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Introductory quantum mechanics can be challenging to students because many concepts are nonintuitive and the development of quantum intuition faces numerous hurdles. One important pathway to developing such intuition through problem-solving is limited due to the fact that few time-independent problems, and virtually no time-dependent problems, are analytically solvable. Computational modeling, however, can be an effective, complementary pathway to developing quantum insight and deepening conceptual understanding. In this presentation we will discuss computation in introductory quantum mechanics with examples to enhance student learning and active engagement (see http://www.faculty.umassd.edu/j.wang/ for some examples).

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Enhancing learning and engagement in quantum mechanics with computation

computation

qauntum mechanics

The 2020 AAPT Virtual Summer Meeting brought together physics educators from around the globe to learn about the latest in physics theory, research methodology and education from leaders in their field. The program featured plenary speakers, sessions, workshops and many special activities.

For more information please visit the 2020 AAPT Virtual Summer Meeting page at: https://www.aapt.org/Conferences/SM2020/index.cfm.


AAPT SM 20

The 2020 AAPT Virtual Summer Meeting brought together physics educators from around the globe to learn about the latest in physics theory, research methodology and education from leaders in their field. 

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AAPT® is a strong professional physics science society dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in physical science education.

Winter and Summer National Meetings:
These National Meetings, held each winter and summer, are opportunities for members, colleagues, and future physicists from around the world to:

- participate in physics workshops
- meet and greet other physics educators
- form networks nationally and locally
- engage exhibitors and learn about the latest physics resources
- discuss innovations in teaching methods
- share the results of research about teaching and learning.

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Muon and neutrino classroom activities and exercises involving experimental data are extremely rare.&nbsp; Using the Arachne viewer for the MINERvA experiment at Fermilab, students can analyze data sets of muon decays to determine the following: the half-life of a muon, the energy spectrum of the daughter Michel electrons, and the existence of two other neutral daughter particles.&nbsp; Furthermore, by cleverly using conservation laws, students can deduce that these neutral particles must be an electron neutrino and a muon antineutrino.&nbsp; In this talk we will present three activities that help achieve student success with this muon decay analysis.&nbsp; First will be a simple rolling of a die activity, followed by the muon decay and lifetime analysis, and finally the deduction of existence of neutrino decay products using conservation laws.

Muon Half-life and the Inference of Neutrino Decay Products

Large neutrino experiments like MINERvA, NOvA, and MicroBooNE provide data that physics teachers and students can analyze to learn about analysis techniques, practice scientific skills, and learn how physics concepts taught in introductory physics courses apply to contemporary experiments. QuarkNet has created workshops for its member teachers based on activities from the QuarkNet Data Activities Portfolio that build toward an authentic neutrino data analysis from one of the neutrino experiments. In these workshops, teachers discuss and develop implementation plans on how activities, skills, and ideas from the workshop can be transferred into the classroom. We will examine Neutrino Data Workshops, how teachers can get involved, and how the model can be used in teacher professional development.

QuarkNet Neutrino Data Workshop

Around the 5th grade, students make a conceptual leap in their understanding of the world around them. In the NGSS, it's at this time that students should be mastering the idea that "matter is made up of particles too small to be seen". How can we help them make this conceptual change?&nbsp; The Sanford Underground Research Facility has developed a curriculum unit to do just that. The unit begins with a phenomenon that all students have seen but maybe not thought about deeply: salt dissolving in water. What happens to the salt? They investigate this phenomenon through the lens of the crosscutting concept 'Scale, Proportion and Quantity'. They develop models to help understand the size of atoms then extend those models to the size of neutrinos. Using these models help students make sense of why scientists need 70,000 tons of argon in future neutrino detectors.&nbsp;

Ghost Particles: Neutrinos for 5th Graders?

When best practices for teaching are applied to professional development, instructors are supported to challenge their inaccurate ideas about teaching and learning and reconstruct beliefs and teaching practices that have been shown to improve student learning outcomes. The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) at Miami University engages learning communities, cohorts, and unstructured groups of personnel who teach in learner-centered programming centered on scholarly teaching. By making programming available to all ranks of faculty, graduate students, and staff, the CTE can support anyone who is interested, including non-tenure track faculty. This presentation will outline the principles, philosophy, and structure of CTE programming, particularly how community building and scholarly teaching are central to its operation.

Supporting Instructors: Building Community and Excellence through Scholarly Teaching

In January 2019, the Wright State University (WSU) faculty went on strike.&nbsp; This became the second longest strike in&nbsp;US higher education history.&nbsp;In Fall 2018, the administration proposed a contract that included suspending&nbsp;tenure protections, weakening&nbsp;job security for non-tenure track faculty, cancelling&nbsp;a workload agreement (which enabled quality classroom instruction), no raises, and eliminating&nbsp;the right to negotiate health care.&nbsp;The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) WSU faculty voted and, with 94% responding, 85% authorized a strike.&nbsp;After 20 days, a tentative agreement was reached.&nbsp; A new long-term contract was signed that reversed most of the negative terms and included maintaining the workload agreement, providing faculty raises, and maintaining the right to negotiate health care.&nbsp; Faculty concessions included not having salaries restored for the interval of the strike and degraded health insurance. Since the strike there has been a high turnover in administrators, including the President.

Wright State University Faculty Strike: 20 days in 2019

Regional institutions that serve local populations are ingrained in the culture and community in which they are located. Local and national views about education and politics surrounding education play a major role in how communities, internal and external, view teaching and learning. This can affect instruction, how resources are used, and how students view the practice of teaching. In 2016, Illinois and Chicago faced severe political and funding issues that threatened and impacted education and services throughout the state, sending strong messages about how education is valued. Despite challenges and ongoing resource needs, institutions are able to leverage the community of students and faculty to enact successful efforts. We provide some historical context around teaching and learning at Chicago State University and describe how community can come together, in the context of the Learning Assistant Model, to establish support for teachers (LAs and faculty), creating the best possible learning spaces.

Leveraging the community of students and faculty to support teachers

Most smartphones when placed in a simple $10 plastic viewer become incredibly capable devices for providing virtual reality (VR) experiences. Unfortunately, the learning curve is steep for creating smartphone-based VR content for physics using various software platforms. The Ohio State University led BuckeyeVR group created two free smartphone apps to help teachers create and deliver 3D content using student’s smartphones. Importantly these apps produce stereoscopic 3D content so that the visualization provides the viewer with a sense of depth perception. In this talk I will share the BuckeyeVR electric field app which provides VR views of electric field configurations. I will also describe the BuckeyeVR plotter that allows students and teachers to define and view vector fields, curves and surfaces. I will also briefly describe some of the education research we have done using these visualizations at Ohio State.

Smartphone-based Virtual Reality for physics with BuckeyeVR

In this session, participants will learn how to use various forms of technology to enhance their classroom instruction. The first is Zappar, this is a platform in which you can create your own augmented reality content.&nbsp; You will see some examples in how students have enhanced their instructional materials and you will learn how to do this yourself.&nbsp; Next is an augmented reality simulation utilizing merge cubes that you can download for free.&nbsp; You will learn how to use this simulation in your own classes.&nbsp; Finally, you will learn about how you can create an alternative to the typical back of the book assessment problems. Utilizing video games as a motivational tool you will learn how to not only still practice the content but also to enhance problem solving skills.&nbsp;

Adding Augmented Reality and Video Games to your Course

Most of the physics concepts taught in introductory courses seem very obvious to the teacher. However, the lack of physics "literacy" makes them often very difficult for some students. Simulations can be used to provide simple interactive models to&nbsp;elucidate these concepts. We will demonstrate several examples of how simulations can be used for this purpose.

The Value of Using Simulations to Clarify Simple Concepts

The Novel Observations in Mixed Reality (NOMR) project at the University of Washington applies modern virtual reality technology to teach experimental physics skills by simulating phenomena that do not exist in our universe. By exploring and characterizing unheard-of and Google-proof physical phenomena, students are able to practice experimental physics skills on a level playing field and in absence of a "right answer" to work toward or be judged against. These phenomena are designed with analogy to electrostatics, varying the number of charge types as well as the functional forms and relevant variables in the force laws governing the interactions between each pair of "charges." In this session we discuss the design of NOMR labs, their adaptation to remote usage in a sophomore-level experimental physics course, and initial research findings.

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