November 2, 2023 Issue #18

SPOTLIGHT is the OPTYCs bi-weekly newsletter. It brings you OPTYCs activity updates, highlights from recent publications related to physics education, and news & resources for Two-Year colleges.

Upcoming events

• AstroNotes 2023 Workshop  November 3, 2023 from 5:00pm- 6:00pm EDT
  Talk with Co-Column Editors Don Smith (Guilford College) and Janelle Bailey (Temple University) Co-Column Editors about how to write for AstroNotes the regular column within The Physics Teacher that focuses on astronomy content, lessons, and resources that could be useful for physics teachers whose main field of expertise is not astronomy.

• PALS 2023 Workshop November 4, 2023 from 12:00pm-3:00pm EDT
  The Physics Activities for Life Sciences (PALS) are carefully structured to take students from basic ideas and guide them towards mastery using thought experiments, simulations, and hands-on experiences using equipment that is common in physics instructional labs. In this workshop, we describe the evidence-based design of these activities, allow you to try out a few PALS, and show how PALS improved student learning gains on concept inventories.
  

• Journal Club November 2023 November 17, 2023 from 3:00pm- 4:00pm EST
  Join us for the PER Interest Group's November Journal Club discussion as we continue discussing introductory physics labs. The theme for this month’s meeting will be lab assessments beyond the traditional formal lab report.

• PER Results About Labs (Journal club December 2023) December 1, 2023 from 4:00pm- 5:00pm EST In this presentation-discussion, we’ll discuss how research – and experience – can inform our instructional decisions for lab instruction. Facilitator: Natasha G. Holmes, Cornell University

Announcements

• SPOTLIGHT is seeking contributions to its new section "Reader's corner" that features contributions from readers. Please consider sharing comments, tips, ideas, resources you have come across or anything that you think might benefit your physics TYC colleagues. Contact me directly if you have any question or suggestion: karim.diff@sfcollege.edu

Recent OPTYCs events

• October 28, 2023 Workshop: How to Publish in The Physics Teacher

• October 27, 2023 Physics Activities for Life Science Students (PER Journal Club Discussion)

Consider grades. How does a student in your class end up with the grade that they have? Does the grade accumulate based on individual tests, quizzes, lab reports, etc.? In his book Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics (Corwin - Sage Publishing, 2021) education researcher Peter Liljedahl adapted a scenario from Ken O’Conner’s 2009 book How to grade for learning (Corwin), and I find these cartoon graphs compelling. (I adapted them from Lilhedahl’s adaptation.) All three students have the same average - should they get the same final grade? Some food for thought.

In this inaugural contribution to the Reader's corner Renee Lathrop shares her experience in promoting student learning. 

Creating Student Spaces and Learning Spaces: At Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie NY Renee Lathrop Physics professor and Engineering Science Program Chair has been seeing large number of physics students working on campus again.  The secret is that she has been using a space that is dedicated to student use, has a whiteboard, tables and chairs and is close to her office. "I usually see a lot of students for my office hours as I hold some in the evening and after the other tutoring spaces close on campus.  This semester I get roughly 10 students during an office hour asking questions and working with each other.  Some of the initially weaker students have become better students because they have been helping other students and receiving help in groups in this informal flexible space."  Creating a space that students feel welcome and is engaging is very important to promoting diversity not just in different learning styles but promoting diversity in physics.  

The authors of this report from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University argue that

Given the scientific knowledge and technical skills that these programs [Healthcare and CID] impart—and the types of jobs that students from these programs occupy—we argue that a broader definition is more appropriate and should be adopted by federal agencies and researchers. A broader definition is also more useful for economic analysis of STEM.

AAPT-CPTYC Committee on Physics in Two-Year Colleges	November informal discussion Topic: "Collaborations between Two-Year Colleges and local High Schools on physics- ideas for future” Time: Nov 3, 2023 04:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Zoom Meeting https://smc-edu.zoom.us/j/85373405111 Meeting ID: 853 7340 5111 Fill a survey to guide the discussion
	Integrating Customizable e-Texts into your Classroom      Register via Physics Today Webinars Thursday, November 16th, 7:00-8:00 PM Eastern (4:00-5:00 PM Pacific) Expert TA presents its option to customize an OpenStax textbook, in order to insert links to current events, embed videos or simulations, alter the wording or images, etc.

Carl Wieman (Stanford University)
Teaching Students to Think like Physicists
Cornell University General Physics Colloquium, September 26, 2023

• The American Association of Physics Teachers 
• Committee on Physics in Two-Year Colleges (AAPT area committee)
• Join the TYC Google group: Send an email to tycphysics@googlegroups.com
• PhysPort Recommendations about teaching methods, assessment, and results from PER
• PER Central A resource collection for physics education researchers 
• Physics Review Physics Education Research Fully open access journal for PER 
• arXiv Physics education The arXiv repository for physics education papers
• AIP Statistical Research Center Data on education, careers, and diversity in physics, astronomy and other physical sciences

optycs.aapt.org

The work of OPTYCs is supported by NSF-DUE-2212807.