Summer 2014 schedule -- AP Institutes, and perhaps a FREE seminar at Woodberry Forest

James Winterer asks:

Will you be presenting at any AP institutes this summer for the new AP Physics 1-2 courses?

  

I have three official AP Summer Institutes on the schedule right now:

* Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia June 23-26

* Mahopac High School in New York June 30-July 3

* Manhattan College, August 4-8

I might pick up one more if I get a good offer.  

For those who have attended my institutes in the past, know that my general approach to AP Physics will not change because of the new exams!  The same features of your course that I recommend and model -- quantitative demonstrations; regular, focused experimentation; quizzes, tests, and problem sets based on and graded in AP style -- will produce success on the new AP exams.  In fact, the new exams practically demand some of these features.  So expect much of the same material.  I will certainly bring in some rotation demonstrations, and I'll work with you to recognize how the new exams are different.  But at its heart, the new exams require that we teach thorough physics understanding, which is the same goal we've had for decades.

Would you be interested in an "Open Lab" at Woodberry Forest?  I've been considering offering a free two or three day seminar in my own classroom here at Woodberry.  We would discuss good physics teaching at ALL levels, from conceptual to general algebra-based to college-level to calculus-based.  We'll do some of the same kinds of things I do in my institutes, but with materials that I've developed independently over the years.  Now, I wouldn't be able to offer any official CEUs or whatever.*  But I think we'd have a good and useful time.

*Unless someone else is willing to figure out how to do the paperwork... Dammit, Jim, I'm a physics teacher, not a bureaucrat.

If you might want to attend an Open Lab, let me know in the comment section or by email; suggest a time in July that might work for you.  (Although I'm volunteering my time, you'd need to get yourself here on your own dime, and you'd need to put yourself up in the local hotel.)  If I get enough interest, I'll talk to my school to arrange the details here; I'd rely on crowdsourcing for advertising, so spread the word.

GCJ