Advising guidelines put together at the University of Arkansas as the undergraduate program grew and developed. Presented at the 2012 SPIN-UP conference in Austin and the PhysTEC leadership meeting at the AAPT summer meeting in Edmonton.

This lab uses Tracker video analysis software to measure and analyze the center of mass of a system of two pucks during a two-dimensional collision. Students measure the initial and final velocity vector for each puck and calculate the center-of-mass velocity of the system before and after the collision and show that it is constant. Tracker can automatically calculate and mark the center of mass in each frame, so it is easy to see that the center of mass velocity is constant and calculate its value from graphs of center-of-mass variables. The zip file contains the lab handout, a video showing a 2-D collision of pucks, and the Tracker file. The video copyright is Flashmedia. To open the Tracker file, download and run Tracker from http://www.cabrillo.edu/~dbrown/tracker/. Tracker is free. The videos can be used with other video analysis software; however, the handout has screen captures from Tracker and instructions specifically written for Tracker.

This web page is a collection of 15 cost-free tools designed to help K-12 teachers use technology in all phases of instruction and assessment. The tools offer time-saving ways to monitor student research and writing, evaluate student performance, and create online lessons, classroom calendars, customized rubrics, tests/quizzes, exportable note-taking organizers for students, and more. 4 Teachers is funded by the ALTEC project, founded to support integration of technology in the K-12 classroom.

This web page contains customizable student checklists for written reports, multimedia projects, oral presentations, and science projects. The checklists are organized for three grade bands: K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. The purpose of the checklists is to help students stay on track during a longer-term investigation, and promote their skills in responsibility and self-evaluating. 4 Teachers is funded by the ALTEC project, founded to support integration of technology in the K-12 classroom. ***PLEASE NOTE: Some of the pages within this resource are sponsored by commercial vendors. The Physics Front neither endorses nor recommends products for commercial sale.

This workshop will bring together teachers and faculty members to advance the ComPADRE Educational Standards alignment efforts.

Talk FC06 in the "Computational and Online Tools for Teaching Physics" session highlights the Open Source Physics (OSP) community of educators that engage, enable and empower teachers as learners so that we create DIY technology tools-simulation for inquiry learning. We learn through Web 2 online collaborative means to develop simulations together with reputable physicists through the open source digital library. By examining the open source codes of the simulation through the Easy Java Simulation (EJS) toolkit, we are able make sense of the physics from the computational models created by practicing physicists. We will share newer (2010-present) simulations that we have remixed from existing library of simulations models into suitable learning environments for inquiry of physics. We hope other teachers would find these simulations useful and remix them that suit their own context and contribute back to benefit all humankind, becoming citizens for the world.

The Committee on Teacher Preparation met on July 20th at the AAPT meeting in Edmonton, Alberta. Topics discussed included increasing the number of sites with Math Science Partnership grants, the Task Force on Physics Teacher Preparation, the new RTOP listserv, PhysTEC and PTEC, and sessions and workshops for the summer 2009 AAPT meeting.

This web page provides information and contacts for the New Faculty Workshop hosted by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), in conjunction with the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and the American Physical Society (APS). This annual conference helps new faculty understand how students learn physics and astronomy and suggests how this information can impact a new professor's teaching methods. The workshop is intended for faculty in the first few years of their initial tenure-track appointed at a four-year college or university. Materials from presentations at the 2005 workshop can be downloaded through the "View attached documents" link below.

Each year, AAPT solicits nominations for Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards. Any college or university department chair may nominate one Outstanding Teaching Assistant at that institution to be recognized with an AAPT Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award. The award includes a certificate and a complimentary one-year student membership in AAPT. The award winner also receives electronic access to the American Journal of Physics and The Physics Teacher. The annual deadline for nominations is June 1.

Teacher preparation articles included in this edition of the newsletter: Recruiting the Next Generation of Science Teachers by Ingrid Novodvorsky, Teacher Recruitment at the University of Arkansas by Gay Stewart, Teaching to Learn: The Colorado Learning Assistant program’s impact on learning content by Noah D. Finkelstein, Valerie Otero, and Steven J. Pollock; A Quiet Revolution in Preparing Future Teachers of Physics by Julia Olsen and Drew Isola, Recruiting a New Generation of Physics Teachers at Western Michigan University by Drew Isola and Bob Poel, Strengthening the K12 Teacher Workforce by Joan T. Prival

The Fall edition of the APS Forum on Education newsletter contains an extensive discussion of teacher preparation resources in ComPADRE, FEd sessions at the 2007 March meeting, and an update of the Gathering Storm.

The summer 2008 edition of the Forum on Education newsletter includes links to a number of education related talks presented at the 2008 APS March Meeting and 2008 APS April Meeting. In the teacher preparation section, Laurie E. McNeil discusses starting a teacher preparation program at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and Laird Kramer details the use of learning communities at Florida International University. Monica Plisch examines the use of teacher preparation to fulfill the NSF's Broader Impact requirement.

The APS Forum on Education (FEd) Summer 2006 Newsletter's Teacher Preparation Section articles included:The Learning Assistant Model for Teacher Education in Science and Technology by Valerie Otero,Undergraduate Learning Assistants at the University of Arkansas by Gay Stewart, andCreating and Sustaining a Teaching and Learning Professional Community at Seattle Pacific University by Lane Seeley and Stamatis Vokos.

This guide provides recommendations for curricular modules on low temperature physics. Designed for teachers and informal educators of middle school students. this guide complements the Absolute Zero Community Education Outreach Guide. Suggestions on leading discussions, increasing student participation, and the use of inquiry are included. This material is related to a two-part public broadcasting special, Absolute Zero, produced by Meridian Productions and Windfall Films. Absolute Zero is underwritten by the National Science Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and is based largely on Tom Shachtman’s acclaimed book, Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold.

This homework assignment is a realistic problem based on household electrical circuits. The user must make estimations of physical parameters from the properties, sizes, and shapes of common objects. Topics covered include Ohm's Law, resistivity, capacitance, alternating current, and circuits.

This resource is a collection of introductory physics homework assignments developed as an alternative to traditional textbook exercises. These assignments were designed for use with the Activity-Based Physics instructional method (ABP). Students use observational skills and mathematical modeling, combined with basic physics, to solve problems related to a single situation, such as riding a bicycle or tailgating while driving. Each assignment integrates a variety of concepts and requires students to establish cause and effect relationships. Assignments are available in the following subject categories: mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and waves.

This article describes the "Physics by Inquiry" course that is designed to address student misconceptions. Then explains how the course was taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for teachers, and how it was taught at Ohio State University for elementary-education majors. The author concludes that the course is exportable to many different environments and for many different types of students.

This paper describes an Easy Java Simulation (EJS) model for students to visualize Newtons 1st and 3rd laws, using frictionless motion and a spring collision during impact. Using Physics by Inquiry instructional (PbI) strategy, the simulation and its problem based inquiry worksheet aim to enhance learning of these two Newtonian concepts. We report results from Experimental (N=62 students) and Control (N=67) Groups in 11 multiple choice questions pre and post tests, conducted by three teachers in the school. Results suggest, at 95 percent confidence level, significant improvement for concept of Newtons 1st Law while not so for Newtons 3rd Law. A Focus Group Discussion revealed students confirming the usefulness of the EJS model in visualizing the 1st Law while not so much for the 3rd Law. We speculate the design ideas for constant velocity motion in the computer model coupled with the PbI worksheet did allow for making sense and experiencing of the 1st Law, where traditional pen-paper representations could not.

Adopt-a-Physicist is the web site for a bi-annual mentoring activity involving physicists and high school classes. Each class adopts a professional physicist and asks questions about the activities, careers, and background of scientists and those with science educations. Communications are online and teachers and scientists are encouraged to participate. This is a collaboration between the Society of Physics Students and ComPADRE.

The Advanced Lab email list is provided by the AAPT to facilitate discussions among those responsible for or interested in advanced undergraduate physics labs. It is a forum to ask questions and post information about experiments, equipment, and curriculum related to the upper-level laboratory experience.