October 12, 2019:  Six Flags for Teachers   

Date: Saturday, October 12, 2019
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
Where:  Six Flags St. Louis, Eureka, MO
Host: Rex Rice, Jen Meyer, Gabe DelaPaz and Six Flags Personnel

Six Flags has supported SLAPT’s development of a comprehensive educational component for Physics Day.  

To learn more about how to include amusement park physics into your classroom, join us (and bring a guest) for a free workshop at Six Flags on October 12 from 10am to 1 pm.    We'll begin with a behind-the-scenes tour of the engineering that makes the rides work. Next, we'll provide an overview of the resources available to use with students in preparation for Physics Day and to use at Physics Day. Finally, we'll strap on our wireless data collection devices and ride, ride, ride!  

To sign up to attend this workshop CLICK HERE.  

Additional Six Flags Physics Day curriculum materials and information can be obtained at: http://www.slapt.org/resources/sixflags/index.html

If you have any questions contact Jen, Gabe, or Rex

Contacts:
Jen Meyer (jmeyer3@parkwayschools.net)
Gabe De La Paz (gabrieldelapaz@claytonschools.net)
Rex Rice (rexrice@gmail.com)

November 7, 2019 - Washington University Robert M. Walker Distinguished Lecture -- By Nobel Laureate Professor Kip Thorne of Caltech -- Exploring the Warped Side of the Universe with Gravitational Waves from the Big Bang to Black Holes

Date:  Thursday, November 7, 2019
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location:  Washington University; Whitaker Hall, Room 100

Professor Kip Thorne received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions towards the detection of gravitational waves emitted when two large black holes coalesced in a distant galaxy.  The century old prediction by Einstein that such events will generate ripples in space-time that propagate with the speed of light was thus validated.  A concerted effort lasting over five decades by a large number of scientists and engineers in building a pair of laser interferometers, each 4 kilometers long, resulted in this discovery.  Currently some ten such events have been recorded, marking the birth of the new field of gravitational-wave astronomy.  This is the first time in the history of mankind that any distant object outside the solar system has been observed by any means besides electromagnetic waves, such as light, x-rays or radio waves.  Professor Thorne is an excellent expositor of science and has a reputation of presenting the ideas in a way that is accessible to one and all.   This is a public lecture about a truly remarkable discovery – the detection of gravitational waves.

For further info:  https://mcss.wustl.edu/    Whitaker Hall is near the intersection of Skinker and Forest Park Pkwy.

Date: Saturday, February 29, 2020 
Time: 9:00 a.m. - Noon
Location: Room 207, Liberty High 2275 Sommers Rd, Lake St. Louis, MO 63367 -- Google Map LINK
Presenters:  Narelle Deatherage and Lydia Spoor
Please RSVP:   Click HERE for RSVP

Laboratory experiments play an important role in physics courses. Traditionally, students submit a traditional written report of their findings. However, it is vital that students be able to effectively communicate their ideas in multiple ways. As such, we have students present some of their reports in poster or video format. We will discuss fluid mechanics labs and thermodynamics labs that can be performed with students and then make both a brief video lab report and a poster lab report. As part of the session, we will discuss the rubric we use for each type of lab report and go over online resources that students can use to make their own videos. Tentative lab projects include a miniature water tower for fluid mechanics (applying Bernoulli's principle) and thermal conductivity measurements. We will also provide information about other labs for each of these topics.    Hope to see you there --- please CLICK HERE for RSVP

If you have questions about the workshop contact Narelle at:  narelledeatherage@wsdr4.org

Date: Friday, April 24, 2020
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Six Flags St. Louis

CANCELED.......Again this year, Physics Day is exclusive to high school physics -- giving your students even better access to the rides. SLAPT highly recommends the picnic combo package that includes buffet lunch in the catering grove - it's much better than waiting in lines at the food vendor stations. If you choose to buy park admission tickets without the lunch, you can save several dollars per ticket if you order in advance. You also get one free chaperone ticket for every 15 paid tickets. Bus and car parking is $20 per vehicle. Processing fee is $10 and is indicated on the order form. Here is the 2019 order form for your reference HERE .  Once the 2020 form is finalized it will be posted. -- or call Six Flags at 636-938-5300 ext 6288 for further information. Also again, this year, there will be data collection opportunities at Mr. Freeze with Vernier accelerometers. Students can wear a vest with the equipment attached and then download data following the ride. Teacher volunteers are needed throughout the day to staff the data collection equipment. If you are available, email Jen Meyer at jenmeyer82@gmail.com or sign up on the online form HERE to volunteer for as little as a couple of hours or as much as the whole day. Further information and curriculum materials can be downloaded HERE on this web site.

CANCELED --- April 25, 2020 - 35th Annual SLAPT High School Physics Contest --- CANCELED

Below are details and links from 2019 for your reference.  Results from 2019 will be posted soon, along with 2020 updates.  

Canceled ----- The Physics Department of Washington University in St. Louis will host a competition to be held on its campus Saturday, April 27, 2019.  The contest is open to all high school students and will have two different exams.  Students can only take one of the exams.

The first exam will be only mechanics and consist of 50-ish multiple-choice questions.  The cash prizes for this exam will be: First Prize of $100, Second Prize of $50, and Third Prize of $25. We will present Certificates of Honorable Mention to the next highest scoring twenty percent of the contestants.  We encourage first-year physics students to take this test.

The second exam will also consist of 50-ish multiple choice questions.  The approximate numbers of questions covering the various topics will be:  mechanics (18), waves (5), sound (3), fluids (1), thermodynamics (4), electricity and magnetism (11), optics (5), and modern physics (3).  The cash prizes for this exam will be:  First Prize of $100, Second Prize of $50, and Third Prize of $25.  We will present Certificates of Honorable Mention to the next highest scoring twenty percent of the contestants.

To enable smaller schools to compete more fairly, we will have a large and a small division for all team awards this year.  The team score from a large school (>500 students) will be the total of the highest four scores from that school.  The team score from a small school will be the total of the highest three scores from that school.  The top three highest-scoring schools in each division will receive certificates marking their excellence.

As an incentive, you might want to consider allowing those students who place on their physics contest exam to become excused from their final exam in your course.  The test is also an excellent practice opportunity for students who will be taking an AP Physics exam in the following weeks.

 For both exams we will allow calculators of all types.  It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that all calculator memories are cleared or put into press-to-test mode.  We will supply the values of physical constants, but no equations.  The students are not allowed to bring a formula sheet.  Each contestant may keep a copy of the test, but we will not return the graded answer sheets.  We will send a list of all winners to teachers with students participating in the competition along with statistics on the test results. Individual scores below the top three in each division will be kept confidential, except that we will report the score of each contestant to his or her teacher.

Students should arrive at 8:40 am.  The tests will run from 9:00 am until 11:00 am followed by a 1.75-hour lunch break (featuring WUSTL-provided free pizza!!!) and an award ceremony lasting from

12:45 until 1:15 pm.   During lunch, we may be treated to a physics talk or two by the professionals at WUSTL.  The test and awards ceremony will take place in Crow Hall in the northeast section of Washington University's Danforth Campus.  Maps can be found HERE.   

Due to the tremendous support of SLAPT and WUSTL, there will be no fee for entering the competition.  To register your students,  please use THIS  online form.   You'll need your contact information, the enrollment count of your school, and a list of student names with Mechanics or Senior test designation.  Kindly register by Monday, April 22, 2019.  We will be able to accommodate 200 students, and probably at least an occasional student who did not register in time.  You do NOT need to attend to send your students, but you are encouraged to do so.

This link hosts some old exams and some statistics about the contest.  If I get a break from my spring grading-induced haze, I may even update it from the past couple years.  Directing your students HERE can help them prepare.

Please pass this onto to a local teacher-friend.  We have been steadily increasing participation, and we'd love to have more schools involved. Bring all your favorite rivals!

Thanks,

David Schuster, PhD

Clayton Physics

April 2018 Contest Results - Click HERE

May xx, 2020 - SLAPT Planning Meeting for 2020-2021 School Year

Date: May xx, 2020  MEETIING WILL STILL HAPPEN - MORE THAN LIKELY ONLINE BUT STAY TUNED.  PLEASE FILL OUT ONLINE FORM LINKED BELOW....
Time: TBA
Location: TBA

 Please fill out the SLAPT Workshop Survey form. We will use the responses to plan workshops ifor 2020-2021. 

Please attend the planning meeting. The more input we get from our members, the better our workshops will meet your needs. There are many ways to help make next year successful and rewarding for our community. You could volunteer to present (or co-present) a workshop, or volunteer to host a workshop at your school. If you have a topic you’d like to present, but feel it is not enough material for a full workshop, we’d still love to hear about it, because we typically have a workshop composed of several short presentations by multiple teachers. If you have a connection to a regional business or governmental agency which does work related to physics or engineering, you could suggest a field trip to the site. 

We have an online survey that will stay active throughout this school year through which you can tell us the topics of greatest interest to you for next year. We would like everyone’s input on this, so please take 5-10 minutes to make your voice heard.   

Thank you in advance. 

---------- TO HELP US PLAN FOR FUTURE WORKSHOPS, PLEASE FILL OUT OUR OPINION SURVEY HERE

2019-2020 SLAPT President's Welcome

 – Saint Louis Area Physics Teachers Association

President’s Welcome

I remember when I first heard of SLAPT in the fall of 2017. I was an early-career teacher, and while I have a lifelong love of the sciences this was my first year of full-time STEM teaching. I’d already heard of the Modeling approach to Physics pedagogy; SLAPT, I was told, was a great way to meet fellow teachers and broaden my horizons.

I went to an Inertial Balance make-and-take, and I was won over.  In the course of one Saturday morning, I was able to build an inertial balance, walk through a classroom-style lab using it, discuss the theoretical proofs behind it, and emerge ready to apply this to my own class (with contingency plans to “tech it up” or “tech it down”). A couple of weeks later, I guided students as they re-designed, and then ran, the lab. It became one of the year’s highlights.

I’ve made it a point to attend meetings whenever possible. I’ve found that even events not directly related to my current group of classes can be shockingly useful. My geometry class was improved with exercises taught by a chemistry teacher; I refined my mechanics teaching cycles based on discussions after an E&M make-and-take. More than the knowledge, I found energy, encouragement, and community; here were fellow passionate members of the greater St. Louis area, all ready to lend an ear or share their wisdom

I am a better person and teacher because of SLAPT, and I look forward to helping others discover similar benefits. This year, we have a particularly exciting schedule--from our annual Six Flags trip to a special event in nuclear physics. Please visit www.slapt.org for full details about this year’s exciting workshops, and I look forward to seeing each of you!

I am excited to take over the responsibilities as your SLAPT president. I look forward to an exciting year of leaning in, of pushing myself beyond my previous limits, of continuing to grow as a person and a teacher. And I hope each of you will do the same! Invite friends and colleagues to workshops! Try new spins on old labs--and tell us about your results. Have your students compete at the WashU contest. Or even take the plunge and present at a workshop yourself!

All of us have something to share--and something to learn! Together, we can elevate teaching throughout the area, and help both prepare and inspire the next generation of physicists, engineers, and scientists.

Thank you for all you have done, and for all that we will do together in the years to come!

Scott Garbacz
President, SLAPT
rsgarbacz@baratacademy.org

2019-2020 Workshops - Here is the start of a list of some Workshops and other events hosted and sponsored by other organizations.

American Modeling Teachers Association: Modeling™ Instruction, under development since 1990 under the leadership of David Hestenes (Emeritus Professor of Physics, Arizona State University), corrects many weaknesses of the traditional lecture-demonstration method, including fragmentation of knowledge, student passivity, and persistence of naive beliefs about the physical world. Unlike the traditional approach, in which students wade through an endless stream of seemingly unrelated topics, Modeling ™Instruction organizes the course around a small number of scientific models, thus making the course coherent. It applies structured inquiry techniques to the teaching of basic skills and practices in mathematical modeling, proportional reasoning, quantitative estimation and technology-enabled data collection and analysis. Each summer, Modeling™ workshops are held all over the country. In 2014, almost 1200 teachers took one of the 75+ workshops in 20 states. The content areas of the workshops (depending on location) are mechanics (physics I), E&M, CASTLE, waves, light (physics II), chemistry I and II, biology, physical science, and we are proud to now offer workshops especially geared to middle school science teachers! On the website of the American Modeling Teachers Association (AMTA) we have a list of workshops that will be offered this coming summer, --- the information is subject to change so check the site every so often to see if now your state offers a Modeling™ workshop: 

2019 Summer Modeling Workshops:  http://modelinginstruction.org/workshops-2019

Workshop descriptions, dates, details: http://www.phystec.org/pd/?set=Modeling

 http://modelinginstruction.org

June xx-xx, 2020 - Nuclear Science & Engineering for Secondary Science Teachers A Three Credit Hour Faculty Development Course on the University of Missouri- Columbia Campus

Date: June xx-xx, 2020
Time: Daily 8a.m. - various
Location: Various on campus sites at University of Missouri, Columbia - including visits to area energy sites.

This will be the 38th year Mizzou has offered this course and related energy events. Several SLAPT members have attended in the past and have many a postive comment about it. Seats are limited, so inquire soon. Please visit the website linked here for details, application, and points of contact. https://www.murr.missouri.edu/education/nuclear-science-engineering-for-secondary-science-teachers/

Join the American Association of Physics Teachers

Why should you become a member? It's easy, and there are nice tangible benefits: you will receive both Physics Today and either the Physics Teacher or the American Journal of Physics (your choice) in addition to online access to the magazines. AAPT sponsors contests, awards, pre-college and college teacher training programs, programs for physics students, two national meetings each year, facilitates collaborations between all sorts of physics teachers, and provides grants to sections.

Perhaps more importantly, though less tangibly, is that AAPT is our professional organization, and that membership is a professional responsibility. AAPT supports what we do, recruits and trains new teachers, voices our concerns to legislators, and boosts the prestige of our profession.

Additionally, our new AAPT section status gives SLAPT greater visibility and recognition in the national physics teacher community. Our involvement in AAPT through membership and participation in national meetings will further boost the strength and quality of service SLAPT provides to our members.

Click HERE to go to AAPT's online registration site.