Presentation Submission are closed for WM24.
21st Century Physics and Astronomy in the Classroom
Share your successes incorporating current research into the undergraduate curriculum! Help others inspire their students with your experience! Either with single lectures on current topics in traditional classes or with the development of special topics classes, tell us what you did, what students learned, and how it went.
Adding a New features to an Old Favorite
Do you have a New twist or feature you use with a favorite demonstration? Have you modified a standard demonstration to be more effective, more eye catching, or useful in a new setting? Perhaps you are using it in new way, as part of assessment for example. Please bring it to the community in this session.
AI in Physics Education
Artificial intelligences (AI's) such as ChatGPT and BARD challenge many educational paradigms. AI's can now solve standard physics word problems, provide code based of plain human language prompts, explain, translate between human languages, and foster higher order thinking. How has and how will AI change physics education? This contributed session invites talks concerning innovative uses of AI's in physics courses, educational laboratories, and research experiences.
Astronomy Education Research
Share your research on astronomy education.
Bringing Science Out of the Classroom Come and Come and share your experiences offering or attending STEM activities in informal settings: museums, art fairs, community gatherings, etc.
Cosmic Ray Studies in the Classroom
The QuarkNet program maintains a network of cosmic ray muon detectors that are used in high school classrooms across the US and beyond. These detectors provide opportunities for students to engage in authentic research experiences that include designing experiments, collaboration, data collection and analysis, and communicating results. This session will feature high school students and educators who have been involved in this work.
Cross-disciplinary Learning in High School Physics Classrooms
Over the past ten years education policy (e.g. NGSS) and funding initiatives (e.g. NSF STEM+C) have promoted learning of computation, computational thinking, and engineering in K-12 science classrooms. In this session high school physics teachers and education researchers will share their experiences and innovations associated with integrating computational modeling, computational thinking, and/or engineering design in high school physics classrooms. Each talk will be followed by questions and small group discussions entered on what had been shared.
Effective Practices in Educational Technology
This session is for contributed presentations in the development and implementation of educational technology in teaching physics.
Favorite introductory physics problems
This session invites participants to share their favorite introductory physic problem and describe what insight into their students they gain from it.
History of the Eddington Experiment
In May of 1919, Arthur Eddington led an expedition to the island of Principe to observe the deflection of star light during a total solar eclipse, as predicted by Einstein. Eddington's observations confirmed the prediction. In this session we welcome papers relating to the original expedition in 1919, as well as subsequent replications of and updates to Eddington's observations.
How Can Men Be Better Allies for Women
The culture of physics is hostile to women. How can men support the journeys of women through physics? Or this concept can be turned around in answering the question: What do women physicists need from their male colleagues?
How Do We Choose to Represent Something as A Scalar, Vector, Or Quaternion?
Students in introductory physics will become familiar with many mathematical tools for representing physical quantities. Common among these are scalars and vectors. How was it decided which quantities are scalars, and which are vectors? Are there inconsistencies in our definitions of scalar quantities and vector quantities? Are there other mathematical representations, such as quaternions, that offer a different approach, and would that improve our understanding of some quantities?
Hybrid Physics Instruction
Some physics instruction now takes place in hybrid environments with online and in-person students in the same class. Hybrid classes can include lectures, discussions, problem sessions, and laboratories. This session will discuss pedagogies, techniques, and challenges for hybrid teaching, in addition to the advantages and disadvantages of this course model.
Improving Teaching with Lecture Demonstrations
Demonstrations are a mainstay of physics instruction. What demonstrations to you rely on and why? How do you use demonstrations to improve your teaching and your students?
Infusing Computation into Astronomy and Space Physics
How do you infuse computation into your astronomy and space physics classes? Share your resources with others.
Integrating Lab and Lecture
Do you employ cross over instruction methods that bridge lab/Lecture activities? These may be components of inquiry instruction or ILD sequences that you have found to be particularly effective at achieving their desired outcome.
MATLAB Live Scripts and Juypter Notebooks for Physics Education
Are you developing or using interactive computational notebooks to teach physics while advancing undergraduate computational physics skills? Share your progress and experiences at this session.
Optics Labs
This contributed session will bring together experiments for the optics lab course, from inexpensive hacks to complex methods. Do you have a new experiment you’ve introduced in your course? Have you found a great way of instructing a familiar lab? These talks can be in a lecture style or a more interactive model. Contributors are encouraged to bring hands-on activities or experimental demonstrations.
Reading 'Round Science: K-5 Science with Kiddie Lit
Do you want to support K-12 education? Do you have a physics lab, demo or activity that ties in with a Children's book? The book can be for any age K-8; please try to provide a focused age range in your abstract (ex. K-2. 3-5. 6-8) Create a document that includes the materials needed, the instructions and links to the NGSS (if possible). Please bring materials so people can make or try the activity. Please bring one copy of the book and be available to support the people who come by your table. Consider presenting an abstract even if you are not part of the K-12 community.
Teaching the Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences (IPLS) course
Talks and posters on the pedagogies and resources for the Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences (IPLS) course. In addition to invited speakers, posters on work in the IPLS course involving labs, problems, assessment tools, simulations, resource material, or any other aspect of the IPLS teaching/learning environment will be requested.
The Global Origins of Newton's Laws
Introductory physics students are universally introduced to Newton's Laws of Motion. The Principia is a landmark piece of work that defined the field of theoretical physics. However, Newton was part of a global history, which must be understood in order to more accurately define physics and shape its future. In this session, we welcome contributions that explore resources from around the world that could or may have influenced Newton, as well as the work of contemporaries whose achievements complemented his.
The Role of Laboratories in The Undergraduate Physics Curriculum
This session will host presentations for best practices for the laboratory experiences in the undergraduate physics curriculum. Topics will include how laboratories integrate into and extend lecture classes.
Using Video Analysis in Introductory Labs
Talks describing the use of video analysis to analyze video data taken in labs.
Generic Topics
Physics Education Research (PER)
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI)
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Astro
Beyond Intro
(DEI)
K-12
Intro
Labs/Apparatus
Lecture/Classroom
Other
PER: DEI
PER: K-12
PER: Intro
PER: Beyond Intro
PER: Assessment
PER: General
Science Communication
Teacher Training/Enhancement
TYC