May 2, 2024 Issue #28

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

• Physics Education Research (PER) outside the R1 Institution May 3, 2024 from 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
  In this session, we will engage in a community dialogue around how DBER can be conducted and used at institutions such as Two Year Colleges (TYCs) and comprehensive regional universities. In addition, we will discuss our individual, institution, and community goals for work in DBER and how the community can support these goals. Facilitators: Andrew Morrison (Joliet Junior College) and Mel Sabella (Chicago State University). 

• LaTeX 2024 Workshop June 14, 2024 from 2:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
  In this free, virtual workshop, you will use LaTeX to write a solution to physics problems of your choice following an approach that has been used for  in a two semester introductory calculus-based physics course at a two-year college. This workshop is especially suited for anyone who is interested in helping their students use LaTeX as a tool to professional present their written work. Facilitator: Joe Heafner (Independent Scholar, Coordinator for OPTYCs Continuing Professional Development Workshops).

• LHC Physics In the Classroom  July 7, 2024 in Boston, MA. Join us at AAPT Summer Meeting for this co-sponsored workshop with QuarkNet.

• TEAM UP Together & Transfer Students: Supporting student transfer between two- and four-year institutions. July 7, 2024 in Boston, MA Join us at the AAPT Summer Meeting for this workshop to support transfer students.

Recent OPTYCs events

• April 27, 2024: Parallel Pedagogy (workshop)

“No matter who you are or what you teach, you can get better with practice,” writes Jessamyn Neuhaus in her book Geeky Pedagogy: A Guide for Intellectuals, Introverts, and Nerds Who Want to Be Effective Teachers . We work to instill this idea of productive practice in our students, and we should heed this advice ourselves. Effective practice requires awareness of how we learn, actionable feedback, continuous reflection, and genuine support. The work of becoming an effective teacher never ends. But then, too, the rewards of seeing our students succeed also never end.

	Science Under the Scope, by Sophie Wang A comic/zine about objectivity in science. It presents thought-provoking ideas in a way that is easy to follow.
	James Webb Space Telescope Activities (NASA) A set of activities for both formal and informal education, all around the Webb space telescope. While most of the activities are for middle and high school grades, some could be used as introductory activities for college-level students.

Journey to a PhD through the lens of Black women in physics - March 18, 2024

How physics can help AI learn about the real world

• 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.