Summer Institute in Physics
Teaching
July 23 - August 3, 2007
at Seattle Pacific University
Dates: July 23 – August 3,
2007, MTWThF
Time: 8:30 AM – 3:00
PM
Instructors:
- Dr. Stamatis Vokos, Professor of Physics, Seattle Pacific
University
- Dr. Ajay Narayanan, Physics Instructor, Green River Community
College
- Dr. Hunter Close, High School Science Coach with Seattle Public
Schools, and Adjunct Faculty in Physics at Seattle Pacific
University
Location: Otto Miller Hall,
Seattle Pacific University (http://www.spu.edu/info/buildings/omh/)
Credits: 5 credits of 5000-level
physics from SPU
Pay: Approximately $1500 for
successful completion of the course
Description:
By participating, teachers will build their:
- Physics content knowledge: Teachers will develop a clear
understanding of fundamental ideas in motion, forces, and energy
and their interrelationships; the content teachers learn will be
relevant to their students’ learning by focusing on going
“deeper into” rather than “beyond” what
their students need to learn.
- Curricular knowledge: Teachers will become more familiar with
pieces of real research-based curriculum such as the University of
Washington Tutorials in Introductory Physics, University
of Maryland tutorials (including “physics teacher”
tutorials about student learning!), Modeling Physics, The
Physics Active Learning Guide, and Physics and Everyday
Thinking. Some of this material, when adapted
thoughtfully, can be used with high school students in the 2007-08
school year.
- Pedagogical content knowledge: Teachers will learn about
effective instructional strategies as identified by research on
student learning in physics.
- Knowledge of national standards: Teachers will identify the big
ideas and how each detailed little idea connects to the big
ideas.
- Knowledge of research on student ideas in physics: Teachers
will consult basic research summaries and go deeper into original
research papers on student learning of motion, forces, and
energy.
- Formative assessment knowledge and skills: Teachers will use
Diagnoser (www.diagnoser.com)
to identify students’ ideas in their own classrooms and
respond to them with instruction designed to develop each
student’s understanding, starting from his or her current
thinking. Also, teachers will design their own formative
assessment probes into specific student ideas using the standards
and research.
Application: Participants
will be selected through an application process. The
application is now available at: http://www.spu.edu/special/juniorscience/pages/summer.asp
Applications will be reviewed on a
rolling basis until the end of June. Teachers who apply
should expect notification within 7 business days after they submit
their application online.
All high school science teachers in Seattle
Public Schools are invited to apply. Teachers of 9th
grade physical science (or “integrated science”) are
especially encouraged to apply.
Academic year “follow-up”
sessions: Follow-up courses throughout the academic
year will focus on examining student thinking in their responses to
formative assessments and other classroom work. Participating
teachers should plan to attend about 50 hours of follow-up sessions
throughout the course of the academic year.
Contact us: Please direct
any questions about this institute to Hunter Close (hgclose@seattleschools.org),
Jen Fox (jbfox@seattleschools.org),
or Elaine Woo (ewoo@seattleschools.org).
