Invited Speakers
Fall 2001 Meeting of the Illinois and Chicago Sections of the AAPT

Invited talk

"Communicating Science with Art"

Christopher J. Chiaverina
AAPT President-Elect
New Trier High School, Winnetka, IL
Author (with Thomas Rossing) of the book:
"Light Science: Physics and the Visual Arts"

3:15 - 3:45                   D2001

 The arts and science offer unique ways of viewing and understanding our world; however, they are not unrelated. We have found that the connections between these seemingly disparate disciplines are numerous and may serve as vehicles for teaching many topics in physics, especially optics. This paper will discuss ways in which we have used the visual and performing arts in, and outside, the physics classroom to enhance student learning.

Invited talk

"Communicating Science with Middle School
Physical Science Texts"

John L. Hubisz
AAPT President
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

3:45 - 4:15                   D2001


Invited talk

"Favorite Physics Demonstrations
from 20 Years of MBL"

David Vernier
Vernier Software and Technology
Beaverton, Oregon

8:30 - 9:15                   D2001

 A dozen or so physics demonstrations done with sensors connected to computers will be performed. These are demonstrations that have become my favorites in the 20 years I have been developing sensors, computer interfaces, and software at Vernier Software & Technology. Demonstrations are included from mechanics, sound, light, and electricity.

Invited talk

"Revitalization of Physics - A Work In Progress"

Ruth Howes
AAPT Past President
Ball State University, Muncie, IN

9:15 - 9:45                   D2001

 As we begin a new century, physics is changing, the workplace is changing, and the students in our classrooms are changing.  Clearly departments must respond constructively and creatively if they are to thrive in the twenty-first century.  The National Task Force on Undergraduate Physics seeks to understand how undergraduate physics departments in a wide variety of institutions can best adapt to their new environment.  The effort is a work in progress, and this is a status report.
 

Invited talk

"Tour of MathML and VPython"

Larry Martin
North Park University, Chicago, IL

11:15 - 11:45                   D2001

New tools for physics teachers using (or abusing) technology include MathML and VPython.  MathML is the first internationally defined and accepted standard for XML (eXtensible Markup Language) presentation of mathematical material on the web.  I will show several examples of the tools available for creating and rendering and interpreting MathML in web pages and in other ways.  VPython is an extension (a free open-source project created at Carnegie-Mellon) for the programming language Python which lets students create simple programs for rendering 3D objects. It is an excellent aid to visualization and modeling of dynamical motion and fields.
 

Invited talk

"TIPERs - Tasks Inspired by Physics Education Research"

David Maloney
Indiana-Purdue University, Fort Wayne, IN

11:45 - 12:15                   D2001

 This talk will describe results of preliminary uses of some of the magnetism TIPERs developed by a collaborative project involving the three authors.  The TIPERs support new active-learning approaches and can usually be easily incorporated in small pieces without making major changes in instructional approach.  We will also identify suggestions for ways to employ the magnetism TIPERs to promote student conceptual understanding.