OPTYCs SPOTLIGHT 2024 Issue 29

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OPTYCs SPOTLIGHT 2024 Issue 29

May 23, 2024 Issue #29

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.

OPTYCs News

AIP Survey 2024

Did you know that the American Institute of Physics Statistical Research has surveyed TYCs about physics and astronomy only twice in the past (1995-1996 and 2011-2012)? OPTYCs is funding a third survey and it is open to faculty right now! Please check your email for a message from stats@aip-info.org. By taking time to do this survey, you are helping our community gather current data on our students, our courses, our faculty, and our institutions! If you have checked your inbox and junk folders and do not see an invitation to this survey from stats@aip-info.org, please contact us.

Upcoming events

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

May 03, 2024: PER Outside of R1 Institutions

Kris’ corner

Tips, summaries, and musings from Kris Lui (OPTYCs Director)

We know that community colleges have students who are demographically more diverse than at a typical four-year institution. But, what are we doing to ensure that our diverse students have equal opportunities to succeed? Towards this goal, Kelly A. Hogan and Viji Sathy outline specific ways instructors can better support all students in their book Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom (West Virginia University Press, 2022). They define inclusive teaching as “the intentional ways instructors interact with students, provide multiple opportunities to practice the work in a discipline, and demonstrate care.” It is not sufficient to add material to your course that showcases diverse scholars. Nor is inclusive teaching relevant only to some disciplines. “Our role as educators is to help our students learn, and not just some students.” Hogan and Sathy focus their book and suggestions on the idea of providing greater structure for students, thus unveiling the hidden curriculum that can so often disadvantage our students. More on ‘structure’ in the next few issues - stay tuned!