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Quantum In Intro Physics 2025
November 22, 2025
Facilitator:
James Freericks
By emphasizing similarities between classical and quantum mechanics, rather than the differences, quantum ideas can be introduced into the introductory class curriculum by putting emphasis on building upon the classical physics that the students already know. In this workshop, we showed content from two classes worth of material to develop what a single photon is and how we do experiments with them.
We started with a discussion of the photoelectric effect, and emphasized how it would be described by a classical model of a metal and how the model fails with respect to the experimental data. Then, using the photoelectric effect to provide single-photon sensitivity, we described how one can detect individual photons. Finally, we constructed the G2 experiment, which verifies how single photon sources are truly quantum sources of light with distinctly different behavior from dim classical light (like a dim laser).
From these activities, students will refresh their memories on concepts such as the driven harmonic oscillator, resonance, voltage and electric fields, and reasoning using ideas from conservation of energy. Students should emerge with a clear grasp of what a single photon's properties are and how the quantum ideas emerge from, but are different from their classical intuitions.
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Demos 2025
October 17, 2025
Facilitator:
Samuel Sampere
During this workshop, participants engaged in some favorite demos, shared proper presentation of demonstrations so students can make maximal learning gains from that precious use of class time. Participants also discussed things that can go wrong and how to enhance certain demos.
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Beyond the Red Pen 2025
September 27, 2025
Participants discovered how AI-powered grading could revolutionize physics teaching practice in this engaging 2-hour workshop. Using ScoreWise AI as our primary tool, participants explored how machine learning ccould provide faster, more consistent, and more detailed feedback on student work across mechanics, electricity & magnetism, and other core physics topics. Through interactive demonstrations and hands-on activities, attendees learned to integrate AI assessment tools into their existing workflows while maintaining the pedagogical value of meaningful feedback.
Facilitator: Jeremy Durelle
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Quantum Or Not 2025
September 12, 2025
Facilitator:
Damian Pope
Quantum physics is science's best model of the subatomic world. However, it's abstract, intangible, and challenging to teach. This session, brought to you by the Perimeter Institute, participants explored a hands-on classroom activity that engages students and introduces them to the key principles of quantum physics: uncertainty, superposition, entanglement, and wave-particle duality.
The mathematics in this activity is minimal and only involves basic algebra.
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Quantum Cryptography 2025
August 16, 2025
Facilitators:
Robert Hilborn, Alice Flarend
Quantum computers are both a danger to internet security and a solution. This workshop helped participants to understand how current internet security is built on factoring prime numbers and how Shor’s algorithm can break that security. The second part of the workshop featured classroom activities around quantum key distribution (QKD) using polarization.
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Quantum Phenomena 2025
July 12, 2025
Facilitator:
Zac Patterson
Quantum physics (QP) is a pivotal branch of modern physics essential for comprehending the nature of physical reality. However, its abstract concepts pose significant learning challenges in introductory physics courses. This workshop introduced an evidence-based instructional sequence designed to establish a strong conceptual foundation for further exploration of quantum phenomena. The development of this sequence was informed by prior research on teaching and learning introductory QP, focusing on key topics, effective entry points, common obstacles, and successful teaching strategies. Designed to be completed in approximately one week or four hours of class time, the sequence emphasizes conceptual understanding and requires only basic algebra and geometry skills. This approach is particularly well-suited for upper-level secondary students and college introductory physics students, providing them with the necessary tools to grasp the complexities of QP.
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Bloch Cubes 2025
June 14, 2025
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Chandralekha Singh, Jeremy Levy
We are in the midst of the second quantum revolution that promises future technologies such as quantum computers, quantum internet and next generation of quantum sensors. However, quantum mechanics is an abstract subject, and therefore challenging to teach. To help improve student understanding of quantum concepts, in this workshop, we learned how to use the Bloch Cube, a hands-on educational tool. Bloch cubes can help your students learn key quantum concepts without equations.
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The Physics of Climate Change 2025
May 10, 2025
An interactive tutorial on using Python to use and analyze climate data. Facilitated by founders for Caribbeans for Climate: Gabriel Rios and Dr. Veeshan Narinesingh .
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NRAO Info Session 2025
May 2, 2025
This engaging session showed what the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) can offer you and your students. NRAO is more than just astronomy—we have opportunities for those interested in fields like physics, computer science, engineering, data science, and science education. During this session, participants learned about our student programs, undergraduate curriculum, and citizen science projects created by NRAO.
Facilitator: Valarie Bogan (NRAO)
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Aurora Magnetic Fields 2025
April 19, 2025
Facilitator:
Francesca Viale
This workshop used aurora and associated data as a way to teach about magnetic fields. The auroral currents in the ionosphere were modelled as current-carrying wires. We worked with Biot and Savart’s law, with wires with current, and with the right hand rule.
Real field data from auroral were obtained from the Magnetic Observatory Network. From the measured magnetic field vector components, your students would be able to determine the direction and the strength of the Auroral currents.
This activity was built by the NASA HEAT (Heliophysics Education Activation Team).
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AAPT-ComPADRE 2025
March 8, 2025
Facilitator:
Bruce Mason
AAPT's ComPADRE Director, Bruce Mason, showcased the suite of resources within ComPADRE that are available for physics and astronomy educators.
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Matter and Interactions 2025
March 1, 2025
Facilitators:
Joe Heafner, Aaron Titus
In this workshop, participants experienced the Matter and Interactions curriculum as students in various breakout rooms, guided by facilitators Aaron Titus and Joe Heafner.
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AJP TPT Info Session
February 15, 2025
Facilitators:
Beth Parks, Gary White
this lively information session shared information on how and what to publish in both AAPT journals: American Journal of Physics and The Physics Teacher. The Editors for each journal, Beth Parks (AJP) and Gary White (TPT) answered questions from participants.
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2024 Town Hall 4
January 20, 2025
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Sherry Savrda, Dwain Desbien, Kris Lui
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Sensors 2025
January 18, 2025
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Shahida Dar, Tom O'Kuma, Thomas Herring, Fran Poodry
This full-day workshop was held at the AAPT Winter Meeting 2025 in St. Louis, MO.
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2024 Town Hall 3
November 4, 2024
This event was not recorded.
Facilitator:
Dwain Desbien
Participants brainstormed ideas for the future of OPTYCs.
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js9 2024 Workshop
November 2, 2024
This workshop introduced js9, a web-based image display environment, with archival satellite data that allows students to perform astronomical analysis remotely using their browser. Energy spectra, light curves and much more can be explored, using data from thousands of deep sky objects, spanning the observed electromagnetic spectrum, from infrared to gamma rays. Since this system is platform independent, it is especially useful in the classroom, as well as in distance learning environments.
Facilitator: Pamela Perry
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2024 Town Hall 2
October 15, 2024
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Kris Lui, Dwain Desbien, Sherry Savrda
Members of the community gathered to brainstorm ideas for the future of OPTYCs.
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Students with Disabilities 2024 Workshop
September 21, 2024
Facilitators:
Kris Lui, Tony Musumba, Dean Stocker, Shahida Dar, Alexander Bohn
In this free, virtual workshop we explored practical ways to provide better accessibility for students with disabilities in your classes. These tools, activities, and practices can help all students learn more effectively. We offered tips and tools for accommodations related to mobility, neurodiversity, and auditory and visual impairments. Facilitators for this workshop were participants in a three-day in-person training event in June 2023, Facilitating Accessibility in STEM for Students with Disabilities at Two-Year Colleges.
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LaTeX 2024 Workshop
August 30, 2024
Facilitator:
Joe Heafner
Problems with illegible writing, lack of units on physical quantities, inconsistent notation, and logical flow of problem solving steps can all be eliminated by using LaTeX. In this free, virtual workshop, we used LaTeX to write a solution to physics problems following an approach used in a two semester introductory calculus-based physics course at a two-year college. This was the second in a series of workshops on LaTeX. Prior experience with LaTeX is helpful (e.g. watch the first workshop in this series first) but is not required. Creating an account in Overleaf is required to fully participate in this workshop.
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NASA HEAT 2024 Workshop
August 14, 2024
Facilitators:
Tony Musumba, Jason Barbour
Participants worked through a hands-on, guided-inquiry activity that helps students to understand the geometry of lunar and solar eclipses by creating a physical, proportional model of the Earth and Moon system and observing shadows. Facilitators shared astronomy-related resources that can be used in any introductory physics course. The NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT) has created and vetted activities that allow students to investigate imperfect data, which creates a more meaningful learning experience.
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Undergrad Research 2024 Workshop
August 9, 2024
Facilitators:
Dwain Desbien, Wayne Manrakhan, Kendra Sibbernsen
In this panel presentation, participants learned about three different models for students conducting research at two-year colleges. Panelists described: a project-based assignment in a course, a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), and an extracurricular student research project. Panelists addressed questions of defining research and appropriate projects, recruiting and retaining students, and finding support such as funding.
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PICUP Virtual Workshop 2024
July 30, 2024 - August 1, 2024
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Kelly Roos, Nicholas Nelson, Walter Freeman, Tom O'Kuma, Todd Zimmerman, Gillian Lynn Ryan, Christopher Orban, Danny Caballero, Joe Heafner
This was a joint workshop between PICUP and OPTYCs, offered online between July 30, 2024 and August 1, 2024.
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Parallel Pedagogy 2024 Workshop
April 27, 2024
Facilitators:
Dean Stocker, Peter Schwartz, Jennifer Klay
Parallel Pedagogy is a curriculum that introduces core concepts simultaneously, helping students apply physics to different scenarios. Momentum, energy, dynamics, and kinematics are introduced on the first day of class and build in complexity throughout the term. This pedagogy has shown promising results in conceptual, algebra-based, and calculus-based physics. Every example begins by considering each concept, steering students away from “formula hunting” and toward a concept-driven approach to problem solving. Data show that students have accepted this new system well, shifted toward expert thinking based on CLASS results, and solved problems and performed on the FCI on par with or better than conventionally-taught classes. Students also self-reported that they enjoy physics more than they thought they would.
In this workshop, participants learned about this curriculum, and tried out various associated materials developed by the facilitators, including a free online textbook written by TYC faculty member Dean Stocker. This workshop was free of charge and virtual.
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NCSAAPT-2024-03-Unistellar
March 23, 2024
This event was not recorded.
Facilitator:
Joe Heafner
This workshop was offered at the North Carolina Section of the AAPT Spring 2024 Meeting in Charlotte, NC.
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NCSAAPT-2024-03-Vectors
March 23, 2024
This event was not recorded.
Facilitator:
Dwain Desbien
This workshop was offered at the North Carolina Section of the AAPT Spring 2024 Meeting in Charlotte, NC.
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NCSAAPT-2024-03-Identity
March 23, 2024
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Sherry Savrda, Kris Lui
This workshop was offered at the North Carolina Section of the AAPT Spring 2024 Meeting in Charlotte, NC.
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TexasAAPT-2024-03-W6
March 23, 2024
This event was not recorded.
Facilitator:
Shane Wood
This workshop was offered at the Texas Section of the AAPT Spring 2024 Meeting in Stephenville, TX.
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TexasAAPT-2024-03-W3
March 22, 2024
This event was not recorded.
Facilitator:
Kelly Roos
This workshop was offered at the Texas Section of the AAPT Spring 2024 Meeting in Stephenville, TX.
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TexasAAPT-2024-03-W4
March 22, 2024
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Regina Barrera, Tom O'Kuma
This workshop was offered at the Texas Section of the AAPT Spring 2024 Meeting in Stephenville, TX.
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TexasAAPT-2024-03-W1
March 22, 2024
This event was not recorded.
Facilitator:
Kelly Roos
This workshop was offered at the Texas Section of the AAPT Spring 2024 Meeting in Stephenville, TX.
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Scientific Reasoning Labs 2024 Workshop
March 1, 2024
Facilitators:
Krista Wood, Kathleen Koenig
In this free, virtual workshop, participants learned about a set of introductory college-level physics labs that helps students develop scientific reasoning skills. The series of labs developed by our workshop facilitators and their colleagues follow a theory-evidence coordination framework. As part of this process, a scaffolded approach is used to guide students in best practices in designing and collecting data from their own investigations. Students are then guided to graph their data in Excel and develop a mathematical model that can be used to coordinate with theory or for making predictions. Together, these activities support students to think like scientists.
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Energy First 2024 Workshop
February 21, 2024
Facilitator:
Christopher Fischer
Energy is physics concept that is prominent in many other science disciplines. In the Energy-First physics curriculum, energy is the starting point for the rest of the course. Problem-solving is initially more tractable for students, due to the scalar nature of energy (compared with kinematics or forces). In this workshop, participants learned more about this approach, available supporting materials, and how to implement Energy-First curriculum in their courses.
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ISLE 2024 Workshop
February 10, 2024
Facilitator:
Eugenia Etkina
In this (free and virtual) workshop, participants experienced learning physics through the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) approach. The ISLE approach helps students learn physics and develop confidence that they can do it by engaging in activities that mirror scientific practice.
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PALS 2023 Workshop
November 4, 2023
Facilitator:
Duane Deardorff
In our complete redesign of the Introductory Physics for Life Science sequence at UNC-CH, students spend nearly all their class time in small groups working on activities designed according to PER findings. We also eliminated topics with little or no connection to biology (e.g rotational dynamics) in favor of topics highly relevant to the life sciences (e.g. nonlinear stress-strain). Wherever possible the class activities make use of authentic biological data. 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 total 54 PALS have been developed, spanning a two-semester course sequence, and are freely available for use at other institutions and can be adapted to suit different course structures.
In this workshop, we described the evidence-based design of these activities, allowed participants to try out a few PALS, and showed how PALS improved student learning gains on concept inventories.
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AstroNotes 2023 Workshop
November 3, 2023
Facilitators:
Janelle Bailey, Donald Smith
AstroNotes is a 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. In this webinar, participants talked with Column Co-Editors Don Smith (Guilford College) and Janelle Bailey (Temple University) about how to write for the column. They provided instructions for column authors, discussed the review process, and answered questions to better prepare participants for submitting their ideas.
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TPT 2023 Workshop
October 28, 2023
Facilitator:
Gary White
In this workshop, The Physics Teacher Editor, Gary White, discussed the general publishing process, and helped participants develop ideas for submission to TPT.
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TSAAPT (Fall 2023)
October 13, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitator:
Ramon Lopez
This workshop was offered at the Texas Section of the AAPT Fall 2023 Meeting in San Angelo, TX.
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STEPUP 2023 Actions Workshop
October 7, 2023
Facilitators:
Bree Barnett Dreyfuss, Jolene Johnson
In this workshop, participants learned how to implement the STEP-UP lesson on 'Everyday Actions in Physics'.
STEP-UP (Supporting Teachers to Encourage the Pursuit of Undergraduate Physics) is an American Physical Society (APS) initiative originally designed to support women and racialized minorities in physics by offering positive lessons during high school classes. Instructors at the post-secondary level have found the lessons effective as well.
'Everyday Actions in Physics' was part of a three-workshop series.
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STEPUP 2023 Women Workshop
September 23, 2023
Facilitators:
Bree Barnett Dreyfuss, Alma Robinson
In this workshop, participants learned how to implement the STEP-UP lesson on 'Women in Physics'.
STEP-UP (Supporting Teachers to Encourage the Pursuit of Undergraduate Physics) is an American Physical Society (APS) initiative originally designed to support women and racialized minorities in physics by offering positive lessons during high school classes. Instructors at the post-secondary level have found the lessons effective as well.
'Women in Physics' was part of a three-workshop series.
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Values 2023 Workshop
September 15, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitator:
Abigail Daane
In this workshop, we explored our values, and how these shape our interactions. We reflected on how our students' values may affect their relationships with academics, physics, and our classes.
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STEPUP-Careers 2023 Workshop
September 9, 2023
Facilitators:
Bree Barnett Dreyfuss, Nicole Schrode
In this workshop, participants learned how to implement the STEP-UP lesson on 'Careers in Physics'.
STEP-UP (Supporting Teachers to Encourage the Pursuit of Undergraduate Physics) is an American Physical Society (APS) initiative originally designed to support women and racialized minorities in physics by offering positive lessons during high school classes. Instructors at the post-secondary level have found the lessons effective as well.
'Careers in Physics' was part of a three-workshop series.
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Society for Physics Students 2023 Workshop
August 20, 2023
Facilitator:
Brad Conrad
Presented by Society of Physics Students (SPS) this interactive, virtual workshop focused on how to build, grow, and support physics and astronomy clubs at Two Year Colleges. Topics included information on how to get started, best practices, an interactive implementation workshop, setting expectations goals, service learning through outreach, and community building exercises. With no experience required, this workshop highlighted resources and success stories from TYCs around the US. This workshop was supported by SPS and the American Institute of Physics.
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Solar Eclipse 2023 Workshop
August 12, 2023
Facilitator:
Matt Cass
In this workshop, well known solar observer, John O'Neal, and a community college astronomer, Matt Cass, presented guidelines for safe viewing of solar eclipses in educational and outreach environments, as well as tips for general solar observing. Participants received ideas for organizing events for the solar eclipses whose paths crossed North America (October 14, 2023 and April 8, 2024).
Facilitator: John O'Neal
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Accessibility Workshop 2023
June 26, 2023 - June 28, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Co-sponsored by OPTYCs, AMATYC (the American Mathematical Association for Two-Year Colleges), and 2YC3 (the 2-Year College Chemistry Consortium), an interdisciplinary group of STEM faculty and staff gathered for the Facilitating Accessibility for TYC STEM Students with Disabilities. This workshop was hosted by Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Minneapolis, MN, June 26-28, 2023, and was funded by NSF grant 2228226.
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LaTeX 2023 Workshop
June 17, 2023
Facilitator:
Joe Heafner
LaTeX has a notorious reputation for being difficult to learn and use, and for this reason is avoided by many people despite being a de facto standard for mathematical content since its invention in the late 1970s. According to LaTeX developers, academics are ironically among the worst offenders when it comes to using LaTeX incorrectly. The resulting frustration causes a negative feedback loop that amplifies perceived difficulties. This workshop was designed to show participants how to set up a proper LaTeX workflow using modern tools and how to create a simple, introductory document with the most common features. The emphasis was on preparing to bring LaTeX into the classroom.
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Kinematics-Spreadsheets 2023 Workshop
May 20, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Larry Engelhardt, Marie Lopez del Puerto
Are you interested in introducing computational ideas into your introductory physics class? In this virtual, three-hour workshop on teaching kinematics using spreadsheets, participants were introduced to computational tools available in spreadsheets, and worked on creating and/or modifying examples for their own use. This workshop was a collaboration between PICUP and OPTYCs.
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Equity Questions 2023 Workshop
May 12, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitator:
Kristine Washburn
In this 1-hour workshop, participants saw how equity-based questions could be asked in physics classes. Homework-type questions were presented as a related series, leading students to consider issues around equity in physics, illuminating science as a societal endeavor. Participants saw some examples, and had the opportunity to brainstorm and discuss other physics topics where equity-based questions could be asked.
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IVETs 2023 Workshop
April 22, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitator:
Kathleen Koenig
Are you looking for an effective tutor-like resource for your students? Interactive Video-Enhanced Tutorials (IVETs) are a freely available, web-based product that guide students through interactive video clips towards expert-like approaches in solving physics problems. IVETs involve branching multiple-choice questions to keep students engaged, and feedback and hints are provided for each incorrect and correct response, much like one would provide during office hours. In this workshop, participants learned about the underlying design for the IVETs, saw a brief overview of the research findings that demonstrate their effectiveness, and worked through several examples. Over 30 tutorials were available, covering most chapters taught within a two semester introductory physics course, and all can be distributed to students using web links or embedding them directly into your LMS.
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Texas Section 2023 Spring W9 Registration
March 25, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Regina Barrera, Stephanie Ingle, Tom O'Kuma
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TSAAPT (Spring2 2023)
March 25, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Regina Barrera, Stephanie Ingle, Tom O'Kuma
This workshop was offered at the Texas Section of the AAPT Spring 2023 Meeting in Commerce, TX.
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Texas Section 2023 Spring W4 Registration
March 25, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Tom O'Kuma, Regina Barrera
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Texas Section 2023 Spring W2 Registration
March 24, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Regina Barrera, Stephanie Ingle, Tom O'Kuma
MBL using Bluetooth sensors from PASCO and Vernier.
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TSAAPT (Spring 2023)
March 24, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Tom O'Kuma, Regina Barrera, Stephanie Ingle
This workshop was offered at the Texas Section of the AAPT Spring 2023 meeting in Commerce, TX.
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TEAM-UP 2023 Workshop
March 11, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Arlene Modeste Knowles, Arlisa Richardson, Mel Sabella, Anthony Escuadro
The TEAM-UP Report highlighted ways to increase student participation in physics. TEAM-UP Together is an initiative to implement the Report's recommendations to better support physics students. In this 3-hour workshop, we learned about key findings from the report, and how to be involved in making physics a more inclusive endeavor!
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PhET 2023 Workshop
February 11, 2023
Facilitator:
Rebecca Vieyra
In this workshop, participants were introduced to the various simulations offered in the PhET suite.
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WebVPython (AAPT WM 2023)
January 15, 2023
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Joe Heafner, Glenda Denicolo, Tom O'Kuma
This workshop was offered at the national AAPT Winter Meeting in Portland, OR.
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PICUP (Virtual 2022)
November 11, 2022
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Tom O'Kuma, Joe Heafner, Kelly Roos, Larry Engelhardt, Marie Lopez del Puerto, Todd Zimmerman
This workshop was offered jointly by PICUP and OPTYCs, showcasing the use of spreadsheets as a computational tool in physics classes.
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WebVPython (Virtual 2022)
July 9, 2022
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Tom O'Kuma, Joe Heafner, Glenda Denicolo
At this workshop, participants explored the use of Web VPython as a teaching tool in physics classes, held on 2022-Jul-23.
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WebVPython (AAPT SM 2022)
July 9, 2022
This event was not recorded.
Facilitators:
Glenda Denicolo, Tom O'Kuma, Joe Heafner
This workshop was held at the national AAPT summer meeting in Grand Rapids, MI.
