Spring 2014 Section Meeting

The Section meeting for Spring 2014 of the Idaho-Utah Section of the AAPT will be held March 21st and 22nd at The College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho.

Presenters:

Contributed talks are welcome from all aspects of physics education.  All physics faculty, particularly high school faculty, are encouraged to contribute a talk or poster.  Students interested in physics pedagogy and learning are also encouraged to present. Presentation topics can include, but are certainly not limited to: assessment, “best practice” teaching techniques, and curriculum design.  Presenters are also encouraged to share novel physics classroom ideas, laboratories, and demonstrations.  Papers on current physics topics are welcome, where such information would be of use and interest in the student classroom experience.

Oral presentations will be limited to 15 minutes, including questions.  Poster presentations are also invited.  Also welcome are demonstration items for the Friday evening public physics demo show. Please submit an abstract with title and author information via the online registration form, or directly to Katie Devine at kdevine@collegeofidaho.edu no later than Wednesday March 12th.

Registration:

In person registration will be held at the main entry of the Boone Hall Science building 4:00pm-6:00pm, Friday March 21st and 8:00am-9am Saturday March 22nd.   Participants may also pre-register online at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dERsbXhUd0xmajJqbTFWNmV3RThLbHc6MA

Housing:

Rooms are available for $65/night at the Best Western Inn & Suites, 908 Specht Ave in Caldwell.  Reservations may be made by calling (208) 454-7225.  Please make your reservation by March 1st and mention the AAPT to get the group rate.  The Best Western is located approximately 1 mile from The College of Idaho campus.  Ample free parking will be available on campus for attendees that wish to drive from the hotel to campus.

Travel and Parking:

The most convenient airport is located in Boise, ID (BOI).  Driving directions to The College of Idaho Campus may be found here: http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/about/maps/directions-campus .

Information about public parking may be found here:  http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/about/maps/parking.  The Jewett Auditorium lot is most convenient for accessing the buildings in which we will be meeting.

A campus map is available here:  http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/sites/default/files/CampusMap/CofICampusMap.pdf

About The College of Idaho:

Founded in 1891, The College of Idaho is the state’s oldest private liberal arts college. It has a century-old tradition of educating some of the most accomplished graduates in Idaho, including seven Rhodes Scholars, three Marshall Scholars, and another 11 Truman and Goldwater Scholars. The College is located on a beautiful campus in Caldwell, Idaho. Its distinctive PEAK curriculum challenges students to attain competencies in the four knowledge peaks of the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and a professional field, enabling them to graduate with an academic major and three minors in four years. For more information on The College of Idaho, visit www.collegeofidaho.edu.

Schedule:

Idaho-Utah AAPT Meeting, March 21 and 22, 2014 The College of Idaho

Program Outline:
Friday, March 21st
4:00 – 6:00 PM Registration Boone Hall Main Entrance
6:00 – 7:15 PM Dinner (no host) Stewart’s Bar and Grill
2805 Blaine St., Caldwell ID
7:30 – 9:00 PM Physics Demo Night Langroise Recital Hall
Participants:
Phil Matheson, Utah Valley University, “Poor Man’s Blue Tooth”
Chris Stoker, Mountain View High School, “The Marshmallow Gun (and a few others)”
Harold Stokes, Brigham Young University, “Singing the Harmonics”
Richard Hills, Weber State University, “Waves and Superposition of Standing Waves on Cords”
James Coburn, Utah State University, “Optical Illusions, Lenses, and Lasers” Duane Merrell, Brigham Young University, “Pop Can Energy” Brian Pyper, Brigham Young University—Idaho, Various Demos
Saturday, March 22nd
8:00 – 9:00 AM Registration Boone Hall Main Entrance
(All talks are held in: )
9:00 – 9:10 AM Welcome Boone Hall, Room 101
9:00 – 10:15 AM Talk Session I (Session Chair: James Dull, The College of Idaho)
9:15 – 9:30 AM Dan Black, Snow College
Service Learning Contracts for Improved “Real” Service
9:30 – 9:45 AM Cameron Vongsawad, Brigham Young University Development of Educational Stations for the Acoustical Society of America Outreach Activities
9:45 – 10:00 AM Brian Pyper, Brigham Young University – Idaho Adventures in Supporting Public Education
10:00 – 10:15 AM Dewey Dykstra, Boise State University
Is it Fair?
10:15 – 10:30 AM Snack Break Boone Hall Main Entrance
10:30 – Noon Talk Session II (Session Chair: Katie Devine, The College of Idaho)
10:30 – 10:45 AM Chris Stoker, Mountain View High School Four Ways to Engage Students in Building Mental Models
10:45 – 11:00 AM James Dull, The College of Idaho Re-thinking Intermediate Electrodynamics: A First Step Toward Flipping an Upper-level Electrodynamics Course
11:00 – 11:15 AM Jean Francois Van Huele, Brigham Young University JITT for large classes
11:15 – 11:30 AM Harold Stokes, Brigham Young University The Mysterious Static Friction
11:30 – 11:45 AM Larry Smith, Snow College
The God Particle for Mortals: A Review of the Higgs Boson
11:45 – noon Sean Boston, Capital High School, Boise ID Labs: Data Analysis Made Easy
Noon – 1:30 PM Lunch/Raffle Prizes/AAPT Business Meeting/Lab Set-Up Open House
(Lunch available in Simplot Dining Hall, South Dining Room)
(AAPT business meeting and raffle at 12:15 in Simplot South)
(Lab Set-Up Open House 1pm-1:25pm in Boone 116)
(GROUP PHOTO AT 1:25 SHARP – Boone Hall Main Entrance)
1:30 – 2:30 PM Talk Session III (Session Chair: James Dull, The College of Idaho)
1:30 – 1:45 PM David Oliphant, Brigham Young University – Idaho Physics Problem Set Database
1:45 – 2:00 PM Katie Devine, The College of Idaho Using Pencasts to Flip Upper-Division Physics Courses
2:00 – 2:15 PM Gary Parkinson, The College of Idaho Using Wolfram Mathematica to Create Interactive Lessons
2:15 – 2:30 PM Cynthia Tang, Diana Gomez, Matthew Goodwin, The College of Idaho Analysis of Figure-Skating Jumps
2:30 – 2:40 PM Break
2:40 – 3:30 PM Optional Event: Planetarium Show Boone Hall Planetarium
Amy Truksa, The College of Idaho Planetarium Director
Using the Planetarium to Enhance Introductory Astronomy Courses