A Brief History of the Activities
of the Education Office

The Education Office was established in the Fall of 1998 with a mission to focus on the needs of both Hispanic-American students pursing the study of physics and on the needs of physics faculty working with Hispanic-American students. The first Education Officer was Juan R. Burciaga, then at Bryn Mawr College. The Constitution was later amended to make the Education Officer a member of the Board.

Mentoring on the WEB
1998-2000

The Education Office set up the infrastructure for a web-based mentoring program whose primary objective was to reach students who did not have immediate access to Hispanic-American faculty and needed to discuss issues with them. Eventually the project was postponed until the Society grew enough to provide an acceptable number of mentors.

National NSHP Logo Contest
1999-2001

The Education Office sponsored a national contest asking high school and college students to design a logo for the NSHP. But the logo was only one of the objectives of the contest.

The contest served as a central focus for announcing the presence of the newly formed society. The Education Office sent letters and e-mails about the society and the contest to both national and college chapters of MeCHA, Lulac and many other local Hispanic sororities and fraternities. In addition, the Education Office explored the information ifrastructure of Hispanic-based organizations on the Web and found no clear structure existed to reach either Hispanic students or teachers and faculty of Hispanic students.

Though a prize was awarded to the student submitting the winning logo the Board decided not to adopt the design for the Society. The most important result of the contest was establishing the clear need for a census to identify Hispanic students, a means to reach them, and a way to identify and communicate with faculty and teachers of Hispanic students.

NTFUP Meeting on Diversity in Undergraduate Physics
December 2002 -- Dallas, TX

The National Task Force on Undergraduate Physics hosted a special meeting to discuss issues of diversity with Hispanic-American and African-American physicists. Juan Burciaga (as Education Officer of the NSHP) was asked to attend and provide a list of other potential Hispanic-American physicists to attend.

In addition to the Education Officer, other NSHP members to attend the Meeting on Diversity were J.D. Garcia(a member of the NTFUP and Past-President NSHP), Jorge Lopez(President NSHP), Luz Martinez-Miranda(President-Elect NSHP), and Jesus Pando(Treasurer NSHP).

AAPT/NSHP Joint Meeting
January 2003 -- Austin, TX

Co-Sponsored with Minorities in Physics the session Building Success: Curricular Strategies and Pedagogical Initiatives

Building Community in Female-Friendly Physics Departments
Barbara Whitten, Colorado College

Community Building: Bridging Boundaries and Forming Connections
Jan M. Yarrison-Rice, Miami University

Building Community in Female-Friendly Physics Departments
David Hammer, University of Maryland

Personal Epistemologies and Student Participation
Apriel Hodari, The CNA Corporation

Co-Sponsored with International Education the session Physics Teaching Around the World

Teaching Physics in Mexico: Different Environments and Student Motivation
Odon M. Sanchez Cavazos, Monterrey Tech

Physics and Teaching of Physics in Mexico
Arnulfo Zepeda, CINVESTAV

IT-based Physics Education in Korea
Keum H. Lee, Chonbuk National University and Jin Kim

Redesigning a Remedial Physics Course for University Physics in Mexico
Genaro Zavala, ITESM and Hugo Alarcon

Co-Sponsored with Women in Physics the session Hot Topics in the Southwest

Signatures of Chaos in Quantum Mechanics
Linda Reichl, University of Texas at Austin

The Magic of Conformal Invariance in Quantum Mechanics
Carlos R. Ordonez, University of Houston

Hot Topics at Los Alamos National Laboratory
J. Tinka Gammel, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Direct Observation of Percolation in a Manganite Thin Film
Alex de Lozanne, University of Texas

Co-Sponsored the Plenary Sesssion
Storms from the Sun: The Emerging Science of Space Weather

Ramon E. Lopez, University of Texas at El Paso

Co-Sponsored the Science to Explore Engineering and Science(SEES) program -- a series of hand-on science exploratory activities involving approximately 100 studets in the fifth and sixth grades.

Hosted the Joint Forum
Memebers of the NSHP, NSBP and the AAPT's Committeee on Minorities in Physics took part in a discussion, open to all, of the question

What would you say if someone, for example a college professor or a high school teacher, asked
What can I do to increase the participation of under-represented groups in the study of physics?

APS National Meeting
March 2003 -- Austin, TX

At the request of the Austin Independent School District, the Education Office co-ordinated a visit of a Traveling Physics show to two grade schools in conjunction with the national APS meeting.

AGU Joint Society Meeting on Diversity in the Earth and Space Sciences
June 2003 -- College Park, MD

The American Geophysics Union hosted a conference designed to bring together a variety of academic and professional societies in order to explore what is being done, and what might be done, to enhance diversity in the sciences, particularly the earth and space sciences. Over 100 people representing 44 societies attended. Juan Burciaga(Education Officer) attended the meeting as part of the AAPT delegation and also representing the NSHP.

PKAL National Assembly -- Ensuring the Success of Under-Represented Groups in STEM Learning Environments
October 2003 -- Glassboro, NJ

The Education office was invited to attend as an obersver for both the AAPT and the NSHP and report back to these bodies on the PKAL conference.

January 2004
The Education Office expanded to include two Education Officers -- Yesim Darici, Florida International University and Juan Burciaga, Vassar College.

AAPT
January 2004 -- Miami, FL

Though this was not a Joint Meeting with AAPT, the NSHP was active and participated in organizing and sponsoring several sessions.

Co-Sponsored with Undergraduate Education and Minorities in Physics the session Building Success II: Curricular Strategies and Pedagogical Initiatives

What We know About Supporting Our Students: Classroom Practices and Cognition in Physics
Noah Finkelstein, University of Colorado Boulder

Concept-Based Learning in Science and Engineering Education
Ruth Streveler, Colorado School of Mines

Building Student Confidence Through 4+ Years of Mentoring
Neal Abraham, DePauw University of Greencastle

I.T.S. - Individualized Teaching system: Creating a Student-Centered Learning Community
Wayne Fisher, Myers Park High School

Co-Sponsored with Women in Physics the session Latin American Women in Physics

Characterization of Electrostatically Deposited (Electrospun) Nanoscopic Carbon Fibers
Idalia Ramos, University of Puerto Rico at Humacao

Self-Assembled Multiferroic Nanostructures
Lourdes Salamanca-Riba, University of Maryland, CINVESTAV

Computational Modeling of Corneal Refractve Surgery
Delia Cabrera, University of Miami

Effects of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Liquid Crystal and Related Materials
Luz Martinez-Miranda, University of Maryland

Surface/Interface Studies on Chiral Molecules Self-Assembled on Au(111) Surface
Yesim Darici, Florida International University

NSBP/NSHP Joint Meeting
February 2004 -- Washington, DC

The Education Office sponsored two sessions.

Teaching Undergraduates: What do we know that works? What is important?
The session was geared to faculty and was designed to introduce them to some of the new ideas that faculty can use to address the barriers students (particularly minority students) encounter as they begin the study of physics and mathematics. Our speakers were able to address pedagogical, cultural and psychological factors.
Jim Gates - University of Maryland
Barbara Whitten - Colorado College
Sharon Fries-Britt - University of Maryland
Apriel Hodari - The CNA Corporation

Cultural Shock: Being Blind-Sided in Graduate School
This session was for the undergraduate student about to attend graduate school. Our speakers focused on the "chilly environment" many students (particularly minority students) encounter as they enter large graduate programs, what can and cannot be done about this, some warning signs to look for, and what resources are available to them.
Duane Cooper (Moorhouse)
Eugene Collins (Fisk)
Kandace Tanner (physics graduate student, Urbana-Champaign)

SACNAS/NSHP Joint Meeting
October 2004 -- Austin, TX

Co-hosted with NSBP a GRE Advanced Physics Preparation Workshop.

AAPT/NSHP Joint Meeting
January 2005 -- Albuquerque, NM

Co-Sponsored with Minorities in Physics the session Physics and Astronomy in Native American and Hispanic Cultures

Sun and Moon Watching in the Pueblo World
Michael Zeilik, The Learning Zone, Inc.

Incorporating Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy into an Astronomy Course
Mark Hollabaugh, Normandale Community College

Navajo Astronomy
Fred Begay, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Native American Astronomy as an Introduction to Cultural Foundations
Charles Leming, Henderson State University

Co-Sponsored with International Education the session Physics Education in the Southwest and South of the Border

Discipline-Based Educational Research at Arizona State University in Science and Mathematic
Luanna Ortiz, Arizona State University

Thirty Years of Teaching Physics at New Mexico Tech
David Raymond, New Mexico Tech

Physics Education Research in Mexico
Genaro Zavala, ITESM and Hugo Alarcon

Hosted the Joint Forum
Members of the NSHP, NSBP and the AAPT's Committeee on Minorities in Physics took part in a discussion, open to all, of the question

What do students need to know?
A general discussion of what minority students need to know before attending college and choosing a major.

Co-Sponsored with the Committee on Minorities in Physics the Workshop

Reaching, Teaching and Keeping Under-represented Groups in Physics

NSBP/NSHP Joint Meeting
February 2005 -- Orlando, FL

The Education Office sponsored the session

Missing: The Disappearing Minority Male in Science
The session was designed to acquaint teaching faculty of the factors and paradigms that are being used to frame the discussion of the decreasing participation of minority males in science.

The Gender Gap Among African Americans in Physics: A Statistical Overview
Roman Czujko, AIP(Statistics)

Building Trust in the Face of Small Numbers: Diversity Cues and Reduction of Threat in American Mainstream Institutio
Valerie Purdie-Vaughns, Yale(Psychology)

And the Education Office assisted in the organization of the session Survival and Gender Issues for Working Physicists and Students.

AAPT
August 2005 -- Salt Lake City, UT

Though not a Joint Meeting with the AAPT, the NSHP was invited to Co-Sponsor with Minorities in Physics the session/panel

Closing the Gap Between Understanding and Action: Strategic Issues in Diversity

Research on Undergraduate Persistence
Teri Murphy, University of Oklahoma(Mathematics)

The Complexity and Changing Landscapes of Race and Ethnicity
Eric Hsu, San Francisco State University(Mathematics)

Recommendations for Undergraduates in preparing for Graduate School
James Dickerson, Vanderbilt University

How and Why Diversity Initiatives Must Work
Jorge Zeballos, Guilford College

Co-Sponsored with the Committee on Minorities in Physics the Workshop

Reaching, Teaching and Keeping Under-represented Groups in Physics

Best Practice College Course, Validation Panel
Spring 2006

The Education Office represented NSHP as part of the College Board's redesign of the AP Physics B course.

NSBP/NSHP Joint Meeting
February 2006 - San Jose, CA

The Education Office sponsored a session on "Physics Education Research: New Results and Applications" that included 3 invited speakers.

Advances in Physics Education Research: Contexts and Tools of Student Learning
Noah Finkelstien, University of Colorado

Improving Student Learning in Physics from K-20: The Role of Research
Peter Shaffer, University of Washington

Enhancing Physics Learning in Lecture with Interactive Lecture Demonstrations
David Sokoloff, University of Oregon

SACNAS
October 2006 - Tampa, FL

Workshop on

Study Methods and Scheduling: Preparing for the GRE

NSBP/NSHP Joint Meeting
February 2007 - Boston, MA

The Education Office sponsored 2 sessions on PER that included 4 invited speakers.

Memorization or Understanding: Are We Teaching the Right Thing?
Eric Mazur, Harvard

What do Physics Professors Expect? Research on Physics Professors' Beliefs about the Teaching and Learning of Problem Solving in Introductory Physics.
Kenneth Heller, University of Minnesota

Successful U.S. Women of Color Physics Students and Their Strategies for Persistence in Science
Maria (Mia) Ong, TERC(Project Leader) and Founder/Director Project SEED

The Role of Representations And Analogies In Solving Pphysics Problems
Noah Finkelstein, Patrick Kohl and Noah Podolefksly, University of Colorado

AAPT
August 2007 -- Greensboro, NC

Co-Sponsored with the Committee on Minorities in Physics the Workshop

Reaching, Teaching and Keeping Under-represented Groups in Physics


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Last updated 09/8/2007