Physics
Instructor: Connie Wells
Connie Wells has a Master of Science Degree in Physics from The University of Kansas and is a Physics and Advanced Placement Physics
teacher, as well as Science Olympiad Team Coach, at Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Missouri. During the past twenty years as an A.P. Physics teacher, she has been
active in test scoring and development for The College Board, serving on the AP Physics Test Development Committee from 1997-2001. Since 1995, she has served in
various roles as Reader, Table Leader and Question Leader for the A.P. Physics Reading. In November 2003, Connie was a Regional Winner of the 2003-04 Siemens Award
for Advanced Placement Teaching sponsored by The College Board and The Siemens Foundation. She is the author of AP Physics B, 2nd edition, a companion review guide
for Walker's Physics, 4th edition, published by Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2009. She previously authored Kaplan’s AP Physics B: A Study Guide, published by Simon and
Schuster in 2002 and 2003 and has most recently contributed an article on "Electric Potential and Potential Energy" for the College Board focus booklet on "Electrostatics".
As a workshop leader and College Board institute consultant, she has presented teacher workshops and institutes throughout the country and abroad—including California,
Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, West Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, New York, Hawaii, and Saipan. In 2007-2008, she presented College Board AP Physics
workshops at the AP Annual Conference in Las Vegas, in Barranquilla, Colombia, in Bangkok, Thailand, and at the American Association of Physics Teachers 2008 Summer
Meeting in Edmonton, Alberta.
Connie was appointed by The College Board to the AP Physics Redesign Commission in 2006 and is currently a member of the AP Physics Curriculum Development and
Assessment Committee. You can email Connie at conwells@kcnet.com
2010 General Session Outline
Monday, June 28
Morning Session
• Introduction and overview of Institute goals
• Review materials supplied for the institute
• AP course content and plan for preparation of individual course syllabi
• AP Redesign
• Exam Format
• AP Audit
Afternoon Session
• Laboratory Journal
• Demonstrations
• Lab: "Calculator Interfaced Experiments"
Assignment:
• Work #1-3 free response from 2010 test [B or C] and be prepared with questions concerning related concepts [All test copies will be provided.]
• Begin working on latest published Multiple Choice test (due Thursday)
• Begin work on course syllabus (due Friday)
Tuesday, June 29
Morning Session
• Solutions to free response problems #1-3 from 2010 B and C tests and related concepts
• Process of reading and scoring AP exams
• Assigning scores to free response homework (#1-3)
• Using the A.P. scale to assign an A.P. score and course grade
• Score sample student papers from 2009 exam
• Further discussion of multiple choice format and exam preparation
• "Mechanical Universe" DVD excerpts, as time permits
Afternoon Session
• Work with TI interface equipment to design a lab experiment for your classroom use
• Class demonstration of "What’s Watt" and construction of demo device
• Construction of "LED and Neon Blinkies"
Assignment:
• Work remaining free response questions from 2009 test and be prepared to discuss related concepts
• Continue to work on the latest published Multiple Choice test (due Thursday)
• Work on course syllabus (due Friday)
Wednesday, June 30
Morning Session
• Grade remaining free response problems from the 2009 test and discuss concepts
• Use the A.P. scale to assign an A.P. score and course grade
• Score student samples of these problems
• Take a mock 15-minute multiple choice exam, grade and score it
• View "Dark Matter" DVD, as time permits.
Afternoon Session
• Demonstrations
• Discussion of background concepts related to capacitors
• Lab: "Charging and Discharging a Capacitor"
• Graph charging and discharging curves using Excel
Assignment:
• Complete the latest published Multiple Choice test
• Work on course syllabus
Thursday, July 1
Morning Session
• Score latest published Multiple Choice Test, answer questions and discuss related concepts
• Discuss testing of laboratory skills on the exam
• Develop a summary of ideas for implementation of a laboratory plan that includes adding new technology to each classroom
Afternoon Session
• Demonstrations
• Lab: "Determination of Laser Wavelength"
• Lab Follow-Up: "Determination of Capacitance from Excel Graphs"
• Demonstrations and "Best Practices" by participants
• Workshop evaluation
