Background: Ray Burnstein, Illinois Institute of Technology
Application: Paul Dolan, Mahmoud Khalili, Richard Delzenero, Ilya Gulkarov, Northeastern Illinois U

Part I
    A wide overview of wireless keypads will be presented ranging from their usefulness in the classroom to the hardware itself.  The ability of these devices to convert a classroom/lecture of passive audience into a group of more active learners will be discussed. This can be done while still preserving much of the traditional lecture format.  We also will summarize the variety of commercial wireless keypads that are currently in use and those that will soon become available.

Part II
    For the past three years, NEIU has been using an automated student response method, in particular the “PRS” system in general education Astronomy lectures, and this year also began using this system in the ‘conceptual physics’ lecture.  Each student is required to obtain a PRS ‘clicker’, and of course to bring it to class.  The system allows students to respond to multiple choice questions posed by the instructor, and gives immediate and anonymous feedback on student knowledge and learning.  The questions may be either pre-prepared questions, or ones that arise during class. 
    We will briefly discuss our experience with this system, and then present a sample lesson, with PRS questions included.  ‘Clickers’ will be available to allow the audience to interactively answer the questions posed during the lesson.  We will also provide several handouts on the effective use of the student response system, and PRS in particular.

    Problem solving is a nearly universal component of physics instruction.  Students are expected to learn physics by watching the teacher solve problems and solving problems on their own.  Learning is typically assessed by having students solve problems on tests.  Problem solving is also seen by many physics teachers to be an important learning goal in itself.  Because of the importance of problem solving, it is valuable for teachers to examine their teaching practices related to problem solving (such as the types of problems assigned, the way student solutions are graded, and the structure of instructor solutions) and the assumptions that underlie these practices.  The goal of this workshop is to help teacher  articulate and examine their practices and assumptions.  Examples of a range of possible practices will be used to anchor the interactive discussion. 

Curtis  J  Hieggelke (curth@jjc.edu), Joliet Junior College
and
David P Maloney (maloney@ipfw.edu), Indiana University -Purdue University Fort Wayne

    This workshop will feature materials from a collection of new instructional materials for the topics and concepts in electrostatics and magnetism. These materials employ various TIPER (Tasks Inspired by Physics Education Research) formats that include: Ranking Tasks; Working Backwards Tasks; What, if anything, is Wrong Tasks; Qualitative Reasoning Tasks; Bar Chart Tasks; Conflicting Contentions Tasks; Linked Multiple Choice Tasks; Changing Representations Tasks; and other types of alternative task formats. The tasks are arranged into sets of issues or questions that provide ways of asking the same or connected questions in different ways. TIPERs can be readily deployed in an active learning mode as well as in a traditional lecture mode. They require little student learning to handle the task format, and these tasks can be used as tools for assessment. They are designed to provide small incremental changes as they are implemented, so teachers should find them fairly easy to incorporate them into their classes. Participants will be provided copies of published materials and a CD on TIPERs

    The Modeling Instruction Method for Physics is a guided-inquiry physics program based out of Arizona State University which revolves around a small, coherent set of scientific models that comprise the core content of physics. Students learn basic conceptual tools (graphical, mathematical, etc.) to accurately describe physical phenomena. (www.modeling.asu.edu)