Physics Teacher - Augustana College

Volume 18, Number 2

isaapt.org

Fall 2006

The Illinois

Physics Teacher ___________________________________________________________ Message from the President Dear Fellow Physics Teachers: The council of the Illinois Section of AAPT held a retreat this summer to discuss ways to improve our organization and meetings. I hope all of you will take the time to read the minutes elsewhere in this issue of The Illinois Physics Teacher about this summer meeting. I think the meeting was productive and it will be fun and interesting to see some of the ideas implemented. I’ve spent some time since that summer meeting thinking about why the problems we tried to address arose and why some of those problems seem so hard to solve. Our mission is to help the physics teachers of our state do their jobs better. Some of those teachers are teaching by supervising senior research projects for college physics majors. Some of those teachers are teaching introductory courses with varying levels of math pre-requisites to students with varying levels of interest in physics. Some of those students will pursue careers that depend on the physics they learn while some will pursue careers where physics will not have as direct an impact. Some of the teachers are teaching physics concepts to students without using mathematics hoping to make those students more aware of science in their lives. Some physics teachers work on outreach projects trying to bring physics to the community outside our schools and colleges. This too long list of the widely varying aspects of the teaching of physics done by our members is still too short to be

a complete listing of all the different ways our members teach physics. I believe this extremely broad mission underlies most of the problems we face. I also strongly believe that we cannot narrow this mission without excluding aspects of physics teaching important to our members. The Illinois Section of AAPT must be concerned with ALL the different aspects of physics teaching. I think most of our members are usually working on several different aspects of physics teaching. I had a day recently where I began by spending two hours teaching vector addition to students with an algebratrig math background. I then spent two hours teaching students with a calculus background how to find electric fields from continuous charge distributions. I next spent two hours in a conceptual course with students with no math background discussing Newton’s First Law and inertia. I finished with an evening meeting with teachers from a local elementary school about ways I could help bring physics into their classrooms. I think all of our members have had days involving a just as wide if not wider variety of physics teaching. I was more successful in all the parts of my busy day because of things I’ve learned from being part of the Illinois Section of AAPT. However, the fact that AAPT helps in all the aspects of physics teaching I’m concerned with does not mean that AAPT is a perfect match to my interests. I’ve seen many presentations and articles that were of little interest to me. However, I strongly believe it is better to keep the wide variety we currently have

THE ILLINOIS PHYSICS TEACHER Spring 2006 than to try to narrow the focus. I would much prefer to sit patiently through presentations of papers that I lack interest in than to eliminate even a few papers that I am interested in. If the section were to try to eliminate the papers I lack interest in and then try to eliminate the papers that everyone else lacks interest in, we would inevitably eliminate every paper and we would stop meeting. None of us would ever again have to sit through a presentation we didn’t care for, but I would also have missed the presentations that have had a positive impact on my teaching. It can sometimes be frustrating when time at our meetings focuses on an aspect of physics teaching that I’m not concerned with at that time. However, we are too small a group with too much overlap between the different aspects of physics teaching for any splitting of the mission to be sensible. I think we all need to make a commitment to be supportive of teachers working on the areas of physics teaching other than our own primary focus. I hope the teachers, such as myself, who are concerned primarily with teaching introductory courses, can be supportive of those concerned primarily with helping students learn how to present the results of student research. I also hope those working with students doing research can be supportive of those teaching introductory courses. Our common goal of increasing the physics knowledge and awareness of our students and communities is too important for us to let the fact we may be focusing on different aspects of this goal stop us from working together and supporting each other.

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Spring 2008 – University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign

Fall 2006 ISAAPT Newsletter Illinois Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers Brian Davies, Editor Dept. of Physics 212 Currens Hall Western Illinois University Macomb, IL 61455 [email protected] For address changes, membership information and other correspondence about the ISAAPT, contact: Carl Wenning Secretary Treasurer, ISAAPT Illinois State University 4560 Physics Department Normal, IL 61790-4560 [email protected]

Troy Gobble named Illinois High School Physics Teacher of 2006

Respectfully submitted, Dr. Bill Hogan President of ISAAPT for 2006 Associate Prof., Physics Joliet Junior College

Future ISAAPT Meetings • • •

Fall 2006 – October 13-14 - Rock Island High School, Rock Island (Gary Wolber) Spring 2007 – March 30-31 - Western Illinois University, Macomb (Brian Davies) Fall 2007 – Lincoln Land Community College, Springfield

Troy Gobble (left) receives the 2006 Illinois High School Physics Teacher citation from Bill Hogan. (Photo courtesy of Dave Renneke)

THE ILLINOIS PHYSICS TEACHER Spring 2006 Fall 2006 Meeting of the Illinois and Iowa Sections of the AAPT "What Inquiring Minds Want to Know" October 13-14, 2006 Rock Island High School 1400 25th Ave., Rock Island, IL 61201 You are invited to attend the fall meeting of the ISAAPT, which will be a joint meeting with the Iowa section of the AAPT. Please join us, to learn more about physics, discover new tools and techniques for teaching physics, share your experiences via contributed presentations and Take Fives, and meet old and new friends. The invited talks and speakers are: “Dark Matter and Dark Energy: from the Universe to the Laboratory” by Dr. Sean Carroll, Dept. of Physics, University of Chicago (banquet speaker on Friday evening) “The SCALE-UP Project” by Dr. Robert Beichner, North Carolina State University (Friday afternoon) “What's Missing from _ d _ c _ t _ _ n?” by Dr. Karen Jo Matsler, Assessment and Training, Inc., Arlington, Texas (Saturday morning) There will be three workshops. Sign up for these on the Registration form by Oct. 6 W1. "Robots in the College and High School Physics Classrooms", James Rabchuk, WIU, Friday 10:00-12:00, free W2. "Classroom Performance System", eInstruction, Friday 11:00-12:00, free W3. "Make It and Take It", David Rigsbee, Saturday 8:30-9:30 (will be repeated from 10:4511:45 if there is demand), $10 For more information, maps and directions, registration forms, hotel information, and the program, see our Web site: isaapt.org

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CPDU'S Available at Fall ISAAPT Workshops Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDU's) will be available to in-service high school physics teachers who attend and participate in INSTRUCTIONAL workshops at this fall’s ISAAPT meeting at Rock Island High School. Carl Wenning of Illinois State University has registered ISAAPT with the Illinois State Board of Education as an official service provider. More details are available on the ISAAPT web site at: http://www.isaapt.org under the link for Continuing Professional Development Units.

Call for Nominations for Outstanding High School Physics Teacher Award Each school year the Illinois Section of AAPT is pleased to receive nominations for outstanding high school physics teachers in the state. Fellow teachers and school administrators who are aware of exceptional performance and enthusiastic student response are encouraged to fill out the online nomination form found on the ISAAPT website. The person who is nominated will be notified and asked to fill out the online candidate information form. Please note that the deadline for receiving nominations is December 1, 2006. The teacher who is selected will be notified and presented with the award at the spring 2007 meeting of the Section.

Call for Nominations for the 2007 Distinguished Service Citation We invite and encourage you to nominate a fellow colleague for the 2007 Distinguished Service Citation to be presented at the fall 2007 ISAAPT meeting. Please send your nomination by February 1, 2007, so that the Council might consider the candidates at the spring meeting. Guidelines for nominations are posted on the ISAAPT website under the link for Distinguished Service Citation.

THE ILLINOIS PHYSICS TEACHER Spring 2006 Membership LISTSERV Established The ISAAPT is moving into the 21st century with a listserv! The un-moderated listserv is available now for ISAAPT members and interested others. It will be used to keep you informed about some of the many physics happenings (e.g., summer workshop and meeting announcements, etc.) in Illinois and nationwide. If you wish to subscribe to the ISAAPT membership listserv, send the following message to [email protected], being certain to turn off your signature before sending: SUBSCRIBE isaapt-l If at any point you wish to un-subscribe from the ISAAPT membership listserv, send the following message to [email protected], being certain to turn off your signature before sending: SIGNOFF isaapt-l You need not include your name or e-mail address in either case; that will be picked up from your message header. If you have any difficulty, please check with the listserv manager, Carl Wenning, at [email protected]. Information about the listserv will be maintained on the ISAAPT Web site.

Learning to Drive at College by Dr Kenneth E. Mellendorf Illinois Central College Teachers must be able to explain the purpose of an education. Many students see it as nothing more than a waste of time. Others believe education is no more than a set of instructions they must memorize before an employer will accept them. Educators can seldom break through these misconceptions. They don’t have a model to which the students can relate. Consider a world where oil has become so rare that family cars no longer exist. Farmers might use horses, but cities don’t have room for them. When walking won’t work, buses and electric trains are now the only forms of transportation. The bus

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companies have weekly rations of fuel. Nobody else can even hope to get any. Automobiles are a thing of the past. Since only bus drivers will ever drive, high schools do not teach it. The average human being will never sit behind the wheel of a car. You are going to college to learn to drive, hoping to become a bus driver. It’s a difficult career to acquire. You need a four year degree even to apply for such a position. “Introduction to Driving” is a two-semester sequence that meets in one-hour classes, four days per week. The lab is once per week for two hours. The first semester is always full. To your disappointment, you find that you will never actually drive a bus in this college. You may sit behind the wheel of a used bus donated to the college, but fuel does not exist. The classes will focus on “controls” within a bus, different methods of driving, environmental effects, and of course the laws of driving. Most of the labs will be simulations. The college has six simulation devices and twentyfour students per lab. You have had a prelab to provide a description of weather and time of day, as well as a map of the area. The first hour of the lab involves determination of the path your group will take to reach the destination. The professor might offer a review of what to expect. Perhaps this lab will be during a rainstorm. During the second hour, one member of the group will drive the computerized simulation device. One will navigate. One member makes sure you don’t break any laws. The fourth member takes notes. After the lab ends, your group writes a short report discussing what you’ve learned about driving. Consider taking such a course with an attitude of disinterest. If you’re never going to sit behind the wheel, what good is it? Why pay attention to such a boring course. Memorize the facts, but never try to relate them to how you imagine driving to be. Take the tests and then forget the material. The labs can be fun, but they’re no more than games. All that really matters is whether you reach the destination.

THE ILLINOIS PHYSICS TEACHER Spring 2006

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The student who treats his education like this will not be hired as a bus driver. He will never have tried to imagine what driving in the rain is actually like. He will not make an effort to watch for signs when finally on the road. Train tracks are nothing more than lines on the screen. Without imagination and deep thought during the years in college, Without trying to really understand what driving is, this student is lost.

Teaching at Stanford University and at Seoul National University Thomas D. Rossing Professor Emeritus, Northern Illinois University Moving is a chore, especially when you have been in a place for almost 40 years. But it is even more traumatic when you have to close up a laboratory which you founded and where you have worked 24/7, such as the Acoustics Laboratory at Northern Illinois University. But acoustics was not in the future plans at NIU, and so I have to look ahead and plan for the future. Fortunately, in 2004, Stanford University offered me a position as a Visiting Professor, and so I headed off for California. I taught music acoustics at Stanford during the winter of 2005 but returned to NIU to supervise the PhD work of two wonderful graduate students, Andrew Morrison and Junehee Yoo, both of whom received their PhD degrees in December 2005. Andy had the honor of being the first physics student to complete a PhD dissertation in DeKalb (two others who “beat” him by a few months did their research at Argonne and Fermilab). Junehee had the honor of being the first female to receive a PhD in physics from Northern. Both Andy and Junehee, I’m happy to say, are now university professors, Andy at Illinois Wesleyan University and Junehee at Seoul National University. Apparently my acoustics course was well received at Stanford, for they asked me to return in 2006 to teach two courses and offered me a renewable appointment, so I left my snow shovel behind in DeKalb and moved to California.

Meanwhile, I had received an invitation from Seoul National University to teach during the spring of 2006, so I moved to Seoul for 4 months to work with Junehee Yoo and her colleagues. What a wonderful experience that was! Seoul National University, generally considered to be the foremost university in Korea, is on a lovely campus in the foothills just outside of the city, and I arrived just in time to enjoy the cherry blossoms and other spring flowers. The Koreans are really hospitable people! In addition to teaching two classes at SNU, I gave weekly lectures at KAIST (the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) in Daejeon, where I traveled every Thursday by KTX highspeed train (300 km/hr).

Tom Rossing and Junehee Yoo in front of a fountain at the Seoul Arts Center. I knew quite a lot about Korea, but I learned many more things during my visit. It is the most “wired” country in the world. It is the foremost ship builder in the world, and the three tallest buildings in the world have been built by Korean companies. In

THE ILLINOIS PHYSICS TEACHER Spring 2006 spite of its very small size, it has the fourth largest economy in Asia. Seoul has one of the best subway systems in the world, and I have already mentioned the high-speed KTX trains which transport people between the major cities. The students are very intelligent and ambitious, but they know how to enjoy life as well. They surprised me with a lovely birthday party, and they took me to a Karaoke bar. I was invited to give a tutorial at a meeting of the Korean Physical Society, which was held at a beautiful ski resort in the mountains. (The skiing season had just ended, and the mountains still glistened with snow!) In June the Korean Acoustical Society hosted a Western Pacific Acoustics meeting (WESPAC IX), which featured more than 700 papers from 37 countries! Needless to say, I miss my colleagues in ISAAPT, where I enjoyed so much wonderful fellowship! From what I read, ISAAPT is still going great guns and promoting physics teaching in Illinois and nationally. One particularly outstanding feature of ISAAPT is the nice mix of high school, college, and

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university physics teachers. Over the years, quite a large number of my physics graduate students gained valuable experience and valuable feedback from presenting papers at ISAAPT meetings, where they were always cordially received. I’m sure that ISAAPT will keep up this valuable tradition! Another feature of ISAAPT which always impressed me is the ISAAPT Newsletter and the way meeting publicity and abstracts were so well handled by webmaster Dave Renneke. I don’t know of another organization in the world to which an abstract can be submitted the night before a meeting and appear in the program the next day (I hope that is still true). I am proud that I served as your president many, many years ago, and that you helped me become national president of AAPT in 1991. Illinois has produced at least 4 or 5 presidents as well as many other national officers of the organization. Because I had just returned from Korea, I missed the gala 75th anniversary meeting, but I look forward to seeing many of you in Seattle next January.

Minutes of the Spring 2006 ISAAPT Executive Council Meeting Saturday, April 8, 2006 Illinois Central College, East Peoria, IL Room 211A - Founder's Suite The meeting was called to order by President Bill Hogan at 7:30 a.m. In attendance were the following Council members and visitors: Rob Mason, Carl Wenning, Ken Mellendorf, Ray Bugayong, Brian M. Davies, Chris LaRoche, Troy Gobble, Elisabeth Langford, Dave Renneke, Ann Brandon, Zak Knott, and Debby Lojkutz (visitor). The following items were addressed and decisions made: Secretary-Treasurer Report: Carl provided written forms of both. The minutes of the Fall 2005 Council meeting were read and approved without correction. Carl noted a balance of $5,372.44 on April 4, 2006 minus $122.12 in subsequent payments. The Treasurer’s report was likewise approved without question or amendment. Section Representative Report: There was no Section Rep report due to Eric Peterson’s recent resignation from this office along with his move to a new position in Texas. Bill noted that Eric needs to be replaced. Nonetheless, Ann briefed the Council on some major points she was aware of given her presence at the Anchorage Winter Meeting of the AAPT. Ann noted that the national office is looking at Chicago for a potential winter meeting site in the not too distant future. More than 600 were in attendance at the Anchorage meeting – twice the number expected. Bernie Khoury will stay on as Executive Director until his replacement is found in the next 3 to 6 months. Representative to the AAPT High School Committee Report: Ann said there were some 500 entries in the photo contest, and “more movies than they knew what to do with.” There is concern about the use of copyrighted music in video productions that cannot be posted to the Internet. Constant changes in the membership of the Review Committee has caused significant delays (up to three years) in the approval of expected publications, but these problems have now been resolved. Publicity Chair, Section Editor, and Webmaster Report: Dave indicated “there is not much new to report.” There was a brief discussion about whether or not to continue with hard copy registration for the Section meetings. Ken noted that he had received one mailed-in registration and 5-6 faxed transmissions. The hard copy alternative for registration will therefore remain as a registration option. Bill acknowledged Dave’s ongoing hard work and thanked him for a “great job”.


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Newsletter Report: Brian indicated that he had recently sent out 187 issues of the Illinois Physics Teacher, and that a few had come back due to addressing problems. He was able to correct addresses and resend all but one newsletter. Dave and Carl asked that the address updates be sent to them for updating the Section’s databases. The cost of the newsletter is about $1 per copy printed and mailed. Ken noted that there should be a box placed within the newsletter wherein complete and varied contact information for the editor would be contained. Elisabeth asked about e-mailing the newsletter as a cost-cutting measure. Bill and Carl explained efforts a couple of meetings back to see if this was a viable option. The answer was that it was not due to membership preferences for hard copy. Both Zack and Elisabeth pointed out the difficulty high school teachers are having in attending the Section meetings due to busy schedules and lack of school support. Bill went on his self-described “annual rant” about getting HS physics teachers to attend the Section’s meetings. He noted good workshops, good invited speakers, and the Student Research Symposium (SRS), but called for an increase in submitted papers dealing with pedagogy as a way to improve the appeal of the agenda to all prospective participants, including HS teachers. Carl suggested a joint ISAAPT/IACT meeting (Illinois Association of Chemistry Teachers) at ISU during the autumn in a future year. The committee liked the idea, and asked Carl to pursue this. Brian closed by noting that he is able to agree to producing at least two more issues of the Illinois Physics Teacher. Outstanding High School Physics Teacher Award: Cliff Parker was not able to be present at the Council meeting, so Bill spoke on his behalf. The system established by Diana Roth continues to work well. There were only three completely new nominations this year in addition to those carried over from previous years. The review process was a bit slow to start, but worked well in the end. The clear winner for 2006 was Troy Gobble. Committee for the Distinguished Service Citation Report: Carl noted on behalf of the committee that they are seeking nominations for the autumn meeting, and that the current committee consists of Charles Schulz (Chair), Diana Roth, and himself. Spring Meeting Update: Ken reported that there were 57 pre-registrants, and 6 walk-in registrants for the current meeting. There are also 17 SRS papers, and 41 attended the banquet on Friday evening. The meeting is expected to break even financially or, at worst, lose about $100. The Council acknowledged his and Ken Eckstein’s contributions, and thanked them for hosting an excellent meeting. (SRS winners: Nicholas Juracek,. 1st; Matthew Narter, 2nd, Alison O’Connell, 3rd; all winners were from Illinois State University). Future Meetings: Bill noted that the October 13-14, 2006 Rock Island meeting is in the works, but that the tentatively set spring 2007 meeting at Highland Community College has been eliminated due to Eric Peterson’s departure from that institution. Invitations were received from Western Illinois University (March 30-31, 2007, Brian Davies) and Lincoln Land Community College (fall 2007, Dave Sykes and Tom Snyder). Both were approved. Carl was asked to contact Gary Gladding (or Jack Mochel, retired) at UIUC to see if they would be interested in hosting the spring 2008 meeting along with the SRS. (As indicated above, Carl will also check with IACT about a joint meeting at Illinois State University during autumn 2008.) Bill reported on behalf of Gary Wolber that things are on track for the fall 2006 meeting at Rock Island High School. Sean Carroll will be keynote speaker; the Iowa Section has not yet committed to a joint meeting; there are several workshops under development; the banquet will be catered at the high school; a reception with cash bar will be held after the banquet at the Sheraton; there is the option of a breakfast buffet for $6 which the Council thought was a good idea. It was further noted that Gary met with the Augustana College staff during January “for a chat”. New Business: The following topics were addressed and decisions made: •

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Replacements – Eric Peterson has stepped down as president-elect and section representative due to his departure from Highland Community College. Carl agreed to fill in as section rep for the summer meeting. Elisabeth nominated Carl, Ann seconded, and the Council agreed that Carl would serve out Eric’s term up until at least the autumn meeting. Troy indicated a willingness to step up to the position of president-elect. Elisabeth moved and Carl seconded Troy’s nomination. The motion was carried unanimously. Troy will continue in his current position as high school rep on the Council as his term expires with the autumn 2006 meeting. Bill noted that Douglas Franklin has left Western Illinois University and resigned his position as 4-year college rep. The Council agreed to ask Doug Brandt of Eastern Illinois University to fill the unexpired term. (Doug later agreed at the request of Bill.) Teacher Recruitment Web page – Troy moved and Bill seconded to formally approve the “teacher recruitment web page” as part of the ISAAPT website. The motion carried unanimously. Staggered Meeting Registration Fee – Curtis Hieggelke has asked that the Council consider a reduced section meeting registration fee for retired teachers. No consensus could be established on this issue; the matter was tabled. Bylaws Committee Update – Eric Peterson, Kim Shaw and Bill are currently serving as the Ad Hoc Committee for Bylaw Revision. Due to hectic work schedules and family commitments during the 2005-2006 academic year, they decided to put off the discussion until a later date. Council Retreat – Carl proposed a day-long Council retreat to provide time for the above and other discussions about

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future directions for the ISAAPT. Troy so moved, Ann seconded. The motion carried unanimously. Carl agreed to host the meeting at Illinois State University during the summer. He will attempt to find a mutually agreeable date. Ik-Ju Kang – Rob noted the February 24 passing of SIUE’s Ik-Ju Kang who was ISAAPT president during 1982. Rob motioned that the Council contribute $100 to a memorial fund such as we did for Betty Windham. Ann seconded the motion. It was carried unanimously. Carl was directed to send the donation to the Kavlico Endowment that funds the Ik-Ju Kang Student Scholarship, Attn: Marilyn Marsho, SIUE, Edwardsville, IL 62026-1608. Recruitment Brochure – Carl noted that he will be coming before the Council soon with a request to professionally produce the teacher recruitment brochure the Ad Hoc Committee on HS Physics Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention had produced. The Council was agreeable, but no formal motion was made or acted upon. Bill suggested that the Committee not forget to recruit teachers from among the SRS students attending future spring meetings.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Carl J. Wenning, Secretary/Treasurer

TREASURER'S REPORT Spring Section Meeting – 2006 Date 4/04/06 4/7/06 4/7/07 4/8/06 4/8/06 4/8/06 4/08/06 4/10/06 4/10/06 4/10/06 5/04/06 6/02/06

Explanation Prior Balance Cliff Parker (Outstanding Physics Teacher Plaque) Troy Gobble (Outstanding Physics Teacher Award) Ken Eckstein (meeting expenses) Quail Meadows (banquet expenses) McKenzie Stetzer (speaker expenses) Mel Sabella (speaker expenses) Meeting Receipts (dues, registration, fees) Jurasek, Narter, O’Connell (123 SRS winners) SIUE Foundation (Ik-Ju Kang Memorial Donation) Illinois Central College (spring meeting expenses) Non-conference dues Subtotals:

Income

Expense

Balance $5,372.44

($22.12) ($100.00) ($40.93) ($799.50) ($325.60) ($88.80) $2,107.00 ($225.00) ($100.00) ($531.90) $5.00 $2,112.00

($2,233.85) Total:

($121.85) $5,250.59

Total special pre-session budget: $500.00 (AAPT grant) + $70.00 (workshop registrations) = $570.00 (fall 2004) Total special pre-session balance: $570.00 - $275.45 = $224.55


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Front row: Raydo Bugayong, Troy Gobble, Debby Lojkutz, Ann Brandon, Brian Davies. Back: Bill Hogan, Kenneth Mellendorf, Carl Wenning, Ben Brown, Rob Mason, Chris Laroche, David Renneke

Minutes of the Summer 2006 ISAAPT Executive Council Retreat July 18, 2006 Illinois State University, Normal, IL Room 401A – Stevenson Hall The meeting was called to order by President Bill Hogan at 10:15 a.m. In attendance were the following Council members and visitors: Kenneth Mellendorf, Carl Wenning, Troy Gobble, Bill Hogan, Rob Mason, Ben Brown, Brian Davies, Diana Roth, Ann Brandon, Debby Lojkutz, Dave Renneke, Raydo Bugayong, Chris LaRoche, and Elisabeth Langford. The following items were addressed and decisions made: Expenses: It was agreed that the Council members would absorb their own travel costs for this meeting. Distinguished Service Award: Speaking on behalf of the DSA Committee, Carl noted that one nomination had been received to date, and that this and any other names members would care to submit would be brought before the Council electronically for a formal decision prior to the Fall meeting. Secretary-Treasurer Report: The minutes of the Spring 2006 Council meeting were read and approved without correction. Carl noted a balance of $5,250.59. The Treasurer’s report was likewise approved without question or amendment. Nominations: Carl noted that Kim Shaw would appreciate assistance in finding nominations for the officer and council positions that need to be filled at the autumn meeting. Several names were put forward. Both Bill and Troy will contact these individuals to see if they are interesting in assuming new duties. Bill will communicate results to Kim. Ad Hoc Committee: The Ad Hoc Committee for High School Physics Teacher Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention has produced two brochures, “Become a High School Physics Teacher” and “Recruiting the Next Generation of High School Science Teachers.” Carl solicited comments for improvement in the latter, the former having been reviewed by attendees at the recent joint meeting of the ISAAPT and the CS-AAPT. Following revisions in “Next Generation,” Carl will forward the final copy to the Council for review. Pending approval, Carl will print informal copies in large enough quantities for distribution at the Fall Section meeting using remaining money from the earlier $500 AAPT allocation. Decisions will be made later as to professional production using Section funds. Carl was asked to get cost estimates for professional production and have them available at the autumn Council meeting. Carl then briefly reported on his participation in a meeting at Cornell University to which he had been invited to talk about the ISAAPT Pipeline Project. He noted the great enthusiasm that was shown for the two draft brochures, and noted that Ted Hodapp has asked the ISAAPT to consider sending representatives to section meetings nationwide to disseminate information about the Pipeline Project. He asked that the ISAAPT Section Rep provide information to other section reps at the Syracuse meeting.


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Guidebook Program: The ISAAPT Guidebook Program was approved for another three years. It was formally agreed that the Guidebook Program should be available to all Illinois teacher education programs and their physics education majors, despite the fact that some programs are located within the boundaries of CS-AAPT. Carl will alert the CS-AAPT about this program. Section Representative: Carl indicated that he has been asked to join the AAPT’s Teacher Preparation Committee. He also noted that the Section Rep meeting at Syracuse is concurrently scheduled with the Teacher Prep Committee. He has asked for someone to substitute for him as Section Rep for this meeting, and indicated that a new Section Rep might need to be elected at the Fall ISAAPT meeting due to the prospects of ongoing schedule conflicts. Carl will see if Kim Shaw can substitute for him at the Section Rep meeting in Syracuse to disseminate information about the ISAAPT’s Pipeline Project. Future Direction of ISAAPT: Bill asked everyone to comment briefly on the future direction of the Section. Following these comments, Bill stated that there appears to be four major themes for future directions: (1) Section meetings should be more friendly to high school teachers, (2) the Section should have a greater outreach and try to get more people involved with its activities, (3) the Section must find ways to provide for activity between the semi-annual meetings, and (4) the Section needs to continue working on the Pipeline Project. Carl will continue to Chair the Ad Hoc Committee as well as continue to manage the Guidebook Program into the foreseeable future. Meetings: A number of ideas were mentioned for improving Section meetings: •

Meetings Committee – The Council needs to reinstate the Meetings Committee that Troy as president-elect will chair. Troy, Chris, Bill, and Gary Wolber will be the members of this standing committee.

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Types of Papers – Additional themes could be incorporated in Section meetings to call for specific types of papers: teaching methods, demonstrations, active learning, antiques road show, etc., to provide the desired emphases.)

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Workshops – Workshops geared toward high school physics teachers especially should be offered at a variety of times, including Friday mornings, Saturday afternoons, and even as concurrent sessions when the subject matter is research-based physics (e.g., Student Research Symposium during spring meetings).

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New types of sessions and open Take Fives – Sessions should exist from time to time that deal solely with demonstrations; an “open” Take 5 should be possible; a WITHIT (what in the heck is it?) session should be held from time to time where people can bring in items from their store rooms to see if others can help them know what various mystery items are used for. Troy will attempt to coordinate such a program for the Fall 2006 meeting.

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Early title deadlines for papers – An early presentation title deadline (3 weeks prior to the meeting) should be required so that the program can be fleshed out online to give those who might want to attend a better basis for deciding using web-based information. A later deadline (1 week prior to the meeting) should be imposed for submitting the description of the talk.

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Scheduling Take Fives – Take 5 talks might be interspersed between the regular 15-minute talks to take advantage of the time between talks so often spent setting up speakers’ AV equipment. This would require 3 regular 15-minute presentations and 3 Take 5 presentations each hour. This should NOT be done during concurrent sessions to ensure that everyone will have a chance to see each Take 5.

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Time limit – Take 5 talks must remain at 5 minutes duration maximum.

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Follow-up suggestion – An “open” time for additional Take 5 talks should be provided at the end of the day.

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General comments – Improved meetings must occur in order for outreach to be effective – so new members don’t show up once and then never again. Something must be done to make newcomers feel welcome.

Outreach and Activity: The following activities were suggested for getting more people involved in the Section: •

Publicity to reach high school teachers – Develop a method for getting information about the Section out to all high school physics teachers.

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Please come and have fun – Council members (and indeed the entire membership) is encouraged to promote attendance at Section meetings among their friends and acquaintances who might well have an interest.


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New favorite hyperlinks for the Web – Council members are urged to send Dave their favorite hyperlinks that can be added to the ISAAPT Web page.

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Quicktime on the Web page – Troy and Chris will attempt to videotape Take 5 talks this year in the hope of developing an online repository for the ISAAPT Web page.

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Membership listserv – Carl will set up an ISAAPT-L listserv to be used by the entire membership throughout the year. It will be piloted over the next few weeks by the Council, and then opened up to the membership for subscription.

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Regional newsletter items – Regional offices of Education need to be contacted with information about Section meetings. This probably needs to be done several months in advance of each meeting.

Bill noted that only if Council members take the lead to become actively involved in the above efforts will things change for the better. He strongly urged everyone to do what they can, starting today. Constitution & Bylaws: Due to shortness of time, these were quickly summarized. Bill asked the Council to read the Constitution and Bylaws, and submit to him recommendations for improvement. He stated that an Ad Hoc Committee for Constitution and Bylaws Review made up of the president (Bill), president-elect (Troy), and past-president (Kim Shaw) currently exists, would collect recommendations for amendments, and address them in the future. Among the suggestions for revision at the time of the meeting were for statements regarding the definition of a quorum, installation date of officers, and use of Robert’s Rules of Order. There was a question about whether or not the Ad Hoc Committee for High School Physics Teacher Candidate Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention should become a standing committee, but the question was not resolved. Council members were asked to send written proposals for amendments to Bill for further consideration. Future Meetings: The three scheduled upcoming Section meetings were reviewed. Carl noted that he has not had any luck communicating with Gary Gladding at UIUC about a Spring 2008 meeting. It was suggested that Carl contact either Mats Selens or Tim Stelzer about the possibility. Carl will check back with the Illinois Association of Chemistry Teachers to see if they are willing to hold a joint conference with the ISAAPT during the Fall of 2008 at Illinois State University. (Carl noted that this does not constitute an offer by ISU to host the Fall 2008 meeting otherwise as he might well be retired from ISU at that time.) Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 4:08 p.m. Carl J. Wenning Secretary-Treasurer

Treasurer’s Report – Summer Retreat - 2006 Date 7/18/06

Explanation Prior Balance

7/18/06

Summer Council Retreat Meal & Refreshments Subtotals:

Income

Expense

Balance $5,250.59

$81.46 ($81.46) Total:

($81.46) $5,169.13

Total special pre-session budget: $500.00 (AAPT grant) + $70.00 (workshop registrations) = $570.00 (fall 2004) Total special pre-session balance: $570.00 - $275.45 = $224.55


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Saturday Physics Honors Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign www.physics.uiuc.edu/outreach/Honors Inga Karliner, Kevin Pitts, Toni Pitts Now in its fourteenth year, the Saturday Physics Honors Program offers fun and informative physics presentations every two weeks during the fall. The lecture series is open to general public, but directed primarily at high-school students. Through the Saturday Physics program, students and teachers have an opportunity to meet world-class researchers in a relaxed, interactive setting. This provides a chance for students to learn about recent advances in the physical sciences, see how fundamental science underlies modern technology, and view its impact on our everyday lives. This fall’s series includes lectures about the physics of baseball, the nature of time, physics of the body, elementary particles and imaging solid materials. The full agenda is shown below.

Date Sept. 23

Title Speaker “Corked Bats and Rising Fastballs: Using Physics Prof. Alan Nathan to Debunk some of the Myths of Baseball”

Oct. 7

“Why Can’t Time Run Backwards?”

Oct. 21

Physics Day

Nov. 4

“Physics of the Body”

Nov. 18

“Looking for 10–16-m Objects with a 104-m Prof. Tim Stelzer Microscope” “Phonon Imaging: Seeing Sound in Solids” Prof. Jim Wolfe

Dec. 2

Prof. Tony Leggett Nobel Prize winner Prof. Mats Selen TV’s “Whys Guy” Prof. Klaus Schulten

The lectures are on Saturday mornings, 10:15 - 11:30 a.m. in room 141 of the Loomis Laboratory of Physics, 1110 West Green Street in Urbana. Lectures are free, and parking is available near the Physics Building. Oct. 21 is Physics Day, a special session for high school students who are interested in a career in science. The day begins with Professor Mats Selen, WCIA TV's "Whys Guy," who will excite and amaze the audience with some dazzling and thought-provoking physics demonstrations. Following the presentation, there will be tours of the research labs in the Physics Department, where students can see up close some of the tools and techniques that are used to perform cutting edge research. After lunch with faculty and current students, we end the day with a session which talks about majoring in physics. Prospective students should register ahead of time if they are interested in attending lunch with the faculty. Please check the "About Physics Day" link in the Saturday Physics web page for more information. Looking forward to seeing you and your students at the talks! For contact and other information, including a map, please see the Saturday Physics Honors Program web page http://www.physics.uiuc.edu/outreach/Honors

THE ILLINOIS PHYSICS TEACHER Spring 2006 Journal of Physics Teacher Education Online The spring and summer issues of JPTEO are now available from the Journal's Web site: http://phy.ilstu.edu/jpteo/ These two most recent issues contain these articles: • • • • •

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Assessing nature-of-science literacy as one component of scientific literacy Resources for recruiting the next generation of middle and high school science teachers A framework for teaching the nature of science Shifts in beliefs and thinking of a beginning physics teacher Developing outdoor activities and a website as resources to stimulate learning physics in teacher education A generic model for inquiry-oriented labs in post-secondary introductory physics

All back issues of the Journal, starting in June 2002, can be found at the website. JPTEO has recently established a listserv that is used exclusively for disseminating information about the availability of online issues. If you'd like to subscribe to this free service, visit the web site.

Illinois Section News The Illinois Section of AAPT held its spring meeting on April 7-8, 2006 at Illinois Central College, East Peoria, Illinois. The theme for the meeting was "What Research Has to Say About Introductory Physics Teaching". Special thanks to program chair Ken Mellendorf for his work in making the arrangements for all of the invited speakers and workshop leaders. Congratulations to Troy Gobble of RiversideBrookfield High School in Riverside, Illinois, as the recipient of the Outstanding High School Physics Teacher Award for 2005-2006. (See picture on p. 2) Congratulations to the awards winners of the 2006 Student Research Symposium. They were: Nicholas

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Jurasek, Matthew Narter, and Alison O'Connell. The papers they presented are listed below. The following invited talks were presented: New Insights into Student Understanding of Electric Circuits, MacKenzie R. Stetzer, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Implementing Research Based Instructional Materials in the Physics Classroom, Mel Sabella, Chicago State University, Chicago, IL. The Road Less Traveled: Reflections of a Physics Teacher Educator, Carl Wenning, Illinois State University, Normal, IL. The following workshops were presented: Guiding Instruction and Learning with an STS Approach, Larry Kellerman and Jeff Constable, Illinois Central College, East Peoria, IL. Tasks Inspired by Physics Education Research (TIPERs), Curtis Hieggelke, Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL. Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention of High School Physics Teachers, David Sykes, Lincoln Land Community College and Carl Wenning, Illinois State University. The following contributed papers were presented by the person whose name is underlined: Using Raman Spectroscopy to Examine Carbon Nanotube Binding to Organic Molecule Monolayers, Chad M. Gilpin, Daniel K. Pratt, Saleem G. Rao, and Mark S. Boley, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL. Effect of Tungsten Content on a Steel Magnetic Torque Transducer's Performance, Dennis T. Norton, Jason T. Orris, and Mark S. Boley, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL. Torque Transducer Response as a Function of Ambient Temperature, Patrick R. Szczypinski, Jason T. Orris, and Mark S. Boley, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL.

THE ILLINOIS PHYSICS TEACHER Spring 2006 Science Museum at Principia College, David Cornell, Principia College, Elsah, IL. Are Student-Designed Labs Effective in Teaching Physics Content? Zak Knott, Riverside-Brookfield H.S., Riverside, IL. Ordering Investigations of Carbon Nanotubes over Organic Molecule Monolayers by Atomic and Magnetic Force Microscopy, Daniel K. Pratt, James Matthew Kerr, Saleem G. Rao, and Mark S. Boley, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL. Designing a Two-Disk Ion Trap, Keith Pelletier and James Rabchuk, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL. Automated Calculation of Fractal Dimension of Congressional Districts, Nicholas Jurasek, B.K. Clark, Daniel Holland, Illinois State University, Normal, IL. Ensemble vs. Frequency Averages for a Random Scattering Medium, Matthew Narter, S. Menon, Q. Su and R. Grobe, Intense Laser Physics Theory Unit, Illinois State University, Normal, IL. Experiments of Light Scattering in Milk, Sawyer Campbell, G. Rutherford, B.K. Clark, Q. Su and R. Grobe, Intense Laser Physics Theory Unit at Illinois State University, Normal, IL. Monte-Carlo Simulations for Light Scattering in Milk, Alison O'Connell, S. Menon, Q. Su and R. Grobe, Intense Laser Physics Theory Unit, Illinois State University, Normal, IL. Classical Model to Understand the Pair Creation Process, Nic Chott, Q. Su and R. Grobe, Intense Laser Physics Theory Unit, Illinois State University, Normal, IL.

Simulations, Joe Beuckman, Christopher Glosser, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL. The Effects of the Una Corda Pedal on Harmonic Structure, Danielle Castens, M. L. Horner and Rebecca Lindell, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL. Examining the Interrelationships of Size, Sensitivity, and Domain Wall Profiles in ESR-420 Steel Torque Transducers, Matthew W. Beckner, Daniel K. Pratt, Jason T. Orris, and Mark S. Boley, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL. Replacing Textbook Examples With Activities, Bill Hogan, Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL. Physics of Finance Course, Benjamin L. Brown, Principia College, Elsah, IL. Experimental Positron Physics: Undergraduate Teaching Tool, Jason B. Snyder, D.B. Cassidy, S.H.M Deng, R.G. Greaves, T. Maruo, N. Nishiyama, H.K.M. Tanaka, and A.P. Mills, Jr., Principia College, Elsah, IL. The following individuals each presented a "Take Five": Cliff Parker, David Renneke, Curt Hieggelke, James Rabchuk, Cecilia Vogel, Ken Mellendorf, Dave Sykes, and Lenore Horner. The fall meeting will be held at Rock Island High School, Rock Island, Illinois, on October 13-14, 2006. The program chair is Gary Wolber, e-mail: [email protected] For all of the latest information on the fall meeting and for a detailed archive of past meetings, please visit us at our Web site: www.isaapt.org. David R. Renneke, Editor and Webmaster

Reconstruct Embedded Images Using Transmitted Light, Tim Garvin, Q. Su and R. Grobe, Intense Laser Physics Theory Unit, Illinois State University, Normal, IL. Investigating Conformal Stability of the HIV Envelope Protein gp120 with Molecular Dynamics

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