructor feedback is the norm. Here we report on technological and pedagogical aspects of newly developed labs for online courses using the Interactive Online Lab (iOLab) device. We argue that this technology, coupled with an online course design emphasizing teamwork, targeted feedbacks, and self-regulation skills, provides a robust framework for students to do reliable, engaging, inquiry-based and hands-on labs outside the classroom. After describing the implementation and technology, we explain our lab objectives and how the labs were integrated into two introductory physics courses.
Density in Nature: A Teaching Opportunity
- AG04
- Sun 01/19, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
by Sytil Murphy,, Jacquelyn Cole, Jonathan Gilkerson, Carina Petretta, Nicholas Nunes
- Type: Contributed
- Coastal water mangrove forests represent diverse ecosystems that contribute substantially to the health of the planet. These ecosystems are threatened by global climate change resulting from rising ocean levels; thus, understanding how mangrove trees reproduce and distribute their seedlings is important to predicting how climate change could affect these ecosystems. Mangroves are viviparous: the seeds germinate while still attached to the parent tree. The resulting propagules are mostly stem -- the bottom tip will develop into roots and the top into the shoot. Propagules drop from the parent tree and float vertically, root-tip down, in the water, drifting away from the parent until they become planted. This preferred orientation is caused by a density gradient along the propagule’s length and is essential to distribution. Preliminary data will be presented on the density gradient of red mangrove propagules. Discussion will focus on how this system could be adapted into laboratory exercises.
Reinvent the Electric Potential Mapping Experiment Using Conductive Papers
- AG05
- Sun 01/19, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
- by Jingbo Ye,
- Type: Contributed
- It is a common experiment in E&M labs that uses conductive papers to illustrate electrical equal-potential lines between two electrodes of a DC power supply. Coordinates printed on the conductive paper, or a carbon-copy paper used with a graph paper are used help trace the equal-potential lines. In either case the conductive paper is for single use and there is no calculation and comparison of the measurements with theoretical values. I will present a new measurement of three configurations (point, line and circular potentials), still based on the conductive paper, but with a set of sliding rules to obtain the values of (x,y,V). The setup is for multiple use. I will discuss the guidance to the students on data acquisition and analysis. I offer the students the comparison between measurements and calculations, and the understanding of the measurements with DC current (Ohm’s Law) and the analogue to static electric field/potential.
Introductory Physics II
What a Psychologist, an Engineer, and a Physicist Learned about Engineering Students
- DC01
- Mon 01/20, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
by Jennifer Blue, Amy Summerville, Brian Kirkmeyer
- Type: Contributed
- We have been working on an interdisciplinary project supported by a National Science Foundation grant (award 1530627). The goal of this work was to learn about, and support, first-year engineering students as they take their introductory required courses– such as calculus-based physics. We looked at mindset, self-efficacy, social belonging, and regret, paying particular attention to differences between students in traditionally excluded groups and their peers.
Bringing Active Engagement and Peer Instruction to Online Learners
- DC02
- Mon 01/20, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
- by KC Walsh,
- Type: Contributed
- Following tremendous success reforming the class structure of the traditional face-to-face Introductory Physics sequence, Oregon State University has embarked on re-envisioning their online physics courses. Distance learners now participate in real-time collaborative problem solving and critical thinking through our Virtual Classroom. Live video feeds from the Lightboard Studio allow instructors to interact with students and content in ways never been done before. Real-time polling and the ability to quickly form breakout rooms for groups of students allows for Think-pair-share exercises. AsyncSync sessions run by LAs and SI leaders facilitates real-time group formation over a flexible number of hours to accommodate busy schedules online learners typically have. Students work both individually and collaboratively on their weekly inquiry-based lab experiments. Students have access to unprecedented real-time support from TAs in the Virtual WormHole helpdesk. I'll present on this innovative approach to distance learning and show how we are getting PER approved curriculum into our online classes.
Incorporating Non-Western Contributions Into the Intro Physics Curriculum
- DC03
- Mon 01/20, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
by Cory Christenson,, Brianna Billingsley
- Type: Contributed
- If you look through any physics textbook you will encounter canonical names such as Newton and Galileo. While their contributions are indeed significant, presenting the history of physics solely in terms of these western scholars hides a much deeper and complex history that is not often taught. Here we will discuss how to incorporate contributions from Chinese and Arab civilizations. These concepts can be introduced to students through labs, homeworks, and discussion questions. A broader and more culturally diverse scientific history can engage student interest, teach them about how science actually happens, help them to appreciate the value of diversity.
New Course on the Physics of Theater Light Design
- DC04
- Mon 01/20, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
- by Donald Smith,
- Type: Contributed
- I will present a new course for non-majors on the Physics of Theater Light Design. It was team-taught with a colleague from the Theater Arts department and cross-listed to count for either a science or an arts general education requirement. The course was implemented as a three-week immersive course in August 2019. Each morning students completed laboratory exercises about circuits, mirrors, lenses, light, and color. In the afternoon, we met in the theater, where the students learned how to choose and place instruments to create scenes on stage. In the last week, we shifted into a production schedule, and our class designed the lights for a performance class's musical. Thirteen students completed the course: 11 for a science credit and two for an arts credit. I will present the activities we used to teach both the physics and the technical craft of stage lighting, and how we linked the two.
Using Computation to Teach Circuits in an Introductory Physics Class
- DC05
- Mon 01/20, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
- by Kathy Shan,
- Type: Contributed
- I discuss a case study of the use of a computational activity to be used for teaching circuits to students in an interactively taught (partially flipped) small honors section of the introductory, calculus-based physics course for science and engineering majors at an open enrollment public university. Due to a lack of experience with coding on the part of the students and the instructor, the activity was developed for use with a spreadsheet program. Student understanding was evaluated by comparing performance on midterm and final exam questions to students in previous semesters.
Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences (IPLS)
From the Classroom to the Living Physics Portal
- FG01
- Tue 01/21, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
- by Juan Burciaga,
- Type: Invited
- The transition from preparing an educational supplement for the classroom to submitting the material to the Living Physics Portal can be daunting. The presentation will focus on two educational supplements that were developed for the IPLS classroom but then expanded, developed and submitted to the Portal for community sharing. The process of educational scholarship that transformed a class supplement into an educational supplement that can be shared, the submission to the portal, and the use of feedback from the reviewers and community will be discussed.
Reforming Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences at an Urban Research University
- FG02
- Tue 01/21, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
by Peter Hoffmann, Matthew Gonderinger, Edward Kramkowski
- Type: Invited
- Wayne State University (WSU) is an urban research university with many first-generation students. Lacking prior exposure, many students see physics courses as of low relevance to their careers. The previous use of a physics curriculum with poor alignmentto the life sciences acerbated this problem. Through an NSF-IUSE grant "Student Success through Evidence-based pedagogies" (SSTEP), of which the presenter is a Co-PI, a team in the department of physics overhauled the physics sequence for life science students in 2015. The goal was fourfold: To increase relevance, to consistently introduce active learning strategies in lectures, discussion and labs, to improve student success and retention, and to create student interest in biomedical physics. I will report on the rationale, process, challenges, outcomes and future of this reform project, and how it fits into the context of institutional reform around student-centered teaching and broad use of evidence-based teaching methods.
Why You Should Use Normalized Gain and How To Use
- FG04
- Tue 01/21, 9:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Vincent Coletta
- Type: Poster
- Normalized gain has long been applied to pre and post testing on concept inventories and used as a measure of learning in introductory physics classes. We show how normalized gain has been used to improve learning in those classes. We also show that one must be careful in making comparisons of normalized gains when those comparisons involve significantly different student populations. One must take into account some independent measure of those populations. We describe how one can do this. Failure to do so is an example of omitted variable bias.
Beautiful Natural Phenomena
- FG05
- Tue 01/21, 9:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Mohamed Ellid,
- Type: Poster
- Several beautiful wiggling patterns (similar to a goalkeeper net) were projected on the sand underwater, most of the figures look lhexagonal in shape. The color inside the hexagonal was gray (like a shadow), while the border of the hexagonal was very shine like we have a source of light present at the border of the patterns. The depth of the water at the shore was about 120 cm. It took me a few minutes trying to find a physical explanations to this fascinating phenomena. Finally I a came up with an idea that, the reason behind the shadows color inside these shapes was due to partial absorption of the light rays incident on the flat part of the water (in fact water is transparent to visible wavelengths, it strongly absorbs both ultraviolet light below 300nm and infrared wavelengths over 1300nm). I think the reason behind the very bright borders is due to the behavior of the water waves , which acts as a convergence lens flatten from one side . Since the rays from the Sun are parallel and it happens that the position of the sand was near the focal point of this lens, so the Sun rays will be focused on the border of these patterns and it looks very shining, while inside of these patterns looks dimmer. This explanation was supported using a very simple optical formula.
Change of Students’ Attitudes in a Redesigned Lecture
- FG06
- Tue 01/21, 9:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Guillaume Schiltz,
- Type: Poster
- Students with non-physics majors often lack a motivational incentive in studying physics and they struggle in viewing physics as a valuable subject for their own discipline. To overcome these motivational issues, we have completely redesigned a compulsory calculus-based first year introductory physics lecture which is offered to students in biology together with students in pharmaceutical sciences. By making physics more accessible, we hope that students also change their attitudes and beliefs of learning physics. To that end, we are relying on CLASS, the “Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey” that we administered as a pre- and as a posttest. In this poster, we discuss the question to what extent the redesigned physics lecture induces changes in the students’ attitudes of learning physics and how well we succeed in making the students think like a physicist.
Investment Advisory Committee
Investment Advisory Committee
- COM27
- Mon 01/20, 7:00AM - 8:30AM
- by Thomas L. O'Kuma
- Type: Committee Meeting
Jim Gates Book Signing: : Proving Einstein Right: The Daring Expeditions that Changed How We Look at the Universe
Jim Gates Book Signing: Proving Einstein Right: The Daring Expeditions that Changed How We Look at the Universe
- SPEC68
- Mon 01/20, 11:15AM - 11:45AM
- by Mike Hall
- Type: Event
- A thrilling adventure story chronicling the perilous journey of the scientists who set out to prove the theory of relativity–the results of which catapulted Albert Einstein to fame and forever changed our understanding of the universe.In 1911, a relatively unknown physicist named Albert Einstein published his preliminary theory of gravity. But it hadn’t been tested. To do that, he needed a photograph of starlight as it passed the sun during a total solar eclipse. So began a nearly decade-long quest by seven determined astronomers from observatories in four countries, who traveled the world during five eclipses to capture the elusive sight. Over the years, they faced thunderstorms, the ravages of a world war, lost equipment, and local superstitions. Finally, in May of 1919, British expeditions to northern Brazil and the island of Príncipe managed to photograph the stars, confirming Einstein’s theory.At its heart, this is a story of frustration, faith, and ultimate victory–and of the scientists whose efforts helped build the framework for the big bang theory, catapulted Einstein to international fame, and shook the foundation of physics.
Labs/Apparatus
Engaging Students in the Learning Process: Active Learning Labs for Scientists and Engineers
- PST2B01
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Irene Guerinot,, Jordan Woodward, Sarah Woodward
- Type: Poster
- The goals of introductory physics laboratories have been evolving over the past 70 years. To design effective instruction and excellent laboratory programs, we need to listen to the students and find ways to learn and understand how they process physics concepts. We will discuss a new suite of laboratory exercises and class demonstrations designed by two undergraduate engineering students in collaboration with their physics professor. The new labs will be benefiting our engineering, math, biochemistry, and teacher licensure students. We will also discuss the challenges and successes we encountered during this effort.
A Low Cost Muon Telescope
- PST2B05
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Erik Belhage,*, Freja Guttesen, Ian Bearden
- Type: Poster
- Using two disk shaped Geiger Müller counters a simple muon detector can be constructed, giving students and teachers an opportunity to further their investigation into particle physics and radioactivity beyond the scope of traditional measurements concerning half-life and half-value thickness of radioactive sources. Adding a third counter, the efficiency of the detectors easily can be estimated by setting them up in line, and the probability of recording background counts on all three detectors simultaneously can be estimated from setting them up spatially apart measuring coincidences. The poster will be split threefold. The setup’s characteristics including efficiency estimations, digital solutions for data collection for use in secondary and tertiary physics education and finally the measurements.
Improving Precision for TeachSpin’s Faraday Rotation DC Activities
- PST2B07
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
- by Patricia Allen,
- Type: Poster
- TeachSpin’s Faraday Rotation manual includes two DC and four AC activities to find the Verdet constant for a glass rod. While the AC activities lead to consistent and precise values for the Verdet constant, the two DC activities can result in imprecise Verdet constants markedly different from AC values and each other. The small angle approximation for Malus’ Law can be used, together with relation for the rotation angle = VBL (V is the Verdet constant, B is the applied magnetic field, and L is the length of the material), to derive the relative intensity for any angle of the polarizer. This relationship will be presented, along with how it can be applied to two special cases: extinction (when intensity is a minimum) and half-maximum (intensity is halved). Results for SF-57 will be included, along with a comparison to the DC activities described in the TeachSpin manual. While many may be familiar with the small angle approach, others may benefit from this addition to the TeachSpin suite of Faraday Rotation activities.
Line of Sight Communication
- PST2B09
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Dakota Turk,, Roman Shikula, Adam Clemons, Steven Arbogast
- Type: Poster
- This project utilizes two raspberry pis, LEDs and a camera module to send a string of text from one raspberry pi to the other across an open distance. This works by using the LEDs controlled by the raspberry pi as placeholders in a binary array; a light on represent a 1 in the list; a light off represents a 0. Using the camera module attached to the second raspberry pi, we can take a picture of the set up of LEDs and determine what binary character is being represented at that moment. Using a simple console based program we can have the LEDs send multiple characters until the end of a string, all while the other detects and interprets the LED-binary array.
Student Evaluations of Cookbook versus Guided Inquiry Laboratory Activities
- PST2B11
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Brian Thoms,, Sumith Doluweera
- Type: Poster
- Laboratory exercises for an introductory algebra-based physics sequence were redesigned from “cookbook” style to guided inquiry. Student opinions regarding aspects of the labs were collected through Likert-scale and open-answer questions before and afterthe redesign. The redesign led to increased agreement by students to statements that labs helped them to learn physics and were interesting. Students also significantly increased their evaluations of helpfulness, preparation, and knowledge of the lab instructors (graduate student teaching assistants). Student comments, grades, and conceptual survey results will also be reported.
Measurement Errors, Random and Systematic, Illustrated to Students
- PST2B13
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
- by Jingbo Ye,
- Type: Poster
- Almost always in the first lab of entry-level physics measurement errors or uncertainties are discussed. Standard instruments, often rulers or scales, are used to illustrate random errors, sometimes systematic errors. I will present a newly designed lab in which both the random and systematic errors are made sizable and clearly illustrated to students, through a basic length measurement with specially made rulers and lab procedures. Guidance in data taking and analysis is provided to students so that they will have a good understanding about the process of estimating either type of the errors, through the numbers that they obtain in their own measurements. A discussion of random error propagation is also included in the lab, and the concept of instrument calibration is brought to the students’ attention to fight systematic errors.
Classroom Research with Noyce Scholars Is Rewarding and Improves Learning
- PST2B15
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
- by Jeffrey Williams,
- Type: Poster
- Bridgewater State University (BSU) has had Noyce funding for the last six years and has supported four physics majors. Physics majors with Noyce funding are also hired to serve as Learning Assistants in our Introductory Calculus Based Physics courses. One of those students was very interested in working toward improving the laboratory work of the students in the class. Over the last two years we have experimented with two different methods to improve the student lab reports. We compared the effectiveness of pre-laboratory data activities versus scaffolded laboratory procedures. This poster will report on the results of that work. Supported by BSU ATP summer research program and support for Noyce scholars from NSF Noyce grant DUE-1339779.
A PSoC Coincidence Counting Unit for Single Photon Investigations
- PST2B02
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
by Mark Masters,, Justin Smethers
- Type: Poster
- We present results of more single photon investigations using our low cost ($50) Cypress PSoC based Coincidence Counting Unit.
Investigating Energy Loss in a Simple Pendulum
- PST2B06
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
- by Sytil Murphy,
- Type: Poster
- The simple pendulum is one of the standard systems in physics used to analyze conservation of mechanical energy. However, in order for energy conservation to be seen, assumptions have to be made and steps taken to validate these assumptions. For example,the pendulum is often made with a small metal ball for the bob and energy transfer over a single oscillation is measured in order to minimize energy loss due to air resistance and other forms of friction. Video analysis provides a means of observing the total energy of a pendulum as a function of time, allowing students to investigate energy loss from the system in order to better see the circumstances in which energy can be considered conserved. Particularly striking is a comparison of the behavior of a pendulum with a metal ball for the bob to one with a Styrofoam bob.
Simple Measurements of the Speed of Light
- PST2B08
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
- by Mark Rupright,
- Type: Poster
- I outline two simple undergraduate laboratory activities for measuring the speed of light. The first measures the wavelength of microwaves of known frequency. The second measures the speed of a high frequency modulated laser directly by changing distancebetween transmitter and receiver. Both methods exploit intentional systematic errors to ensure high-precision distance measurements and analysis. These activities introduce students to the benefits and potential pitfalls of fundamental data analysis techniques.
The NBI-ULAB Table Top PET Scanner
- PST2B10
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
- by Ian Bearden,
- Type: Poster
- In addition to being valuable medical imaging devices, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scanners provide a direct demonstration of what is almost certainly the most widely known physics equation in the history of human endeavours. While almost everyoneknows the equation, E=mc**2, many don’t fully understand its implications. In order to help pupils and students attain this understanding, we have developed a “toy” PET Scanner consisting of two BiGS gamma spectrometers, and a simple DAQ. Students “image” a 22Na source and discover that the 2 gammas produced in the annihilation process always have the same energy and that they are always emitted “back-to-back”. Depending on the students’ prior knowledge, this can lead to a discussion of how actual PET scanners work, why coincidence measurements are useful, or even how one could use the device to estimate the e+-e- collision relative velocity distribution.
Training TAs to Teach Non-traditional Labs
- PST2B12
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
- by Jennifer Delgado,
- Type: Poster
- Less traditional labs require less traditional instruction from laboratory instructors. For most large universities, labs are taught by graduate teaching assistants (TAs), who often do not have a lot of pedagogical training. For two years at KU we have tried a new format for training our TAs. We report preliminary findings on using interviews, question games, debates and practice labs to train TAs to use a more Socratic method of teaching in their labs.
Experimentally Mapping Sound Wave Intensity vs. Distance
- PST2B14
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
by Nicholas Johnson,*, Victoria Colvin, Soumitra Ganguly, Sebastian Lee, Suraj Thapa Magar
- Type: Poster
- The sound intensity is measured as a function of distance from a single loudspeaker. An open speaker is placed on a table, and then a detector is moved away from the speaker along the axis perpendicular to the plane containing the speaker. The sound waves emitted from the speaker are subject to reflections from the boundaries (e.g. walls) of the room. By using a motion detector in conjunction with the sound detector, we collected data for a plot of sound intensity level (in dB) versus distance (in m). The intensity level varies linearly with the logarithm of the distance from the speaker, but some local maxima and minima are also observed, in good agreement with theoretical predictions when accounting for interference from reflections. This was an undergraduate student research project.
Pedagogical Materials to Cure Misconceptions Connecting Special and General Relativity
- PST2B16
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
by Ron Pepino,, Risley Mabile
- Type: Poster
- Many professional physicists do not fully understand the implications of the Einstein equivalence principle of general relativity. Consequently, they are unaware of the fact that special relativity is fully capable of handling accelerated reference frames. We present results from our nationwide survey that confirm this is the case. We discuss the possible origins of this misconception and then suggest new materials for educators to use while introducing both special and general relativity. These materials can help prevent the propagation of this misunderstanding to the next generation of physicists.
Lactation Room
Lactation Room
- LR01
- Fri 01/17, 8:00AM - 10:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Lactation Room
- LR02
- Sat 01/18, 8:00AM - 10:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Lactation Room
- LR03
- Sun 01/19, 8:00AM - 10:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Lactation Room
- LR04
- Mon 01/20, 8:00AM - 10:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Lactation Room
- LR05
- Tue 01/21, 8:00AM - 10:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Land Acknowledgment
Land Acknowledgment
- SPEC02
- Sat 01/18, 8:00PM - 8:10PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Lecture/Classroom
Simple Communication Hacks to Improve your Physics Teaching
- PST1A01
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
- by Rebecca Lindell,
- Type: Poster
- Often students express dislike for their physics courses in statements like “it is too hard”, “I never knew what was going on” and “I don’t understand”. Even after successfully completing these courses, former students will often express an “ugh” reaction to physics courses. This may seem like an insurmountable problem to fix, but by simply changing how we communicate inside and outside of our physics courses affects not only our students’ learning, but also their overall satisfaction with our course and whether they will decide to take additional courses. As these are the main goals of any physics course, it is important that we adjust our communication style to better serve our students. In this poster I will present multiple simple communication hacks that can easily be adapted into our teaching style that will greatly improve how students perceive us and our courses.
Improving Student Success in Introductory Physics Courses at ERAU
- PST1A03
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Richard Pearson III,, Bryan Armentrout, Muhammad Farooq, John Hughes, Terry Oswalt
- Type: Poster
- Nearly half of the first-year students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) take an introductory, calculus-based physics course within their first two terms as collegiate learners. Though nearly all enter as high-performing secondary graduates,difficulties completing, understanding, and problem-solving introductory physics concepts are common among them. To better identify, isolate, and improve cognitive processing pertaining to the physics material, research-based changes to ERAU’s PS150 course have been made, including the addition of a weekly, instructor-led recitation, a preliminary mathematical assessment, supplemental instruction periods led by graduate students, and course uniformity across the PS150 sections. Qualitative and quantitative data concerning these items will be discussed, as well as some preliminary longitudinal information of the implementation’s effectiveness.
An Introductory Short Course Conductors, Semiconductors and Superconductors
- PST1A05
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
- by Mark Masters,
- Type: Poster
- Our physics department has introduced a concentration in Materials Science (or Materials Physics if you like). One of the courses we offer is a 5-week, 1 credit hour class on Conductors, Semiconductors, and Superconductors. This course has minimal prerequisites (algebra) and is part of a 3-course sequence with the second being Optical and Magnetic properties of solids, and the third being Thermal properties of solids. All these classes rely heavily on hands-on activities. These activities will be described for the conductors class. We will discuss course goals and learning outcomes.
Elephants That Help Glaciers Move: A Simple Integrative Activity in Thermodynamics
- PST1A07
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
- by Michael Waxman,*
- Type: Poster
- We consider the movement of glaciers and trace back the main principles used to explain the decrease of the melting point of ice with applied pressure. This activity is designed to help students appreciate the general structure of thermodynamics.
Cohort Intervention Impacts on Undergraduate Science Students’ Success*
- PST1A09
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Peter Sheldon,, Sarah Sojka
- Type: Poster
- Randolph College instituted a recruitment and retention program funded by two NSF S-STEM grants that has contributed significantly to doubling the number of science majors, tripling the number of physics majors, and to increased retention. Randolph College is a small, liberal arts college in Central Virginia that produces many successful graduates in the sciences. While the NSF grants have provided scholarships to two cohorts of 12 students and two cohorts of 18 students, we have exceeded our goal to recruit 24 students into our Step Up to Physical Science and Engineering at Randolph (SUPER) program each year since 2011, and to retain students at a higher rate than the whole college. We are researching the impacts of each part of our program: scholarships, summer transition program, living and learning community, mentoring program, and research/internships. In this presentation, we will address initial data on the impact of the mentoring program.
Takeaways from a Facilitated Introductory Physics Support Network
- PST1A11
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Daryl McPadden,, Matthew Hertel, Paul Irving
- Type: Poster
- At Michigan State University, we have created a facilitated support network to promote the success and persistence rates of underrepresented minority students who are enrolled in Physics 183 (PHY-183) - Introductory Mechanics, a STEM gateway course. The goals of this initiative are to give students a space to build supportive peer networks and have opportunities to engage in scientific practices that support their success in physics courses. Students are recruited from their PHY 183 classrooms and are invited to attend 1-2 sessions a week, which focus on helping with physics assignments, discussions about study/test strategies, and which includes a shared meal with each other. Each session is facilitated by undergraduate learning assistants (LA) and a graduate teaching assistant (TA). In this poster, we outline the design decisions and structure of the sessions; the impacts on the students; and the takeaway points from implementing this style of support network.
Infusing Culturally Responsive Practices into Physics/STEM Teacher Preparation Programs
- PST1A13
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by David Rosengrant,, Karina Hensberry, Ann Marie Gunn, Allan Feldman, Ruthmae Sears
- Type: Poster
- One of the issues facing recruiting, training and retaining teachers is culturally relevant practices. Many teacher preparation programs may have a single course or few discussions on how to work with diverse populations but may not truly infuse into their programs. Many school districts across the nation are diverse in several ways yet we do not spend enough time focusing on this aspect when training our teachers. This poster presents our current endeavors of creating this preparation program in partnership with Pinellas County School Districts. This project is part of a Robert Noyce Capacity Building Grant and is funded by the NSF (Grant #1852857). In this project we share examples of what we are doing to infuse culturally responsive practices in the curriculum as well results from a survey where we investigate teachers’ dispositions towards culturally responsive practices.
BiteScis Physics Lessons: Standards-Aligned Content Through Contemporary Research
- PST1A02
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Shannon Morey,, Nathan Sanders, Stephanie Keep, Kelsey Lucas
- Type: Poster
- BiteScis (bitescis.org) is a nonprofit dedicated to introducing high school students to current scientific research and providing context for the content they are learning in the classroom. Teachers sometimes hear, “Why are we learning this?” or “When amI ever going to need this?” BiteScis lessons help provide answers to those questions because each lesson links the knowledge students have right now to that which is being used by scientists. In this way, our physics lessons help students master standards-aligned content while also providing accessible introductions to contemporary science as varied as runaway stars and laser cooling. All of our lessons, which are developed through collaborations between classroom teachers and current science researchers, are available for free online and we are continually working to create new content. This poster will briefly explain our model and will introduce the audience to the physics lessons available through BiteScis.org.
Case Study of SRL and the CLASS in Introductory Physics Courses
- PST1A04
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Richard Pearson,, Chad Rohrbacher
- Type: Poster
- Self-regulated learning (SRL) is an important characteristic of successful learners, especially in an introductory physics course. In order to investigate the impact of helping first-year students take responsibility for their own learning, a case study was completed utilizing two introductory, calculus-based physics courses at a private engineering university. Each were asked to complete the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) at the beginning and end of the term. Additionally, one of the courses was asked to complete an SRL questionnaire before and after each of the three midterm examinations throughout the fall semester. In coordination with those surveys and questionnaires, physics concepts were analyzed in parallel qualitative responses. Correlation between attitudes, perceptions, and conceptual understanding are presented here. Future efforts with a larger scope-of-work will follow.
Revisiting the Toy Helicopter
- PST1A06
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
- by Arunava Roy,
- Type: Poster
- The flight of a toy helicopter (also known as wacky whirler) through the air is investigated. The various forces acting on the helicopter are considered including a time-dependent lift force. An equation of motion of the toy is constructed taking into account the lift and drag forces and solved using the free open-source software, Tracker.
Student-Driven Exploration of Sliding on an Arbitrarily Shaped Incline With Friction
- PST1A08
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Michael Waxman,*, Alexandre Gainer
- Type: Poster
- We suggest a small series of guided-inquiry exercises involving sliding on an arbitrarily-shaped incline with friction to help students review the basics of vector analysis along with calculus and energy conservation, and apply their physical intuition to analyze and understand the resulting solutions. These solutions turn out to be quite succinct and elegant allowing students to appreciate the beauty of physics.
Affordances and Strategies for Teaching introductory Circuits to Blind Children
- PST1A10
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Daniel MacIsaac,, Kathleen Falconer, Manuela Welzel-Breuer, Pamela Detrois
- Type: Poster
- We describe affordances – simple modifications to equipment and procedures, and interventions for teaching an introductory lesson showing the classic one bulb in a circuit, two bulbs in series, then two in parallel sequence. Affordances for partially sighted, visually impaired students are straightforward, with slight but important adaptations to apparatus, lesson flow and timing. Affordances for profoundly blind students include using circuit representations on raised plastic or paper (swell paper) with and without Braille, and rigidly supported concrete circuits created with “Snap Circuits” TM apparatus. Given a second or two for thermal stabilization, sightless students can discriminate by touch between dark, partially lit and brightly lit incandescent subminiature bulbs for the traditional comparisons. We also discuss the need to establish trust and safety for blind children in handling simple circuit elements.
Mapping Sound Waves on Octave
- PST1A12
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Soumitra Ganguly,*, Caroline Howell, James Sanders
- Type: Poster
- The intensity of a sound wave emitted from a point source in an isotropic region of space will decrease by the square of the distance from the source. However, if boundaries are introduced, then the reflected waves cause interference with the incident wave. Therefore, sound waves emitted from a source in an enclosed room will have an intensity which follows the inverse square law but eventually deviates due to interference from reflections. This project makes use of the GNU OCTAVE to calculate the intensity of a sound wave as a function of distance from a source which is placed in an enclosed room. This calculation considers multiple possible paths along which a wavelet can propagate to reach the detector. It then determines the relative amplitude and phase for each of these paths in order to create a superposition of these wavelets at the position of the detector.
Modeling osmosis for IPLS students
- PST1A14
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
- by Peter Nelson,
- Type: Poster
- Osmosis is an important topic in IPLS (Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences) courses. However, the standard model of osmosis is based on a thermodynamics argument that’s difficult to understand, even for well-prepared physics majors. This poster presents a new model of osmosis that’s accessible to IPLS students. It’s based on a kinetic model that treats osmosis as the single-file diffusion of water through aquaporins in a manner that’s consistent with molecular-level simulations based on the known structure of aquaporins. A key concept is the “effective water concentration,” which is the difference between the concentration of pure water and the osmotic concentration (osmolarity) of the solution. In the absence of a pressure gradient, osmosis is modeled by the simple jump-diffusion of water caused by an effective water concentration gradient. A pressure gradient modifies the jump rates in a manner that then successfully predicts the van’t Hoff equation for osmotic pressure.
Lessons Learned from Integrating Computation into Undergraduate Physics Courses
Program-level Scaffolding of Computation in the Physics Major
- DH01
- Mon 01/20, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
by Jason Ybarra,, Deva O'Neil
- Type: Invited
- Over the last few years we have redesigned our major curriculum to provide students with a solid foundation in programming and the ability to transfer these skills to multiple programming languages. Our department has adopted the objective of including computer programming in the majority of our courses. In the past 2 years, 11 of our 13 upper-level levels have required students to complete computational assignments. The success of this program depends on scaffolding throughout the curriculum, with students taking 4 courses that introduce computation in their first two years before they reach upper-level physics. We include examples of course level assignments typical for each year and demonstrate how our curriculum structure and faculty involvement in PICUP support students’ success.
The Computational Perspective: How Computational Training Builds Better Physics Students
- DH02
- Mon 01/20, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
- by Walter Freeman,
- Type: Invited
- The notion that computational physics has value in the physics classroom has become widely accepted. But why? If computation only helps students learn the same old things more efficiently, then integrating computation doesn't stand out from any of the myriad ways that we can improve student learning. But computational physics training does more than that: it allows us to provide students a richer, more fundamental perspective on nature. Computation and visualization are powerful companions to pencil-and-paper mathematics in understanding nature. Most interesting systems are not analytically tractable, and numerical simulation and visualization allow students to focus on fundamental principles rather than mathematical details. Thus I will argue that the computationally-trained student is a different and more complete sort of physicist: one with a deep understanding focused on fundamental interactions and rich phenomenology, and one with a more complete toolkit to extract physical insight from both empirical data and first principles.
Lessons Learned Implementing Computation Across the Curriculum at IUPUI
- DH03
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 4:10PM
by Andrew Gavrin,, Gautam Vemuri, Yogesh Joglekar
- Type: Contributed
- We are entering the third year of a project to implement computational methods in all undergraduate physics classes at IUPUI. Our goal is ambitious: for approximately 25% of all assignments to be computational by 2023. This talk will describe our department’s change process, and share lessons learned from the individual assignment scale to the overall curricular level. Issues including vertical integration of the curriculum, choice of computational platform, and assessment will be addressed.
Exploration of Potential Energy with an Extended Euler-Cromer Method
- DH04
- Mon 01/20, 4:10PM - 4:20PM
- by W. Brian Lane,
- Type: Contributed
- Many introductory mechanics courses (particularly those based on Matter and Interactions) are built on Newton’s second law and conservation of energy as primary explanatory principles. However, computational activities that implement the Euler-Cromer Method tend to place more attention and significance on forces than on energy, with Newton’s second law determining an object’s motion and conservation of energy confirming the results’ accuracy. By adding the relationship between force and potential energy to the standard Euler-Cromer implementation, I present an open-ended computational activity that places potential energy on equal footing with force as the function that determines the object’s motion. Such an addition enables students to create and study their own potential energy function. Using VPython’s 3D animation environment, I also demonstrate how we can help students visualize various potential energy functions in multiple dimensions.
Local Teacher Gathering
Local Teacher Gathering
- TL10
- Sun 01/19, 1:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Mark Hannum
- Type: Event
- Join a discussion of innovative techniques and topical discussions from local Orlando teachers.
Meet-up for Members and Supporters of LGBTQ Community
Meet-up for Members and Supporters of LGBTQ Community
- SPEC09
- Sun 01/19, 12:00PM - 1:30PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Meeting of the Members
Meeting of the Members
- COM21
- Sun 01/19, 8:30PM - 10:00PM
- by Mel Sabella
- Type: Event
Meetings Committee
Meetings Committee
- COM02
- Sat 01/18, 8:00AM - 9:30AM
- by Mary Elizabeth Mogge
- Type: Committee Meeting
Melba Newell Philips Medal - Richard W. Peterson, Emeritus, Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota
Melba Newell Philips Medal - Richard W. Peterson, Emeritus, Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota
- PL05
- Tue 01/21, 10:30AM - 12:30PM
- by Mel Sabella
- Type: Plenary
- Changed . . . by a high and humbling calling - The intent here is to reflect a bit on the many changes of our lives as we teach physics. Inspired by the sometimes tumultuous and amazing career of Melba Newell Phillips, we are reminded of the formative and lasting role the teaching of physics may play in bringing meaning to our lives. It is appropriate that the rich diversity of the AAPT family should more often lead to a sharing of the human impacts of physics and teaching within our lives and careers. In that context I will share a bit of my own teaching story, the excitement of creative experimental apparatus, and of being nurtured within an engaging community of those who delight in mentoring students and skillfully teaching physics.
Membership and Benefits Committee
Membership and Benefits Committee
- COM12
- Sun 01/19, 9:00AM - 10:00AM
- by David E. Strum
- Type: Committee Meeting
Middle School Modeling
Middle School Modeling
- FC
- Tue 01/21, 8:30AM - 9:30AM
- by Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz, Ph.D.
- Type: Topical
- Modeling Instruction is not just for high school physics. Join us for an interactive session that will explore what modeling looks like in the middle school classroom.
Monday Afternoon Break in the Exhibit Hall
Monday Afternoon Break in the Exhibit Hall
- EXH10
- Mon 01/20, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
-
- Type: Exhibit Hall
Monday Morning Break in the Exhibit Hall
Monday Morning Break in the Exhibit Hall
- EXH08
- Mon 01/20, 11:15AM - 11:45AM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
Monday Registration
Monday Registration
- REG04
- Mon 01/20, 7:00AM - 5:00PM
- AAPT Staff
- Type: Registration
New Board Orientation
New Board Orientation
- EXC01
- Fri 01/17, 5:30PM - 7:30PM
- by Mel Sabella
- Type: Committee Meeting
New Chair Orientation
New Chair Orientation
- COM06
- Sat 01/18, 5:30PM - 6:30PM
- by Jan Mader
- Type: Committee Meeting
Nintendo Switch Lite
Nintendo Switch Lite
- EXH11
- Mon 01/20, 3:20PM - 3:25PM
- AAPT Staff
- Type: Exhibit Hall
- Introducing Nintendo Switch Lite, a new version of the Nintendo Switch system that’s optimized for personal, handheld play. Nintendo Switch Lite is a small and light Nintendo Switch system at a great price. With a built-in +Control Pad, and a sleek, unibody design, Nintendo Switch Lite is great for on-the-go gaming. If you’re looking for a gaming system all your own, Nintendo Switch Lite is ready to hit the road whenever you are. Raffle will take place in the AAPT exhibit hall. Must be present to win.
Nominating Committee I
Nominating Committee I
- COM100
- Sat 01/18, 2:30PM - 4:30PM
- by Sarah Durston Johnson
- Type: Committee Meeting
Oersted Medal - David R. Sokoloff, University of Oregon
Oersted Medal - David R. Sokoloff, University of Oregon
- PL04
- Tue 01/21, 10:30AM - 12:30PM
- by Mel Sabella
- Type: Plenary
- If Opportunity Doesn't Knock, Build a Door - My Path to Active Dissemination of Active Learning - I've had the good fortune to be able to influence the way physics is taught around the world. The influence of a number of very special colleagues, the synergy of events and a bit of chutzpah have all contributed. I will comment on these factors, and also describe what I believe are the essential features of active dissemination of research-validated active learning strategies.
Outreach - Effective Practices for Undergraduates
Outreach - Effective Practices for Undergraduates
- SPS06
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 12:30PM
- by Brad Conrad
- Type: Event
Outreach Programs Connecting College and K-12
Cultivating K12 Engagement in Physics Aboard the Physics Bus
- EA01
- Mon 01/20, 6:30PM - 7:00PM
by Erik Herman,, Bruce Bayly, Chris Discenza, Bruce Bayly, John Perkins
- Type: Invited
- The Physics Bus is a mobile exhibition of physics phenomena directly engaged through the senses. Showcased to K12 audiences, our exhibits--fashioned from bailing wire and duct tape--include a microwave ionized gas disco party, a four foot tall tornado offog, a TV whose beam wiggles to the sound of an electronic toy guitar, and a high current rail accelerator that crackles with sparks. The informal environment of playful exploration is designed to convey two messages, that physics is chock full of things yet to be discovered and that the joy of discovery is deserved by everyone. The project benefits from the involvement of undergraduates in the designing, prototyping, and facilitation of the showcase. Students inject fresh ideas and positive energy into the K12 experience while gaining important skills doing meaningful work. This semester we will be piloting a course at Cornell University based on this model.
Forever '05: Continuing The K12-Higher Ed Mainely Physics Connection
- EA02
- Mon 01/20, 7:00PM - 7:30PM
- by David Sturm,
- Type: Invited
- Fifteen years beyond the World Year of Physics 2005, the University of Maine Department of Physics and Astronomy strives to continue outreach in usual and unusual ways (with limited budgets). The goal remains to invite K12 students everywhere to engage in learning about physics. Frugal use of grants and donations, existing laboratory and demonstration equipment, and clever construction of contraptions from castoffs provide a source of apparatus. Through finding events amenable to physics demonstration to fill 'gaps', large audiences are reached. By engaging with STEM teacher associations, we broaden school contacts for on-the-road and in-school demonstrations. With student volunteers and partners around our college, visiting groups regularly arrive that gladly will partake of an hour of physics. With local media, still more students can be reached. From anecdotal evidence and surveys, we see how this melds together to make the Mainely Physics Road Show successful.
A New Partnership-based Model for High School Physics Outreach
- EA03
- Mon 01/20, 7:30PM - 7:40PM
by Michael Bennett,, Rosemary Wulf, Noah Finkelstein
- Type: Contributed
- Over its decade-plus lifespan, the University of Colorado Boulder-based Partnerships for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC) outreach program has worked with thousands of local primary-school students in efforts to facilitate pathways to STEM through mutually-beneficial engagement between students and CU Boulder mentors. In recent years, PISEC has sought to complement its primary-school work through the pursuit of new partnership-based outreach with local high schools. PISEC’s high school offerings continue the program’s tradition of providing opportunities for students to build STEM skills through guided exploration of open-ended projects alongside peer mentors from CU Boulder, and has seen tremendous success and growth even in the few semesters of its early operation. We will here outline the history of PISEC’s high school efforts, discuss the design and implementation of programming, and detail first research efforts, including assessment of benefits to both the local high school community and university student mentors.
Journey into a 6th Grade Classroom with Pre-Service Elementary Teachers
- EA04
- Mon 01/20, 7:40PM - 7:50PM
- by Beth Marchant,
- Type: Contributed
- Elementary education majors in Physical Science for Elementary Teachers at Indiana University South Bend (IUSB) worked with a group of 6th graders in a 90-minute math and science block class held at Navarre Middle School, which has been deemed by the state a “Failing” school for the past six years. The 6th graders first worked on science fair projects with the IUSB student mentors. Later in the semester, the IUSB students led science labs on light and photosynthesis with the same group of students. This effort was inspired by a Campus Community Grant through IUSB and involved professors from the Departments of Physics & Astronomy and Mathematical Sciences.
The Professor Sko Science Show Makes You Want to Know!
- EA05
- Mon 01/20, 7:50PM - 8:00PM
- by Brenda Skoczelas,
- Type: Contributed
- What’s the one thing everyone wants to know after an amazing magic act? How they did it, of course! Our outreach program couches physics as “magic” in a stage performance to stimulate curiosity and wonder. The difference is after the show, the students are shown how everything was done and why it works! The Professor Sko Science Show is an upbeat and entertaining stage performance for grades 6-12 that dazzles with a bed of nails, defies mortality with the “Bowling Ball of Doom,” and wows with the “Dancing Inferno!” Supported by a cast of lovable characters, The Sko Show underscores how fun physics is, fostering the students’ desire to learn. Through Lake-Sumter State College’s PreFLITE program, Professor Sko goes into local schools performing teaser demonstrations. These serve to attract underrepresented populations onto the college campus for the stage show, engaging them in STEM and encouraging them to become STEM teachers.
K-12 Outreach to Promote STEM Awareness
- EA06
- Mon 01/20, 8:00PM - 8:10PM
- by Shahida Dar,
- Type: Contributed
- Outreach programs designed for K-12 students are extremely important to promote awareness about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). They could also be helpful in preventing the leaks in STEM pipeline. In this paper, I will talk about few of such outreach programs that have been running at my institution.
Measurements of 137Cs In and Around the Daiichi Power Plant 1:A Case Study in Secondary School-University Cooperation
- EA07
- Mon 01/20, 8:10PM - 8:20PM
by Malene Nielsen,*, Ian Bearden
- Type: Contributed
- In September 2019, we had the great good fortune to be allowed to visit the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan with a group of final year students from Zahles Gymnasium. During the previous academic year, members of this class visited the Niels Bohr Institute’s “Ungdomslaboratory” (YouthLab) to construct, test, and characterize inexpensive gamma-ray spectrometers. In our September visit to Daiichi, these spectrometers were used to measure gamma spectra in and nearby the site of the nuclear accident which occurred in the aftermath of the Tohuku earthquake and tsunami. Here, we will discuss the how the project came about, how the project was run, and some of the keys to its success.
PER Using Institutional Data Sources and Big Data Research Methods
The Learning Machines Lab: Analyzing Big Data with Innovative Methods
- FD01
- Tue 01/21, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
by Rachel Henderson,, John Aiken, Nicholas Young, Alyssa Waterson, Marcos Caballero
- Type: Invited
- Historically, Physics Education Research (PER) have collected and analyzed quantitative data sources using traditional statistical and modeling techniques. As educational research advances, quantitative data sets have become more robust and complex. Here, we will discuss the quantitative research being done in the Learning Machines Lab--a collaboration between Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of Oslo (UiO)--where graduate students, post-docs, and undergraduate researchers, are conducting cutting-edge research on large data sets. These projects include using innovative big data research methods including machine learning techniques to explore solutions to complex educational research questions. In this talk, the various projects will be highlighted including the variety of data sources, the innovative research methods, and the central outcomes of these studies.
Estimating Graduation Rates using Bayesian Updates to a Markov Model
- FD02
- Tue 01/21, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
by Shahab Boumi,, Adan Vela, Jackie Chini
- Type: Invited
- Accurate estimates of student graduation and retention rates are critical when assessing and evaluating high education institutions. Traditionally, a rolling six years graduation rate (SYGR), computed from data, is standard for higher education, while utilization of absorbing Markov chains is also common among researchers. Both approaches, however, may not serve as accurate metrics when the sample sizes are small, especially when focusing on sub-populations. Moreover, neither approach captures the sensitivity of data to curriculum and institutional changes over time. In this study, we show mimicking hierarchical modeling techniques can be used to overcome these challenges by identifying how sub-populations or time-periods deviate from means. Accordingly, we use a hierarchical framework and apply Bayesian statistics to update transition probabilities between academic levels in a Markov model. We compare SYGR vs. Hierarchical methods performance in estimating graduation rates using undergraduate students records in University of Central Florida.
Using Machine Learning to Understand the Retention of STEM Students
- FD03
- Tue 01/21, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
- by John Stewart,
- Type: Invited
- Retention of STEM students is a critical national problem. Introductory physics classes play a key role in the retention of these students. This talk will first explore retention through survival analysis to show the critical role of time in understanding retention. Machine learning algorithms including logistic regression, decision trees, and random forests are then applied to understand the variables important in predicting retention through the first year of college. This analysis identifies being a successful student in high school and arriving on campus “calculus-ready” as critical predictors of success. The student’s progression through the network of introductory science and mathematics courses is then explored. Machine learning algorithms are applied to understand a student’s risk factors as they matriculate from Calculus 1 and Chemistry 1 through Physics 1 and Physics 2. This will show students who matriculate through the network along different paths have different risk factors and chances of success.
PER from Around the World
Challenges and Opportunities of Physics Education Research in Canada
- AD01
- Sun 01/19, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
- by Tetyana Antimirova,
- Type: Invited
- While Physics Education Research (PER) has blossomed in the U.S., Europe, Australia and Latin America, very few PER groups and even solo PER researches can be found in Canada. One may ask why. The main reason is the continuing absence of PER-designated funding at both the national and provincial levels. As a result, long-term large-scale research projects cannot be established, PhD-level graduate programs in PER cannot be established and sustained. Almost all PER initiatives in Canada today are still initiated by the enthusiastic individuals and small groups, funded mostly by one-time grants outside of major granting agencies, resulting in mostly short-term PER research projects. Fortunately, the universities began to acknowledge the need to improve teaching and learning in STEM disciplines, so a small fraction of STEM-allocated funds sometimes can be spent on small-scale PER-related initiatives. I will provide a few examples of successful PER-related projects in Canada. Despite the difficulties PER researchers experience in Canada, Canadian PER is slowly shaping up.
How Academic Organization Promote the Professional Development of Physics Teachers in China
- AD02
- Sun 01/19, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
by Wei Yang,, Chunmi Li, Lin Ding
- Type: Invited
- Similar to AAPT, there is also a specialized academic organization for physics teachers in China. As the largest physics teacher organization, the name is the Physics Teaching Professional Committee of the Chinese Institute of Education. It is managed bythe Ministry of Education of China directly. The members come from: University teachers and researchers, teaching and research staff, in-service teachers, pre-service teachers (undergraduate and postgraduate), etc. There are three main types of large-scale events: academic annual conferences, series of scientific research projects, and various competitions. Academic organizations also have two academic journals that are distributed nationwide. The academic organization has played a huge role in promoting the professional development of physics teachers in China. This report will introduce the history of the academic organization, the election and composition of the council, as well as academic annual conferences, research projects, and competitions.
An Overview of Physics Education Research at the University of Cologne
- AD03
- Sun 01/19, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
by Kathleen Falconer,, André Bresges, Daniel MacIsaac
- Type: Invited
- We will describe several recently completed and currently ongoing PER projects and studies at Universität zu Köln (Uni-Köln). As the largest teacher preparation institution in Europe with about 900 students registered in physics didactics, Uni-Köln PER scholarship is mainly applicable to the preparation of physics teachers. Initiatives in classroom protocol (RTOP) instrument translation and validation, use of action research and design-based research in student praxis projects, Bachelors and Masters theses, use of action research to refine large enrollment lectures, and dedicated media courses for pre-service teachers and more will be discussed.
Finding My Way as an International Teaching Physics at A U.S. Jesuit University
- AD04
- Sun 01/19, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
- by Mayuri Gilhooly,
- Type: Contributed
- Teachers play a vital role in educating the future generation in our communities. There are approximately 857,200 immigrant teachers in the United States. These foreign-born teachers make up 22 percent of the total post-secondary teachers in the United States. This study examines challenges faced by a foreign-born teacher, teaching Physics for Life Sciences at a U.S. undergraduate institute. Specific challenges relate to gender, religion, country of origin, and also problem areas such as language barriers and social adjustment are discussed.
Analyzing Student Discussions During Clicker Sessions
- AD05
- Sun 01/19, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
- by Eliane Merki,*
- Type: Contributed
- A study on formative assessment using clicker questions showed that the students’ improved their understanding of concepts in kinematics significantly. The goal of this study was to get an insight into the student discussions happening between the clicker questions. Two clicker sessions were implemented in nine high school classes. In every class two microphones were placed randomly near a group of students. The discussions were transcribed and analyzed. It can clearly be said that the students are activated and highly engaged during the discussions. This is due to a peer instruction setting, where students have the ability to vote two times for the same clicker question. Between the votes, students try to persuade their peers of the answers they had chosen in the first round. In the talk, difficulties of evaluating informal student discussions and a summary of found concept and misconcepts, are going to be presented.
PER: Assessment, Grading and Feedback
A Rubric for Assessing Thinking Skills in Free-Response Exam Problems
- DG01
- Mon 01/20, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
by Beth Thacker,, Fatema Al Salmani
- Type: Contributed
- We designed a rubric to assess free-response exam problems in order to compare thinking skills evidenced in exams in classes taught by different pedagogies. The rubric was designed based on Bloom’s taxonomy. The rubric was then used to code exam problems. We analyzed exams from different sections of the algebra-based physics course taught the same semester by the same instructor with different pedagogies. One section was inquiry-based and the other was taught traditionally. We discuss the instrument, present results, and present plans for future research. The inquiry-based students demonstrated all of the thinking skills coded more often than the traditional students.
Student Understanding and Applications of Infinity in Physics and Mathematics
- DG02
- Mon 01/20, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
by Daniel Marsh,, Cade Hensley, Rabindra Bajracharya
- Type: Contributed
- The concept of infinity is applied widely in various contexts in physics, particularly while implementing the limits of large quantities, such as distance, time, and mass. We are investigating how students’ deal with this concept when they solve problemsin mathematics and physics. We report results from individual semi-structured interviews with physics students, where they are required to use the concept of infinity to solve the problems. We found that students have several difficulties with the implementation and interpretation of the concept of infinity. These difficulties are due to either insufficient understanding of the underlying mathematical concept, differences in how it is interpreted and implemented in mathematics and physics, or inappropriate implementation to physics. We also found that student difficulties stem from the fact that in mathematics infinity is used as an abstract upper bound, whereas in physics it is used to quantify scales of physical quantities.
Toward a More Nuanced Approach for Scoring Responses to RBAIs*
- DG03
- Mon 01/20, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
by Trevor Smith,, Nasrine Bendjilali
- Type: Contributed
- Research-based assessment instruments (RBAIs) are powerful tools for measuring learning in physics classes. Common RBAIs have been administered to thousands of students, providing a baseline for instructors and researchers to evaluate the achievements ofspecific student populations. The common method for analyzing RBAI data is to categorize each response dichotomously as either correct or incorrect, which ignores the fact that incorrect choices often align with common student ideas that have been identified by previous research and may contain elements of the correct response. We have previously shown that quantitative methods (e.g., item response theory) may be used to rank incorrect responses as being more or less closely aligned with the correct response. We present our first attempts to translate these rankings into a method for scoring responses to RBAIs in a more nuanced way that accounts for the productive ideas represented in students’ incorrect responses.
Lessons from Students’ “Letters” in Introductory Physics Courses
- DG04
- Mon 01/20, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
by Ramesh Adhikari,, Terry Ellis
- Type: Contributed
- Students come to introductory physics classes with various degree of preparation and preconceptions about learning physics. That may lead to various degree of concerns and expectations regarding the course as they start their semester. In order to study the evolution of students’ expectation and concerns over the semester, we administered a survey in the form of writing letters to self at the beginning and at the midterm, and a letter to incoming students at the end of the semester. Students share their expectations, learning goals, concerns, and plan of action at the beginning of the semester. Then they reflect upon and update these items at the midterm based on their experience. Finally, they reflect upon and provide suggestions to the incoming students at the end of the semester. We will also present if students’ anxiety or expectation level had any effect on their overall performance in the class.
Studying Students’ Understanding of Vectors in College Physics 1
- DG05
- Mon 01/20, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
by Sarah Muller,, Archana Dubey PhD
- Type: Contributed
- It was observed over several years of teaching college physics 1 that many students struggle with the concept of vectors and thus all associated math. The lack of basic understanding of vectors leads to students not doing as well as they could, not just in College Physics 1, but in College Physics 2. To try to stress vectors more in physics 1, the Test of Understanding Vectors (TUV) was given to a studio mode college physics 1 class as a pre- and post-test. The TUV was developed in 2014 [1] and is a reliable diagnostic test. This test involves some cross and dot product questions which were excluded from the analysis of the results as the students represented were not taught these concepts.[1] Barniol, P. and Zavala, G. (2014). Test of Understanding of Vectors: A Reliable Multiple-Choice Vector Concept Test. Physical Review Special Topics- Physics Education Research, 10, 010121.
Feedback and Learning: Take Two, Lessons from the Pocket Guitar
- DG06
- Mon 01/20, 3:50PM - 4:00PM
- by Adebanjo Oriade,
- Type: Contributed
- Student centered active learning depends on use of feedback. In this presentation we explore different dimensions of feedback – kind and utility. The first lesson is a way to improve office hour attendance. The second lesson relates to improving instructor use of feedback, andempathy for learning. The lessons come from observing the effects, on learning and instruction, of tuning an assessment from a primarily summative exercise to one, partly formative in nature. The course is a physics course, primarily, for students in majors other than the sciences. Weekly quizzes are primarily summative but when, after grading, students were allowed to reclaim points, it became a partly formative assessment. Students earned points back by visiting with a member of the instructional team to explain something they missed, why/how it happened, and how it can be fixed. Learning to play guitar, the pocket guitar became a metaphor for the effects diverse kinds of feedback have on learning.
Results of Concept Inventories at a Small Engineering-Focused University
- DG07
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 4:10PM
by Luke Corwin,, Michael Dowding, Robert Corey, Xinhua Bai
- Type: Contributed
- We present the results of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and the Conceptual Survey in Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) in introductory calculus-based physics courses at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, which is a small engineering-focused university that requires all students to take at least one semester of introductory physics. Specifically, we evaluate which concepts we are teaching well and which we are not; whether active learning techniques, such as Think-Pair-Share, improve student learning; correlations between grades and concept inventory scores; and how student attendance of recitation and labs is correlated with learning outcomes. We conclude with our plans for how to use these results to improve our teaching methods and techniques.
Exploring the E-CLASS Using Item Response Theory
- DG08
- Mon 01/20, 4:10PM - 4:20PM
by Anne Wang,, Marcos Caballero, Rachel Henderson
- Type: Contributed
- Traditional physics laboratory courses at Michigan State University (MSU) were transformed into the Design, Analysis, Tools, and Apprenticeship Lab (DATA Lab) two-course sequence as a response to the national call for a focus on practices and skills within the physics laboratory context. In order to measure how well students’ views align with expert-like views of experimental physics, the Colorado Learning Attitudes and Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS) was developed. Analysis using Item Response Theory (IRT), a psychometric paradigm for constructing, validating, and analyzing surveys, will be presented to comment on how the E-CLASS items contribute to the assessment. With respect to the set of learning goals from the MSU DATA Lab courses, results show that the majority of the items on the E-CLASS are reliable for each of the learning goals.
Development of an Instrument Designed to Measure Student Reasoning*
- DG09
- Mon 01/20, 4:20PM - 4:30PM
by Brianna Santangelo,, Mila Kryjevskaia, Alexey Leontyev
- Type: Contributed
- One of the goals of physics instruction is to help students develop reasoning skills in the context of physics. Since conceptual understanding is required to reason productively, it is challenging to design an assessment tool that solely focuses on student reasoning. To address this challenge, we have been developing sequences of screening-target questions: screening questions probe conceptual understanding, while target questions require students to apply this understanding in situations that present reasoning challenges. The level of consistency between responses to screening and target questions is used to make inferences about students’ reasoning skills. We will discuss pre- and post-test performance on these sequences of screening-target questions and the inferences that can be drawn about students’ development of reasoning skills in the context of physics.
Understanding Parameters Affecting the Accuracy of Machine Learning Algorithms
- DG10
- Mon 01/20, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
by John Stewart,, Seth DeVore, Jie Yang
- Type: Contributed
- Machine learning algorithms represent an exciting new class of quantitative methods to understand physics classes and students. Recent work has applied these algorithms to understand physics major retention to degree and the risk factors influencing success in introductory physics. This talk will explore some of the requirements of successfully applying these algorithms including required sample sizes, optimal test/training dataset sizes, and review various methods of characterizing the quality of the models produced. We will also explore the issues of unbalanced independent and dependent variables and the requirements for the accurate use of categorical variables.
PER: Curriculum and Instruction
Creating Instructional Content: Tools and Best Practices to Optimize Workflow
- BD01
- Sun 01/19, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
by Zachary Felker,, Tom Zhang, Geoffrey Garrido, David Wright, Zhongzhou Chen
- Type: Contributed
- Our group has created multiple sequences of mastery-based online modules for a calculus-based introductory mechanics course. To overcome the challenges of collaborative creation of instructional resources—such as ensuring that the individual contributions of group members can be effectively integrated into a coherent finished product—we utilized a set of free software tools and established best practices to optimize our workflow. Learning modules were implemented on an open-source platform, Obojobo. Git, Slack, and OneNote were used to facilitate communication and achieve effective version control. Inkscape was used to quickly create aesthetically pleasing figures with uniform quality and style, despite varying levels of artistic talent among group members. We also found that, contrary to expectations, a rigorous team hierarchy was not beneficial for productivity. In fact, the group operated most productively when priorities were set and tasks were assigned as a result of discussion and consensus rather than oversight.
Examining Affordances and Limitations of Resources-oriented Instructional Materials for Wave Propagation
- BD02
- Sun 01/19, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
by Lisa Goodhew,, Lauren Bauman, Amy Robertson, Paula Heron, Rachel Scherr
- Type: Contributed
- Many research-based instructional materials in physics have been informed by investigations of students’ common misunderstandings, misconceptions, or difficulties – that is, ways in which student ideas are inconsistent with canonical understandings. Our research team is in the early stages of developing instructional materials that elicit and build on common conceptual resources for understanding physics. In this talk, we will use classroom video to highlight some affordances and limitations of resource-oriented materials on mechanical pulse propagation.
Promoting Theory-Evidence Coordination through Scaffolded Question Prompts*
- BD03
- Sun 01/19, 3:50PM - 4:00PM
by Kathleen Koenig,, Krista Wood, Lei Bao
- Type: Contributed
- Theory-evidence coordination (TEC) is an integrative reasoning framework that incorporates student prior knowledge (personal theories) with empirical data and scientific theories as part of the knowledge-generation process. It includes reflection on pre-existing beliefs and seeking those more plausible, particularly in light of inconsistent evidence. This presentation will describe an introductory college physics lab curriculum, Inquiry for Student Thinking and Reasoning (iSTAR), which was developed using the TEC framework as its foundation. A set of question prompts, which guide students through the TEC process during each inquiry cycle, will be showcased along with their impact on student writing of evidence-based claims.
Three Approaches for Designing Physics Activities
- BD04
- Sun 01/19, 4:00PM - 4:10PM
by Amin Bayat Barooni,, Joshua Von Korff, Brian Thoms, Zeynep Topdemir, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Contributed
- In this study, we coded 66 research-based activities from 11 distinct curricula and used K-means cluster analysis to identify themes in activity design. Our results suggest three approaches to instructional design among the selected curricula. By comparing our codes with the goals instructional designers described in interviews, we described the clusters as: Thinking Like a Scientist, Learning Concepts, and Building Models. These three clusters address different design goals. Activities in the Thinking Like a Scientist cluster mainly focus on student experimental design, producing spoken representations, and qualifications. Activities in the Learning Concepts cluster focus on observations and predictions. Activities in the Building Models cluster focus on physics or math questions that do not use data from measurements or observation and involve producing spoken representations. Our results support instructors who want to design their own lab activities by demonstrating methods that align with various instructional goals.
The Role of Physics Curriculum in Students' Core Competence
- BD05
- Sun 01/19, 4:10PM - 4:20PM
- by Zixin Xiao,
- Type: Contributed
- With the development of economy and society, core competence education has become the consensus in educational community. Physics is the earliest ancestor of natural science, so the study of Core competence of physics subject is significant. The purpose of the study is to explore whether there are differences in the influence of physics curriculum on the internal dimensions of core competence of physics subject. Our research adopts one-group pre-test-post-test design. We did pre-test and post-test with 156 samples. The questionnaire was designed by our researchers according to other relevant literature and PISA test. Our research showed that there are differences in the influence of physics curriculum on the internal dimensions of core competence of physics subject. We can administer more surveys to investigate the reasons behind the result in the future.
Instructional Pragmatism: Using a Variety of Evidence-Based Approaches Flexibly to Improve Student Learning
- BD06
- Sun 01/19, 4:20PM - 4:30PM
by Chandralekha Singh, Paul Justice
- Type: Contributed
- Instructional pragmatism is essential for successfully adopting and adapting evidence-based active engagement (EBAE) approaches in that instructors should view improving teaching and learning as a process and not get disheartened if a particular EBAE approach does not produce the desired outcome. Instructional pragmatism entails keeping a variety of EBAE methods in one’s instructional toolbox and using them flexibly as needed to improve student learning and continuously refining and tweaking one’s implementation of the EBAE approaches to make them effective. Here we illustrate an example of instructional pragmatism in which a quantum mechanics instructor did not give up when an EBAE method involving implementation of a sequence of clicker questions on addition of angular momentum did not yield expected learning outcomes even though it was found effective earlier. Instead, the instructor remained optimistic, viewing improving teaching and learning as a process, and pulled out another EBAE method from his tool box that did not require him to spend more time on this topic in class. In particular, the instructor created an opportunity for students to productively struggle with the same problems they had not performed well on by incentivizing them to correct their mistakes out of class. Student performance on one of the addition of angular momentum problems posed on the final exam suggests that students who corrected their mistakes benefited from the task and learned about addition of angular momentum better than those who did not correct their mistakes. Encouraging and supporting physics instructors to embrace instructional pragmatism can go a long way in helping students learn physics because it is likely to increase their persistence in using various EBAE approaches flexibly as they refine and tweak their implementation for their students. We thank the National Science Foundation for support.
Instructors’ Purposeful Modifications to Group Work: The Case of SCALE-UP at Nine Institutions
- BD07
- Sun 01/19, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
by Erin Scanlon,, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Contributed
- Numerous studies describe the effectiveness of research-based instructional strategies (RBIS) in STEM courses, but many of these studies are predicated on the assumption that instructors implement the RBIS exactly as intended by the developers. However, instructors modify the RBIS to suit their needs and local constraints. The purpose of this study was to investigate how instructors from nine institutions modified their use of SCALE-UP (Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-Down Pedagogies) and the reasons they cite for these modifications. We implemented the Modification Identification Framework to classify changes discussed by participants during interviews and identified 107 unique modifications related to group work. We then implemented Revealed Causal Mapping to investigate participants’ mental models related to their modifications and created causal maps. In this talk, we will present the most common categories of group work changes and the reasons for those changes highlighted by the aggregated revealed causal maps.
Research in Students’ Understanding of Basis in the Context of Spin-1/2 Quantum Systems
- BD08
- Sun 01/19, 4:40PM - 4:50PM
by Homeyra Sadaghiani,, Benjamin Schermerhorn, Lucas Corsiglia, Steven Pollock, Gina Passante
- Type: Contributed
- Depending on the information we would like to readily obtain from a given state, we may choose to represent a quantum mechanical state in a variety of different bases. Students’ ability to recognize the need and the processes for changing basis is important and allows them to easily predict certain experimental outcomes. Our preliminary interventions show that many upper-division undergraduate physics students interpret changing the basis as creating a new quantum state and have a number of difficulties completing the related mathematical processes. In this talk we describe the research process in the development and implementation of a tutorial that (1) connects a quantum basis change to the rotation of two-dimensional vectors and (2) makes an analogy to coordinate system choice in classical mechanics. We share student feedback from the first implementations in fall 2018 and further describe the revisions and additions made for future implementations.
Investigating the Effects of Short-Term Mindfulness Sessions on Student Learning
- BD09
- Sun 01/19, 4:50PM - 5:00PM
by Rabindra Bajracharya,, Cade Hensley, Danielle Plutino, Daniel Marsh
- Type: Contributed
- The effects of mindfulness on an individual's mind-body have been studied in multiple disciplines including psychology and medicine. Many K-12 schools have already started to implement mindfulness practices in their curricula to foster teaching and learning practices. We are investigating the effects of short-term mindfulness sessions on students’ learning processes in physics including reading, responding to conceptual questions, and problem solving. In each experiment, the participants were randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group. The treatment group completed a five-minute long mindfulness session, during which they were instructed to observe their breathing objectively. After the mindfulness sessions, both the groups read either powerpoint slides, the solution to a problem, or materials from their textbook. The students then answered conceptual questions or solved problems. We present the results from the study to show whether or not short-term mindfulness sessions have any impact on students’ learning processes in physics.
A New Description of Mirror Imaging
- BD10
- Sun 01/19, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
- by Yi Ding,
- Type: Contributed
- This paper mainly deals with the principle of plane mirror imaging, imaging rules, and description methods. Middle school students have some misunderstandings and improper statements about mirror imaging. But some scenarios involved in the explanation process are not well understood by them. We propose a new description method to help students better understand the knowledge of plane mirror image.
PER: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Training Instructors in Universal Design for Learning
- CF01
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 11:40AM
by Westley James,, Sacha Cartagena, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Contributed
- Students with disabilities have been an under-investigated and under-supported population in postsecondary STEM courses. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for increasing the accessibility of courses by recommending a list of “checkpoints” which identify practices that can support the variability of learners. To address the course barriers students with disabilities experience, we provided training to physics instructors about students with disabilities and UDL. These instructors identified and implemented practices to increase accessibility in one of the introductory physics courses they taught. At the end of the course, we interviewed the instructors and their students about how course content was presented, engaged with, and evaluated in order to document UDL-aligned practices the instructor implemented. In this presentation we will present the UDL checkpoints that were represented by the documented practices, and whether the practices were reported as beneficial, neutral, or negative by instructors and students.
Analyzing Discussions of Underrepresentation of Women*
- CF02
- Mon 01/20, 11:40AM - 11:50AM
by Ben Archibeque,, Zahra Hazari, Raina Khatri, Geoff Potvin, Robynne Lock
- Type: Contributed
- In-class discussions of underrepresentation have been found to increase women's interest in physics and their physics identities. Qualitatively understanding these conversations and their evolution might offer insight into what instructors can do to bolster women’s physics identities and interests. To investigate, we recorded two sections of an experienced high school physics teacher implementing a lesson about the underrepresentation of women in physics developed for the STEP UP project. We will present an analysis of students’ argument hedging and warranting during this discussion
Increasing Growth Mindset with a Brief, Interactive, Classroom-based Intervention*
- CF03
- Mon 01/20, 11:50AM - 12:00PM
by Stephanie Sedberry,, Ian Beatty, William Gerace, Maha Elobeid, Jason Strickhouser
- Type: Contributed
- A convincing body of research indicates that psychosocial constructs such as self-efficacy, growth mindset, and perceived academic control predict and affect student performance, persistence, and success in STEM. Interventions designed to increase these factors have proven particularly effective for women and underrepresented minorities. As a part of an NSF-funded project, we have developed and honed a 30-minute interactive, classroom-based intervention aimed at improving students' STEM self-efficacy. Through a combination of short video presentations, live discussions, and short writing prompts, the intervention teaches students about the scientific basis of “growth mindset,” stresses the importance of “productive struggle” for getting smarter, and suggests some concrete strategies students can try to take control of their learning and turn struggles into successes. A quasi-experimental study at three universities (n = 853) showed that the intervention significantly increases students’ growth mindset, although impacts on self-efficacy and course grades were not statistically significant.
Statistics and Student Perception on Gendered Performance in Introductory Courses
- CF04
- Mon 01/20, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
by Matthew Dew,, Tatiana Erukhimova, Jonathan Perry, Lewis Ford
- Type: Contributed
- Previous studies have shown evidence of a gender gap in performance in introductory physics courses for conceptual assessments, course grades, exams, and homework. It is not currently known, however, whether the gender gap for in-course tasks are a transient or persistent effect over a whole term. This study explores potential factors between gender and performance in the calculus-based and algebra-based introductory physics course sequences at Texas A&M University for multiple faculty who taught between 2008-2018. Investigation of these potential factors is done using analysis of variance, regression, and other statistical methods. By examining the performance of students during the entire term, we may better understand the gender gap in introductory physics. This study also presents student perception of gender’s effect on performance from the calculus and algebra-based courses during the fall 2019 semester.
A Collaborative Poetic Analysis of a Metaphor for Success in Physics
- CF05
- Mon 01/20, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
by Brian Zamarripa Roman,, Amy Vary Schwandes, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Contributed
- Success in PER is usually associated with students getting degrees and high grades, however not much qualitative research explores the concept as conceptualized by students. We analyzed metaphors of success in physics provided by female physics students;however, during the member checking of the metaphor interpretations, some participants noted the interpretations lacked their intended emotions. To center emotions, the researchers (B.Z.R. & J.J.C.) collaborated with a participant-researcher (A.V.S.) and conducted a poetic analysis of her metaphor of success in physics as a dandelion. The poetic analysis consisted of representing the transcript as a poem and interpreting the metaphor with Ricouer’s hermeneutic phenomenology which considers the expression’s context and possible interpretations. The poetic analysis revealed themes of expressions of hope in the face of negative messaging from professors, the possibility of success in other domains of physics, and the value of providing space for participants to express themselves.
Discourse Moves and a Teacher’s Dilemmas: Using a SocioPolitical Topic in Physics
- CF07
- Mon 01/20, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Clausell Mathis,, Victor Kasper, Sherry Southerland
- Type: Contributed
- In an effort to create more inclusive and equitable physics classrooms, the primary goal for this study is to systematically examine an attempt to incorporate a culturally relevant approach (CITE) to physics instruction in a classroom serving largely African American learners. For this, a lesson focusing on the sociopolitical topic was designed and enacted to respond to students’ experiences and interests. The resulting classroom discourse was analyzed using a discourse analysis framework developed by Grinath & Southerland (2018) that focuses on student talk and teacher discourse moves. Additionally, the teacher moves during this discussion were examined to explore the dilemmas the teacher encountered using Windschitl’s (2002) framework of dilemmas. Data collection included observations, field notes, and semi-structured interviews. Results suggest that the physics teacher showed ambition and inclusivity in her discourse moves. The teacher also encountered pedagogical, conceptual, and political dilemmas as she navigated the discussion to connect with students’ norms.
STEP UP: Time Series Structure of Students’ Physics Identity Development*
- CF08
- Mon 01/20, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
by Hemeng Cheng,, Geoff Potvin, Raina Khatri, Zahra Hazari, Laird Kramer
- Type: Contributed
- As part of the STEP UP project, we developed two lessons for high school physics teachers to encourage women to pursue physics degrees in college. Students completed an identical attitudinal survey to probe their physics identity, including sub-constructs (recognition, interest, performance/competence, and utility) and future physics intentions before and after each lesson. This talk will present a time series model to understand the longitudinal development of students’ physics identity sub-constructs and future intention beliefs. Recognition belief is found to play a significant role in the path of physics identity and future intentions formation. We also use a Multi-group Structural Equation Modeling approach to compare the model between different gender and race/ethnic groups.
Cultural Intersections: Gender and Physics Identity of Muslim Women Physicists
- CF09
- Mon 01/20, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
by Saeed Moshfeghyeganeh,, Zahra Hazari
- Type: Contributed
- While women are underrepresented in physics programs in the U.S., in many Muslim majority (MM) countries women constitute more than half of the students in physics programs. In order to better understand the intersection between gender and physics identities in U.S. and MM cultures, we used a phenomenological approach through interviews with Muslim women physicists. The goal was to explore the lived experiences of these women who were trained in MM countries and also experienced physics programs/departments in the U.S. We present hypotheses that emerged from this study and highlight the effects of culture on the development of a physics identity for women and subsequent persistence in the field.
Survey-based Investigation of Post-secondary Physics Instructor Use of Inclusive Teaching Practices
- CF10
- Mon 01/20, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
by Jacquelyn Chini,, Erin Scanlon , Daniel Oleynik
- Type: Contributed
- Students with disabilities are underrepresented in STEM, comprising only 10% of employed scientists and engineers. This is likely because post-secondary institutions are not designed to support these students and faculty lack awareness of and training ininclusive teaching practices which support learner variation without requiring individual accommodations. It is important to note that the impact of inclusive teaching practices is to reduce, not to eliminate, individual access needs. We modified the Inclusive Teaching Strategies Inventory (ITSI) to increase its validity for STEM instructors. We used our modified ITSI to investigate physics instructors’ views about and use of inclusive teaching practices by recruiting practicing STEM professionals and students from American Physical Society Division and Section meetings. In this talk, we present preliminary findings about strategies that instructors frequently identified as important/not-important and strategies they self-identified as using/not using.
People Like Me:Intersectional Identity Development in a Physics LA Program
- CF11
- Mon 01/20, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
by Xandria Quichocho,, Jessica Conn, Erin Schipull, Eleanor Close
- Type: Contributed
- Identity development is critical to student retention in physics degree programs. Historically, studies on physics identity and student retention in Physics Education Research have largely ignored the unique experiences of women of color and LGBTQ+ women. We use a blended theoretical framework of Communities of Practice and Hyater-Adams et al.’s Critical Physics Identity to analyze interviews with women of color and LGBTQ+ women in the Texas State University physics program, all of whom had experience in the Physics Learning Assistant (LA) program. When asked to describe elements supporting their success in physics, all interview subjects named the LA program. Through the narrative analysis of these interviews we examine the effects and impact the LA program has on multiply-marginalized students. We will present data highlighting the academic and social programmatic elements of the LA program that aid in the physics identity development, physics community participation, and academic success of these students.
PER: Student Content Understanding, Problem-Solving and Reasoning
Developing a Strategy to Address Physics Students’ Mathematical Difficulties*
- GC01
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by David Meltzer,, Dakota King
- Type: Contributed
- We report preliminary plans to address mathematical difficulties revealed in our four-year investigation of students in introductory physics courses. We have administered over 5000 written diagnostic tests in algebra- and calculus-based physics courses, and carried out many individual problem-solving interviews. We have previously reported that difficulties with basic mathematical operations are widespread, and that performance on problems using symbols for constants is consistently and significantly worse than on problems using numbers. In collaboration with Ohio State University, we are working to develop and test an online instructional tool that will provide opportunities for regular, targeted practice to address these difficulties. We have refined our diagnostic tool to explore the distinction between specific operational difficulties on the one hand, and difficulties arising from context complexity on the other. We will report our most recent findings and describe how they inform our initial instructional strategies.
Physics Students’ Mathematical Difficulties with Operations and Algebra*
- GC02
- Tue 01/21, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
by Dakota King,, David Meltzer
- Type: Contributed
- As part of an investigation into students’ mathematical difficulties, over 5000 written diagnostics have been administered to both algebra- and calculus-based introductory physics courses at Arizona State University over the past four years. We continue to observe that many of these students have significant difficulties with basic symbolic algebra problems (“symbolic” refers to the nature of the constant coefficients). Such problems require mathematical skill that is essential to solving many problems encountered in introductory physics. New to our most recent versions of the diagnostic are questions that test students’ operational skills necessary for solving multi-step algebra problems; for example, fraction multiplication and division. In addition, our newest version of the diagnostic has been administered at another large state university. We will report an overview of our most-recent findings with comparisons to the other university, and provide data on our detailed analysis of the algebra and operation problems.
Practice with Dysfunctional Avatar-student Groups in a Mixed-reality Classroom Simulator
- GC03
- Tue 01/21, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
by Constance Doty,, Ashley Geraets, Tong Wan, Erin Saitta, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Contributed
- Undergraduate active-learning STEM recitation and laboratory courses often adopt curricula that encourage or require students to work in small groups. However, not all student groups function as intended by the curricula or course designer and group management is a complex pedagogical skill. In this study, STEM graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) participated in four practice teaching sessions in a mixed-reality classroom simulator. During one of the practice teaching sessions, GTAs practiced group management skills with the goal of ensuring each avatar-student was contributing their ideas and disagreements were being addressed by the avatar-student group. The simulated classroom featured two avatar-student groups with varied student difficulties and group management related challenges. The GTAs interacted with the two groups for two seven-minute sessions, with a break for reflection and feedback. Here, we discuss the strategies a few GTAs used to support the avatar-student groups before and after receiving feedback from facilitators.
Building on Student Resources for Understanding Mechanical Wave Propagation: Examples from Classroom Video
- GC04
- Tue 01/21, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
by Lauren Bauman,, Lisa Goodhew, Amy Robertson, Paula Heron, Rachel Scherr
- Type: Contributed
- Resource theory depicts resources as dynamic, context-dependent “pieces of knowledge” and learning as building from students’ resources. In line with resource theory, we developed research-based instructional materials meant to elicit and build on commonconceptual resources for mechanical wave propagation. In this talk, we will investigate the following questions: What does building on students’ resources look like? What contextual and interactional features support students in this process? To answer these questions, we will look at an example from classroom video, where students are building on and working with their conceptual resources for understanding mechanical wave propagation.
Investigating Student Reasoning in Theory Evidence Coordination*
- GC05
- Tue 01/21, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
by Krista Wood,, Kathleen Koenig, Lei Bao
- Type: Contributed
- Scientific thinking involves making connections between claims, evidence, and reasoning. Often students struggle making valid claims, supporting claims with evidence, and explaining their reasoning. In a preliminary study, we investigated the reasoning processes students engaged in when given both a hypothetical physics-based and non-physics based task. In our data analysis, we specifically looked for how students developed self-generated theories, any differences in how claims were made based on the context of the physics versus non-physics task, and to what extent students were able to support their claim with evidence. We will present the results on how students evaluate evidence, what reasoning flaws occurred when connecting claims with evidence, and provide a finer grain analysis of the student reasoning process.
Modelling via Experiment
- GC06
- Tue 01/21, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
- by Ian Bearden,
- Type: Contributed
- Labs are often thought of as an opportunity for students to reinforce the knowledge they are expected to have learned in lectures. While there is little evidence that this actually happens, there are a number of other educational opportunities provided by experimental activities. Among these is the opportunity to use student developed apparatus for simple experimental tests to probe their understanding of the physics they are trying to test. In particular, such discussions quickly unmask student difficulties modelling simple physical systems. This talk will focus on one activity focused on students’ testing the dependence of a pendulum’s period on various testable factors.
Opinions of Working in a Group: Positive and Nuanced
- GC07
- Tue 01/21, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
- by Miranda Straub,
- Type: Contributed
- I will present on the results of a survey sent to post-secondary physics instructors in Minnesota regarding their beliefs about group work. Group work here was set in the context of working on homework outside of class or obligation. The survey respondents were overwhelmingly positive (88%) about the benefits of working in a group but most (79%) had reservations about how the group work should be done. The most cited drawback was an unequal distribution of work. I concluded that the implications of this portion of the survey in the larger context of problem-solving was the instructors believe it is necessary for students to talk about their ideas as part of successful problem-solving.
Impact of Multiple Practices in a Mixed-reality Teaching Simulator
- GC08
- Tue 01/21, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
by Ashley Geraets,, Constance Doty, Tong Wan, Jacquelyn Chini, Erin Saitta
- Type: Contributed
- STEM graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are often assigned to lead laboratory, discussion, or recitation sections as part of their teaching assignments. Often, these GTAs receive little formal training regarding teaching before they interact with their students. In this study, STEM GTAs participated in a mixed-reality teaching simulator which provided them an opportunity to practice evidence-based pedagogical skills including cold-calling and error framing in a low-risk environment. As part of their professional development, GTAs teaching in the Spring 2019 and Fall 2019 semesters rehearsed cold calling and error framing in the simulator; four GTAs practiced these skills in both semesters. We conducted classroom observations following the practice in the simulator in both semesters. Here we will discuss the impact of multiple practice of the teaching skills cold-calling and error framing during the simulator session and subsequent in-class observations.
Evaluating Impact of Teaching in a Mixed-reality Classroom Simulator on GTAs’ Teaching Practices
- GC09
- Tue 01/21, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
by Tong Wan,, Constance Doty, Ashley Geraets, Erin Saitta, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Contributed
- Studies show that graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) who participate in the same training program can vary substantially in the extent to which they implement essential pedagogical practices; this variation suggests more effective GTA training is needed. In this study, we evaluate the impact of rehearsing teaching skills in a classroom simulator on GTAs’ classroom practices. GTAs in an introductory physics course rehearsed particular pedagogical skills with avatar-students in a mixed-reality simulator four times during a semester (about once every three weeks). In the first three activities, GTAs rehearsed specific skills: cold calling with error framing, questioning, and group management techniques. For the fourth activity, GTAs chose one of the previous skills to rehearse again. We conducted classroom observations to track changes in teaching practices of 12 GTAs. We report the extent to which GTAs implemented these skills in their classrooms and how their teaching practices evolve over the semester.
STEP UP: Careers in Physics Lesson*
- GC10
- Tue 01/21, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
by Raina Khatri,, Zahra Hazari, Geoff Potvin, Laird Kramer, Robynne Lock
- Type: Contributed
- As part of the STEP UP project, two lessons have been developed to help teachers to encourage the pursuit of physics in college. One lesson, focusing on Careers in Physics, builds a counternarrative in the classroom by dismantling commonly held stereotypes of what physics is and who physicists are, which then opens new possibilities for pursuing physics as a career. Students are asked to consider their own values and what they want in a career and, based on this reflection, are exposed to profiles of physics graduates working in sometimes unexpected careers (including writers, film producers, skateboarders, actuaries and more). Developed through close and long-term collaboration between high school physics teachers and education researchers, the Careers in Physics lesson has been taught in classrooms in different contexts around the country. In this talk I will provide an overview of the lesson, research supporting the efficacy, and success stories from teachers.
Students` Learning in a Physics Course on Research Skills Using Perusall
- GC11
- Tue 01/21, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
- by Mohammad AlFiky,
- Type: Contributed
- Many students tend to read the textbook like a novel, if at all. I am sharing my positive experience with using Perusall, an online platform for active reading, collaborative learning and stimulating discussions, in a physics course on Research Skills. Research Skills is 1-credit newly developed course which is taken by all physics major students with senior standing at the American University in Cairo. It covers topics such as Rayleigh algorithm, Pi theorem, and symmetry and invariants. This tool does not only engage the students and allow the instructor to locate their points of confusion, but also it uncovers subtle points of misunderstanding which are revealed only by their comments.
PERLOC
PERLOC
- COM36
- Mon 01/20, 5:00PM - 6:30PM
- by Vashti A. Sawtelle
- Type: Committee Meeting
PERTG Town Hall Meeting
PERTG Town Hall Meeting
- SPEC88
- Tue 01/21, 7:30AM - 8:30PM
- by PER PER
- Type: Event
PTRA Information Session
PTRA Information Session
- TL04
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 12:30PM
- by Mark Hannum
- Type: Event
- Come to learn more about the Physics Teacher Resource Agents (PTRA). Hear from members as they share their passions and experiences in this group.
PTRA Making Fields Real and Teaching Modern Physics
PTRA Making Fields Real and Teaching Modern Physics
- AA
- Sun 01/19, 1:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Karen Jo Matsler
- Type: other
PTRA Oversight Committee
PTRA Oversight Committee
- COM22
- Mon 01/20, 7:00AM - 8:30AM
- by Jill A. Marshall
- Type: Committee Meeting
PTRA: Helping First Year and Pre-Service Teachers
PTRA: Helping First Year and Pre-Service Teachers
- BA
- Sun 01/19, 3:00PM - 4:30PM
- by Sharon Kirby
- Type: other
- Make and take activities designed to offer beginning teachers options to catch and hold their students interest and excitement.
Perspectives on Environmental Science and Physics
Physics in Climate Change Education
- AE01
- Sun 01/19, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
- by Allan Feldman,
- Type: Invited
- There is an international consensus that Global Climate Change (GCC) is one of the most significant challenges we face (IPCC, 2013). Most of the causes and immediate effects of anthropogenic climate change are due to physical processes. This presentationwill identify some of those processes and ways to teach them using curriculum materials developed as part of the NSF-funded Climate Change Narrative Game Education (CHANGE) project (https://climatechange.usf.edu). The materials include an eBook with scientifically realistic text narratives and embedded simulations and games based on scientific data, and hands-on and minds-on activities. It uses a place-based approach that focuses on the built environment (G. A. Smith, 2007). CHANGE has been shown to be affective in increasing students’ knowledge of climate change science, and to effect changes in their beliefs about the causes of GCC (Feldman, Smith, Nation, & Besalti, 2017; G. G. Smith, Besalti, Nation, Feldman, & Laux, 2019).
No Longer a “Guessing Science”: Incorporating Physics into Meteorology
- AE02
- Sun 01/19, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
- by Kristine Harper,
- Type: Invited
- Even into the early 20th century, meteorology remained more in the realm of natural history, field sciences dependent upon observations in nature, than the newly defined 19th century “sciences” that depended upon mathematics. Indeed, while natural history topics such as zoology, botany, geology, and meteorology were trying to become sciences throughout the 19th century, their lack of mathematical rigor made them a punching bag for physicists who wanted to make sure that “real” science was “hard” (mathematical) science. Nevertheless, a handful of men were trying to take advantage of the new data available from nascent national weather services and develop a theoretical basis for meteorology. Not much progress was made until a Norwegian physicist, Vilhelm Bjerknes, frustrated by the lack of opportunity in his original research field of electronic resonance, turned his sights to fields he considered appropriate targets for his synthesis of thermodynamics and hydrodynamics: meteorology and oceanography.
Sea Level Rise Report 2
- AE03
- Sun 01/19, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Celia Chow,
- Type: Invited
- A continuation of Report 1 presided at AAPTSM19.
Communicating about Climate Change and Environment through an Interdisciplinary Lens
- AE04
- Sun 01/19, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
- by Joseph Kozminski,
- Type: Contributed
- Developing scientific communication skills is a critical component of the physics laboratory curriculum. These skills, which include making evidence-based conclusions and recommendations based on research findings and disseminating them appropriately, are highly transferable to other fields like environmental science and climate science. While evidence for human-induced climate change is unequivocal, a multi-disciplinary message may reach more people than presenting just the scientific data and findings. Climate change has environmental, societal, health, economic, political, and justice implications. The changing climate will impact coastlines, habitats, ecosystems, the weather, food production, and public health to name a few, and vulnerable populations will be adversely impacted at a disproportionately higher rate. Moreover, adaptation and mitigation efforts, often grounded in science, have societal, economic, and political sides. An interdisciplinary approach is needed to find innovative solutions to slow climate change and mitigate its impacts and to communicate with people about the realities of climate change.
Physics Bowl Advisory Committee
Physics Bowl Advisory Committee
- COM10
- Mon 01/20, 7:30AM - 8:30AM
- by Jon Anderson
- Type: Committee Meeting
Physics Education Conference from Around the World
Local vs. Global: The Role of International Physics Education Conferences
- CH01
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 12:00PM
- by Katemari Rosa,
- Type: Invited
- Is teaching physics the same everywhere? There is a widespread idea that physics is inherently international because science works the same way, independently of our geographical location. In this talk, I will argue this colonial mindset can refrain physics educators to increase communication across borders. As a consequence, this hinders our potential to develop better physics teaching practices that could be culturally relevant for our students. Finally, I will discuss how international conferences can help us better understand our local contexts.
Professional Development of Emerging Education Researchers Around the World
- CH02
- Mon 01/20, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
by Scott Franklin,, Eleanor Sayre, Mary Bridget Kustusch
- Type: Invited
- Quite serendipitously, a collaborative research field school designed to foster work on student metacognition has revealed a broad international interest in professional development for emerging education researchers. Since 2015 we have conducted development workshops in Rwanda, Mexico, Germany, and British Columbia aimed at audiences that range from graduate students to senior faculty looking to change their research focus. PEER (Professional-development for Emerging Education Researchers) is a flexible model that adapts to local interests and constraints, and has proven its ability to generate meaningful partnerships and scholarship in the different environments. I will discuss the guiding principles of PEER and how they manifest in the radically different contexts the different countries bring.
AAPT and GIREP: Synergies and Opportunities
- CH03
- Mon 01/20, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
- by Stamatis Vokos,
- Type: Invited
- Groupe International de Recherche sur l’Enseignement de la Physique (GIREP) is an international society that promotes knowledge exchange on research in physics teaching at all levels. GIREP organizes annual conferences (often in connection with the European Physical Society, the International Commission on Physics Education, and the Multimedia in Physics Teaching and Learning Group), offers seminars, and publishes proceedings and special topical volumes. Through a reciprocal registration agreement, AAPT members can attend GIREP meetings at member rates. Eight Thematic Groups (Evaluation of Learning and Instruction, The Learning and Teaching of Energy, Mathematics in Physics Education, Innovative Pedagogical Methods for University Physics, Physics Education Research in University, Problem Solving in Physics Textbooks, Strategies for Active Learning, and Physics Preparation of Teachers in Grades K-6) organize workshops and symposia at meetings. In this talk, specific examples of opportunities for AAPT members to engage with GIREP will be presented.
Physics Education Research
Building Partnerships Between Learning Assistants and Faculty by Leveraging Authentic LA Expertise*
- PST1D01
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Jamia Whitehorn,, Ember Smith, Mel Sabella, Andrea Van Duzor
- Type: Poster
- The Learning Assistant (LA) Model involves undergraduate students as peer support in STEM classrooms. In one component of the LA Model, faculty meet with their LAs and have the opportunity to discuss content, think about student understanding, develop instructional materials, and much more. These sessions are opportunities to engage LAs in collaborative partnerships where LAs are authentic members of an instructional team. In this poster we talk about the affordances of collaborative partnerships, discuss instructional power shifts from instructor to LA, and present resources to support LA-faculty teams in moving toward collaboration.
Apparatus for Demonstration of Acoustic Bubble Levitation in Water
- PST1D03
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Mikaela Furman,, Murray Korman
- Type: Poster
- An apparatus has been built at the USNA to demonstrate that with a sufficiently large amplitude sound wave it is possible to levitate an air bubble in water. The levitation cell is a 15 cm cubic acrylic tank (3.2 mm wall thickness) filled to 9 cm. A standing wave with a pressure node at the surface, bottom and near the middle is generated by four end-capped 17 KHz cylindrical shell transducers secured on the underside of the tank. The transducer resonant frequency is matched to the standing wave resonance in the open tank. A 17 KHz monopole resonant bubble has a radius of 0.19 mm. If the bubble radius > 0.19 mm (where the bubble resonate frequency < 17 kHz of the sound), then the bubble will levitate slightly above the pressure node in the middle of the tank. The oscillator, amplifier, and impedance matching circuits are vital electronic components.
Increasing Growth Mindset with a Brief, Interactive, Classroom-based Intervention*
- PST1D05
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Stephanie Sedberry,, Ian Beatty, William Gerace, Maha Elobeid, Jason Strickhouser
- Type: Poster
- A convincing body of research indicates that psychosocial constructs such as self-efficacy, growth mindset, and perceived academic control predict and affect student performance, persistence, and success in STEM. Interventions designed to increase these factors have proven particularly effective for women and underrepresented minorities. As a part of an NSF-funded project, we have developed and honed a 30-minute interactive, classroom-based intervention aimed at improving students' STEM self-efficacy. Through a combination of short video presentations, live discussions, and short writing prompts, the intervention teaches students about the scientific basis of “growth mindset,” stresses the importance of “productive struggle” for getting smarter, and suggests some concrete strategies students can try to take control of their learning and turn struggles into successes. A quasi-experimental study at three universities (n = 853) showed that the intervention significantly increases students’ growth mindset, although impacts on self-efficacy and course grades were not statistically significant.
A Comparison of Flipped Versus Traditional Teaching of College Physics
- PST1D09
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Donald Walter,, Eugene Kennedy, Jennifer Cash, Nikunja Swain
- Type: Poster
- We previously implemented the flipped approach to teaching calculus-based physics (University Physics) at South Carolina State University, a HBCU located in Orangeburg, SC. In the fall of 2019 we piloted a similar approach with algebra based physics. Aninstructor is teaching two sections of the same course. One is presented in the traditional lecture format with some in-class problem solving as the “control” group. The other is taught by the flipped method. Earlier we created over 250 short videos on mathematical and physics topics. Students in the flipped section are required to view these videos and other resources prior to lecture and take an online quiz before class. The flipped class receives only a short review of the topics and spends the rest of the period working on problems interactively. We present our preliminary results comparing the two methods.
Validation and Administration of a Conceptual Survey on the Formalism and Postulates of Quantum Mechanics
- PST1D11
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Chandralekha Singh, Emily Marshman
- Type: Poster
- We developed and validated a conceptual survey that focuses on the formalism and postulates of quantum mechanics covered in upper-level undergraduate quantum mechanics courses. We describe the validation and administration of the survey, which has been administered to over 400 upper-level undergraduate and graduate students from six institutions. The QMFPS is valid and reliable for use as a low-stakes test to measure the effectiveness of instruction in an undergraduate quantum mechanics course that covers relevant content. The survey can also be used by instructors to identify students’ understanding of the formalism and postulates of quantum mechanics at the beginning and end of a graduate quantum mechanics course since graduate students are expected to have taken an undergraduate quantum mechanics course that covers the content included in the survey. We found that undergraduate students who engaged with research-validated learning tools performed better than students who did not on the QMFPS after the first semester of a junior/senior level quantum mechanics course. In addition, the performance of graduate students on QMFPS after instruction in the first semester of a core graduate-level quantum mechanics course was significantly better than the performance of undergraduate students at the end of the first semester of an undergraduate quantum mechanics course. We thank the National Science Foundation for support.
Investigating and Improving Student Understanding of the Basics for a System of Non-Interacting Identical Particles
- PST1D13
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Chandralekha Singh, Christof Keebaugh, Emily Marshman
- Type: Poster
- We discuss an investigation of upper-level and graduate students' difficulties with fundamental concepts involving a system of identical particles. The investigation was carried out in advanced quantum mechanics courses by administering free-response andmultiple-choice questions and conducting individual interviews with students. We find that students share many common difficulties related to these concepts. We describe how the research on student difficulties was used as a guide to develop and evaluate a Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) which strives to help students develop a functional understanding of the concepts necessary for determining the many-particle Hamiltonian and stationary state wavefunctions for a system of non-interacting identical particles. We discuss the development of the identical particles QuILT and its evaluation in undergraduate and graduate courses that focused on these issues.
The Coming Revolution in Physics and Engineering Education - Computational Calculus
- PST1D15
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
- by William Flannery,
- Type: Poster
- The laws governing physical processes are written as differential equations. Wiki reveals what I call the universities’ little secret: -“Only the simplest differential equations are solvable by explicit formulas; however, some properties of solutions of a given differential equation may be determined without finding their exact form. If a closed-form expression for the solution is not available, the solution may be numerically approximated using computers.” The simplest way to numerically approximate a solution to a differential equation is Euler’s method. It is based on one formula, distance equals velocity times time. Euler’s method can be taught to high school science students with no prior exposure to calculus in a single one-hour lecture. The poster explores how Euler’s method can be used to solve problems in central force motion, electric circuit analysis, and 2D rigid body dynamics.
Exploring the E-CLASS Using Item Response Theory
- PST1D17
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Anne Wang,, Marcos Caballero, Rachel Henderson
- Type: Poster
- Traditional physics laboratory courses at Michigan State University (MSU) were transformed into the Design, Analysis, Tools, and Apprenticeship Lab (DATA Lab) two-course sequence as a response to the national call for a focus on practices and skills within the physics laboratory context. In order to measure how well students’ views align with expert-like views of experimental physics, the Colorado Learning Attitudes and Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS) was developed. Analysis using Item Response Theory (IRT), a psychometric paradigm for constructing, validating, and analyzing surveys, will be presented to comment on how the E-CLASS items contribute to the assessment. With respect to the set of learning goals from the MSU DATA Lab courses, results show that the majority of the items on the E-CLASS are reliable for each of the learning goals.
The Physics of Second Chances
- PST1D19
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
- by Ethan Deneault,
- Type: Poster
- When one learns to ride a bicycle, the oft-repeated mantra is "get up and try again". In physics, especially at the undergraduate level, the mantra is much different: "do well on this test to succeed." In this latter paradigm, the student's understandingcan only be demonstrated by a singular event. Mastery of a skill, however, comes from repetition: failure and "getting back on the bike." In this poster, we present a pedagogical method which stresses repetition, in which the students' struggles and failures are recognized and realigned into opportunities for growth and better understanding of the material.
Student and Faculty Perspectives of Retention in Physics Graduate Programs
- PST1D21
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Kelli Shar,, Lindsay Owens, Benjamin Zwickl, Casey Miller
- Type: Poster
- Why do physics graduate students leave their programs? Seventeen faculty from four different institutions and 54 graduate students from 23 institutions were asked this question. Faculty discussed poor work ethic and struggles with coursework and qualifying exams as the primary reasons that graduate students leave their programs. Graduate students cited departmental culture and mentoring not meeting their expectations as well as opportunities in industry as common reasons for withdrawing from Physics Ph.D. programs. Based on this discrepancy between perspectives we recommend that faculty and students actively communicate about the underlying issues of why graduate students leave. Such discussions can aid programs in creating solutions to address issues and improve retention rates.
Building on Student Resources for Understanding Mechanical Wave Propagation: Examples from Classroom Video
- PST1D02
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Lauren Bauman,, Lisa Goodhew, Amy Robertson, Paula Heron, Rachel Scherr
- Type: Poster
- Resource theory depicts resources as dynamic, context-dependent “pieces of knowledge” and learning as building from students’ resources. In line with resource theory, we developed research-based instructional materials meant to elicit and build on commonconceptual resources for mechanical wave propagation. In this talk, we will investigate the following questions: What does building-on students’ resources look like? What contextual and interactional features support students in this process? To answer these questions, we will look at an example from classroom video, where students are building on and working with their conceptual resources for understanding mechanical wave propagation.
Classroom Demonstration of Reflective Ultrasonic Tomography Imaging in Water
- PST1D04
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Sarah Kwon,, Murray Korman
- Type: Poster
- An apparatus has been built at the USNA to demonstrate acoustic imaging. Reflective ultrasonic tomography imaging was chosen because the medical community, using photo-acoustic tomography imaging, utilizes a similar back-projection imaging algorithm. Theexperiment involves suspending an ultrasonic transducer unit of resonant frequency 2.5 MHz in an aquarium filled with water. The transducer (sender-receiver) generates a short Gaussian shaped pulse characterized by a 20% amplitude reduction two cycles from the peak. The circular plane array transducer diameter is 1 cm. Its wavelength in water is 0.6 mm (using c=1480 m/s). The half-power down angle is 20 degrees. The target, located 10 cm from the source, consists of three long vertical stainless steel rods (0.5 mm diam, separated by 2 mm). Received echoes vs. time (data sets) are measured at 2 degree rotation increments of the target (from 0 to 360 degrees) for back-projecting the 2-D image reflectance of the target.
A Rubric for Assessing Thinking Skills in Free-Response Exam Problems
- PST1D06
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Beth Thacker,, Fatema Al Salmani
- Type: Poster
- We designed a rubric to assess free-response exam problems in order to compare thinking skills evidenced in exams in classes taught by different pedagogies. The rubric was designed based on Bloom’s taxonomy. The rubric was then used to code exam problems. We analyzed exams from different sections of the algebra-based physics course taught the same semester by the same instructor with different pedagogies. One section was inquiry-based and the other was taught traditionally. We discuss the instrument, present results and present plans for future research. The inquiry-based students demonstrated all of the thinking skills coded more often than the traditional students.
Integration in Physics without Calculus. Integration for the Layman
- PST1D08
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by David Wright,, Christos Velissaris, Al-Rawi Ahlam, Zhongzhou Chen
- Type: Poster
- Integration in STEM disciplines presents a formidable task for novice students which according to our findings is due to students considering integrals as mere antiderivatives. We developed a pedagogy where solutions inhomogeneous physics problems are approximated as finite sums, eventually becoming limits of an infinite series of infinitesimally small terms (Riemann sum). In a series of worksheets inhomogeneous problems are presented to students who are being asked to derive approximate solutions as sum of partial results obtained from dividing the original problem into a number of smaller, approximately homogeneous, ones. As we increase the number of divisions, the accuracy of the solution increases and the integral is naturally emerging as a Riemann sum. No calculus is required for completion of the worksheets and the work is essentially algebra based. Recently we implemented the pedagogy on the web to facilitate disbursement and data collection in large classes.
Investigating and Improving Student Understanding of Dirac Notation By Using Analogical Reasoning In the Context of A Three-Dimensional Vector Space
- PST1D10
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Chandralekha Singh, Emily Marshman
- Type: Poster
- We discuss an investigation of student difficulties with Dirac notation in the context of a three-dimensional vector space and the development, validation and evaluation of a Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) to improve student understanding of these concepts. We find that many upper-level undergraduate students in quantum mechanics courses have difficulties with Dirac notation even in the context of a three-dimensional vector space. The QuILT uses analogical reasoning and builds on students’ prior knowledge of three-dimensional vectors in the familiar context of introductory mechanics to help students build a coherent understanding of Dirac notation in three dimensions before transitioning to the quantum mechanical context. We summarize the development of the QuILT and findings from its evaluations. We thank the National Science Foundation for support.
Investigating and Addressing Student Difficulties with the Corrections to the Energies of the Hydrogen Atom for the Strong and Weak Field Zeeman Effects
- PST1D12
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Chandralekha Singh, Christof Keebaugh, Emily Marshman
- Type: Poster
- Understanding when and how to make limiting case approximations and why they are valid in a particular situation is a hallmark of expertise in physics. Using limiting cases can simplify the problem-solving process significantly and they often provide a means to check that the results obtained are reasonable. We discuss an investigation of student difficulties with the corrections to the energy spectrum of the hydrogen atom for the limiting cases of the strong and weak field Zeeman effects using degenerate perturbation theory. This investigation was carried out in advanced quantum mechanics courses by administering written free-response and multiple-choice questions and conducting individual interviews with students. Here we first discuss the common student difficulties related to these concepts. We then describe how the research on student difficulties was used as a guide to develop and evaluate a Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) which strives to help students develop a functional understanding of the concepts necessary for finding the corrections to the energy spectrum of the hydrogen atom for the strong field and weak field Zeeman effects. The development of the QuILT and its evaluation in the undergraduate and graduate level courses are presented. We thank the National Science Foundation for support.
Active Learning in Physics: Strategies for the Community College Classroom
- PST1D14
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Petia Yanchulova Merica-Jones,, Philip Blanco, Irena Stojimirovi?
- Type: Poster
- We applied two active learning strategies - Think, Pair, Share (TPS) and Muddiest Point Feedback (MPF) - to Introductory Mechanics courses at San Diego Mesa College and Grossmont College in 2019 as part of a student-centered course redesign. We reflect on the strategies’ implementation and outcomes to understand the teaching and learning dynamics of the course. The key learning goal is for students to analyze physical situations by applying physics laws with confidence. In particular, students are asked to discern which conservation laws apply to a certain physical situation. We gather evidence of learning by relatively standard methods of quizzes, finals exams, and lab reports. We implement the ABCD card collaboration activity for instant feedback and to spark peer-to-peer instruction in the TPS strategy. We obtain prompt and authentic feedback by asking students to hand in index cards containing their MPF - a low-stakes activity giving students the permission to disclose their challenges in understanding a topic, and receive acknowledgment and tailored instruction in the following lecture. These activities foster an inclusive environment as all students are asked to participate. These approaches to a modular course transformation were prompted by the need to increase the success and retention rates in these courses, which typically are below 65%.
The Coming Revolution in Physics Education – The Finite Difference Method
- PST1D16
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
- by William Flannery,
- Type: Poster
- The finite difference method (FDM) is Euler’s method adapted to compute solutions to partial differential equations. The FDM converts by rote a partial differential equation into a computational equation that can be used to compute numerical solutions tothe equation. The FDM is simple, intuitively clear, and easily taught. The laws of physics governing heat transfer, material stress and strain, fluid dynamics, and electrodynamics, are written as partial differential equations. Like ordinary differential equations, partial equations are difficult and usually impossible to solve analytically. As a result I believe these branches of physics, with the exception of electrodynamics, are forgotten at many universities, they are completely missing from the (nearby to me) University of South Florida physics undergraduate curriculum. The poster covers the application of the finite difference method to analyzing partial differential equation models of physical processes, including the physical laws, the model derivation, applying the FDM, and results.
A Four-Pillar Approach to Teach (Radioactive) Decay
- PST1D18
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
- by Martina Bachlechner,
- Type: Poster
- To engage students in a two-year college in learning various aspects of half-life and decay, a four-pillar approach was developed: For ideal decay, (i) differently wide strips of paper are cut repeatedly in half and taped to the wall with the bottom aligned and (ii) spreadsheet software is utilized to “remove exactly one sixth or exactly one third of currently present dice” and graph the number remaining versus time. To incorporate the randomness of the radioactive decay process, (iii) a high number of dice is rolled virtually and those with a specific number of eyes are “removed.” Spreadsheet software is used to calculate the remaining number of dice, to graph the remaining number versus time, and add a trendline. The learning process is rounded off with the (iv) PhET Radioactive Dating Game that interactively visualizes the randomness of the decay process and relates it to the previously studied graphs.
Assessing a New Pedagogy for Introductory Physics Using Institutional Data
- PST1D20
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Christopher Fischer,, Jennifer Delgado, Sarah Rush
- Type: Poster
- We collaborated with our university’s office of institutional research to assess pedagogical changes in our calculus-based introductory physics courses using different sets of student data. We found that switching to a competency-based grading system in these classes reduced the drop/fail/withdrawal rates and course-associated grade penalties of under-represented minority, first generation, and female students. We separately performed a longitudinal study to identify how changing the curriculum of these physics courses affected student performance in downstream engineering courses. We found that increasing the calculus content in introductory physics correlated with higher grades earned in subsequent engineering courses, and that these downstream benefits were largest for students with lower math abilities. Taken together, these results demonstrate how instructors can use educational data sets to make improvements in their courses that specifically target improving the performance and retention of traditionally underserved populations.
Physics Education Research II
The Science of Sound: An Interdepartmental Research Collaboration
- PST2A01
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Corinne Brevik,, Jeremy Wohletz
- Type: Poster
- In the spring of 2018, Dickinson State University’s physics and music faculty partnered to create a semester-long research project focused on the “Science of Sound” for the College Physics II class. The physics curriculum was re-arranged so that studentslearned about waves and music at the beginning of the semester. They then had the rest of the semester to design and implement their research project. The entire class identified the questions they wished to answer, and then pairs of students chose individual instruments, including the piano, clarinet, and human voice, on which to focus. With the help of music majors and the music faculty, the physics students were able to collect sound data in a variety of settings that they later analyzed. This experience reinforced the fundamental concepts of experimental design, greatly strengthened the students’ knowledge of sound and waves, and created a great deal of enthusiasm for all involved.
Student Understanding and Applications of Infinity in Physics and Mathematics
- PST2A03
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Daniel Marsh,, Cade Hensley, Rabindra Bajracharya
- Type: Poster
- The concept of infinity is applied widely in various contexts in physics, particularly while implementing the limits of large quantities, such as distance, time, and mass. We are investigating how students’ deal with this concept when they solve problemsin mathematics and physics. We report results from individual semi-structured interviews with physics students, where they are required to use the concept of infinity to solve the problems. We found that students have several difficulties with the implementation and interpretation of the concept of infinity. These difficulties are due to either insufficient understanding of the underlying mathematical concept, differences in how it is interpreted and implemented in mathematics and physics, or inappropriate implementation to physics. We also found that student difficulties stem from the fact that in mathematics infinity is used as an abstract upper bound, whereas in physics it is used to quantify scales of physical quantities.
Developing a Codebook for Student Self-Feedback
- PST2A05
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Matthew Dew,, Paul Irving, Paul Hamerski, Daryl McPadden
- Type: Poster
- At Michigan State University, students may choose between a standard lecture-based physics course or a flipped classroom for their introductory calculus-based physics sequence. In Electricity and Magnetism Projects and Practices in Physics (EMP^3), the second semester flipped physics class, students are given formative feedback by their instructors on their performance every week with the aim of assessing and developing scientific practices. A third of the way into the semester, students are required to assess their performance in three categories and write feedback for themselves. For this self-feedback, students are prompted to discuss something they did well, something they want to improve, and strategies to improve that aspect of their performance. The three categories are group collaboration, individual understanding, and process skills. In this study, we investigate how well student responses fit these three categories and highlight self-feedback themes present in students’ feedback that are focused on alternative categories.
Investigating Albedo with ACES
- PST2A07
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Freja Guttesen,, Ian Bearden, Rebekka Frøystad
- Type: Poster
- We have created a dynamical small scale model of a planetary system to demonstrate the detection of exoplanets. The experiment consists of an orrery with a light bulb at the center, representing a star, and two Arduino controlled orbiting planets. By monitoring the amount of light from the center star as planets pass by, students can apply Keppler’s laws to deduce the size of the planets and their distances from the center. The setup can further be used to investigate the albedo of the planets as one detects a rise in intensity when they pass the back of the star. This induces discussions concerning the Moon, detection of Earth-like exoplanets, and how the albedo of the Earth is affected by climate change. Throughout the experiment, students will not only be strengthened in their mathematical skills and physical understanding, but also gain insight into advanced research in a palpable way.
Gender Dynamics and Sense-making within a SCALE-UP Classroom: Patterns in Introductory Electricity and Magnetism
- PST2A11
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
- by Mark Akubo,
- Type: Poster
- This is a qualitative case study on gender dynamics and sense-making in a student-centered active learning environment for undergraduate physics classroom. The context is an Introductory Electricity and Magnetism course in a large research university in Southeastern U.S. I documented patterns in gender dynamics, exploring how such patterns may influence student sense-making in small groups. Gender dynamics include the relationships and interactions that take place within and across gender groups. I adopted the conceptualization of gender as performance (e.g., Traxler et al., 2016) as a way to frame gender dynamics in two heterogeneous groups of students. In sense-making, students share their perspectives, argue about stuff, push back on each other’s ideas, take opportunities to generate, use and extend scientific knowledge in order to understand the natural world. Preliminary findings suggest that cohesive and inclusive gender dynamics foster equitable participation in sense-making while non-cohesive and exclusionary gender dynamics inhibited equitable participation.
Update on the STEM Connections Program at Lewis University*
- PST2A13
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Joseph Kozminski,, Jason Keleher
- Type: Poster
- The STEM Connections Program builds scientific community early on through a first year cohort program for students majoring in programs offered by the Chemistry and Physics Departments at Lewis University. Students with financial need in the first three cohorts were also awarded renewable scholarships through an NSF S-STEM grant for their participation in the program. As students progress through their college careers, STEM Connections offers research, professional development, and other opportunities for students. This poster will review the program goals, present program data, and discuss challenges and successes over the last 4.5 years.
Guiding Physics Students Towards Writing Strong Explanations: An Intervention
- PST2A15
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Alfredo Sanchez,*, Matt Moelter
- Type: Poster
- Students in physics courses often find it difficult to explain their answers to a question or problem in a detailed, logical manner. We carried out an intervention in some sections of our introductory electromagnetism course to guide students towards writing better explanations. In the intervention, small groups of students worked on a series of questions requiring an explanation; then, they were given sample explanations that they were asked to rank based on their quality, using criteria they determined on their own. We find that students are consistently able to distinguish a “strong” explanation from a “weak” one, and that they come up with similar criteria for their analysis. To test the effectiveness of the intervention, we present a comparison of exam question scores across sections where the intervention was or was not carried out, using a grading rubric that accounts for explanation quality.
Characterizing Goal Orientations Held by Hispanic Women Physics Students
- PST2A17
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Brian Zamarripa Roman,, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Poster
- According to IPEDS data, the number of Hispanic women attaining physics degrees yearly and the number of institutions awarding those degrees tripled between 2011 and 2017. However, Hispanic women only made up 2% of physics degrees awarded in 2017 while making up 10% of the student population. Since the perspectives of Hispanic women remain underrepresented yet more of them are attaining traditional markers of success, it is important for the physics community to understand Hispanic women’s conceptualizations of success to better support their integration in the community. In this qualitative study we characterize the goal orientations of Hispanic women studying physics at public four-year universities by analyzing participant responses during semi-structured interviews about success. The responses were coded with a priori codes of goal orientations based on Motivational Systems Theory. We present the most common goal orientations, and recommend educators align their practices to support a variety of goals.
Effects of Physics Identity and Academic Integration on Retention
- PST2A02
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
by Zeynep Topdemir,, Brian Thoms, Joshua Von Korff, Amin Bayat Barooni
- Type: Poster
- Only 43% of undergraduate students who start in the physical sciences are graduating with the same degree.(1) Also, physics identity has been found as a predictor of career choices of students. To understand the factors that help students to graduate in the physics program, we have prepared a survey measuring students’ physics identity and their academic integration to the physics department. The survey is given to physics majors at different stages of the undergraduate program. The differences between the students in the early and late stages of the program are compared. The effects of physics identity and academic integration on retention will be discussed.
Nonlinear Scattering of Crossed Ultrasonic Beams from Turbulent Constricted Flow
- PST2A04
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
by Leah Burge,, Murray Korman
- Type: Poster
- This experiment explores the correlation between a blockage size in axially symmetric flow and the resulting Doppler shift, spectral broadening, and intensity values of the scattered 4.1 MHz sum frequency using incident crossed beams (2.0 and 2.1 MHz). This experiment simulates the location of Deep Vein Thrombosis and will prospectively improve technology to detect DVT. The experimental pipe-flow set-up (submerged in an aquarium) artificially resembles a vein, using various orifice plates to simulate blockage (blood clots). Sum frequency scattering measurements (outside the pipe) indicate turbulent flow. Doppler shift is proportional to the mean flow speed of the turbulent eddies, spectral broadening is proportional to the root mean squared turbulent velocity, and intensity is proportional to spatial concentration of turbulent eddies measured from the Gaussian shaped power spectrum. The results indicate a decrease in the Doppler shift and an increase in spectral broadening and the peak of the Gaussian shaped spectrum.
Physicists’ Views about Disability and Physics Careers
- PST2A06
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
by Daniel Oleynik,, Erin Scanlon, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Poster
- According to the NSF Women, Minorities, and People with Disabilities Report, people with disabilities are underrepresented in the science and engineering workforce. Specifically, in 2016, people with disabilities represented 19.5% of all postsecondary science and engineering students and only 10% of employed scientists and engineers. This, in large part, is due to attitudes in the physics community, and physicists’ implicit beliefs about the capabilities of people with disabilities. On the other hand, the literature also indicates that supportive beliefs about the capabilities of people with disabilities can create a supportive environment and help to increase the representation of people with disabilities in science and engineering. Thus, building on prior research in the geosciences community, we developed surveys to investigate the relationship between physicists’ beliefs about disability and potential physics careers, we piloted a survey at two APS section meetings and present themes of physicists’ views about physics career viability across disability type.
Investigating the Effects of Short-Term Mindfulness Sessions on Student Learning
- PST2A08
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
by Cade Hensley,, Danielle Plutino, Daniel Marsh, Rabindra Bajracharya
- Type: Poster
- The effects of mindfulness on an individual's mind-body have been studied in multiple disciplines including psychology and medicine. Many K-12 schools have already started to implement mindfulness practices in their curricula to foster teaching and learning practices. We are investigating the effects of short-term mindfulness sessions on students’ learning processes in physics including reading, responding to conceptual questions, and problem solving. In each experiment, the participants were randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group. The treatment group completed a five-minute long mindfulness session, during which they were instructed to observe their breathing objectively. After the mindfulness sessions, both the groups read either powerpoint slides, the solution to a problem, or sections from their textbook. The students then answered conceptual questions or solved problems. We present the results from the study to answer whether or not short-term mindfulness sessions have any impact on students’ learning processes in physics.
Why Use Normalized Gain and How To Use It
- PST2A10
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
- by Vincent Coletta
- Type: Poster
- Normalized gain has long been applied to pre and post testing on concept inventories and used as a measure of learning in introductory physics classes. We show how normalized gain has been used to improve learning in those classes. We also show that one must be careful in making comparisons of normalized gains when those comparisons involve significantly different student populations. One must take into account some independent measure of those populations. We describe how one can do this. Failure to do so is an example of omitted variable bias.
Opinions About Working in a Group: Positive and Nuanced
- PST2A12
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
- by Miranda Straub,
- Type: Poster
- I will present on the results of a survey sent to post-secondary physics instructors in Minnesota regarding their beliefs about group work. Group work here was set in the context of working on homework outside of class or obligation. The survey respondents were overwhelmingly positive (88%) about the benefits of working in a group but most (79%) had reservations about how the group work should be done. The most cited drawback was an unequal distribution of work. I concluded that the implications of this portion of the survey in the larger context of problem-solving was the instructors believe it is necessary for students to talk about their ideas as part of successful problem-solving.
Understanding the Perception Radar Plots of the PTaP & PTaP.HE
- PST2A14
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
by Richard Pearson III,, Savannah Logan, Wendy Adams
- Type: Poster
- As the PTaP and PTaP.HE continue to be broadly utilized to analyze what undergraduate students and university faculty perceive about secondary teaching, a quick and effective visual tool is needed to easily compare results. The radar plots produced from each survey allow for easy comparative viewing of multidimensional contrast: for example, year-to-year, institution-to-institution, discipline-to-discipline, and demographics. The poster is meant to introduce, explain, and direct others on how to build, use, and construct their own plots to visually articulate perception changes within their area of influence. This work is supported by NSF DUE-1821710.
Considering Different Representations of Research-based Activities
- PST2A16
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
by Amin Bayat Barooni,, Joshua Von Korff, Brian Thoms, Zeynep Topdemir, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Poster
- In our research 66 research-based activities from 11 academic activities were coded for student actions and K-means cluster analysis was applied. We found three different clusters that we called Thinking Like a Scientist, Learning Concepts, and Building Models. These three clusters not only address different design goals, but also use different kind and amounts of representations to help students to learn. Examples of different representations include, mathematical, discussions, diagrams, multiple choices, pie charts and so on.
Physics Majors: High School to Doctorate
Non Metric Relativistic Gravitation at the Graduate and Undergraduate level
- GE01
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
- by James Douglass,
- Type: Contributed
- The general theory of relativity is the accepted theory of relativistic gravitation. It is formulated using metric mathematical methods and combines space and time into one mathematical entity. While elegant, this way of describing gravitational mechanics makes physical insight difficult and relegates the subject to advanced graduate levels. Non metric relativistic gravitation^1 on the other hand is based on the physical processes that modify space and time. It extends the physical insights and postulates of special relativity showing how time and space are effected by gravitational acceleration as well as uniform motion. It therefore provides a level of physical understanding which is intuitive and interesting to the student of gravitation and relativity at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The mathematical methods are those of special relativity and Lagrangian mechanics. As noted by Richard Feynman, the ability to describe a subject in multiple ways may be what makes a subject “simple”.
Acronyms to Help Formula (Physics) Recollection, and Encourage Further Study Thereof!
- GE02
- Tue 01/21, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
- by Shannon Schunicht,
- Type: Contributed
- The study of Physics is intimidating to anyone due to the multitudes of formulas required for recollection come test time. A pragmatic discoveries were made for formula recollection to compensate for the residual memory deficits after being in a 3 week coma (19 days). The most valuable was each vowel: mathematical operation, i.e. a:@ =>multiplication, o:over =>division, i:minus =>subtraction, u:plus =>addition, and e:equals. Most constants and variables are indeed consonants, e.g. c=speed of light, & z=altitude ADDITIONAL LETTERS may be inserted to enhance a letter combination's intelligibility, but need be CONSONANTS only! Examples include an acronym for The Quadratic Equation, i.e. exCePT i buiLD rabbiTS 4 caTS oN 2 HaTS. After all, everyone remembers Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel).? The possibilities with Western languages are remarkable, whereas Eastern Characters have yet to be explored. Regardless, its potential remains Limitless as Delta X=>0
Limitations and Modifications in Newton’s Laws of Motion
- GE03
- Tue 01/21, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
- by Amritpal Nafria,
- Type: Contributed
- Newton's laws of motionare three physical lawsthat laid the foundation for classical mechanics. They describe the relationship between a body and the forcesacting upon it, and its motion in response to those forces.Newton‘s first law according to Principia states that everybody perseveres in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed thereon. Thesecond lawstates that the alteration of motion is ever proportional to the motive force impressed; and is made in the direction of the right line in which that force is impressed. In other words, force is directly proportional to rate of change in momentum (F=ma). And the third lawstates that to every action there is always opposed an equal reaction: or the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts. This paper shows force can be calculated in numeric by using force-meter, when it is applied on wall/stationary objects. Further, it explains a quantity may have two different formula’s, if the quantity acts under different conditions, i.e. ‘F=ma’ is not a universal equation, as the role of gravity is missing in the given convention. The modified equation of force should be F=mga’ or ‘F=wa’ when force is applied under gravity. Whereas equation becomes ‘F=ma’ when force is applied in the absence of gravity. Furthermore, modified third law explains that both action and reaction act simultaneously till stick together and are always opposite but equal when both bodies stay stationary; whereas if both bodies cause movement in the same direction, action and reaction gets unequal till stick together. The direction shows action applies more force or reaction, whereas velocity shows how large force is applied by one body onto another.
Physics Specific Pedagogy Courses
Improving Physics Instruction with the Undergraduate Physics Pedagogy Course at the University of Central Florida
- DF01
- Mon 01/20, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
- by Jacquelyn Chini,
- Type: Invited
- The Physics Department at the University of Central Florida has offered a three-credit undergraduate physics pedagogy course once per year since spring 2015. We have tried to develop the course to support the range of reasons students enroll in it: science education majors looking for physics-specific teaching practices, physics and engineering majors considering careers in teaching, Learning Assistants continuing in our pedagogy course sequence, and physics majors in need of an additional physics elective. We have incorporated a range of service-learning projects with the dual purpose of giving our students authentic teaching experiences and supporting physics instruction in central Florida; we even earned departmental support to revise our introductory laboratory sequence through a “self-centered” service-learning project! This talk will describe strategies for sustaining enrollment, selecting course content and topics, and developing and managing service-learning projects as well as lessons learned through the first five years of running “Teaching Introductory Physics”.
Iterative Tuning of the Scope of a Physics Pedagogy Course*
- DF02
- Mon 01/20, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
- by Hunter Close,
- Type: Invited
- What should the mission and topical scope of a physics-specific pedagogy course be? Texas State University has a Learning Assistant Program in physics only, but this program serves LAs with various STEM majors in their physics LA work. Thus, our LA-required "Pedagogy I" course aims to introduce LAs to a critical look at STEM learning, with moderate emphasis on physics. With Texas State as a PhysTEC Comprehensive Site (2015-2018), we created a follow-up upper-division physics course ("Pedagogy II") to delve deeper into physics education research and instructional issues, emphasizing cognitive psychological perspectives. The course counts toward any physics degree and aims to be useful and interesting for future teachers, but not only for them. What, therefore, should we teach? I will describe our iterations of course scope, including feedback from new student teachers, and our projected revisions.
Projects and Student Centered Activities Featured in Capstone Teacher Prep Course
- DF03
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 4:10PM
- by Richard Gelderman,
- Type: Contributed
- The "Physics for Teachers" course at Western Kentucky University is a capstone, senior-level course with a pre-requisite of a year of introductory physics. The focus, therefore, is on "pedagogical content knowledge" of both knowing the physics and how tohelp students best learn the physics. This is accomplished without lecture, instead adopting a student-centered approach based on the Modeling Physics and/or Investigative Science Learning Environment approaches. The pre-service teachers in this class are provided with a discrepant event, interactive demonstration, or case study to start each each topical unit. Then they are tasked with developing concluding practicum assessments to conclude the unit. For instance, the projectile motion section might be introduced with a video featuring the NFL's fastest player shows him throw a pass and apparently run and catch his own pass; with the challenge to identify evidence which supports or disproves the claim. After developing understanding through sequenced assignments, the students create novel hands-on challenges with a tangible right answer that can be mastered through various creative problem-solving approaches to the challenge.
Women as Physics Makers
- DF04
- Mon 01/20, 4:10PM - 4:20PM
- by Jill Marshall
- Type: Contributed
- For several years, the Physics by Inquiry course (McDermott and the University of Washington PEG) at the University of Texas, Austin, has included a Maker component. Students are tasked with making (designing and building) something that they would like to share or own that somehow involves electric circuits or optics. These are topics covered in the course, in alignment with preparation for teaching high school in Texas, where both are included in the student learning standards. In this study, I explore the effect of including this maker project in the curriculum on women students. Women in the class have created artifacts (e.g., a doll with an embedded sound card that plays a mother’s heartbeat to a newborn) that reviewers have said could easily be adapted for marketing, as well as objects of deep personal meaning and usefulness. Some have credited the Maker project with changing their goals as teachers.
Interference Experiment with Two Coherent Acoustic Sources
- DF05
- Mon 01/20, 4:20PM - 4:30PM
by Xiaoyu Niu,, Wei Wang, Chenguang Li, Ce Bian, Dazhi Gao
- Type: Contributed
- As for the “Interference Experiment”, we design and conduct a specific experiment by means of the sound wave to demonstrate the interference of wave. However, if we depend on the general Double-slit Interference theory, as the most University Physics textbooks required, the experimental result will hold approximately 16% inaccuracy. Thus, we designed the second experiment which is based on amelioration of analysis. The result shows the error was controlled within 4%, which may indicate that the amelioration on analysis could arise the accuracy of the experiment. Thus, we designed the second experiment which based on amelioration of analysis. The result shows the error was controlled within 4%, which may indicate that the amelioration on analysis could arise the accuracy of the experiment. Moreover, it may be helpful for teachers and students to comprehend the essence of the interference phenomenon.
Newton's Second Something or Other
- DF06
- Mon 01/20, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
- by P Norris,
- Type: Contributed
- Newton's Second Law, "The change in an object's momentum is equal to the net force acting on the object.", cannot serve as a law because it does not allow one to make falsifiable predictions regarding the motion of an object under the influence of a non-zero net force. The ceteris paribus version of the statement commonly offered as Newton's Second Law, "(If the object's mass is constant, then) the net force on a body equals the body's mass times its acceleration.", is, in fact, our fundamental mechanism for quantifying an object's mass. Thus, Newton's second law is not a law.
Physics and Art
Celestial Sleuthing and Art
- CG01
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 12:00PM
- by Donald Olson,
- Type: Invited
- Over the last three decades, our Texas State University group has used astronomy to solve mysteries in art, history, and literature, with results published in Sky & Telescope and in two books: Celestial Sleuth (Springer, 2014) and Further Adventures of the Celestial Sleuth (Springer, 2018). Subjects include moonrise photographs by Ansel Adams and night sky paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Edvard Munch, Ford Madox Brown, Canaletto, Caspar David Friedrich, and J.M.W. Turner. We try to determine: where the artist was located; when the artist observed the scene; which way the artist was looking; and what celestial objects were in the sky. For example, we traveled to Auvers-sur-Oise to study van Gogh’s White House at Night and determined that this canvas depicts a house on Rue de la Gare, near sunset on June 16, 1890, with brilliant Venus shining in the western sky.
Artists Telling Robots Where to Place Molecules- 3D Printing as a Tool for Creative Mathematical Expression(S)
- CG02
- Mon 01/20, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
- by Mike Hicks,
- Type: Invited
- Now that the novelty has (mostly) worn off, 3D printing is now another tool in the artist's toolbox, but one whose promise is still being discovered. Join our tour of the explorers who are using 3D printing to bring their inspirations and equations into the tangible.
Color: Physics and Perception*
- CG03
- Mon 01/20, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
- by Pupa Gilbert,
- Type: Invited
- Unless we are colorblind or are in the dark, as soon as we look at any object, we know what color the object is. Simple, isn’t it? No, not really. The color we see is rarely just determined by the physical color, that is, the wavelength of visible light associated with that color. Other factors, such as the illuminating light, or the brightness surrounding a certain color, affect our perception of that color. Most striking, and useful, is understanding how the retina and the brain work together to interpret the color we see, and how they can be fooled by additive color mixing, which makes it possible to have color screens and displays. I will show the physical origin of all these phenomena and give live demos as I explain how they work. Bring your own eyes! For more information: (1) watch TED talk: “Color: Physics and Perception” and (2) read book: PUPA Gilbert and W Haeberli “Physics in the Arts”, ISBN 9780123918789.
Physics in Environmental Science
Physics in the Coastal Sciences: Public and Non-profit Sector Applications
- EF01
- Mon 01/20, 6:30PM - 7:00PM
- by Soupy Dalyander,
- Type: Invited
- Physics is an ideal foundation for oceanography, which is often only offered as a graduate-level major. This presentation will discuss a range of coastal science studies from the public (U.S. Geological Survey and Army Corps of Engineers) and non-profit sectors (Water Institute of the Gulf), where the focus is on applied research and real-world use. A diverse suite of applications will be highlighted, including modeling menhaden impact on estuarine water quality; predicting the fate of “tarballs” that can cause beach pollution after oil spills; and improving restoration of barrier islands to preserve habitat and protect coastal communities.
The Physics of Wind Engineering: A Workshop for STEM Teachers
- EF02
- Mon 01/20, 7:00PM - 7:30PM
- by Remy Dou,
- Type: Invited
- The Wind Engineering for STEM Teachers (WEST) professional development workshop brings secondary school teachers from the southeastern region of the United States to Florida International University (FIU) to study hurricane science and the physics of wind engineering. FIU implemented the WEST workshop in 2018 as part of the education outreach arm of the Wall of Wind (WOW)—a high-tech research facility capable of reproducing Category 5 hurricane wind speeds. The WOW is part of the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure supported by the National Science Foundation. Each year we select two teachers to participate in a six-week research experience where they perform research alongside engineering faculty working at the WOW. These teachers also design, develop, and facilitate a four-day workshop for other teachers from around the country. WEST aims to develop teachers’ content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. This presentation provides an overview of the research experience and the workshop.
The Sea Level Rise Puzzle
- EF03
- Mon 01/20, 7:30PM - 8:00PM
- by Thomas Wahl,
- Type: Invited
- Sea level rise has been the main oceanographic driver for changes in coastal flood risk in the 20th and 21st centuries, leading to more and higher extreme events which can have dramatic societal impacts. Such extreme events always represent the superposition of different sea level components, comprising an underlying base water level (i.e. the mean sea level), astronomical tides, as well as storm surges and waves forced by low-pressure systems and strong winds. Many of these components exhibit different trends and variability in different locations around the world, and they also interact with each other. Understanding how and where the different components change and their non-linear relationships is crucial in order to develop efficient coastal adaptation strategies. In this presentation the different drivers for changes in sea level as well as different components contributing to extreme events, and their spatio-temporal variations and interactions will be discussed.
Orbits and Ice Ages: The History of Climate
- EF04
- Mon 01/20, 8:00PM - 8:30PM
- by Daniel Britt,
- Type: Invited
- Climate change has become a major political issue, but few understand how climate has changed in the past and the forces that drive climate. Most people don’t know that 50 million years ago there were breadfruit trees and crocodiles on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, or that 18,000 years ago there was a mile-thick glacier on Manhattan and a continuous belt of winter sea ice extending south to Cape Hatteras. Our current climate system is a complex interplay between the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, our atmosphere, and plate tectonics. The History of Climate provides context of our current climate debate and fundamental insight how the climate works.
Plenary I
Plenary I - Jonathan Smith, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
- PL01
- Sun 01/19, 6:45PM - 7:45PM
- by Jan Mader
- Type: Plenary
Plenary II - James Gates, Brown Univeristy
Plenary II - James Gates, Brown Univeristy
- PL02
- Mon 01/20, 10:15AM - 11:15AM
- by Jan Mader
- Type: Plenary
- Sylvester James “Jim” Gates, Jr., (born December 15, 1950) is an American theoretical physicist.He received two B.S. degrees and a Ph.D. degree from the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology, the latter in 1977. His doctoral thesis was the first one at MIT to deal withsupersymmetry. In 2017, Gates retired from the University of Maryland, and is currently theBrown Theoretical Physics Center Director, Ford Foundation Professor of Physics, an AffiliateMathematics Professor, and a Faculty Fellow, Watson Institute for International Studies & PublicAffairs at Brown University. While at the University of Maryland, College Park, Gates was aUniversity System Regents Professor, the John S. Toll Professor of Physics, the Director of theString and Particle Theory Center, and Affiliate Professor of Mathematics. Gates served on theU.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, contemporaneously on theMaryland State Board of Education from 2009-2016, and the National Commission on ForensicScience from 2013-2016. He is known for his work on supersymmetry, supergravity, andsuperstring theory. In 1984, working with M.T. Grisaru, M. Rocek, W. Siegel, Gates co-authoredSuperspace, the first comprehensive book on the topic of supersymmetry. In 2017, working withFrank Blitzer and Stephen Jacob Sekula, he co-authored Reality in the Shadows (Or) What theHeck's the Higgs? In 2019, together with Cathie Pelletier, he co-authored Proving Einstein Right:The Daring Expeditions that Changed How We Look at the Universe.In 2006, he completed a DVD series titled Superstring Theory: The DNA of Reality for TheTeaching Company composed of 24 half-hour lectures to make the complexities of unificationtheory comprehensible to non-physicists. In 2012, he was named a University System ofMaryland Regents Professor, only the sixth person so recognized in the system’s history. He is apast president of the National Society of Black Physicists, and is a NSBP Fellow, as well as aFellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement ofScience, and the Institute of Physics in the U.K. He also is an elected member of the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. In 2013, he was electedto the National Academy of Sciences, becoming the first African-American theoretical physicistso recognized in its 150-year history. On November 16, 2013, Prof. Gates was awarded theMendel Medal by Villanova University “in recognition of his influential work in supersymmetry,supergravity and string theory, as well as his advocacy for science and science education in theUnited States and abroad.” President Obama awarded Prof. Gates the 2011 National Medal ofScience, the highest award given to scientists in the U.S., at a White House ceremony in 2013.During 2014, he was named the Harvard Foundation’s “Scientist of the Year.” In 2018, he waselected to serve in the presidential line as Vice President of the American Physical Society,moving to President Elect in 2020. In 2019, he was invited to serve on the American Bar AssocSteering Committee for the Annual Prescription For Criminal Justice And Forensic Science. In2020, he will begin serving on the Board of Trustees of the Mathematical Sciences ResearchInstitute.He continues to broadly engage video documentaries with appearances or cameos.He currently continues his research in supersymmetry in systems of particles, fields, and strings.
Post-deadline
A Comparison of Sound Quality Between PLA 3D Printing Ukulele and Single Board Wooden Ukulele
- HA01
- Tue 01/21, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
by Peng Qian,, Shanru Lin, Liangzhi Ma, Junjie Ma, Xiaoyu Niu
- Type: Contributed
- Based on the 3D printing techniques, we compare the acoustic quality between the 3D printing Ukulele and the wooden Ukulele. Consequently, the A-weight sound level of PLA 3D printing Ukulele is less than that of traditional wooden with the same size, indicating that a wooden resonant box is better at sound radiation than PLA 3D printing Ukulele does. What's more, in the frequency domain, the fundamental frequency is higher than that of PLA 3D printing Ukulele. In addition, in order to explain the difference between PLA 3D printing Ukulele and wooden Ukulele, we simulate the vibrating state of two kinds of Ukulele with COMSOL. As a result, radiation acoustic impedance calculated by COMSOL could illustrate the difference. Hence, it's significant for musical instruments concerning the influence of material science.
Active Learning Techniques Improve Everyone’s Conceptual Understanding, But Especially Women
- HA02
- Tue 01/21, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
- by Adria Updike,
- Type: Contributed
- The effects of active learning techniques were studied using the FCI and student grades over the course of several semesters at Roger Williams University, a relatively small (<5,000 undergraduates) liberal-arts university. Introductory physics classes (both algebra- and calculus-based) were taught, some in a lecture classroom, and some in an active learning classroom with combined lecture/labs, with the same material and sometimes the same professors. When FCI scores and grades were assessed, we found that, on average, students in the active learning classrooms consistently had higher FCI gains and grades than their peers in lecture classrooms. When broken down by gender, we found that male students had a mild gain in conceptual understanding and grades as a result of the active learning classroom, but female students had a very large gain in conceptual understanding and grades as a result of the active learning environment.
Development of Programming-Based Physics Teaching Materials in Teacher Education
- HA03
- Tue 01/21, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
by Jun Haeng Lee,, Youngrae Ji, Seung Chul Chae
- Type: Contributed
- We investigated the educational effects of developing physics teaching materials based on Python and Jupyter Notebook in pre-service teacher education. We collected 19 programming-based physics teaching materials developed by pre-service teachers who attend computational physics class in the department of physics education, Seoul National University, South Korea, as well as interviewed six pre-service teachers individually. The teaching materials were quantitatively evaluated by professionals (physics education researchers or physics teachers), and the transcriptions were analyzed qualitatively. We report that developing process of physics teaching material based on Python and Jupyter Notebook improve the teaching expertise of pre-service teachers and reduce difficulties in physics learning.
Improving Student Success in First Physics Course
- HA04
- Tue 01/21, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
- by Tuwaner Lamar, Ph.D.*
- Type: Contributed
- Can success in the first physics course taken be predicted by placement into first Math course taken, at or above Calculus I? Foundational concepts and analytical skills for success in physics courses are covered in Calculus I. So, could it be that students who are successful in their Calculus I course have a greater chance of succeeding in their first Physics course? In this research, we take an in depth look at the relationship between initial Math placement at Calculus I or higher and success in the first Physics course at both Morehouse College and the US Air Force Academy (USAFA). Then we implement interventions at USAFA, in both Calculus I and introductory Physics, to improve chances of student success.
Logistics of Presenting the November 11, 2019 Transit of Mercury to 6th Graders
- HA05
- Tue 01/21, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
- by Frank Lock,
- Type: Contributed
- On November 11, 2019 the presenter arranged for approximately four hundred 6th grade students at a Gainesville, Georgia, middle school to observe the transit of Mercury. As pre-transit preparation the presenter made solar system science presentations to groups of sixth graders. This contributed talk will present the logistics involved in arranging for the Mercury transit outreach, as well portions of the pre-transit presentations.
Reducing Disciplinary Barriers to Learning
- HA06
- Tue 01/21, 3:20PM - 3:40PM
by Aseem Talukdar,, Mike Shifflett, John Lowbridge
- Type: Contributed
- Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) general education competencies emphasize that students should be able to make connections among different disciplines of science. In addition, students are also expected to demonstrate an awareness of the individual’s relationship to the biological and physical environment. We will report on our attempt to address these goals by connecting astronomy, chemistry, and physics, through a few common fundamental concepts, introducing the implications and applications of the knowledge in all three realms in each of the classes.
Using model analysis to investigate students’ understanding of waves
- HA07
- Tue 01/21, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
by Nan Zhang, Shihong Ma
- Type: Contributed
- We use model analysis to investigate students’ understanding of mechanical waves by administering the modified Mechanical Waves Conceptual Survey, divided into five clusters, to 205 students in a Chinese university from first year and second year. From the result we found that in Cluster 1,2,4, most students hold a consistent “correct” model. In Cluster 3(reflection) and Cluster 5(standing waves in tube), the first-year students have a mixed model state, after one-year instruction, the students model state shifts to the model 1 region which means students mostly hold a correct model. But it does not mean the second-year student models are the same as the expert one. The concentration factors of questions in cluster 3 and 5, which tells about how the student responses are distributed, are mostly in a medium level, as well as the scores. It means more than 30% students tend to favor an incorrect model.
Labs based on AP Physics 1 and 2 Questions
- HA08
- Tue 01/21, 3:50PM - 4:00PM
by Marsha Hobbs,, Dee Dee Messer
- Type: Contributed
- Although the AP Physics 1 and 2 exams do not have a required collection of laboratories, students are expected to have a strong understanding of physics labs and data analysis. In this talk we will give specific examples of labs that can be incorporatedinto the courses that reflect past AP questions or closely fit the curriculum framework. Laboratory topics will include gravitational accelerations, forces circuits, waves and optics.
Post-deadline Poster Abstracts
Exploring Nuclear Reactions through Hands-on Fusion and Fission Modeling
- PST3A01
- Tue 01/21, 2:30PM - 3:15PM
by David Osmond,, Donna Governor
- Type: Poster
- Hands on demonstrations involving nuclear reactions are uncommon in high school and early undergraduate physics courses. However, learning some common components of these reactions is relatively simple when students are provided a hands-on approach. In this poster I will present two relatively simple demonstrations that allow students to discover the relationships of nucleus size and progressing to fission or fusion events. Components of star size and mass are also demonstrated to allow students to think about the rate of stellar fusion. This lab activity is inexpensive and safe enough to be done in an elementary classroom, but the ideas are complex enough to be applicable in an undergraduate setting.
How PLTL & Demographics Affect the Development of an Expert-Like Schema in Introductory Physics
- PST3A03
- Tue 01/21, 2:30PM - 3:15PM
- by Siera Stoen
- Type: Poster
- Robust evidence shows that Peer-led Team Learning (PLTL) improves the academic success of college students in introductory Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses. However, it is unclear what is actually causing the benefit of increased academic success. The present study explores whether or not one of the benefits of PLTL is in the development of an expert-like schema for undergraduates enrolled in Introductory Physics at a selective private university. After using a similarity rating task to measure a student’s schema, I used analyses of variance to test whether PLTL participants outperformed non-participants, thus demonstrating a more expert-like schema. Furthermore, I looked at whether the PLTL effects varied across race, gender, and preparedness of students.
The Optimal Group Size for Small Introductory Physics Classrooms
- PST3A05
- Tue 01/21, 2:30PM - 3:15PM
by JaQuan Bullock,, Marco Scipioni, Soroush Khosravi
- Type: Poster
- Learning can be hard in an introductory physics classroom. Students often lack the experience to master concepts and to use them for solving physics problems. Conceptual understanding is a critical skill, but educators’ ultimate goal should be creating alearning environment that enhances students’ problem-solving ability. Research shows that group cooperative learning is an effective way to reach this goal. The main objective of this research was to identify the optimal group size in small introductory physics classrooms for the life sciences. Students were divided into groups of two and three and were given Force Concept Inventory (FCI) as well as context-rich problem-solving tests, which were taken individually. The test results indicate that, while groups of two improved their conceptual understanding, groups of three had a more significant improvement in their problem-solving skills.
Personalized, Adaptive, and Interactive Approach in Teaching Introductory Physics Courses
- PST3A02
- Tue 01/21, 3:15PM - 4:00PM
by Priya Jamkhedkar,, Misty Hamideh, Toai Nguyen, Chuck Faber, Ralf Widenhorn
- Type: Poster
- We summarize the development of personalized, adaptive and interactive courses for algebra-based General Physics and calculus-based courses taught at Portland State University. Teaching introductory physics courses to large classes with students having diverse skills in math, problem-solving, conceptual reasoning, and learning styles is challenging. The need to provide support in terms of math remediation, improvement in problem-solving, understanding of concepts to students who work at different paces led us to look for a platform providing these features. The poster summarizes the design of such a course using “CogBooks” as an adaptive platform with many support features including concept-checks, simulations, problems with intermediate steps, and drawing tools. In-class activities promote active and engaged learning to achieve a positive impact on the students’ educational experience. We conclude the poster with early results and insights for the future improvements to these courses.
The Need of a Physical Perspective in this Rocky World: Transitioning to Environmental Science
- PST3A04
- Tue 01/21, 3:15PM - 4:00PM
by Katrina Henry,, Zachary Hubbard
- Type: Poster
- The authors who are at different stages in their career (one pre-tenure professor and one undergraduate student) transitioned from a path in physics to environmental science at different points in their education. They share the perspective of being environmental scientists with a background in the fundamental science of physics. As environmental science advances and the problems faced become more complex, there arises a need for the next generation of environmental scientists to have the strong quantitative, problem solving, and reasoning skills that come from a cross disciplinary scientific education. Students, and even practicing scientists, in other STEM fields may not consider themselves qualified to transition to environmental science. We have found the transition from physicist to environmental scientist to be remarkably frictionless because environmental science takes the fundamental laws of the universe and applies them in a way that explain the interactions of the various systems comprising our planet.
Visit to Coelba’s Electricity Museum: Learning in an Informal Academic Environment
- PST3A06
- Tue 01/21, 3:15PM - 4:00PM
by Dielson Hohenfeld, FELIPE César Rodrigues
- Type: Poster
- Non-formal academic environments are an alternative to bring students closer to the teachings of the exact sciences. Believing in the potential of these environments, a visit to Coelba’s Museum of Electricity with students of the State School Mário Augusto Teixeira de Freitas was undertaken. With the objective of having the students interact with the experiments and discuss and visualize phenomena of physics outside of the classroom, an investigative script was prepared to take full advantage of the visit. Returning to the classroom, a quantitative questionnaire was given to the students in order to verify whether classes in informal environments have potential for learning physics.
Pre-college/Informal and Outreach
The Devil’s Staircase: Latest Progress and Future Plans
- PST2C01
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Timothy McCaskey,, Luis Nasser
- Type: Poster
- This poster will discuss further progress on our musical project where the compositional forms are inspired by phenomena in math and physics such as fractals and cellular automata. We discuss our continued communication and outreach efforts, plans for the final product, ways this work has inspired new scholarly results, inclusion of our ideas in projects assigned to students, and other future ambitions.
Establishing Physics Identity through Informal Physics Experiences with Outreach
- PST2C03
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Callie Rethman,, Tatiana Erukhimova, Jonathan Perry
- Type: Poster
- Beyond the formal curriculum of a physics degree, students majoring or minoring in the field may choose to enhance their education through participation in informal experiences such as physics outreach. While participation in outreach gives students opportunities to engage with the public and communicate physics, the role of these experiences in establishing a student’s identity within physics is not well understood. This work investigates how engaging in outreach programs affects a physics student’s identity as a physicist, a member of their home department, and in the STEM field as a whole. For the initial iteration of this study, current and former participants from outreach programs at Texas A&M University will be surveyed. This survey will specifically investigate the impact of outreach programs on a student’s integration, identity, soft skills, and experiential learning.
Journey into a 6th Grade Classroom with Pre-Service Elementary Teachers*
- PST2C05
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
- by Beth Marchant,
- Type: Poster
- Elementary education majors in Physical Science for Elementary Teachers at Indiana University South Bend (IUSB) worked with a group of 6th graders in a 90-minute math and science block class held at Navarre Middle School, which has been deemed by the state a “Failing” school for the past 6 years. The 6th graders first worked on science fair projects with the IUSB student mentors. Later in the semester, the IUSB students led science labs on light and photosynthesis with the same group of students. This effort was inspired by a Campus Community Grant through IUSB and involved professors from the Departments of Physics & Astronomy and Mathematical Sciences.
The Teen Astronomy Cafe Program
- PST2C07
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Robert Sparks,, Constance Walker, Stephen Pompea
- Type: Poster
- The Teen Astronomy Café program to excites the interest of talented youth in STEM. One Saturday a month during the academic year, high school students interact with expert astronomers who work with big data. Students learn about killer asteroids, exoplanets, lives and deaths of stars, variable stars, black holes, the structure of the universe, gravitational lensing, dark matter, colliding galaxies, and more. Each cafés begins with a short presentation by an astronomer, a computer-based lab activity and a discussion during lunch. Students explore the astronomer’s research using tools such as Python and Jupityr notebooks to examine astronomical data. The diverse team includes the program director, grad students, an undergrad student and high school students. The input of high school students is valuable to make the experience relevant to their peers. The experience offers them training in planning, leadership, and communication skills and encourages their personal interests in STEM.
Utilizing Undergraduate Students to Staff Family Science Days
- PST2C09
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Corinne Brevik, Cynthia Burgess
- Type: Poster
- Each fall, Dickinson State University offers a series of monthly Family Science Days that are free and open to the public. These Saturday-afternoon events include both a planetarium show and a series of thematically linked hands-on activities. While each month’s activities are planned by a faculty member in the Department of Natural Sciences, the staffing for all the activities is composed solely of college students. These students come from a large variety of majors – science, nursing, elementary education, business, and more. Typically, they sign up to help with these events either because it is required for their current college science course or because it will earn them extra credit. This arrangement benefits the youth who attend by exposing them to college students who are excited about science, and it benefits the college students by providing them with experience explaining scientific concepts at a level that the kids can understand.
Teaching Physics inside of a Florida State Prison
- PST2C11
- Mon 01/20, 8:30PM - 9:15PM
by Dave Austin,, Nicholas Cox, Stephanie Jarmark, Justin Reyes, Michael Chini
- Type: Poster
- Studies have shown that access to postsecondary education while incarcerated reduces recidivism. With the help of four professors and four graduate students at the University of Central Florida, a “Physics and Everyday Thinking” course was organized and taught at the Florida Reception Center, a mixed security men’s prison in Orlando, Florida. There were three main objectives for students participating in the course. The first was to develop an understanding of physics ideas about magnetism and energy that can be used to explain everyday phenomena. The second was to an understanding of how knowledge is developed within the scientific community and the nature of that knowledge itself. The third was to learn to evaluate and draw conclusions from observations. Here we present an overview of the course content, bureaucratic difficulties in administering the course, and personal experiences of teaching in the program.
Measurements of 137Cs In and Around the Daiichi Power Plant 2: Results
- PST2C02
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
by Ian Bearden,, Helene Kaas, Malene Nielsen
- Type: Poster
- In September 2019, we had the great good fortune to be allowed to visit the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan with a group of final year students from Zahles Gymnasium. During the previous academic year, members of this class visited the Niels Bohr Institute’s “Ungdomslaboratory” (YouthLab) to construct, test, and characterize inexpensive gamma-ray spectrometers. In our September visit to Daiichi, these spectrometers were used to measure gamma spectra in and nearby the site of the nuclear accident which occurred in the aftermath of the Tohuku earthquake and tsunami. This poster will summarise the characteristics of the detectors, and the results of measurements in the vicinity of the Daiichi reactors.
Utilizing National Science Olympiad Alumni Undergraduates for NSO STEM Outreach
- PST2C06
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
- by Donna Young
- Type: Poster
- National Science Olympiad (NSO) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to increasing interest in science for all students, creating a STEM-literate workforce, and providing recognition for outstanding achievement by both students and teachers. These goals are achieved by participating in regional, state and/or national tournaments. Each year more than 230,000 middle school and high school students begin competition by preparing for 23-25 unique events that include all scientific disciplines, construction and engineering. Many participants enter engineering and science professions as a result of their involvement with NSO events. Thousands of NSO alumni, many who have metaled at the state and national levels, continue their Science Olympiad experience by becoming involved in mentoring teams, supervising invitationals, writing tests for invitational, regional, state and national competitions, and presenting at coaches’ clinics. NSO alumni want to provide others the same experience they enjoyed so encourage the SO alumni at your institution to participate!
Einstein Schools
- PST2C08
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
by Robert Sparks,, Stephen Pompea
- Type: Poster
- The Einstein Schools program was founded by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as part of the celebration of its 100th anniversary. Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity passed its first test during a solar eclipse in 1919, the famous Eddington Experiment, the same year the IAU was founded. The Einstein Schools Program helps students at schools around the explore the fore of gravity through such topics as black holes, gravitational waves, orbits and the dark matter. The Einstein Schools program encourages schools to collaborate as they explore their chosen topics. Einstein schools are provided an archive of high quality internet based resources on various topics related to General Relativity and the opportunity to apply for time on robotic telescopes to observe objects of interest. The program is free to schools around the world.
Introducing Students to the Wonders of the Universe Through Outreach
- PST2C10
- Mon 01/20, 9:15PM - 10:00PM
- by Noura Ibrahim,*
- Type: Poster
- While the education system covers many important and crucial scientific topics, it does not always cover the most interesting and exciting ones. The more exciting scientific topics can be seen as too advanced for students, and as a result, students can go through 12 years of school without ever hearing about those topics. Through outreach, however, we can introduce students to the most fascinating parts of physics and astronomy just to pique their interest. This basic introduction leaves interested students wanting more. They can then go on to research the topics that appealed to them and in some cases, they might decide to pursue physics or astronomy professionally, which is the ultimate goal.
Professional Development at HSIs
HSI STEM Hub Seeks to Improve Undergraduate STEM Education
- DJ01
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 5:00PM
- by Jorge Iniguez,*
- Type: Panel
- Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) comprise 1/7 of post-secondary institutions and educate over 2/3 of Hispanic college students, yet HSIs have not benefited from government funding for STEM research and education in proportion with their enrollments. The goals of this session are to provide an overview of the new NSF HSI Initiative and the NSF STEM Resource Hub that is tasked with supporting HSIs, especially those without prior NSF support, in grantsmanship and capacity building. Workshop activities will have high relevance for faculty members at any institution that has little to no prior NSF grant support.
Data Analysis Research Experience to Improve Students’ Quantitative Reasoning Skills
- DJ02
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 5:00PM
by Esther Wilder*,, Eduardo Vianna, Dahlia Remler
- Type: Panel
- Quantitative reasoning, the contextualized use of numbers and data in ways that involve critical thinking, is an essential competency for college students, particularly for those pursuing STEM careers. We describe an initiative under way at CUNY to trainfaculty in best practices for quantitative reasoning instruction and to implement a data analysis research experience in the classroom. Our preliminary findings reveal that many CUNY students struggle with fundamental quantitative skills. Our initiative is designed to respond to these skills deficits by having faculty engage students in meaningful data analysis whereby they: (1) identify a research question; (2) undertake data collection; (3) compile and analyze the data using spreadsheet software; (4) interpret the data; and (5) present their findings orally or in writing. Results from a pilot study show that our intervention is associated with gains in both students’ interest in data analysis as well as their understanding of fundamental quantitative skills.
Professional Skills for Students
Professional Skills for Students
- GI
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 2:30PM
- by Lisa Goodhew
- Type: Panel
- This interactive panel focuses on developing professional skills for graduate students and other early-stage researchers. This session will feature a discussion of how to give critical, ethical, and constructive reviews of journal or conference proceedings articles. While this session is aimed toward graduate students, we welcome undergraduates who are interested this professional development opportunity or curious about life as a graduate student!
Programs and Planning Committee I
Programs and Planning Committee I
- COM07
- Sat 01/18, 6:30PM - 8:00PM
- by Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Committee Meeting
Programs and Planning Committee II
Programs and Planning Committee II
- COM39
- Tue 01/21, 7:00AM - 8:30AM
- by Jan Mader
- Type: Committee Meeting
Publications Committee
Publications Committee
- COM03
- Sat 01/18, 8:00AM - 9:30AM
- by D. Blane Baker
- Type: Committee Meeting
Quiet Room
Quiet Room
- QR01
- Fri 01/17, 8:00AM - 10:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Quiet Room
- QR02
- Sat 01/18, 8:00AM - 10:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Quiet Room
- QR03
- Sun 01/19, 8:00AM - 10:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Quiet Room
- QR04
- Mon 01/20, 8:00AM - 10:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Quiet Room
- QR05
- Tue 01/21, 8:00AM - 3:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Reaching Learners Where They Are: Bringing Science to Hospitals, Prisons and Podcasts
Building Brighter Futures: The Importance of Higher Education in Prison
- GH01
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 2:30PM
- by Keri Watson,
- Type: Invited
- Mass incarceration is among the most crucial issues of our time. Since 1978, the U.S. prison population has increased 408%, and Florida has the nation’s third largest prison system, with 100,000 people behind bars. Evidence shows that education increasesthe likelihood of post-release employment by 58% and reduces recidivism by 40%, yet until recently, Florida’s correctional institutions did not offer college courses. To address this issue, the Florida Prison Education Project was formed by faculty from across the University of Central Florida in 2017. The Florida Prison Education Project offers high-quality continuing education courses to people incarcerated in Central Florida, studies the effects of higher education in prison programs, and integrates the study of social justice into the University of Central Florida curriculum. Since its founding, the Florida Prison Education Project has offered eleven classes to 147 men at the Central Florida Reception Center, a mixed security men’s prison in Orlando, FL.
Implementing a Conceptual Physics Course through the Florida Prison Education Project
- GH02
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 2:30PM
- by Michael Chini,
- Type: Invited
- The Florida Prison Education Project is an initiative that seeks to offer a high-quality undergraduate education to incarcerated people in Central Florida. In Fall 2019, we administered a conceptual physics course to 15 students enrolled at the Central Florida Reception Center, a mixed security men’s prison in Orlando. The course, which was team-taught by a group of four faculty members and four graduate students from the Department of Physics and College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida, was based on the “Next GEN Physical Science and Everyday Thinking” curriculum. Course topics included magnetism and energy interactions, with an overall focus on scientific model building and scientific argumentation. In this talk, I will discuss the implementation of the course, with a focus on the organizational hurdles associated with working with a large team of volunteer instructors and delivering an interactive physics course in a prison setting.
Science Education in Pediatric Hospital Settings
- GH03
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 2:30PM
by Megan Nickels,, Norman Jeune
- Type: Invited
- In this presentation we will discuss strategies for teaching science to K-12 children with complex medical issues in hospital settings. We introduce the idea of precision education to describe research-backed educational activities specific to a child's respective disease or condition needs such as neurocognitive deficit, physiological positioning, and socio-emotional health. The teaching strategies and activities we share are focused on robotics and immersive virtual reality with the aim of helping medically complex children gain a leg up as critical problem solvers, flexible thinkers, and irrepressible learners.
Walkabout the Galaxy: The Accidentally Educational Astronomy Podcast
- GH04
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 2:30PM
- by Joshua Colwell
- Type: Invited
- There are many excellent podcasts and programs dealing with astronomy and space exploration. We created Walkabout the Galaxy not with the primary motivation of being an educational show, but rather an entertaining show. Just as NPR’s “Car Talk” was not ashow aimed at home auto mechanics, the style of Walkabout is designed to be entertaining and funny to appeal to a broad audience who may not identify as interested in astronomy. By incorporating elements such as humorous sponsors, trivia questions, discussions of stereotypical nerd culture, and kidding and banter between the three hosts, we target a broader audience than might tune into a purely educational show. We then slyly insert segments providing discussions of the latest news and discoveries in astronomy. Discussions are aimed at the non-expert, and we assume no prior knowledge. We invite guests from outside the field to provide additional variety.
Walkabout the Galaxy: The Accidentally Educational Astronomy Podcast
- GH05
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 2:30PM
- by Adrienne Done
- Type: Invited
- There are many excellent podcasts and programs dealing with astronomy and space exploration. We created Walkabout the Galaxy not with the primary motivation of being an educational show, but rather an entertaining show. Just as NPR’s “Car Talk” was not ashow aimed at home auto mechanics, the style of Walkabout is designed to be entertaining and funny to appeal to a broad audience who may not identify as interested in astronomy. By incorporating elements such as humorous sponsors, trivia questions, discussions of stereotypical nerd culture, and kidding and banter between the three hosts, we target a broader audience than might tune into a purely educational show. We then slyly insert segments providing discussions of the latest news and discoveries in astronomy. Discussions are aimed at the non-expert, and we assume no prior knowledge. We invite guests from outside the field to provide additional variety.
Walkabout the Galaxy: The Accidentally Educational Astronomy Podcast
- GH06
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 2:30PM
- by Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Invited
- There are many excellent podcasts and programs dealing with astronomy and space exploration. We created Walkabout the Galaxy not with the primary motivation of being an educational show, but rather an entertaining show. Just as NPR’s “Car Talk” was not ashow aimed at home auto mechanics, the style of Walkabout is designed to be entertaining and funny to appeal to a broad audience who may not identify as interested in astronomy. By incorporating elements such as humorous sponsors, trivia questions, discussions of stereotypical nerd culture, and kidding and banter between the three hosts, we target a broader audience than might tune into a purely educational show. We then slyly insert segments providing discussions of the latest news and discoveries in astronomy. Discussions are aimed at the non-expert, and we assume no prior knowledge. We invite guests from outside the field to provide additional variety.
Recruitment and Retention of Female Students in Physics
STEP UP: A Social Movement in Physics to Promote Women’s Participation and Cultural Change*
- FF01
- Tue 01/21, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
by Zahra Hazari,, Geoff Potvin, Raina Khatri, Laird Kramer, Robynne Lock
- Type: Invited
- In a history of physics that spans centuries, it is only in the last 50 years that larger numbers of women have been able to meaningfully participate and contribute to the field. While we have made strides towards greater equity and inclusivity as a community, changing a culture that has been reinforced over centuries requires much more of a collective effort. Together, physics educators can create a new future for physics by inspiring students who have traditionally been marginalized in physics, such as women, and exemplify the critical role of educators in cultural change. As such, STEP UP is a social movement by and for physics educators, supported by physics education researchers and two of the largest societies of physicists in the world (APS and AAPT). This talk will discuss the development of the movement and how physics educators can lead the way in changing the future of physics.
Locating Where Women of Color Thrive in Physics
- FF02
- Tue 01/21, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
- by Angela Johnson,
- Type: Invited
- “I feel like I’m pretty good at physics. I can’t really think of anything I don’t like.... I feel like I’ve been pretty supported in this department.” This is what we hope all students will say; the fact that it comes from a black woman in her last year in a physics major should not be a big deal. But, unfortunately, it is. Physics is a compelling area of study, and a powerful tool to solve pressing human problems. And yet few women, and vanishingly few women of color, major in physics. Fixing this would benefit both the women who could thrive in physics and the quality of physics being done. In this session I will cover surprising patterns about the institutions where women of color study physics. I have already studied two inclusive institutions, and will share what they are doing right.
Active Learning in an Inequitable Learning Environment Can Increase the Gender Performance Gap: The Negative Impact of Stereotype Threat and Interventions to Help Mitigate It*
- FF03
- Tue 01/21, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
by Alexandru Maries,, Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Invited
- Evidence-based active engagement (EBAE) instructional strategies are being used with increasing frequency. However, they may not help all student demographics equally if the learning environment is not equitable because stereotype threats can be higher for women and other underrepresented groups in a collaborative situation and students from these groups may not have the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the group work if equity is not kept at the center of the learning environment. Here we summarize the findings of two research studies related to these issues that have important implications for physics teaching. In the first study we find that in calculus-based introductory physics 2, the gender gap on the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism increased in EBAE courses, but remained relatively constant in traditional Lecture Based (LB) courses. In particular, EBAE instruction provided disproportionate benefit to male students and increased the gender gap even though all students performed better on average in EBAE courses compared to LB courses. A subsequent investigation suggests that stereotype threat may be larger for female students who agree with a gender stereotype about physics learning, and can have an added detrimental effect on their physics learning compared to the other female students who disagree with the stereotype. The findings suggest that in order to improve learning of all students, it is important for physics instructors to create equitable physics learning environments in which all students feel valued and respected and internalize that intelligence is malleable and can grow with hard work because such environments can encourage productive struggle with challenging physics problems without anxiety. Examples of promising interventions to reduce the gender gap along with data supporting their effectiveness will also be discussed.
Attrition of Women from High School Physics to Faculty Employment
- FF04
- Tue 01/21, 10:00AM - 10:30AM
- by Anne Marie Porter,
- Type: Invited
- The Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics (AIP) regularly conducts nationwide surveys on the representation of women in degrees earned, graduate school enrollment, and faculty employment. Although women’s representation has increased over time, the proportion of female physics students is below that of other STEM disciplines. In 2018, women earned only 22% of physics bachelor’s degrees and 20% of physics doctoral degrees. We conducted a “pipeline” analysis to identify points of attrition for women in physics between high school physics enrollment and faculty employment in academic departments. We found no attrition for women between receiving a physics bachelor’s degree, receiving a physics doctorate, and being employed in faculty positions. However, the percentage of women decreased between high school physics enrollment and receiving a physics bachelor’s degree. Future research should explore potential explanations for the attrition of women during high school and undergraduate education.
Resistance & Resilience: How we show up for ourselves when we are the only__ in the room
Resistance & Resilience: How we show up for ourselves when we are the only__ in the room
- DK
- Mon 01/20, 3:30PM - 5:00PM
- by Jennifer A. Sandoval
- Type: Event
- For years white women and people of color have been told the best way to respond to the stress of managing institutions not created for them is self-care. While some forms of self-care can be important, it is not enough for finding ways to engage our organizations in ways that feel authentic and honest. This session focuses on cultivating a practice of resilience, on constructing communities of care, and finding ways to enact resistance to practices that are used to disempower and often silence us in our organizational structures.
Resource Letters Committee
Resource Letters Committee
- COM04
- Sat 01/18, 11:30AM - 2:30PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Committee Meeting
Retired Physicists Luncheon
Retired Physicists Luncheon
- SPEC07
- Sun 01/19, 12:00PM - 1:30PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Review Board
Review Board
- COM20
- Sun 01/19, 7:00AM - 8:00AM
- by Dan Crowe
- Type: Committee Meeting
SEES Volunteer Training
SEES Volunteer Training
- by Brad Conrad
- Type: Event
SEES Volunteer Training
- SPS04
- Sun 01/19, 10:00AM - 2:00PM
- by Brad Conrad
- Type: Event
SEES- Student Exploring Engineering and Science
SEES- Student Exploring Engineering and Science
- SEES
- Tue 01/21, 9:30AM - 12:00PM
- by Brad Conrad
- Type: Event
SM2020 Paper Sort for Grand Rapids
SM2020 Paper Sort or Grand Rapids
- COM101
- Tue 01/21, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Jan Mader
- Type: Committee Meeting
SPS Undergraduate Awards Reception
SPS Undergraduate Awards Reception
- SPS
- Mon 01/20, 5:30PM - 7:00PM
- Type: Event
SPS Undergraduate Meet & Greet
SPS Undergraduate Meet & Greet
- SPS05
- Sun 01/19, 4:30PM - 6:00PM
- by Brad Conrad
- Type: Event
SPS Undergraduate Oral Talks
Measuring Pressure and Strain with Luminescent Coatings
- AF01
- Sun 01/19, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
by Kimberly Lowndes,*, Kyle Chism, Amruthkiran Hegde, James Hubner
- Type: Contributed
- Often, researchers employ probes such as pressure taps and strain gauges to measure the pressure and strain on aerodynamic objects. However, these tools lack high-resolution and full-field capabilities that may be necessary for high-speed aerodynamic testing. A combination of photoelastic coatings (PEC) and pressure sensitive paint (PSP) has the potential to provide researchers with correlated, full-field surface measurements of maximum shear strain and pressure, respectively. Photoelastic coatings use circularly polarized light along with birefringent material properties to provide information about the surface strain of objects, while pressure sensitive paint utilizes oxygen-quenched luminophores to measure pressure. Benchtop test results will be presented of a dual-layer PEC/PSP coating applied to cantilever beams subjected to static and dynamic loading and imaged with a micro-polarizer digital camera.
Analysis of Lorentz-Violation for a Massive Fermion in Curved Spacetime
- AF02
- Sun 01/19, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
by Parker Roberts,, Charles Lane
- Type: Contributed
- Symmetry of physical laws under Lorentz transformations is an important principle of physics that has been tested to a high degree of experimental accuracy. However, some proposed theories, such as those aimed at reconciling inconsistencies between general relativity and the Standard Model, may lead to violations of Lorentz symmetry in high-energy regimes. The Standard Model Extension (SME) is a field-theoretic framework that includes possible Lorentz-violating background terms. These fields lead to asymmetries between reference frames, locally violating special relativity. Calculating low-energy limits of the SME provides insight into which properties of Lorentz-violation may be potentially measurable in the future. This work analyzes the SME for a massive fermion in a weak gravitational field by exploring its non-relativistic limits.
Band Structure and Defects in a Simple Quantum System
- AF03
- Sun 01/19, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
by Neilson Woodfield,*, Todd Timberlake
- Type: Contributed
- We explore the energy eigenvalue spectrum of a finite one-dimensional periodic quantum system. In particular, we examine a system consisting of an infinite square well containing a number of evenly spaced Dirac wells. We study the formation of band structure as Dirac wells are added to the infinite square well. In addition, we study the effects of introducing two types of defects: a change in the strength of a single Dirac well, and a change in the position of a single Dirac well. We see that both types of defects can cause energy levels to move out of a band and into a band gap. Our results show that this extremely simple model can be used to clearly illustrate important properties of periodic quantum systems.
Deposition of Crystalline InGaSb by Electrochemical Liquid-Liquid-Solid Growth
- AF04
- Sun 01/19, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
by Raphael Francisco,, Zachary Lindsey, Mark Moran, Quinn Smith
- Type: Contributed
- Semiconductors are critical to many aspects of modern technology due to desirable electronic and optical properties for a wide range of applications. InGaSb is a ternary semiconductor alloy with tunable optoelectronic properties in the near infrared (NIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum, making this material a suitable candidate for various applications in NIR sensing and detection. Current methods for producing InGaSb require high-cost experimental setups and toxic gaseous precursors. Thus, this research focuses on deposition of crystalline InGaSb via the electrochemical liquid-liquid-solid (ec-LLS) process, where growth occurs at atmospheric pressure and near room temperature. The hypothesis tested in this work is that crystalline InGaSb can be grown via ec-LLS using various combinations of In and Ga liquid metals to serve as an electrode, solvent and a coreactant promoting semiconductor crystal growth. As-grown InGaSb crystals will be characterized for crystallographic properties via X-ray diffraction and electrical properties via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.
Developing Leaf-based Electronics
- AF05
- Sun 01/19, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
by James Targos, Jack Terrell, Ramesh Adhikari
- Type: Contributed
- Over the last decade, there has been an unprecedented global increase in consumption of electronic devices. In addition, the duration for which an electronic device is used continues to decrease as the newer versions are pushed into the market every few years. This has resulted in a growing amount of electronic waste (e-waste) being generated across the world. Despite efforts to recycle, a disproportionate amount of e-waste ends up in landfills, which causes the pollution of soil and water sources. One way to address the issue is to develop electronic components that are biodegradable. We present our work on using leaves of a monocotyledon plant as biodegradable templates to construct electronic components. We convert the vascular conduits of the leaves into conducting channels and construct wires and supercapacitors within them. This demonstrates the possibility of using plant parts as an alternative towards the development of biodegradable electronics.
SPS Undergraduate Research and Outreach Poster Session
Studying Muon Count Rates as Underground Depth Increases
- SPS01
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Paul Graham,*, Emmanuel copeland, Eleanor Winkler, Nathan Unterman, Marybeth Senser
- Type: Poster
- Chicago area QuarkNet students worked together to determine the cosmic ray muon flux as a function of depth while descending in the MINOS elevator at Fermilab. Rates were measured at different angles of acceptance. Results and unexpected errors will be presented.
Open-Ended Scientific Experimentation in Physics Labs
- SPS02
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Madeline Clyburn,, Charles Lane
- Type: Poster
- Asking a variety of physics professors about the importance of laboratory instruction in undergraduate physics curriculum produces a diverse selection of answers. Are labs intended to reinforce the lecture content from class or to learn how to measure certain physics quantities? Regardless, everyone would agree that physics labs are valuable to students’ education and future. Previous research reveals that past “cookbook” labs are ineffective and do not prepare students for the critical thinking and experimentation used in the real scientific world. Thus, we have created open-ended experimental physics labs for the introductory physics course at Berry College and have implemented these labs into the courses, in fall semester 2019. We hope to show that these new lab experiences are more effective than “cookbook” labs, and the implementation of these physics’ labs will create an increase in test scores on diagnostic tests compared to the scores obtained through conventional physics labs.
Optical Characterization of an Overhead Projector Spatial Light Modulator
- SPS03
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Romulo Ochoa,, Rob Conwell, Zachery Andreula
- Type: Poster
- Commercial overhead projectors contain three spatial light modulators (SLM). In the past, we have used these SLMs in 4f Fourier optics experiments and for the formation of optical vortices. These experiments can be easily adapted to upper level physics lab experiences. We optically characterized the SLMs using red, green, and blue lasers. We report the rotation of linearly polarized light as a function of the RGB values in images input to the SLMs. We have found polarization rotations that are dependent on the light source frequency, the specific SLM used, and the projector port to which the SLM was connected.
Modeling Radiation Trapping in Alkali Vapors
- SPS04
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Oluebubechukwu Onaga,, Brian Patterson, Stephen Spicklemire, Monte Anderson, Jerry Sell
- Type: Poster
- We present the outcome of an undergraduate capstone project involving the validation of Monte Carlo simulations of radiation trapping in alkali vapors and comparison to experimental data. Radiation trapping is the confinement of light in atomic vapors bysuccessive absorption and reemission of photons. If the vapor is sufficiently dense, the apparent lifetime of the atomic excited state, as observed in the fluorescence decay, may be significantly longer than the natural lifetime. The calculations modeled and visualized the random walk of photons in cesium and rubidium vapors in a small, temperature-controlled cell, from initial absorption using a broadband laser source to eventual escape and detection. The focus of the poster is the validation of the calculations invoked in the Monte Carlo simulation compared to experimental results from an experiment having the same geometry and utilizing a Ti:sapphire pulsed laser for excitation.
Developing a Community Outreach Program on the Physics of Smell
- SPS05
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Carissa Giuliano,, Matthew Wright
- Type: Poster
- We will present our progress toward developing a public outreach program on the physics of smell to present at local high schools and museums. We have developed interactive exhibits to explain the two primary models that reveal how we smell: the lock and key model and the inelastic electron tunneling model. For the lock and key model, we 3-D printed several receptors for molecules, built from molecule kits, to fit into. For the tunneling model, we have developed various graphical simulations and used a physical example of frustrated total internal reflection to showcase a visible example of tunneling. After presenting this at various maker fairs our main takeaway was that observers will need to understand more about properties of light to grasp this demonstration. Therefore, we plan to incorporate a segment on this in the next version of the presentation.
Shape/Scale Independent Direct Surface Area Measurement Method from Images*
- SPS06
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Matthew Mancini,, Mariana Sendova
- Type: Poster
- A direct, shape, and scale independent digital image measurement method of the surface area (SA) of individual objects is proposed. The algorithms presented herein utilize the brightness histogram of 8-bit grey scale images, and thus are referred to as Brightness Histogram Surface Area Measurement Algorithm (BHSAMA). The proposed SA measurement technique allows the uncertainty of the single measurement reading to be evaluated by traditional error propagation. This fact alone presents a significant advantage to the current methods utilizing image segmentation and/or edge detection whose measurement uncertainties cannot be quantitatively analysed. For method verification purposes, a series of digital simulations using a control sample of predetermined size is undertaken. The accuracy of the single measured SA reading is between 0.5 % and 1.5 %. The two presented BHSAMA techniques can have wide range of applicability from nanoparticles, to cell biology, to aerial imagery.
Non-linear Oscillations in Quartz Tuning Forks at Cryogenic Temperatures
- SPS07
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Frank DiLello,*, Eric Bautista, Yoonseok Lee
- Type: Poster
- We investigated non-linear behavior of commercially available quartz tuning forks. Quartz tuning forks are mechanical resonators whose mechanical oscillations can be actuated and detected electrically. When they are driven at low excitations, the quarts tuning forks can be described by a driven damped harmonic oscillator model with its resonance frequency in the range of 10 kHz. Our previous attempts to investigate these resonators in vacuum at room temperature hit the physical limit of the fork, causing it to display unusual non-linear behavior. It is well known that most of the mechanical oscillators exhibit non-linear behavior called Duffing oscillations. We embarked on conducting the in-depth study on this at cryogenic temperatures down to 4 K where the non-linear effect should be more pronounced. We designed and constructed a 4 K probe for this project. In this paper we will discuss the non-linear behavior of quartz tuning forks at 4 K in vacuum.
Search for Potential Higgs Boson to Dark Photon Decay
- SPS08
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
- by Sean Kent,*
- Type: Poster
- The Large Hadron Collider accelerates protons to the order of 10 TeV of energy and smashes them together, enabling an emergence of heavy and short-lived subatomic particles. One such new subatomic particle, the Higgs Boson, was discovered in 2012. The Higgs Boson is vastly different from all other known elementary particles and plays a very special role in the theory, which warrants a broad program of studying its properties, including searches for decays to yet some other new particles that have been otherwise evading detection so far. This poster presents a strategy for one of such searches, namely: decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of ''dark'’ photons predicted to exist by some theoretical models.
Student Engagement in a Project-based Electricity and Magnetism Course
- SPS10
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Ayax Santos,, Osvaldo Aquines, Hector Gonzalez
- Type: Poster
- Despite the relevance of science in engineering, sometimes engineering students do not see the connection of physics courses to their field of study. As an alternative, a project-based course was designed to engage them into the subject. The course starts by defining a set of projects from which they can choose. In each of them, they have to apply the concepts seen in the course to build the final prototype. The main project deliverables are: a first report in which they detail how will they build their prototype and the physics concepts implied, a second videoreport (youtube) in which they show their first test and finally an oral presentation and demonstration of the working prototype in front of the class. Qualitative results from interviews show that students feel more motivated since they relate the course to the real world and other areas of engineering.
Physics and Engineering of the Speed Limit Enforcement Devices
- SPS11
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
- by Mikhail Agrest,
- Type: Poster
- The need of limiting speed is based on multiple reasons related to safety. The practice of use of speed limiting devices (e.g.: speed humps/speed bumps) is very contradicting in terms of achieving the main goals, as safety without increasing pollution. The study also showed that selection of speed limiting devices is often intuitive, but not based on adequate physical model and accurate calculation and design.Actual practice today shows that the safe speed passing a speed hump/bump is often differs from the assigned speed limit. This leads to drivers’ slowing down before the speed humps and their acceleration in the space between speed humps. As a result, the purpose is not achieved, the safety is not improved, the environment becomes more polluted and the spent money wasted. The study was made on reasoning of the shape and dimensions of speed limit enforcement devices to match the assigned speed limit.
Physicochemical Modeling and Optimization of the Dissolution Kinetics of Prednisolone Loaded Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Films*
- SPS12
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
- by Megan Mouton,
- Type: Poster
- Pharmaceutical industries spend a tremendous amount of time and money in order to develop a formulation process for the mass production of individual drugs suitable for certain release properties. These industries are spending so much money on the formulation processes because with a faster formulation comes the enabling of a faster transition from the bench to clinical trials to commercial production (translational research). Mathematical models are essential in modern drug development and design research to predict the optimal process design based on physical properties and targeted release profile. Here, a physicochemical model is developed based on Fick’s first law of diffusion to describe prednisolone loaded polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) dissolution in aqueous solution, which was solved using Python after simplifying by Noyes-Whitney approximation to predict the transport properties (diffusivity and boundary layer thickness). The model produced a good fit (R2 > 0.9) for drug release profile with changing solution volume, film thickness and presence/absence of surfactant Tween80, and was used to predict a lumped rate k and solubility Cs. The model and predicted physical parameters will help in the design of film-based drug formulation systems with optimal properties.
Using an IR Camera to Investigate Power in Simple DC Circuits
- SPS13
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Sarah Nowell,, Megan Mouton
- Type: Poster
- Traditionally in introductory level physics, simple DC circuits with light bulbs are used to teach current, potential difference, and power. This can be problematic because light bulbs are non-ohmic, which results in unexpected observations. In this set of experiments, we used ceramic resistors, which are ohmic, and an IR camera to investigate power. We used the IR camera to measure temperature and radiance of resistors in series and in parallel, and we measured temperature and radiance of single resistors as a function of time. We found that it took a long time for resistors to reach thermal equilibrium, especially for lower resistance (higher power). We found that radiant power increased with electrical power and that radiance is proportional to temperature. These results can be used to write new introductory physics lab activities that use an IR camera to better understand the Energy Principle applied to a resistor in a circuit.
Electrochemical Liquid-Liquid-Solid Deposition of Crystalline InGaAs
- SPS14
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
- by Mark Moran,
- Type: Poster
- InGaAs is a (III-V) compound semiconductor alloy with tunable optoelectronic properties in the near infrared (NIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum, making this material an excellent candidate for various applications in NIR sensing and detection. Current methods for producing InGaAs require high-cost experimental setups and toxic gaseous precursors. Thus, this research targets the deposition of crystalline InGaAs via the electrochemical liquid-liquid-solid (ec-LLS) process, in which growth occurs in room temperatures, ambient pressure, and without any toxic precursors. The hypothesis tested in this work says that crystalline InGaAs can be grown via ec-LLS using varied mixtures of In and Ga liquid metals to serve as an electrode, solvent, and coreactant promoting semiconductor crystal growth. The InGaAs crystals will be characterized for crystallographic properties via x-ray diffraction and electrical properties via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Obtained results will reveal the efficiency of ec-LLS in growing semiconductor materials.
How Would A Nearby Kilonova Look On Camera?
- SPS17
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Nihar Gupte,*, Imre Bartos
- Type: Poster
- Kilonovae are cosmic optical flashes produced in the aftermath of the merger of two neutron stars. While the typical radiant flux of a kilonova can be as high as 10e34 W, they typically occur at cosmological distances, requiring meter-class or larger telescopes for their observation. Here we explore how a kilonova would look like from Earth if it occurred in the Solar System’s backyard, 1000 light-years from Earth. This is a small distance on cosmological scales, with only one neutron-star merger expected to occur this close every 100,000,000 years. While humans will likely only see kilonovae at much greater distances, showing how such a nearby event would look on camera can help visualize these events, and demonstrate their unique spectral evolution.
Balloon Borne Investigation Zenith Angle Dependence of Cosmic Rays Showers
- SPS18
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Melissa Graham,, Claire Weinzierl, Judy Panmany, Alisha Wiedmeier, Alynie Walter
- Type: Poster
- Galactic Cosmic Rays are high-energy particles from stars or remnants of a supernova. These particles impinge upon the Earth's atmosphere, in the form of positively charged particles, protons. Protons interact with atmospheric nuclei to produce a cascadeof high energy secondary particles known as a Galactic Cosmic Ray Shower. This post-collision secondary shower depends on altitude, latitude, solar activity, and air pressure. The Regener-Pfotzer (R-P) maximum, which is between 15-25 km, is the altitude where the maximum number of detections is measured with a Geiger Müller detector. In order to quantify particle collisions, a payload was flown containing four Geiger counters in a cross configuration comparing and measuring vertical, horizontal, and omnidirectional coincidences. Analyzed data showed an R-P maximum occurring at different altitudes depending on the direction of the coincidences, consistent with previous research.
Balloon Borne Lower Atmosphere Neutron Detection Using Personal Neutron Dosimeters
- SPS19
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Judy Panmany,, Claire Weinzierl, Alisha Wiedmeier, Melissa Graham, Alynie Walter
- Type: Poster
- Helium filled High Altitude Balloons (HABs) carrying payloads are utilized to explore Earth’s atmosphere. These balloons expand until they burst at approximately 32 km due to low pressure. Subatomic particles, such as neutrons can be found within regionsof the atmosphere where HABs are flown. Neutrons are challenging to detect because they are electrically neutral. A Personal Neutron Dosimeter (PND) detector can be used to quantify neutrons through the appearance of bubbles, based on the reaction with liquid Freon-12. Two HAB flights were conducted with payloads that consist of a PND, heater circuit, GPS devices, and GoPro camera. Particle counts peak between 15-25 km; this altitude is referred to as the Regener-Pfotzer (R-P) maximum. Data analysis showed a correlation between the altitude of neutrons and the altitude of charged subatomic particles. These flights demonstrated that neutrons were present at lower altitudes than previously demonstrated.
Cosmic Ray Shower Zenith Angle Measurement by Balloon Borne Apparatus
- SPS20
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Alisha Wiedmeier,, Melissa Graham, Claire Weinzierl, Judy Panmany, Alynie Walter
- Type: Poster
- High energy particles, mainly protons, from distant stars or supernovae interact with atmospheric particles producing a Galactic Cosmic Ray Shower; these particles can be monitored through High Altitude Balloon (HAB) flights. In past experiments, Aware Electronics RM-80 Geiger Müller (GM) detectors were separated and stacked vertically, to collect particle coincidences aligned at zero and 90 degrees in relation to the zenith angle. The Regener-Pfotzer maximum, an altitude dependent maximum of this measurement, varied for vertical, horizontal, and omnidirectional coincidences. An apparatus built to rotate a pair of stacked GM detectors using a stepper motor was used to collect coincidence data for particles traveling at different angles. The detectors were turned every 15-seconds to collect data for zenith angles of ? = 0°, 45°, and -45° relative to the vertical axis. A HAB flight confirmed that the apparatus prototype could withstand low pressure, low temperature, and continued to collect data after landing.
A Profile of the Muon Flux in Fermilab’s MINOS Tunnel
- SPS21
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Benjamin Grey,*, Jacob Miller, Shoshana Frank, Shira Eliaser, Allen Sears
- Type: Poster
- The MINOS tunnel at Fermilab is 103 meters in depth to shield the experiment from cosmic rays. High school students hypothesized that the muon flux will decrease as a function of distance in the tunnel from the access shaft. Two detectors were used, one parallel to the tunnel and one perpendicular to the tunnel. An additional stack was on the surface as a control. We varied the distance from the shaft and measured the muon flux. We found influences from the neutrino beam which necessitated normalization of our results. The results gathered over that period proved our hypothesis. Experiment details will be presented.
DivYX; Software to Perform Web-based Kinematic Analysis
- SPS22
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Hector Antonio Gonzalez Flores,, Osvaldo Aquines, Ayax Santos
- Type: Poster
- Computer-based analysis tools have proven to be very effective in physics education and their use has become everyday more intensive. However, the analysis tools currently available have technical requirements related to their installation in some combination of hardware and operating system. DivYX, is an analysis tool that works completely online, and is independent of the hardware and operating system used. DivYX is able to provide students with the necessary facilities to perform a kinematic analysis of some phenomenon which has been previously recorded on video. DivYX is part of the Newtondreams project, which it intends to make it available for users; Teachers or physics students, of tools that can be used in the teaching-learning process. DivYX is a tool used regularly in our laboratories, Physics, and Digital Effects Animation courses, as well as various departmental projects.
Application of AMTI Sports Performance Force Plates in Introductory Physics
- SPS23
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
by Paul Klippel,, Aaron Titus
- Type: Poster
- An important, yet challenging, concept in introductory physics is contact forces with perpendicular (normal) and tangential (friction) components in both static and dynamic situations. Our new physics classroom includes three recessed, parallel, researchgrade force plates designed for biomechanics that measure 3D contact forces and position on the plate. Using Python and VPython, we created a custom data acquisition, analysis, and visualization application for introductory physics students to observe and measure contact forces with the plates. In live recording mode students can view the 3D force vector alongside graphs of force components and magnitude. After data is collected, students can select data to analyze. Selecting a single data point displays the corresponding 3D force vector. This unique hardware in an introductory physics classroom creates novel opportunities for education and research.
SPS: Zone 6 Meeting
SPS: Zone 6 Meeting
- SPS02
- Sat 01/18, 10:00AM - 6:00PM
- by Brad Conrad
- Type: Event
STEP UP
STEP UP
- TL09
- Mon 01/20, 3:30PM - 4:30PM
- by Mark Hannum
- Type: Event
- Join a fact exploration and discussion on the NSF grant STEP UP aiming to drastically increase the number of women in undergraduate physics through interventions in the high school classroom.
Saturday Registration
Saturday Registration
- REG02
- Sat 01/18, 7:00AM - 4:00PM
- AAPT Staff
- Type: Registration
Science is Elementary
Science is Elementary
- TL07
- Sun 01/19, 3:00PM - 4:00PM
- by Justine Boecker Harren
- Type: Event
- Join a discussion about the challenges and success stories for elementary educators teaching science.
Section Representative and Officers
Section Representative and Officers
- COM05
- Sat 01/18, 4:30PM - 5:30PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Committee Meeting
Seeking Sustainable Development of Open-Source Educational Technology
The PICUP Project — Working Toward Sustainability*
- BK01
- Sun 01/19, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
by Larry Engelhardt,, Danny Caballero, Marie Lopez del Puerto, Kelly Roos, Bob Hilborn
- Type: Invited
- PICUP (the "Partnership for Integration of Computation into Undergraduate Education") has been around for more than a decade, but in the last few years, PICUP membership has soared thanks to significant support from the NSF. The question then becomes: how do we continue the success of PICUP after NSF funding runs out? We will discuss the current state of the project, the challenges to sustainability, and some of the potential solutions.
The Sustainability of GlowScript
- BK02
- Sun 01/19, 4:00PM - 4:30PM
- by Bruce Sherwood,
- Type: Invited
- VPython makes it easy to write Python programs that generate navigable real-time 3D animations as a side effect of physics computations. It runs in a browser (glowscript.org), with installed Python including in Jupyter notebooks (vpython.org), and as a Trinket (trinket.io). VPython is free, open-source, and widely depended upon by physics students, educators, and researchers. Several people have contributed to building installers for using VPython with installed Python, but for many years only one person has developed and maintained the GlowScript 3D library that is central to all versions of VPython, and the glowscript.org website that has proven particularly appropriate for intro-level students. The Orlando workshop W10 on “The Architecture of GlowScript VPython” is aimed at recruiting more GlowScript developers. Even if additional people contribute, there is a need for long-term institutional support, ideally within AAPT.
Statistical Physics and Thermodynamics
The Role of Temperature and Entropy in Thermal Physics
- BI01
- Sun 01/19, 5:30PM - 6:00PM
- by Jan Tobochnik,
- Type: Invited
- To fully understand a physical concept, students need to know its definition, the many relations in which it appears, how the concept can be visualized in pictures and graphs, how it is measured in experimentsand computer simulations, and its role, which is frequently not discussed. I will discuss these ways of knowing for concepts such as temperature and entropy in the context of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. I will also discuss student misconceptions and what tools may be helpful to overcome them.
Research on Student Learning of Statistical Physics*
- BI02
- Sun 01/19, 6:00PM - 6:30PM
- by Michael Loverude,
- Type: Invited
- As part of an NSF-funded project, we have performed research on student learning in upper-division thermal physics and developed associated instructional materials. In this talk, we will describe a subset of this work that relates to statistical physics as opposed to classical thermodynamics. The work was performed in the context of sophomore-level thermal physics, using the text by Schroeder. This text introduces and develops the second law of thermodynamics as a statistical phenomenon using the microcanonical ensemble and thus relies heavily on student understanding of probability and combinatorics. For this paper, we show results for written and interview tasks that probe student understanding of probability, multiplicity, and the concepts of micro- and macrostates. Further, we describe curricular materials designed to support student learning and provide evidence of their efficacy.
Student Harassment and Intimidation of Faculty
Student Harassment and Intimidation of Faculty
- EH
- Mon 01/20, 7:30PM - 8:30PM
- by Beverly Cannon
- Type: Topical
- Topical
Student Topical Discussion and Social
Student Topical Discussion and Social
- DL
- Mon 01/20, 3:00PM - 4:30PM
- by Lisa Goodhew
- Type: Topical
- This session is the primary opportunity for student members of the PER community to meet and discuss common issues. While this session is aimed toward graduate students, we welcome undergraduates who are interested in studying PER or curious about life as a graduate student!
Student-driven Inquiry
Student-driven Inquiry in Introductory Physics for Life Science
- ED01
- Mon 01/20, 6:30PM - 7:00PM
- by Nancy Beverly,
- Type: Invited
- How can students be guided to be their own drivers of inquiry in the direction of instructional intent? How can they be helped to formulate their own explorable questions, especially about the physics of phenomena of interest to them? In our introductory course for life science, students start to build a life-long habit of looking deeper into living processes, to uncover the underlying physical mechanisms. Students initially identify a larger, personally motivating life/health phenomenon or scenario of interest to them. They then focus their inquiry along different physical concept strands as the courses progress, framing their own questions to investigate underlying physical mechanisms related to those concepts. Refining to quantitative inquiry, they obtain and analyze their own data, using models to make inferences or conclusions. Framing in terms of comparison eases making quantitative analysis meaningful. The inquiry process is assessed in weekly “mini-project” homework assignments leading to a semester-long project.
Analyzing Students' Ability to Make and Report Accurate Measurements
- ED02
- Mon 01/20, 7:00PM - 7:10PM
- by Duane Deardorff,
- Type: Contributed
- When asked to make measurements in an introductory physics lab, students often struggle to use simple devices effectively in order to accurately measure and report their findings. They also confuse the concepts of measurement errors and uncertainty. Withnearly two decades of experience administering laboratory exam questions in our intro physics courses at UNC-CH, we have thousands of practicums that give us insights into the strengths and weaknesses students have demonstrated when their grade depends on making and reporting accurate measurements.
Student Perceptions of Laboratory Classroom Performances and Experimental Physics Practice*
- ED03
- Mon 01/20, 7:10PM - 7:20PM
by Dimitri Dounas-Frazer,, Kimme Johnson, Soojin Park, Heather Lewandowski
- Type: Contributed
- Laboratory courses plausibly play a role in shaping students’ ideas about what experimentation entails. Here, we report results from interviews with students in an undergraduate laboratory course. Drawing on Ford’s (2015) conceptions of scientific performance and practice, we explored the circumstances under which students perceived particular classroom performances to be features of experimental physics practice. Interviews focused on student perceptions of 18 performances, including analyzing data, troubleshooting apparatus, maintaining a notebook, and making team decisions. During interviews, students referenced their own and others’ experiences working on projects as evidence to support nuanced ideas about experimentation. Many students identified certain performances (e.g., data analysis) as inherent to experimentation while also acknowledging the existence of a plurality of valid experimental approaches depending on research goals, resource availability, and group expertise. Our findings suggest that noticing performative similarities and differences among projects may be causally linked to students’ beliefs about experimental physics practice.
Initial Development and Playtesting of Physics-Based Tabletop Roleplaying Game
- ED04
- Mon 01/20, 7:20PM - 7:30PM
by Jack Terrell,, Sarah Patrick, W. Brian Lane
- Type: Contributed
- Gamification is becoming an increasingly popular and research-driven practice in education. Meanwhile, tabletop roleplaying games (such as Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder) are resurging in popularity. Building on these trends, we are developing Adventures in Notharia, an educational physics-based tabletop roleplaying game, which can supplement classroom learning and provide fun activities for physics clubs and conferences. Early playtest results indicate that students find this game to be engaging and effective at reinforcing their learning when they apply key physics concepts in resolving game encounters. We plan on showcasing a demo of this game during the Winter Meeting, time TBD; please contact the presenters for details.
Success Stories of Female Physicists
Building a Career: Mentoring and Make-ing
- BG01
- Sun 01/19, 4:30PM - 5:00PM
- by Anne Cox,
- Type: Invited
- When you get to build a career on what you really love, in my case, teaching physics, working with students, and creating curricular materials, even the grading is worth it (most of the time). My work with students and faculty has evolved in unexpected ways, particularly with regard to Mentoring and the Maker movement. I will discuss the value and impact of these two seemingly disparate activities, the connections between them, and how you might think about them in the context of your career.
Changing the Culture of a Physics Department: Our Story
- BG02
- Sun 01/19, 5:00PM - 5:30PM
- by Talat Rahman,
- Type: Invited
- When I joined the Physics Department at the University of Central Florida in 2006, I was excited to have the opportunity to help move the department forward in research, education, and service and at the same time overwhelmed by the challenges, some of which were unexpected. It was after all a traditional physics department, with traditional aspirations and traditional reward system. After a hard year of taking stock of things, some pieces fell in place and instructional reform offered itself as a vehicle that could facilitate much needed change in the departmental culture. In this talk I will point to some strategies that we undertook, some collective decisions that we made and some overarching reforms that we put in place that have helped create a student-centered culture which also fosters high faculty research productivity and sound educational gains. The APS PhysTEC and Bridge Program were a boon and helped create a promising, diverse and inclusive environment.
Sunday Afternoon Break in the Exhibit Hall
Sunday Afternoon Break in the Exhibit Hall
- EXH05
- Sun 01/19, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
Sunday Morning Break in the Exhibit Hall
Sunday Morning Break in the Exhibit Hall
- EXH03
- Sun 01/19, 10:00AM - 10:30AM
-
- Type: Exhibit Hall
Sunday Registration
Sunday Registration
- REG03
- Sun 01/19, 7:00AM - 4:00PM
- AAPT Staff
- Type: Registration
Teacher Training/Enhancement
Follow the Heartbeat – Physics of the Cardiovascular System
- EE01
- Mon 01/20, 6:30PM - 7:00PM
- by Nancy Donaldson,
- Type: Invited
- The Physics of the Cardiovascular System Module is an NSF-funded, vetted, curricular resource on the Living Physics Portal – an online, community-sourced platform for physics for the life sciences faculty. Using hands-on active learning curriculum, this module guides students through an investigation of the mechanics of the cardiovascular system and the pressure differences that guide blood flow in health and disease. The target learning audience is students pursuing graduate school/careers in medicine or healthcare. Module activities address Pre-Health Competency E3 (Demonstrate knowledge of basic physical principles and their applications to the understanding of living systems) and Foundational Concept 4B (Importance of fluids for the circulation of blood, gas movement, and gas exchange) and are directed toward an application of physics to medicine. This Living Physics Portal curriculum includes complete instructor resources including pedagogy, materials, all solutions to qualitative and quantitative assessment questions, building instructions, and suggestions for use in different educational environments.
Development of Physics Mentorship Program for Sound Waveform Analysis
- EE02
- Mon 01/20, 7:00PM - 7:10PM
by Sujin Moon,, Jungbok Kim
- Type: Contributed
- Sound is a concept that is very closely related to our lives and has been steadily emphasized in the Korean curriculum. Many studies, however, show that students, even teachers, are not familiar with the basic concepts of sound waves. Also, the development of educational materials on wave concept is insignificant. The purpose of this study is to develop a physics mentorship program for sound wave analysis for middle school science gifted students. The students learned basic knowledge of sound waves and learned how to use oscilloscopes to observe the sound waveforms around them. Then, the obtained waveform was decomposed into frequency components through Fourier transform, and the educational contents were constructed to learn about the sound wave based on the analysis of what frequency the sound is composed of. It is expected that this educational material will help students intuitively establish the correct concept of sound waves.
Equipping Teachers to Engage Underrepresented Students in STEM
- EE03
- Mon 01/20, 7:10PM - 7:20PM
by Debbie French,, Sean Hauze, Richard French, Doug Hunt, Tom Singer
- Type: Contributed
- Providing engaging and sustained STEM learning opportunities are two research-based strategies that supports underrepresented students in STEM. Building upon the previous successes of the STEM Guitar Grants, two objectives of the current grant are to increase the number of teachers of underrepresented K-16 students trained in STEM education and increase students’ STEM knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Results include increases in teachers’ confidence in teaching STEM, increases in students’ STEM content knowledge, tenacity, and attitudes towards STEM. Students also reported increasing confidence with skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration—skills that are applicable to students’ post-secondary endeavors.
Strategies to Develop Confident and Flexible Physics Faculty
- EE04
- Mon 01/20, 7:20PM - 7:30PM
by Cathleen Barker,*, TRAVIS BARKER, Peter Chapman
- Type: Contributed
- Undergraduate physics is often a required, challenging course for students. As such, physics faculty require leader and teaching development prior to instructing students so they can better assist students in overcoming mental hurdles. This presentation will discuss three areas the United States Military Academy’s Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering have targeted to create a successful new faculty training: team cohesion, mastery of course materials, and training on physics education research and pedagogy. Additionally, the presentation will discuss techniques for continued development of new faculty throughout their first year of instruction; these faculty development workshops boost new faculty’s understanding and implementation of active learning tools. Through a discussion of quantitative and qualitative feedback, this talk will highlight the benefits of a strong new faculty training program that ensures all new faculty, regardless of educational background, are adaptive and flexible to student inputs in the classroom.
Physics Teacher Qualifications: Examining Influence on Minorities
- EE05
- Mon 01/20, 7:30PM - 7:40PM
- by Philomena Agu,
- Type: Contributed
- Several studies used possession of undergraduate degree and certification in teaching subject to measure teacher effectiveness. Usually, unqualified teachers lack the credential and assumed out-of-field label. The teachers lack abilities to teach for critical thinking and to engage students’ interest in the subject. Moreover, their self-efficacy is low. In Texas, prospective physics teachers could obtain certification by taking an exam with rigorous subject content or the general science with less rigor, 20 percent physics contents. However, the teachers preferred general science. A survey of 510 physics teachers revealed that while 70.2 percent hold certification in general science., less than 13 percent certified in physics or physical science. Similarly, only 33.0 percent possess an undergraduate degree major in a physical science field. Overall, the teachers seem unqualified, and concentration of out-of-field teachers is more in high-poverty schools where most minorities attend. The implication is continuous under-representation of minorities in physics.
The Effect of the Evaluator's Level of Scientific Knowledge on the Creativity Evaluation of Scientific Outputs
- EE06
- Mon 01/20, 7:40PM - 7:50PM
by Arla Go,, Jungbok Kim
- Type: Contributed
- In evaluating creativity, evaluator effects have been continually studied and found to affect evaluation results. And It is necessary to find out whether the level of knowledge that significantly influences the expression of creativity affects the results of creativity evaluation as an evaluator effect. Therefore, this study aimed to examine how the evaluator's level of scientific knowledge affects the creativity evaluation of scientific outputs. The subjects of this study were 160 elementary school teachers and physics science teachers and non-physics science teachers. The evaluators evaluated the creativity of the works of science exhibition in the field of physics, with nine criteria on a five-point scale using the Creative Output Analysis Matrix (CPAM). The results of the creativity evaluation by teacher group were statistically analyzed and the results were found to influence creativity evaluation according to the level of scientific knowledge.
Teaching and Engaging Students at HSI's
Integrating Research, Mentoring, and Industry Collaborations to Improve STEM Recruitment & Retention*
- GD01
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
- by Nichole Spencer,
- Type: Invited
- This project at Phoenix College will advance the aims of the Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program (HSI Program) by incorporating multi-disciplinary Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) into STEM curricula in colleges throughout the district. The specific goals of this project are to 1) promote increased interest in STEM disciplines, especially among students from groups that are underrepresented in STEM; 2) increase recruitment and retention of students in introductory STEM courses; 3) increase the number of students from two-year HSIs who transfer into STEM degree programs at four-year institutions; and 4) establish cross-sector partnerships with industry to improve workforce readiness and promote interest in STEM careers among two-year HSI students.
Modeling Instruction: A Transformative Was to Experience STEM Content
- GD02
- Tue 01/21, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
- by Idaykis Rodriguez,
- Type: Invited
- Modeling Instruction in University Physics is an evidence-based, active learning, student-centered, curricula that transforms the way students experience STEM content. Focused around doing science, students engage in cooperative group learning, whole-class discussion, and develop theoretical models of physical phenomena with little to no lecture time. This talk will focus on explaining how to create an introductory physics experience that is culturally sensitive and inclusive of students that are traditionally under-represented minorities in STEM and transforming students conceptions of physics. At Florida International University, a majority Hispanic Serving Institution, we have been practicing Modeling Instruction for the last 15 years, where in the last 5 years, Modeling Instruction is scaled to large 100 person classes. The success of Modeling Instruction is reflected in a 14% difference in student conceptual understanding as measured by the standardized diagnostics when compared to lecture courses, a 6.73 times greater odds of success, and an equally likely survival rate for Modeling Instruction students that become physics majors to succeed in their upper level program when compared to lecture students. The general success of this course has led us to rethink and redesign STEM experiences for students that are tailored to their educational and individual needs.
First-generation and Continuing-generation Women in Introductory Physics
- GD03
- Tue 01/21, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
by Roger Freedman,, Vanessa Woods
- Type: Contributed
- We are investigating the relationships among pedagogical practices, attitudes, and performance in large, introductory, algebra-based and calculus-based physics courses at a large R1 university that is an HSI. We surveyed students in these courses on attitudes, physics confidence, self-efficacy, and use of active learning techniques, and correlated their answers with class performance and FCI data. In accordance with previous studies, in our sample men reported higher confidence and efficacy than did women. However, first-generation women reported lower confidence, efficacy, and performance measures than continuing-generation women. This suggests that to identify which students in introductory physics courses may need added support to be successful, it is wise to look at intersections of identity (e. g. first-generation women).
The Effect of Community Building in a 2YC Introductory Physics Course
- GD04
- Tue 01/21, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
- by Jennifer Snyder,
- Type: Contributed
- As part of a certificate program in College STEM Teaching in HSI’s, an analysis of achievement gaps was performed for an Introductory Algebra-based Physics course. Comparisons of success rates for different demographics of students were analyzed for significant differences. Whereas success rates did not show any significant findings, a deeper look at the unsuccessful students did. A portion of the students classified as “unsuccessful” withdrew from the course before the third exam. Other students remained in the course but ultimately received D’s or F’s due to coursework challenges. These “persisters” were more likely to be Latina students or those with Veteran status. This finding led to the creation of an intervention to provide small group work and community building in the course. The results will be discussed with further implications for teaching in HSI 2YC’s.
Technologies
The Development of an Enhanced, Inexpensive Multispectral Imaging System
- CJ01
- Mon 01/20, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Samuel Maruska,, Charles Niederriter
- Type: Contributed
- Multispectral imaging systems have been developed for use on agricultural drones to allow farmers to manage crops, soil, fertilizing and irrigation more effectively. Although there are huge benefits both to the farmer and to the wider environment by minimizing the use of sprays, fertilizers, wastage of water and, at the same time, increasing the yield from crops, the cost of commercial systems is relatively high limiting their use. In addition, current multispectral camera technology uses Green, Red, Red-Edge and Near Infrared wavebands to capture both visible and invisible images of crops and vegetation, leaving out the important Infrared band available with IR cameras. Utilizing Raspberry Pi computers, Pi cameras, and a FLIR Lepton Thermal imager, we developed an inexpensive system that also incorporates data from the 1.4 – 7.5 micron band in the infrared. We will report on the development of the system, its use in measuring Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and other surveying methods, and provide other examples of its usefulness.
Student Acceptance of an Online Physics Problem Solving Tool
- CJ02
- Mon 01/20, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
- by Bijaya Aryal,
- Type: Contributed
- This presentation describes introductory-level physics students' attitude about using a web-based computer coach for physics problem solving. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), we present the determinants of student behavior and user acceptance of the coaches. Based on interview data of 19 students, we have explored how these determinants can shape students' intention to use the computer coaches. This study has identified that students’ math preparation, views about problem solving, views about learning resources and views about coaching are significant determinants of students' intention to use the computer coaches. The study revealed the impacts of students’ perception about the usefulness and ease of use of the online system on students’ pattern of usage, degree of usage and ultimately to the learning outcomes. The findings of this study provide the guidance for a successful implementation of the online tool for physics problem solving.
Exploring Ideas in Physics using Simulation Software and Spreadsheets
- CJ03
- Mon 01/20, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
by Shen Yong Ho,, Amir Shakouri
- Type: Contributed
- Softwares such as COMSOL can provide realistic simulations of experiments, some which cannot be easily done or repeated in a standard undergraduate laboratory. This year, COMSOL launched a compiler will allows COMSOL simulations to be compiled into .exefiles which can run on computers without a COMSOL license. The author will share some of the simulations designed for teaching topics on mechanics and electromagnetism. Examples include producing the force-time graphs of a vehicle crashing into a wall at different velocities and paths of charge particles moving in electric and magnetic fields. The author will also discuss how spreadsheets (e.g. MS Excel) can be used as a tool to help students with little or no programming experience to visualize concepts and problems in 1D and 2D kinematics.
Visualizing the Invisible: Viewing 3-D Magnetic Fields with Your Smartphone
- PST1B01
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Rebecca Vieyra, Chrystian Vieyra, Colleen Megowan Romanowicz, Mina Johnson-Glenberg, Ramon Lopez
- Type: Poster
- This poster presents a series of magnetic field concepts and associated protocols for learning about them using Physics Toolbox AR, a smartphone-based app to see field vectors in three dimensions. This work addresses commonly misunderstood or difficult-to-understand aspects of static fields due to the Earth's background field, permanent magnets, and current-carrying wires. Preliminary findings will be shared about the opportunities and challenges of using AR technology to teach and learn about fields, based on the authors' experiences with a variety of age groups.
Conceptually Mapping Computational Integration in High School Physics
- PST1B03
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
by Rebecca Vieyra,, Colleen Megowan Romanowicz, Melissa Girmscheid, Jess Dykes
- Type: Poster
- This poster will display a series of concept maps to present a visual overview of how a group of 30+ physics teachers have integrated computational modeling into the first five units of Modeling Instruction for Physics First. It will include the flow of computational knowledge-building as it relates to a progression through qualitative energy, constant velocity, uniform acceleration, and balanced and unbalanced forces.
The Smartphone as a Hydrophone
- PST1B05
- Mon 01/20, 1:30PM - 2:15PM
- by Martín Monteiro,
- Type: Poster
- Several models of smartphones are currently submersible, and the performance of their microphones underwater is good enough to be used as true hydrophones capable of conducting physics experiments. A very elementary application of the hydrophone, suitable for a basic physics course, is to use it to determine the speed of sound in water. Here we present two related activities, one is to measure the speed of sound in water from the time difference of two signals and the speed of sound in air. The other problem-activity consists in determining the distance of a sound source from the delay between two signals, one that travels through the air and another that travels through the water.
STEM Education Delivery Techniques Using an iPad Pro
- PST1B02
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
by Sarah Sublett,, Virginia Coghlan, James Bowen
- Type: Poster
- Instructors develop innovative content delivery methods inside and outside of the classroom for their students. Through the last two years, the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering at West Point purchased iPad Pros for every faculty member as anoption for creating and delivering educational content. Instructors generated many unique approaches producing content for, collaborating with, and delivering classroom content to their students, regardless of if their student had an iPad. This study surveys instructors two years after our initial acquisition to determine how faculty are using iPads for their classrooms and consolidate those techniques.
Digitally Mediated Team-Based Learning using the Virtual Classroom
- PST1B04
- Mon 01/20, 2:15PM - 3:00PM
- by KC Walsh,
- Type: Poster
- Oregon State University recently embarked on a complete re-envision on how to structure and deliver online courses. Following the tremendous success in reforming the traditional face-to-face Introductory Physics sequence we had learned the value of implementing PER approved curriculum. Our greatest hurdle bringing these techniques online lie in the problem statement, "How can we implement real-time engagement pedagogies and Peer Instruction strategies in a distance learning environment?". My poster will introduce you to the Virtual Classroom and AsyncSync system created to facilitate Guided Peer Instruction. Using our Lightboard Studio, communication tools, and real-time polling we believe we've created a first-of-its-kind online learning environment that can bring people together in ways never possible. Come check it out!
The Question Formulation Technique
The Question Formulation Technique
- TL06
- Mon 01/20, 10:30AM - 11:30AM
- by Matthew Bryant
- Type: Event
- Experience a mini-workshop with current Einstein Fellow Matthew Bryant on the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) and how it can get your students talking to each other, asking their own questions, and designing their own investigations.
The Role of Technical Competency in Undergraduate Physics Education
The Role of Technical Competency in Undergraduate Physics Education
- BH
- Sun 01/19, 4:30PM - 5:30PM
- by Toby Dittrich
- Type: Panel
- The AAPT guidelines for laboratory instruction include developing technical and practical skills as a major goal.The purpose of this session is to assemble a panel to lead a discussion on the importance of technical competencies in physics careers and onmethods by which these competencies may be taught within the formal and informal physics curriculum. Panelists will briefly present summaries of their particular approaches and then engage in active discussion with session attendees of the broader range of possibilities. A key challenge is the broad range of competencies often needed in physics research and in technical design, ranging across topics such as mechanical design, electronics, optics, vacuum systems, low temperature technique, analytical instrumentation, charged-particle beams, etc. Formal course work can only develop a foundation, so how might it be possible to flexibly assist students in the timely learning of competencies needed for specific projects and for unique career goals? How is it possible to bring students to a high level of sophistication in both the underlying physical modeling and in the skilled execution of technical design, technical procedures, and instrument operation? A special goal of this session is to invite people attending the session to bring and share short summaries of their approaches to these questions.
Identifying Technical Competencies Desired for Physics Majors - A Progress Report
- BH01
- Sun 01/19, 4:30PM - 5:30PM
- by Randall Tagg,
- Type: Panel
- Students use a lot of specific technical knowledge in research and in work settings. Examples include selection and use of sensors, various fabrication skills, optical setup and alignment, and working with vacuum systems. A list of desired technical competencies is arising through a task force under the AAPT Committee on Laboratories, collaboration on the NSF-funded "PIPELINE" project related to workplace needs, and observation of a large number of student technical projects. Open questions for discussion within this panel session include: how do these competencies serve student career aspirations? How can such competencies be learned effectively, even when they don't fit within the usual physics course sequence? Is there a way to create a shared resource of learning materials so that learning of highly specific competencies can be done more effectively? Can we document and maybe even certify various levels of attainment? How do we make this broadly inclusive?
Introductory Undergraduate Course on Experimental Physics Apparatus and Techniques
- BH02
- Sun 01/19, 4:30PM - 5:30PM
by Sean Robinson,, Christoph Paus
- Type: Panel
- We describe a new elective course intended to introduce introductory and intermediate physics students to experimental apparatus and techniques. We also describe the relationship of this course to a required advanced laboratory course which focuses on professional development.
Technical and Non-Technical Competencies in an Engineering Design Course
- BH03
- Sun 01/19, 4:30PM - 5:30PM
- by Bruno deHarak,
- Type: Panel
- The Engineering Design course at Illinois Wesleyan University is essentially an undergraduate design thinking course meant for physics majors and other students with a technical background. The course’s emphasis on design thinking makes it an unusual part of the physics curriculum. This work will present a case study of a minimal set of technical and non-technical competencies needed by students as they progress through the course, and make the case that these competencies are important for physics majors in general.
The Underrepresentation Curriculum
The Underrepresentation Curriculum
- TL05
- Sun 01/19, 4:00PM - 5:00PM
- by Mark Hannum
- Type: Event
- The Underrepresentation Curriculum (http://underrep.com) is a free, flexible resource designed to help physics teachers bring conversations about science and society into their classrooms.
Theory Meets Practice
Theory Meets Practice
- GG
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 1:30PM
- by Jon Anderson
- Type: Panel
- The intent of this panel discussion is to examine several introductory physics topics from two different perspectives: that of physics education researchers and that of in-service high school physics teachers. The panel will consist of individuals that bring expertise in each area and the discussion will focus on how theory and practice overlap and where differences may lie when examining these topics. Additionally, there will be time for questions from attendees and discussion with the panelists.
Training Newcomers to Lab Instruction
Training Newcomers to Lab Instruction
- DI
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 5:00PM
- by Merita Haxhia, Liz Mills, and Jennifer Delgado
- Type: Panel
- "Physics labs are changing from a very traditional and proscriptive "cookbook" style to more open-ended experiences with greater focus on student-led design, modeling and communication. The purpose of this session is to discuss best practices and challenges in training instructors new to laboratory coursework. Speakers will present their experiences in training instructors for transformed labs, and in training graduate students, for whom labs are usually their first experience with teaching."
Training TAs to Become Successful Lab Assistants and Future Educators
- DI01
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 5:00PM
by Merita Haxhia,, Jennifer Delgado, Kasey Wagoner, Elaine Schulte
- Type: Panel
- Less traditional labs require less traditional instruction from laboratory instructors. For most universities, labs are taught by graduate teaching assistants (TAs). They need to know the state of the art of teaching, believe in it, and know how to make it work. It requires both training and supervision. We have found that the key to overcoming these hurdles is employing the same approaches that PER has shown to be effective in the classroom: cultivating motivation in TAs and using active-learning approaches to teach them. In addition, multi-contact approach to TA instruction and supervision involving contact with both the Department leadership and the Instructional leadership has been found to help them be successful in guiding their students through laboratory experiences. We report preliminary findings on using interviews, question games, debates and practice labs to train TAs to use a more Socratic method of teaching in their labs.
Certification of Instructors in Laboratory Programs
- DI02
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 5:00PM
by Travis Barker,*, Cathleen Barker, James Bowen, Peter Chapman
- Type: Contributed
- Laboratory programs are the first introduction students receive to application of the lecture material in a practical sense. As such, it has the potential to anchor their appreciation for physics to the tangible world they live in or destroy their interest. Sadly, for some students this loss of interest can stem from their performance in the lab. The laboratory program at the United States Military Academy at West Point (USMA) identified a statistical disparity between the grades that students earn from varying instructors based on instructor individual interpretations. This yields two inductive assumptions to address the challenge of inspiring curiosity: perceived student performance can frustrate interest in the application of material and similar levels of performance across multiple instructors should yield similar grades. This talk will discuss USMA's lab teacher training program in an effort to reduce disparity between grades through instructor mentorship, certification, and uniform assessment metrics.
Creating an Instructors' Guide to Onboard TAs in the Laboratory
- DI03
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 5:00PM
by Lauren Dana,, Kay Lowden
- Type: Contributed
- I will present on the recent experience of onboarding graduate TA’s in MIT’s Physics advanced Laboratory (“junior Lab”). Graduate TA’s support undergrads in 14 experiments every semester, often with no experience in the apparati themselves. Therefore, two years ago we created a "cheat sheet" for each experiment outlining its safety concerns, common student issues, and learning moments for the students. This will cover the pedagogy we used in creating such a reference, challenges we faced in making sure it is useful, and the effect of providing it as a resource.
Training Learning Assistants for the Calculus and Algebra based Physics Laboratory-Lessons Learned
- DI04
- Mon 01/20, 4:00PM - 5:00PM
by Michael Carini,, Scott Bonham, Richard Gelderman, Douglas Harper
- Type: Contributed
- For the past several years, the Physics and Astronomy Department at Western Kentucky University has utilized undergraduate learning assistants (LA) in its undergraduate calculus and algebra based Physics labs. I will discuss in this presentation how we select and train these LAs and what we have learned after several years of utilizing LAs in our physics laboratories.
Tuesday Registration
Tuesday Registration
- REG05
- Tue 01/21, 8:00AM - 3:00PM
- AAPT Staff
- Type: Registration
Two-Year College Breakfast
Two-Year College Breakfast
- SPEC03
- Sun 01/19, 7:00AM - 8:30AM
- by Nathan Quarderer
- Type: Event
Upper Division Undergraduate
Guitar Experiment Assisting for Comprehension on String Vibration Function
- GF01
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Xiaoyu Niu, Haomeng Zhou, Ce Bian, Chenguang Li, Wei Wang
- Type: Contributed
- A powerful way to introduce students to study and technique is through subjects in which they might find the interest and strengthen their comprehension of certain physical concepts. As for the course-method of mathematical physics (this course is also named mathematical physical function), some students state that they have a less detailed and impressive knowledge of it, for this course is too abstract to grasp. Therefore, it is very significant to help introductory physics students comprehend the method of mathematical physics. Instead, in this paper, we design practical and straightforward experiments with a guitar to assist for the comprehension of mathematical physical functions, especially on string vibration function. Once having a complete perception of string vibration function, students would be likely to grasp the powerful and standard method of modal analysis, which is bound to their future study and research.
Computation of Macroscopic Magnetic Field in a Uniformly Magnetized Object
- GF02
- Tue 01/21, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
- by Vladimir Tsifrinovich,
- Type: Contributed
- In the advance course of electricity and magnetism one of the important topics is computation of the magnetic field in a uniformly magnetized object. I suggest that the most instructive and accessible for a student way for such computation is to map the electric field problems onto the corresponding magnetic field problems. Namely, I suggest to prove that the Maxwell equation for the auxiliary magnetic field (the H-field) in a magnetized object is similar to the equation for the electric field E in an electrically polarized object. After that one can easily derive the expression for the H-field in terms of magnetization M based on the corresponding expressions for the E-field in terms of polarization P. Finally, one determines the magnetic field B. I argue that this approach ensures the simplest way for the computation of magnetic field in a uniformly magnetized object. Also it provides an additional insight on the relation between the electricity and magnetism.
Effective Undergraduate Programs: Scaffolding, Careers, and Resources
- GF03
- Tue 01/21, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
- by Brad Conrad,
- Type: Contributed
- As faculty aim to build thriving undergraduate programs, developing course sequences and content that both serve and recruit undergraduates for a broad array of career outcomes is vital for a successful department. Course sequences and material can be made to include tools that serve students aiming for both graduate school and careers immediately after graduation. This session aims to tie educational outcomes within course sequences to career objectives through specific examples and tools. By empowering a broad range of students to manage their career goals and objectives, departments can both self-evaluate and promote an inclusive environment for a diverse student population. The findings, results, and suggestions from a wide variety of source will be touched on and special attention will be given to comprehensive course development that compliments current education objectives and the SPS careers toolbox.
REU Site in Physics at Howard University: Experiment in Diversity*
- GF04
- Tue 01/21, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
by Prabhakar Misra,, Silvina Gatica, Quinton Williams
- Type: Contributed
- The REU Site in Physics at Howard University has provided a 10-week summer research experience in computational, theoretical and experimental nanoscale condensed matter physics, optics and laser spectroscopy, to a targeted and diverse undergraduate student population from institutions with limited STEM research resources. The REU cohorts of physics majors were truly diverse. During the period 2014-19, 38 participants benefited from the REU Physics Program at Howard University, which included 13 females, 13 African Americans, and 5 other minority students. The Howard Physics REU introduced participants to exciting research tools and methods; the students acquired skills in specific methodology, while developing a keen awareness of the applications of physics to a broad range of science careers. The REU site has served as a catalyst for talented students who may be undecided about pursuing a career in physics, providing them with skills needed to explore a range of career options.
Venture Fund Review Committee
Venture Fund Review Committee
- COM19
- Sun 01/19, 5:30PM - 6:30PM
- by Thomas L. O'Kuma
- Type: Committee Meeting
Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Drones, and other Emerging Technologies in Higher Ed.
How Fluid Dynamics May Save the Planet, and Virtual Reality Helps Us to Teach How*
- GB01
- Tue 01/21, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
- by Andre Bresges,
- Type: Invited
- When Greta Turnberg sailed into New York aboard a yacht, she demonstrated that intercontinental travel is possible without fossile fuel. Hydrofoils lifted the hull out of the water to reduce drag, while computers controlled the airflow on the sails for stability and performance. Electrical energy was provided by Hydrogenerators. Hence, this journey also proves the importance of Fluid Dynamics for the post-fossile era. Fluid Dynamics helps to generate energy from wind or water; it determines the influence of climate change on oceanic currents and hurricanes; its knowledge is also necessary to predict and prevent floodings. Despite that, it plays a neglected role in physics curricula worldwide; partly because concepts are really hard to grasp without the support of computer simulations. Today, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) readily exists on Tablets, Smartphones and Game Consoles. We display several teaching and learning paths using educational technology combined with hands-on experiments, and display our Virtual Reality Environment - Virtual Rhine Riverbed - that uses a game-based, bionic teaching approach.
All Real or More!? Augmented Reality in Physics Lessons
- GB02
- Tue 01/21, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
by Johannes Lhotzky,, Klaus Wendt
- Type: Invited
- Our "Augmented Reality" (AR) application captures coded place holders in real world through the camera of a tablet or a smartphone, which are converted in the program code into experimental equipment. As primary topic the appealing field of optics was chosen. Here, experiments are often not carried out hands-on by students due to financial, organizational or safety aspects. Implying the AR place holders, devices such as light sources, lasers, mirrors, lenses, beam splitters, prisms, and much more can be accessed "through the tablet" as if actually at hand. All objects and phenomena are simulated regarding their entire set of physical attributes and can be combined arbitrarily. In this way numerous different experiments are rendered possible – from simply verifying the law of reflection up to constructing complex interferometric units. The application is obtained from the AppStore – the required different place holders can simply be printed and copied in the class set.
Visit and Explore Kennedy Space Center
Visit and Explore Kennedy Space Center
- SPEC04
- Sun 01/19, 8:30AM - 4:30PM
- by Toby Dittrich
- Type: Event
- Any visit to Florida would not be complete without taking a tour of the Kennedy Space Center in Cocoa Beach, just 45 minutes from Orlando. The AAPT tour of Kennedy Space Center leaves the hotel by bus at 830AM on Sunday January 19, arrives at Space Center at 930am, for entrance and an immediate 45 minute bus tour of the launch facilities and return to the main NASA Visitor Center. There are many, many very exciting things to do at the Visitor Center including: the new Astronaut Hall of Fame (from Project Mercury to the Space Shuttle Program, see where American astronauts are remembered and honored), Rocket Garden (Walk among giants to see rockets from NASA’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. Guided tours available daily), Astronaut Encounter (Meet an astronaut during a live presentation at Universe Theater, included with daily admission. Bring your questions and your camera!), Moonscape (See the real Lunar Module 9 with a life-sized scene from the Apollo 11 Moon landing.), Lunar Theater (Relive the final few minutes leading up to the first words ever spoken from the surface of the Moon, “…the Eagle has landed.”), Hubble Space Telescope Theater (Learn about the successes, setbacks and spinoffs of Hubble Space Telescope, the first of NASA’s Great Space Observatories.), the actual unforgettable HUGE Saturn V Rocket (Every human who stepped foot on the Moon launched from Kennedy Space Center atop a Saturn V rocket. Learn about the power of this rocket and imagine what it was like to launch into space on this massive machine.) and MUCH, MUCH MORE! Our bus will leave the NASA Complex at 3:30pm to arrive back at the hotel by 4:30pm for the evening activities at the Conference. Please don’t miss this opportunity to experience the best that NASA has to offer in education and entertainment.
Welcome Reception the Exhibit Hall
Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall
- SPEC01
- Sat 01/18, 8:10PM - 10:00PM
- by AAPT Staff
- Type: Event
Zooniverse: introductory workshop for the classroom module
Zooniverse: introductory workshop for the classroom module
- CA
- Mon 01/20, 11:30AM - 1:30PM
- by Richard Gelderman
- Type: other
- Working with a national collaboration of astronomy educators and researchers at a range of institution types (R1, SLAC, Community College) with funding from the NSF-IUSE program, we have developed a suite of active learning curricular materials incorporating a citizen science based research experience into Astro 101. The in-class activities and group research experience engage the students in citizen science through Zooniverse.org and employ custom extensions to Google sheets to provide a student-friendly interface for data analysis and interpretation, all while addressing core Astro 101 topics (see classroom.zooniverse.org). In the next phase of this effort, we will enhance the Astro 101 experience (by extending beyond Galaxy Zoo to provide research opportunities in exoplanets, stars, and planetary science). How does participation in citizen science impact students’ attitudes towards science and scientists, the role of society in science, and their own science (and citizen scientist) identity development and potential for lifelong engagement and advocacy?