This meeting is co-hosted and co-sponsored by the Virginia Tech Department of Physics and the University of Virginia Department of Physics. Additional financial support is provided by the Virginia Tech College of Science.
[ Overview | Program | Registration | Deadlines | Questions | Committee ]
The Chesapeake Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (CSAAPT, covering Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia) will hold its Fall 2022 Meeting semi-virtually on Saturday, October 22, 2022.
No membership required!
You do not have to be an AAPT or CSAAPT member to attend. We welcome participation of all physics/science teachers and students in the region as well as anyone interested in physics education, or physics in general.
The semiannual CSAAPT meetings are a great forum to exchange ideas on novel teaching techniques and economical physics demonstrations, and to meet a fascinating cohort of physics education enthusiasts.
This meeting is semi-virtual. The in-person venue is the Virginia Tech Northern Virginia Center (Google map) which is a short walk from the West Falls Church - VT/UVA Metro Station (map). The Meeting will be broadcast on Zoom so that people from afar (both presenters and attendees) can join in.
Lodging Support!
We have limited funds to provide up to $300 in lodging support to high school physics teachers. Please see the Travel and Lodging Info page for details.
- NEW! Panel Discussion by High School Teachers and Administrators :
How to survive the first few years as a physics teacher
- Featured Talks :
- Prof. Edward F. "Joe" Redish (University of Maryland)
Title: Using math in physics: What’s the problem?
Abstract: I often find the students in my intro physics classes have trouble with the math even though they’ve done well in all the pre-req math classes. It turns out using math in science isn’t the same as in a math class. I analyze what’s going on and make suggestions for helping them to deal with the differences.
This seminar will be interactive. If you have a smartphone, tablet, or laptop with the Chrome or Firefox browser (Safari doesn’t work - sorry) you can log into https://app.tophat.com/e/132795 (choose to log in as guest) and you’ll be able to contribute answers to my questions.
- Prof. Patrick Johnson (Georgetown University)
Title: The Physics of Star Wars
Abstract: Since he was young, Prof. Johnson has loved both science and Star Wars. As an adult, he wrote a book that tries to explain different theories as to how scenes and devices in the Star Wars universe work.
Have you ever wondered how the Death Star works? How shields can stop catapults, but droids can walk right through? This talk will offer possible explanations of these scenes and more.
This will be an enjoyable talk for anybody who is a fan of Star Wars, physics, or both. As educators, we always want to make our content in classes as engaging as possible. Star Wars, with its ubiquity in popular culture, offers a great topic to be engaging while also widely understandable by most students.
- Prof. Richard Lindgren (University of Virginia)
Title: Energy Conversion and Electrostatic Activities using Simple Toy-like Devices, available free to attending teachers
Abstract: Summer workshops spearheaded by the Department of Physics in collaboration with the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia and with Jefferson Laboratory in Newport News developed activities for secondary physics and physical science teachers to use in their classrooms. Specifically, energy, electricity, magnetism, light and optics were the subject areas.
In this presentation we will discuss the physics/pedagogy for several energy and electrostatics activities and make available(free) materials needed to conduct these activities including a lesson plan on the specific activity. These are very rudimentary instructions and you are obviously free to develop any set of instructions as you see fit.
For the taking, there will be approximately 10 super-cooled gel heating pads; 16 dippy ducks; 14 piezo poppers; 12 build your own solar race cars; 12 electric charging kits with Teflon rods, acrylic rods, almost frictionless rotating holder, and silk cloth; 12 electroscope kits with an almost unbreakable, rugged, portable electroscope holder, 2 charging rods, and silk cloth; and 26 Van de Graaf Wanderama sticks.
Selected examples of such activities will be presented and demonstrated focusing mostly on the home-made electrostatic activities. After discussion teachers will be allowed to peruse the activities and take at least 1 item home. You may be permitted to select as many as 2 items if all items are not first exhausted by the attending teachers.
- Prof. Edward F. "Joe" Redish (University of Maryland)
- Contributed Talks :
We solicit contributed talks within the following parameters:
- Talks should be 15 minutes long including time for Q&A (12-minute talk + 3-minute Q&A).
- Topic can be anything pertaining to physics teaching.
- To submit the title and abstract of your talk, please register first and then click on Call for Abstracts in the menu.
- Talks should be 15 minutes long including time for Q&A (12-minute talk + 3-minute Q&A).
- Contributed Demos :
Demo contributions can be one of the following:
- 15-minute presentation including time for Q&A (12-minute talk + 3-minute Q&A).
These are full-length presentations providing background, construction, and implementation of the demos. If you would like to provide material to construct your demo to attendees and make your presentation into a make-and-take, please contact Tatsu Takeuchi (takeuchi@vt.edu) since we may be able to provide you with a budget.
- 5-minute contribution to the Demo Share-a-thon.
These are short presentations of simple demos that do not require much background knowledge.
- To submit the title and description of your demo, please register first and then click on Call for Abstracts in the menu.
- 15-minute presentation including time for Q&A (12-minute talk + 3-minute Q&A).
- Contributors of talks/demos will be issued a certificate of presentation.
You can register to attend either in-person, or virtually via Zoom.
- In-person attendance:
In-person attendees are requested the following registration fees, to be collected at the Meeting, to cover administrative and other costs:
- Instructors/faculty of 2-year and 4-year colleges/universities : $25
- K-12 Instructors, Students, Guests : $15
- 1st-time in-person attendees : $5
- You can also join CSAAPT (if you are not a member already) at the Meeting. Annual dues for 2022 : $15
- Virtual Attendance:
There is no registration fee for virtual (online) attendance.
Please note that the Zoom link for the meeting will not be made public and will only be emailed to registrants. This is to prevent Zoom bombing.
- Certificate of Attendance/Presentation:
If you need a certificate of attendance and/or presentation for CEU purposes, please register your name exactly as it should appear on your certificate(s). No nicknames or pseudonyms, please.
To register, please click on Registration in the menu on the left. Registration for in-person attendance will be open until midnight of Friday, October 14, 2022. This is so that we have a count of how many people will be physically present one week prior to the Meeting. Registration for virtual attendance will be open until midnight of Friday, October 21, 2022.
To submit talk abstracts/demo descriptions, register first and then click on Call for Abstracts. Submission of abstracts is open until midnight of Friday, October 7, 2022.
- Application for Lodging Support: midnight of Friday, September 23, 2022
- Hotel room-block cutoff date: Wednesday, September 28, 2022
- Submission of talk and demo abstracts: midnight of Friday, October 7, 2022
- Registration for in-person attendance: midnight of Friday, October 14, 2022
- Registration for virtual attendance: midnight of Friday, October 21, 2022
If you have any questions about this meeting, please contact Tatsu Takeuchi (takeuchi@vt.edu).
Jason Sterlace (James Madison U, VA, CSAAPT President & Chair)
Tatsu Takeuchi (Virginia Tech, VA, CSAAPT Vice President)
Juliana Butler (Bishop O'Connell HS, VA)
James Freericks (Georgetown U, DC)
Victoria Maria Gordon (Millwood School, VA)
Elena Kuchina (Virginia Peninsula CC, VA)
Simone-gunde Kulin (U of Maryland College Park, MD)
Brett Taylor (Radford U, VA)
David Wright (Tidewater CC, VA)
Kent Yagi (University of Virginia, VA)
