The Education Corner

Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PTEC) Conference

The sixth annual Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PTEC) Conference will be held on February 12 and 13 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. In addition to workshops led by national leaders in physics teacher education, the conference will feature plenary talks by Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor of Education at Stanford University; Kumar Garg, Policy Analyst in the Technology Division of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy; and Stamatis Vokos, Professor of Physics at Seattle Pacific University, who will unveil the findings from the joint APS/AAPT/AIP Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics. The full program, including abstracts and presenter biographies, is available at PTEC Conference 2010.

Education Workshop at March Meeting

The APS Forum on Education (FEd) is sponsoring a half-day workshop prior to the APS March Meeting entitled “Making it Good: A Workshop on Strategies for High-Quality, Effective Educational Materials and Efforts.” Presenters Greta Zenner Petersen of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will address the iterative development process for creating educational materials, from initial concept to evaluation. The workshop will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 14.
  Education Workshop
  FEd Sessions at the 2010 "April" and March APS Meetings

AAPT 2010 Winter Meeting

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) 2010 Winter Meeting will run from February 13 to 17 in Washington, DC with the theme “Physics For the Nation’s Future.” The program includes workshops on the 13th and 14th, and sessions from the 15th through the 17th. The meeting will run jointly with the APS “April” Meeting, and a number of sessions will be co-sponsored by the APS Forum on Education.
  2010 APS/AAPT Joint Meeting

Noyce Scholarship Program

Funding for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, which supports future math and science teachers, has increased dramatically as a result of the federal government’s commitment to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, Congress has supported the NSF’s request of $55,000,000 for the program, maintaining the FY 2009 funding level, not counting Stimulus funding. As a result of this program, over 100 colleges and universities around the country have provided scholarships to future teachers who plan to teach at high-need schools in the US after graduation.

Proposals for the next round of funding for both Noyce Scholarships and NSF Teaching Fellowships/Master Teaching Fellowships are due by March 10.
  Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

Educate to Innovate

On January 6, President Obama expanded his “Educate to Innovate” campaign, which seeks to improve the participation and performance of America’s students in STEM fields. Among other initiatives, the President announced that 79 university presidents pledged to collectively prepare 10,000 math and science teachers by 2015, as part of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities' (APLU) Science and Math Teacher Imperative. A letter signed by the presidents cites the APS-led Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) project as well as a joint NSF-funded APS-APLU Math and Science Partnership that is studying conditions that promote change.

Congressional Appropriation to NSF

For Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, Congress has provided $872,760,000 for the Education and Human Resources (EHR) division of the NSF, an increase of $27.4 million, or 3.2 percent, over the FY 2009 appropriation as well as an increase of $14.9 million, or 1.7 percent, over the administration’s request. According to the accompanying statement, “The increase over the budget request is to support additional work in experiential learning as directed by the House with a substantial portion of the initiative focused on K-6 STEM education.”