Education Corner

Registration Open for 2013 Department Chairs Conference and Go the Distance: Distance Education and Online Learning in Physics Workshop

Physics Department Chairs Conference (May 30-31)
The American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers are pleased to jointly organize the 2013 Physics Department Chairs Conference, to be held on May 30 (evening) and 31 (full day) at the American Center for Physics in College Park, MD. This conference is one of a series of conferences that have been organized biennially for the past three decades. Topics of interest to chairs representing the full range of physics departments are planned for this event. The conference is held jointly with the Distance Education and Online Learning in Physics Workshop.

Distance Education and Online Learning Workshop (June 1-2)
Immediately following the Department Chairs Conference, the “Go the Distance” workshop on June 1-2 will provide participants a chance to discuss the opportunities and implications of distance education and online learning for the physics community. Topics will include:

• MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)

• Hybrid and Fully Online Courses

• The Flipped Classroom

• Assessment and Research

• Laboratories

Participants may register for either or both conferences at: http://go.aps.org/chairregistration

Award for Improving Undergraduate Physics Education
Created by the APS Committee on Education, the award recognizes departments and programs that support best practices in education at the undergraduate level. Programs will be recognized for a three-year term, acknowledged on the APS website, awarded a plaque, announced in APS News, and recognized at an annual meeting. These awards are intended to acknowledge commitment to inclusive, high-quality physics education for undergraduate students, and to catalyze departments and programs to make significant improvements. Nominations for the award are being accepted until July 15. More information can be found at www.aps.org/programs/education/undergrad/faculty/award.cfm

APS Excellence in Physics Education Award
The award recognizes and honors a team or group of individuals (such as a collaboration), or exceptionally a single individual, who have exhibited a sustained commitment to excellence in physics education. Nominations are being accepted until July 1. More information can be found at www.aps.org/programs/honors/awards/education.cfm

ALPhA’s Laboratory Immersions Program Expands in 2013
During the summer of 2013, the Advanced Laboratory Physics Association (ALPhA) will be offering an expanded selection of its popular “Laboratory Immersions”. The Immersions offer an opportunity for faculty and teaching staff to spend two to three full days, with expert colleagues on hand, learning the details of a single experiment well enough to teach it with confidence. This year there are 10 sites offering a total of 20 different experiments, many based on popular workshops at last summer’s Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College.

For details, including topics and registration, please visit www.advlab.org.

APS Speakers Program features Physics Education Researchers
The APS Speakers Lists contain names, contact information, and talk titles of physicists who are willing to give talks on a variety of subjects. Advanced searches allow one to search specifically for physics education researchers (PER). Learn more at http://www.aps.org/programs/speakers/