For physics departments that want to strengthen relations with high school
physics teachers for the sake of
* recruiting new physics majors,
* supporting science education reform in local schools,
* demonstrating university concern for the community,
you are invited to send a representative to our one-day workshop at the
Winter AAPT meeting in sunny San Diego. (Register on-line at www.aapt.org.)
Some financial support is available*, because the NSF Physics Division has
funded us to advise and assist the formation of University - High School
partnerships nationwide. To qualify for financial assistance, a high school
physics teacher and a faculty member at a nearby university or college are
asked to register as a team to explore the possibilities for setting up a
partnership.
*Maximum of $400 for each team member. To apply, contact me
<jane.jackson@asu.edu>. (The early bird AAPT discount ends next week - on
Friday, Oct. 13.)
We plan to repeat the workshop at the Summer AAPT meeting in July at
Rochester NY. Many teachers aren't allowed to take time off to attend the
AAPT Winter meeting; thus we will consider reimbursement for both team
members if the faculty member attends the Winter meeting and the teacher
attends the Summer meeting.
cheers,
Jane Jackson
******************************
Workshop W26:
UNIVERSITY - HIGH SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS FOR PHYSICS TEACHING REFORM
(Supported by NSF grant PHY-9819461).
Sunday, Jan. 7. 8:30am-4:30pm.
Abstract: High school physics teachers must be integrated into the physics
community and given easy access to its resources, so that they can lead
science education reform in the schools. They must be empowered by programs
for sustained professional growth and support from peers and the physics
community. Learn how this can be achieved at the local level through
partnerships between university physics departments and local physics
alliances, and further enriched by graduate programs tailored for teachers.
Workshop Agenda:
1. Getting teachers interested, involved and organized with minimal
support from university physics faculty. Introductory (2-week) workshops
on reforms in physics teaching and use of technology. Establishing a
Local Physics Alliance (LPA) as a community of physics teachers.
2. Workshops on reform of high school physics in accord with the
National Science Education Standards (National Research Council).
Importing workshops and evaluation standards informed by Physics
Education Research. Funding the workshops. Cultivating inservice
teachers as workshop leaders. Institutionalizing the workshops as
courses on Methods of Physics Teaching for both preservice and inservice
teachers.
3. Partnerships with LPAs for sustained support by university physics
departments. Cultivating the LPA as a learning community of peers for
mutual collaboration and support in professional development and
service. Establishing a graduate program for inservice physics and
physical science teachers. Involving physics research faculty.
4. School-University Partnerships for science education reform. An
efficient mechanism for university science faculty to assist their local
schools. Cultivating physics teachers as leaders of science education
reform in their schools and school districts.
************************************
Jane Jackson, Co-Director, Modeling Instruction Program
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics & Astronomy,ASU,Tempe,AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331. http://modeling.la.asu.edu