AP* PHYSICS
Connie Wells
history
Connie Wells has a Master of Science Degree in Physics from The University of Kansas and is a Physics and Advanced Placement* Physics teacher, as well as Science Olympiad Team Coach, at Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Missouri. During the past twenty years as an A.P.* Physics teacher, she has been active in test scoring and development for The College Board*, serving on the AP* Physics Test Development Committee from 1997-2001. Since 1995, she has served in various roles as Reader, Table Leader and Question Leader for the A.P.* Physics Reading. In November 2003, Connie was a Regional Winner of the 2003-04 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement* Teaching sponsored by The College Board* and The Siemens Foundation. She is the author of AP Physics B, 2nd edition, a companion review guide for Walker's Physics, 4th edition, published by Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2009. She previously authored Kaplan's AP Physics B: A Study Guide, published by Simon and Schuster in 2002 and 2003 and has most recently contributed an article on "Electric Potential and Potential Energy" for the College Board* focus booklet on "Electrostatics".
As a workshop leader and College Board* institute consultant, she has presented teacher workshops and institutes throughout the country and abroad—including California, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, West Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, New York, Hawaii, and Saipan. In 2007-2008, she presented College Board* AP* Physics workshops at the AP* Annual Conference in Las Vegas, in Barranquilla, Colombia, in Bangkok, Thailand, and at the American Association of Physics Teachers 2008 Summer Meeting in Edmonton, Alberta.
Connie was appointed by The College Board* to the AP* Physics Redesign Commission in 2006 and is currently a member of the AP* Physics Curriculum Development and Assessment Committee.
contact
You can e-mail Connie at
cwells@pembrokehill.org.
session outline
During this one-week institute, participants will have the opportunity to meet and learn from others who are developing Advanced Placement Physics programs in their schools as they become familiar with the AP* Physics program. Teachers will come away from the institute with many materials, including sample textbooks, the College Board AP* Physics packet, a CD with tests and solutions from past years, packages of "make and take" labs and demonstrations, teacher materials and sample course syllabi, and the solutions to the 2010 exams. Each morning will generally be spent working on problem solving techniques and discussing approaches to teaching AP* Physics. Afternoons will be spent in the laboratory---building lab and demonstration setups, performing demonstrations, doing lab experiments, developing computer graphing skills, and checking web materials. Each participant will have the option of presenting a topic or demonstration during the "Best Practices" session. There will be short "homework" assignments each day, but these will be minimal and should allow you plenty of time for evening activities or socialization with other participants. Bring your calculator and an extra suitcase!
Monday
Morning Session
- Introduction and overview of Institute goals
- Review of materials supplied for the institute
- AP* course content and plan for preparation of individual course syllabi
- AP* Redesign
- Exam format
- AP* Audit
Afternoon Session
- Laboratory Journal
- Demonstrations
- Lab: "Calculator Interfaced Experiments"
Assignment:
- Work #1-3 free response from 2010 test [B or C] and be prepared with questions concerning related concepts [All test copies will be provided.]
- Begin working on latest published Multiple Choice test from College Board* (due Thursday)
- Begin work on course syllabus (due Thursday)
Tuesday
Morning Session
- Solutions to free response problems #1-3 from 2010 B and C tests and related concepts
- Process of reading and scoring AP* exams
- Assigning scores to free response homework (#1-3)
- Using the AP* scale to assign an AP* score and course grade
- Score sample student papers from 2010 exam
- Further discussion of multiple choice format and exam preparation
- "Mechanical Universe" DVD excerpts, as time permits
Afternoon Session
- Work with TI interface equipment to design a lab experiment for your classroom use
- Class demonstration of "What's Watt?" and construction of demo device
- Construction of "LED and Neon Blinkies"
Assignment:
- Work remaining free response questions from 2010 test and be prepared to discuss related concepts
- Continue to work on the latest published Multiple Choice test (due Thursday)
- Work on course syllabus (due Thursday)
Wednesday
Morning Session
- Grade remaining free response problems from the 2010 test and discuss concepts
- Use the AP* scale to assign an AP* score and course grade
- Score student samples of these problems
- Take a mock 15-minute multiple choice exam, grade and score it
- View "Dark Matter" DVD, as time permits.
Afternoon Session
- Demonstrations
- Discussion of background concepts related to capacitors
- Lab: "Charging and Discharging a Capacitor"
- Graph charging and discharging curves using Excel
Assignment:
- Complete the latest published Multiple Choice test
- Work on course syllabus
Thursday
Morning Session
- Score latest published Multiple Choice Test, answer questions and discuss related concepts
- Discuss testing of laboratory skills on the exam
- Develop a summary of ideas for implementation of a laboratory plan that includes adding new technology to each classroom
- Present changes in curriculum that began with 2002 exam
Afternoon Session
- Demonstrations
- Lab: "Determination of Laser Wavelength"
- Lab Follow-Up: "Determination of Capacitance from Excel Graphs"
- Demonstrations and "Best Practices" by participants
- Workshop evaluation
