UBC PHASER Open Retreat, 2019

Friday, May 10, 2019 at UBC-Vancouver Orchard Commons (6363 Agronomy Road)

The UBC Physics and Astronomy Education Research (PHASER) group open retreat is a one-day Discipline-Based Education Research Conference, with a focus on Physics and Astronomy Education Research. We invite participants from other departments and from off-campus to join us for this open retreat.

Like last year, the day will include two plenaries, as well as breakout sessions where participants are invited to present on their teaching or research work and receive feedback from fellow participants.

Schedule:

Morning Plenaries (ORCH 1001)

      • Light refreshments (8:30-9:00)
      • Opening remarks (9:00-9:15)
      • Plenary (9:15-10:45) – Dimitri R. Dounas-Frazer, Western Washington University, “Teaching and learning how to troubleshoot in upper-division labs” (abstract, slides)
      • Light refreshments (10:45-11:00) –
      • Plenary (11:00-12:30) – Elizabeth Gire, Oregon State University, “How do you teach students to evaluate their answers to physics problems?” (abstract, slides)

Lunch (ORCH 1001)

      • 12:30-13:30 – A catered lunch will be provided for the first 30 registered participants. A request for dietary restriction information will be sent our closer to the event.

Breakout Sessions (ORCH 1001 – 13:30-15:00):

        • Joss Ives (UBC): We have been developing a survey to learn more about students’ experiences in group exams. We are in the process of running an exploratory factor analysis (a statistical method that identifies groups of questions that tend to be answered together in consistent ways) and would like some feedback on the groups of questions that have been identified.
        • Jonathan Massey-Allard (UBC): I’ll be presenting results of a study comparing two different types of inquiry learning activities in which students either use: (1) data provided by the instructor in the form of contrasting cases or (2) an interactive simulation. I’ll be looking for feedback on analysis, results and their implications for teaching and learning with inquiry.
        • Linda Strubbe (Kansas State University / Univ of Central Asia): Teaching Triangles (TTs) is a program I co-created to support faculty at the University of Central Asia (UCA) in developing their teaching practice. UCA is a small, new, multicultural university. Groups of three faculty observe each other’s classes and discuss their teaching once or twice per term. This February, I conducted interviews with 17 UCA faculty about their experiences in TTs. I’m currently trying out different claims and theoretical frameworks for my research, including Communities of Practice and Intercultural Competence. I’d love feedback on claims and frameworks, and also how this work might fit into the larger field and literature.

 

Please register here before May 1st.  Registration is free and includes lunch, and coffee/snacks during breaks for the first 30 registrants.