John Donohue, IQC Senior Manager, Scientific Outreach
jdonohue@uwaterloo.ca

Date: November 18-21, 2024
Location: Online!
Hosted by: Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Ontario

With 2025 announced as the International Year of Quantum Science & Technology, there’s never been a better time to bring quantum science to our students. To help prepare educators no matter where they’re located, we’re excited to host a series of virtual sessions on how to connect quantum technology to the curriculum, hosted by the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo.



These sessions will take content from our long-running Quantum for Educators (QEd) workshop to explore fundamental quantum principles like superposition and entanglement, connect them to curriculum-relevant topics like waves, polarization, vectors, and probability, and show how they are applied in modern and emerging technologies like quantum computing and communication. We’ll also overview affordable hands-on activities that can be done with your classroom. Read More...

Tags: Modern Physics, Nobel Prize, Professional Development, Quantum

Roberta Tevlin
roberta@tevlin.ca

Join us Thursday September 26th from 7:00 to 8:00 PM to learn about the many solutions to climate change, while engaged with other teachers in a role-playing game! By the end of the hour, you will see how climate change is very serious and very complicated — but — it is also something that can be solved. You will leave energized and ready to try out this lesson with your classes the next day. This game would be good for SNC1W, SNC2D, SPH3U, SES4U, many geography courses, or anywhere else you want to discuss climate solutions.

This virtual Physics Hour is run by Roberta Tevlin, Milica Rakic, Iain Braithwaite, Michelle Lee, Tim Langford, Tom Eagan, and Felipe Almeida. Sign up for the event here. Please share this opportunity with others who you think may be interested in joining. The Zoom meeting link will be sent out 48 hours prior to the event. Read More...

Tags: Climate, Destreamed, Energy, Professional Development

John Donohue, IQC Senior Manager, Scientific Outreach
jdonohue@uwaterloo.ca

Date: July 29-31, 2024
Location: Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Ontario

The Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo is excited to announce our 2024 free in-person summer workshop on quantum mechanics and quantum technology.

The 10^th Quantum for Educators (QEd) workshop (formerly known as Schrödinger’s Class) will take place July 29-31 this year. Led by quantum experts from the IQC, QEd will explore fundamental quantum principles like superposition, wave-particle duality, and entanglement and show how they are applied in emerging technologies like quantum computing. Participants can expect to leave with affordable activities and accessible lesson plans with concrete curriculum connections to take back to their classrooms.

Financial support for travel and accommodations is available for Canadian teachers. Applications are due Friday May 3rd.

Tags: Modern Physics, Quantum, Professional Development

Randy Lewis, Department of Physics and Astronomy, York University
randy.lewis@yorku.ca

All high school physics teachers are warmly invited to York University at 5:30 p.m. on Friday November 3, 2023. Professors in our Department of Physics and Astronomy value this annual event and are looking forward to connecting with high school teachers again this year.

Three York professors will give short talks about their research. You can see our telescope (which is the largest on any university campus in Canada) observing the opposition of Jupiter. Dinner and drinks will be provided, and there will be opportunities for casual conversations with familiar friends and new colleagues. We also have a few textbooks that are no longer needed at York, and we are glad to donate these to any high school teachers who can make good use of them.

Details can be found at this website: https://www.yorku.ca/science/physics/outreach/high-school-teachers-night/

Best wishes for the school year, and we hope to see you at York!

Tags: Astronomy, Cosmology, Professional Development

The OAPT is pleased to return to its traditional 3-day in-person conference in 2023! We are looking forward to connecting with new members and welcoming back returning members. Take advantage to (re)connect with educators from across the province at Perimeter Institute in Waterloo from Thursday May 4 until Saturday May 6.


Read More...

Tags: Astronomy, Conference, Destreamed, Modern Physics, Pedagogy, Professional Development

Randy Lewis, Department of Physics and Astronomy, York University
randy.lewis@yorku.ca

All high school physics teachers are warmly invited to York University at 5:30 PM on Friday November 11, 2022. This annual tradition has not been possible for the past two years, and professors in our Department of Physics and Astronomy are looking forward to reconnecting with high school teachers this year.

Three York professors will give short talks about their research. Tours of our telescope (which is the largest on any university campus in Canada) will be available. Dinner and drinks will be provided, and there will be opportunities for casual conversations with new colleagues and familiar friends. We also have a collection of textbooks that are no longer needed at York, and we are glad to donate these to any high school teachers who can make good use of them. Read More...

Tags: Astronomy, Modern Physics, Professional Development

Saara Naudts, Peel District School Board
saara.naudts@icloud.com

What a ride these past couple years have been… We dealt with contract negotiations and navigated through new realities as a result of the global pandemic. We have shown true grit adapting to various new learning environments including quadmesters, virtual learning, modified semesters, hybrid learning, and other previously unfamiliar formats. My intention with this article is to explore what has helped us get through these challenges and the role of the OAPT in building and achieving collective efficacy among physics educators in Ontario.  Read More...

Tags: Professional Development, Remote Learning

Presented at the 2017 OAPT Conference, York University
Chris Meyer, teacher York Mills CI

The old me would have scoffed at the thought of my students’ emotional states while learning. “Suck it up and do your work” was my no-nonsense, starch-collared mantra. After all, I’m a physicist! But as I learned more about how the brain works, I was forced to confront my very emotional, educational prejudices. Let’s put our feelings as educators aside and simply ask ourselves the question: “what can I do to help my students learn better?”. Research into the workings of the brain reveal how deeply connected emotion is with learning; emotion is hard-wired into cognition. Teachers need to design lessons to account for students’ emotional response to learning and incorporate not just curriculum outcomes, but emotional outcomes. This article is a summary of the workshop I gave at the 2017 OAPT Conference. You can watch the video and download the PowerPoint slides to learn more. Read More...

Tags: Assessment, Pedagogy, Professional Development

Roberta Tevlin, Editor OAPT Newsletter
roberta.tevlin@tdsb.on.ca

Physics camp is back again this summer! It will take place just outside of Sudbury on the gorgeous campus of Laurentian University which has with miles of wooded hiking trails and a lovely lake and beach. It will be led by Chris Meyer, Roberta Tevlin and Greg Macdonald from August 9-11. It is paid for by the Ontario Teachers Federation and is completely free (materials, accommodations, breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks, transportation) as long as you are a member of this union. Registration details will be available soon, but in the meantime you should consider keeping those days available. Why would you want to go to physics camp? Read More...

Tags: Pedagogy, Professional Development

Stacey Joyce, Program Manager at Partners In Research Canada (PIR)

I’m sure that you employ a variety of tools and strategies in your classroom, including inquiry activities, independent or group projects, “assessments as, for and of” learning… the list goes on. But how do you and your students answer the questions they come up with during or after the initial inquiry activity? What types of resources do you teach students to use for their independent research? How do you introduce the students to career options that use Physics?

Here’s where video calls and webinars come in, and don’t think that you can’t afford these options — they’re free from Partners In Research Canada (PIR)! Read More...

Tags: Professional Development, STEM, Technology

Steve Fotheringham, OAPT Exhibit Hall Coordinator, Teacher Oakville Trafalgar High School
fotheringhas@hdsb.ca

Have you ever looked at your schools’ course offerings and noticed that some need is not being met? Perhaps the course selection for your applied-level learner is uninspired or there are no elective courses that encourage students to apply their imagination or creativity. Perhaps, what you are looking for does not exist on the list of courses in Ontario.

I’ve had this thought many times and have since had the privilege of introducing two new courses to my school — “Engineering Design” and “Leadership”. Both made use of the incredibly flexible IDC course code.

The purpose of this article is to share with you a few of the lessons (in no particular order) that I have learned along the way which in turn may help you introduce a new course in your school. Read More...

Tags: Pedagogy, Professional Development, STEM

Roberta Tevlin, OAPT Newsletter Editor, Teacher Danforth CTI
roberta.tevlin@tdsb.on.ca

In the spring of 2015, Robert Prior brought the newsletter into its new responsive and accessible format and in August Roberta Tevlin signed on as editor. In the last ten months, there have been 37 articles from 18 different authors as well as many timely announcements. Thank you to all our wonderful authors. There is no Newsletter without you!

You probably missed a lot of these articles during the busy teaching year. It is easy to catch up on these as part of your summer reading. Read More...

Tags: Professional Development

Richard Taylor, Merivale High School, Ottawa, CAP Representative
richard@teya.ca

Physics is happening in Canada, and this year the place to see it all is Ottawa. I was at the annual Congress of the Canadian Association of Physicists. Recognizing the importance of inspiring young people, there was a special day for high school teachers on June 14. Next year the CAP Congress will be at Queen’s University in Kingston from May 29 to June 2. Don’t miss it! Read More...

Tags: Field Trip, Professional Development

Saara Naudts, OAPT Contest Editor, Physics Teacher North Park SS
Sara.naudts@peelsb.com
 
Each December, teachers from across Canada have an opportunity to experience what goes on at one of Canada’s biggest research facilities. After an easy application process, including a generous amount of available funding and very helpful communication with Tracy Walker the CLS outreach coordinator; I and several other teachers flew out to Saskatoon to visit the synchrotron December 5-7, 2015. Read More...

Tags: Field Trip, Modern Physics, Professional Development

John Caranci, teacher Faculty of Education University of Toronto
John.Caranci@utoronto.ca

Usually I brief teacher candidates on what to expect when they go out to practicum. During the discussion I found that the candidates have a different perspective than experienced teachers like us. This year’s candidates have already completed a four-month practicum in November. Their experiences very widely but there were a few threads that I will mention. Read More...

Tags: Pedagogy, Professional Development

Richard Taylor, CAP Councillor for Affiliates, Teacher Merivale High School, Ottawa
Richard@teya.ca

The University of Ottawa’s Physics Department has initiated a lecture series they call “Eureka Talks”. The first of these talks was given Saturday January 30, 2016 by Sir John Pendry of Imperial College, London, on the topic of metamaterials and invisibility.

Sadly, I must inform you that Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak is still not available. Even worse, if Harry was invisible, he wouldn't be able to see anything — he’d be in total darkness, with all the light rays bent around him and none going into his eyes! Read More...

Tags: Light, Professional Development

Shawn Brooks, Contest Manager, Teacher at University of Toronto Schools
sbrooks@utschools.ca

I attended the Teaching Quantum Technology (TQT) workshop on Dec. 5^th and 6^th and left with 12 activities that I could use right away in my classes. Now, the challenge for me is: how can I fit these activities into my grade 11 or grade 12 physics courses? Read More...

Tags: Professional Development, Quantum

Ryan Thompson, OAPT Treasurer, Physics Teacher, Newmarket HS
superryanthompson@gmail.com

On July 8 and 9th I attended a two day workshop at York University. The purpose of the workshop was to bring astronomy professors and graduate students together with teachers and showcase three modules that the organizers had developed for the teachers to discuss, play with and refine for use in the classroom. The organizers were from a variety of institutions, not just York but everyone was committed to increasing interest in astronomy in students and also their capability for understanding the science around this fascinating topic. Read More...

Tags: Astronomy, Professional Development

Roberta Tevlin, Danforth Collegiate, Past President of OAPT, Editor of OAPT Newsletter
roberta@tevlin.ca

One of the most valuable resources for Ontario physics teachers is now available on the OAPT website. It is a set of videos showing the grade 11U and 12U physics courses as taught by Chris Meyer - our V.P. of Teaching and Learning. Each video is a single lesson (edited to 15-30 minutes) and is accompanied by a student worksheet and a short description of the pedagogy and physics presented.
Read More...

Tags: Pedagogy, Professional Development