Foundations and Frontiers of Physics Education Research

August 15-19, 2005 Bar Harbor, Maine


Home

Registration
Travel Information

Schedule
Plenaries
Targeted Sessions
Working Groups
Contributed Posters

Contact information

Sponsorship

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

Conference Photos

Targeted Sessions

Targeted Sessions offer highly interactive discussion of a specific research topic of the organizer's choosing.

Framing PER from the broadest perspectives: examining why, how, and to what ends our work is conducted
(Melissa Dancy and Noah Finkelstein; Monday only)
Auditorium

Participants in this workshop/discussion will use alternative frames to critically examine the assumptions, methods, and impacts of the PER community.

Physics for teachers and teacher effectiveness: What we know, what we assume and what we need to find out
(Nicole Gillespie and Charles Henderson; Thursday only)
Auditorium

This roundtable discussion will explore the relationship between physics preparation for K-12 teachers and their students' achievement, as well as ways PER does or could contribute to the knowledge base.

Using cognitive conflict in teaching: evolution of theory and practice
(Eugenia Etkina, Peter Fletcher, David Shuster, and Alan Van Heuvelen; Monday and Thursday)
Blair Dining Hall

This panel and discussion will examine the historical roots, teaching value, and social implications of cognitive conflict (or cognitive dissonance), and explore new developments in studies of the brain, cognitive science, science education and physics education research related to it.

Why are easy questions so hard for some students?
(Andrew Boudreaux, Karen Cummings, Andy Elby, Mac Stetzer; Monday and Thursday)
Blair/Tyson 3rd Floor Lounge, sections C & D

This targeted poster session will use examples of student difficulties with fundamental concepts and lines of reasoning as the basis for speculation on the reasons that very easy questions are challenging for some students.