Best Teaching Ideas 2009

Creative Presentations for Teachers SPU Assistant Professor of Education and Elementary Placement Coordinator Debby Espinor describes a project that requires her students to create creative presentations that illustrate their individual teaching philosophies. [Audio] [Video]

What Is Truth? SPU Associate Professor of Organizational Psychology Paul Yost outlines his use of a postmodern Cinderella story to examine the importance of varying perspectives in trying to get at truth. [Audio] [Video]

Teaching Grammar by Numbers Instructor of English Misty Anne Winzenried describes her method for teaching grammar to students. [Audio] [Video]

Market Simulation Associate Professor of Economics Doug Downing simulates the fluctuation in the stock market in a classroom where the buying and selling by students changes the value of their stocks. [Audio] [Video]

The Physics Interview Process Assistant Professor of Physics Hunter Close shares about how learning assistants studied how students think about something in physics. [Audio] [Video]

Erickson Conference Presentations

The Erickson Conference showcases the outstanding research contributions that SPU students make in the fields of Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics. Students present the findings of their individual research projects.

Truth, Consistency, and the Crisis of Foundations [Audio] [Video]

Ratio and Proportion [Audio] [Video]

Is Sudoku NP-Complete? [Audio] [Video]

Using Distance Sampling to Estimate Population Size of Black-tailed Deer on Blakely Island, WA [Audio] [Video]

oChem Hammer [Audio] [Video]

PTEC-Northwest Conference

The PTEC-Northwest Conference, which took place on October 10, 2008 at Seattle Pacific University, was an opportunity for members of the physics education community in the Pacific Northwest to attend presentations by national leaders in physics teacher preparation.

The Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PTEC) is a network of over 100 institutions committed to improving the education of future physics and physical science teachers. It is part of the PhysTEC project, which is led by the American Physical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the American Institute of Physics.

Role of Colleges and Universities in the Preparation of Future Teachers Monica Plisch addresses the shortage of qualified physics teachers in the U.S. by refining models of teacher education and promoting innovative programs. American Physical Society. (29:52) [Audio] [Video]

The UTeach Model Michael Marder describes the need for better trained high school science teachers and the steps being taken to use the UTeach model in other schools around the country. University of Texas at Austin. (1:01:30) [Audio] [Video]

The North Cascades and Olympics Science Partnership George Nelson details the successes of a yearlong series of science content courses for future elementary teachers developed through PET. Western Washington University. (27:30) [Audio] [Video]

Learning Assistants at CU Boulder Noah D. Finkelstein uses the transformation of science courses as a mechanism for achieving four goals and reports on the successes and challenges of the last five years of the program. University of Colorado, Boulder. (29:19) [Audio] [Video]