Virtual Spring Meeting: Saturday, April 10, 2021

The 2021 Spring meeting of the Colorado/Wyoming section of the AAPT is hosted by the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) and will be held virtually online on Saturday, April 10, 2021. In our physically-distant world, we want to bring together physics educators and students at all levels, in virtual spacetime, for a chance to exchange teaching ideas and share research explorations. Please, register to attend and/or present: we welcome contributed presentations.

 

Invited Speakers

Nadene Klein

 a science teacher from DC Oaks High Schools, will lead a workshop on incorporating Mindfulness and Empathy Practices in the Secondary Science Classroom. For some students, science is a high stress class, especially when math is involved. It can be for the teacher too. This workshop will share some strategies to use mindfulness and elicit empathy from students that can be interwoven in the science classroom. The goal is to help reduce stress and refocus your class.

Dr. Connie Hvidsten

 a science educator from BSCS, will introduce STeLLA: Science Teachers Learning from Lesson Analysis. In this session, we will explore the power of video analysis to improve teachers’ understanding of strategies that deepen student understanding and critical reasoning. The STeLLA program has been researched for more than 15 years and been shown to improve both teaching practice and student learning. Participants will be introduced to a library of video resources that can be used by school science departments, school coaches, district PD providers, universities and others involved in improving physics instruction.

Brian Jones

director of the Little shop of Physics and Colorado State University physics instructor, will share insights about effective traditional and virtual education outreach.

Dr. Mariana Lazarova

an assistant professor at the University of Northern Colorado, will shed some light on galactic supermassive black holes (they are black holes, so I hope you don’t expect any light coming back!) and the 2020 Nobel prize in Physics, particularly highlighting Dr. Andrea Ghez – only the fourth woman to win the prize – and her work on the black hole in the center of the Milky Way.

Contributed Presentations

 

We welcome contributions for the following presentations types:

  • Long talk: 15-min talk, presented virtually in real time;
  • Short talk: 3-min video talk, presented as a pre-recorded video (due to the virtual format of the conference, this is the equivalent of a short poster presentation; we don’t have a way of accommodating poster presentations);
  • Workshop: 30-min session presented virtually in real time;
  • Demo video: 1-min pre-recorded video that showcases a physics concept; the demo will be part of the demo competition (1st place wins a prize)

Please submit your intention to present on your registration form by March 26, 2021.

 

Presentations Abstracts (pdf)

Please click here to download the presentation abstracts.

 

Registered Participants (pdf)

Please click here to download the list of registered participants. 

Meeting Schedule (pdf)

Please click here to downland the final meeting schedule.

8:30 Welcome & Logistics

8:40 Discussion forum: Virtual Meet & Greet

9:00 Invited workshop: Mindfulness & Empathy in the Science Classroom (Nadene Klein)

9:50 Break (5 min)

9:55 Contributed workshop: #LeadeshipGoals (Nicole Schrode & Shannon Wachowski)

10:25 Business meeting

10:55 Break (5 min)

11:00 Contributed talk: A Question of Modalities (Suzanne Taylor)

11:15 Invited workshop: STeLLA: Science Teacher Learning from Lesson Analysis (Connie Hvidsten)

12:05 Lunch break

12:50 Discussion forum: What the heck is that? (Courtney Willis)

1:00 Contributed talk: Raising the Bar in an Alternative Setting (Nadene Klein)

1:15 Contributed short talk: Exploring the Details of Rainbow Formation Using GeoGebra (David Chandler) 1:20 Contributed short talk: Sensor Cart Physics (Roger Larson)

1:25 Contributed short talk: Where do heavy R-process elements come from? (Caroline Leach)

1:30 Invited talk: Galactic black holes & the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics (Mariana Lazarova)

1:55 Break (5 min) 

2:00 Contributed workshop: Teaching Waves with PEER Physics Open Source Resources for General Physics (Emily Quinty & Shelly Belleau) 

2:45 Break (5 min)

2:50 Invited talk: Effective traditional and virtual education outreach (Brian Jones)

3:40 Break (5 min) 

3:45 Discussion forum: DIY @ Home Demo Show & Competition (Mariana Lazarova)

 4:15 PRIZE drawing & Farewell 

Location in Spacetime

We set the time, you pick the place. The meeting will take place online, via Zoom. You will receive an email with a link to join.

Demo Show & Competition

Consider recording and submitting a short (< 1-min) video of your favorite demo. This does not need to be a pro-level filming job; we genuinely want to just exchange some demo ideas. In the video, show us what you made (or saw - some physics demos are natural, being at the right place, in the right time, looking at the right angle) and explain briefly how it works, or at the least mention what physics concept it showcases (you can leave the figuring out part to the participants, if you wish). Submit your demo video here by March 26, 2021. The best demo – by popular vote – will win a prize!

Submit your demo video through this form by March 26, 2021.

Can I present a Poster?

In lieu of a poster session, which is difficult to host virtually, we offer an opportunity for you to share your research via a short, pre-recorded video talk (3-min max; <250MB). We hope this alleviates some of the stress of presenting and encourages more junior folks to showcase their work. Brief 1-min Q & A will follow each video presentation. Students are particularly encouraged to contribute!

Submit your short talk video through this form by March 26, 2021.

Registration (Free!)

The registration cost of $0 will cover our expenses for your home-brewed coffee and home-made lunch (yes, the registration is FREE!). Attending the meeting makes you a member of the CO/WY section of the AAPT for the year 2021 and gives you a chance to hang out with some awesome science educators from the area. Register to attend and/or present by completing the form below. If you plan to present, please, register by March 26, 2021. You can register to attend until the day of the event, April 10, 2021.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.cowyaapt.org/spring2021/