ComPadre Workshop 2007

The workshop provided opportunities for Physics and Astronomy educators to learn more about the Pedagogic Service project, to contribute to the activity collection, and to network with others interested in effective teaching.

The goals of the workshop were to:

Disseminate information about the Pedagogic Service project,
Define the characteristics of pedagogically sound classroom activities,
Review, edit, and refine pre-submitted activities to be added to the activity collection,
Develop strategies for spreading the word about the activity collection.

Workshop activities included large and small group discussions, demonstrations, and planning/writing/reviewing/editing sessions. Participant-created activities were added to the collection of digital resources for use by physics and astronomy educators throughout the world.

Dates

The workshop began with lunch on Sunday, July 29 at 12:00pm and ran until 6:00 that evening. This first session was in the "Heritage" room on the third floor of the Koury Convention center. It reconvened on Monday evening at 7:30 pm and ran until 10:00 pm. The second session was in the "Links" room on the third floor of the convention center.

Expectations

All participants were expected to:

Write and submit two instructional activities before the workshop.
Read and share peer review comments (before the workshop) on 3 to 5 activities that were submitted by other workshop participants.
Prepare in advance for workshop discussions through readings and online discussions organized by the workshop leaders.
Participate fully in the entire workshop.
Support follow-on activities.

Cost

The costs of the workshop, transportation to and from the workshop and AAPT Summer Meeting, two night's lodging, and meals during the workshop were covered by grants from the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education.

Registration

Those interested in this workshop were asked to contact Bruce Mason at bmason@ou.edu and send a one page letter of interest and a short (2 page maximum) vita/resume by June 8. These were used to determine who to invite to the workshop. Participation was limited to invited participants only.

Invited participants were asked to submit their materials for the meeting by July 13, 2007.

Facilities

The workshop was held at the [link http://www.sheratongreensboro.com/images/meetings/Sheraton FloorPlans 4.pdf 'Joseph S. Koury Center meeting rooms'] in Greensboro, NC. Lodging for the nights of July 29th and July 30th was provided for workshop participants. Meals were served during the workshop at no expense to the participants.