The Fall meeting of the Southern California Chapter of the
American Association of Physics Teachers will take place at the University of
Southern California on November 8, 2014.
Below, I will highlight some of the exciting presentations.
The program includes three talks about the Next Generation Science Standards.
The morning workshop requires an RSVP:
8:15: Morning Workshop - Mark Hughes,
"Modeling Physics"
Modeling Physics is a research based and internationally
renowned pedagogical method of physics instruction that is aligned with CCSS
and NGSS. Qualified and experienced instructors are well versed in all aspects
of instruction and are available for staff in-service.
9:25: Contributed talk: Roberto Lopez, USC,
“USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory”
The USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory is a student run design
team building the most advanced rockets any university has created. Our current
goal is to fly our rocket, Traveler, past the Von Karman line making us the
first university lab to do so.
9:40: Invited Talk: Chris Lowe, Shark Expert, CSU Long
Beach, "Physics for Fishers”
What does physics have to do with overfishing? For many
fishes, an understanding of mixed gas laws may be the key to their ultimate
survival. Many benthic fishes use an internal air sac, called a swim bladder to
regulate their buoyancy at depth. When caught and rapidly brought to the
surface, the gas inside this bladder expands faster than it can be offloaded
via the blood resulting in “barotrauma.” The “Physics for Fishers” program
involves high school students who use their knowledge of biology and physics to
develop educational materials and products for fishers so they understand what
is happening to the fish they release.
11:10: Invited Talk:- Maria Simani, California Science
Project: “Introduction to Next Generation Science Standards”
In this presentation, participants will become familiar with
the development of the Next Generation Science Standards, their structure, and
their vision. Implications for classroom instruction will be discussed and
resources will be distributed.
As usual, we will have lunch, Show and Tell time, and an
order of magnitude contest with door prizes!
1:15: Invited talk - Jeff Orlinsky, California Science
Teacher Association,
“The Next Generation Science Standards: What Happened to the
First Generation?”
This presentation will cover the Basic components of the CA
NGSS. The CA NGSS are based on three dimensions (scientific and engineering
practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts). Along with
these dimensions are alignment with the CA Common Core Standards, a list of
science practices and performance expectations. The presenter will help navigate
the audience through these changes and highlight some of the major differences
between the content standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. Also
included in the discussion will be the State proposed timeline for
implementation of the new standards.
2:05: Invited talk: – Dean Gilbert, Orange County Department
of Education,
“Implementation Ideas for NGSS”
As Science Coordinator for the OCDE, I have already been
training teachers on implementing NGSS.
In this talk I both introduce the Next Generation Science Standards and
suggest methods for their implementation.
These are only a few of the awesome sessions. We hope to see you there!
