Workshops
Fall Meeting of the Illinois Section of the AAPT and IACT
Oct. 16-17, 2009 - Illinois Central College, East Peoria, Illinois
Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Attendees will participate in model inquiry activities including interactive demonstrations, lessons, and jigsaw lab activities. The subject of the workshop activities will be buoyancy

This workshop will introduce the participants to a unique set of task formats that get students to use the concepts, principles and relations they are studying in new ways that promote sense making (working with the ideas until they make sense to the student) rather than answer making. These formats can be used in multiple ways--to initiate class discussions, for homework, on tests, etc--to help the students develop more robust understanding of the material under study. Participants will explore several of the formats and discuss ways to use them. Participants will receive samples of existing materials.

In this workshop we will look at various classroom activities useful for use when teaching sections on acoustics. The activities are appropriate for use in high school classrooms or courses for non-science majors in college.

Harness the power of the new TI-Nspire handheld device in your chemistry classroom! In this hands-on workshop, each participant will be working with a device to learn how to collect and transform experimental data. We will focus on the kinetics of the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide using a platinum-based catalyst found in consumer contact lens disinfection systems. In addition, we will explore how the TI-Nspire can be used in chemistry simulations and classroom assessment.

Attendees will participate in model inquiry activities including interactive demonstrations, lessons, and jigsaw lab activities. The subject of the workshop activities will be buoyancy.

This presentation will examine the role pre-assessment and formative assessment plays in actively developing an appropriate understanding of the science and associated knowledge bases related to the topic. The presentation will use an introductory activity as a model for pre-assessing individual's understanding of potential content and practice related to the inquiry-based investigation being initiated. Participants will leave with practical pre-assessment ideas, formative assessment strategies and tools and a unit outline for a topic that will fit in both content areas.

Accuracy and precision are sometimes difficult concepts for students to differentiate, especially as it relates to lab procedure. I'll be demonstrating how a simple lab can clearly show the difference and how lab equipment tells the tale. Also, an introduction to spectroscopy using gas discharge tubes will be discussed and demonstrated.

Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009

This workshop will introduce the participants to a unique set of task formats that get students to use the concepts, principles and relations they are studying in new ways that promote sense making (working with the ideas until they make sense to the student) rather than answer making. These formats can be used in multiple ways--to initiate class discussions, for homework, on tests, etc--to help the students develop more robust understanding of the material under study. Participants will explore several of the formats and discuss ways to use them. Participants will receive samples of existing materials.

Benjamin Franklin is well known for his experiments with kites and Leyden jars. However, Franklin was also one of the key scientists who helped to shift views of static electricity from a "fluid" model to a charged particle model. Using insulating wax from his father's candle business to build various types of capacitors, Franklin used some very insightful inquiry processes to explain electrical interactions through opposite charges. In this workshop, participants will work through inquiry activities nearly identical to those described by Franklin to his colleagues through a set of letters he wrote. Participants will receive a small lab kit, a paper and digital copy of the original letters, along with a lab guide and mini-videos. (these items were developed by Robert A. Morse in conjunction with the TUFTS Wright Center - see www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/personal_pages/bob_m/   for more information).

Participants will get a chance to use the Vernier LabPro temperature probe in calculation of calorie content of Cheetos, pH sensor in acid-base titration experiment to calculate the dissociation constant of a weak acid, colorimeter in a kinetics experiment, gas pressure sensor in verification of Boyle's Law, and voltage probes in the comparison of reduction potentials of four metals. Some of these experiments will be in the guided or open inquiry lab format.

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a research based learning environment where students are actively engaged in mastering course content and in developing essential skills by working in self-managed teams on guided inquiry activities. In addition to learning, understanding, and applying new concepts, students also develop important process skills in the areas of information processing, critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, communication, management, and assessment. The instructor facilitates student learning by appropriately guiding and questioning the teams as they work through the specially designed activities. Participants will learn how to integrate the POGIL methodology into their high school science classroom.

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