Are you teaching Active Physics next year? Are you interested in obtaining free professional development that offers a $300 stipend and the opportunity to reflect on your own teaching? If so, we would like to invite you to participate in an exciting opportunity to learn Active Physics curriculum and reflect on its content.

A new National Science Foundation (NSF) funded study will investigate four different treatment groups with particular focus on professional development. Unlike some forms of professional development, a new model will be used which offers continuous support in terms of learning the content and implementing it in the classroom. As a result, the professional development will coincide with your teaching of either the Active Physics chapter "Physics in Action" (Sports Voice Overdub) or "Let Us Entertain You" (Light and Sound Show), or both. This study welcomes science teachers from across the nation, presently using or who will be using Active Physics curriculum in Fall, 2009.

If selected for the study, you will be randomly assigned to one of four groups. Participants of one group will be asked to attend a 1-2 day, local workshop focused on the chapter. Participants of a second group will be eligible to enroll in a distance learning component that is linked to the chapter. Those in the third group will be required to complete both the local workshop and the online component. Finally, those assigned to the fourth group will have access to the same resources as the other groups, but will not be enrolled in the local workshop or the online component. All participants will have access to and the opportunity to share questions, thoughts and reflections on the Active Physics on-line Teaching Community web site. Additionally, all participants will be provided with weekly quizzes to use in your classroom. After the completion of our study of teacher and student data during the delivery of the Active Physics chapter, all teachers will have access to the on-line course and/or full-day workshop.

Our commitments to you are: access to the on-line teaching community web site; supplying quizzes to administer to the students; an opportunity to form a learning community and discussion group with other teachers; lesson plans; a full-day workshop (to those invited); a distance learning course (to those invited). We can promise that all of the data (teacher and student) that you submit will be treated with confidentiality. Scores and/or classroom experiences will only be shared with other teachers if you volunteer to do so. Finally, as a way of saying thank you for providing reflection on your classroom work, all participants will receive a $300 stipend.

Your commitments as a participant in the study include/are: a time commitment; agreement to teach the entire Active Physics chapter; actively participate and share experiences with other teachers in the online community; complete three questionnaires (each requiring 1 hour) regarding your teaching of the unit; administer 15 minute quizzes to your students at the completion of every two activities (approximately 5 quizzes per chapter); grade the student quizzes and privately communicate this data; attend the full-day workshop (if invited); and fully participate in the on-line course (if invited).

These professional development strategies are part of a larger research study where we are trying to explore what kind of assistance teachers need and which provide the most benefit. By participating in this study, you will not only gain insights into your own teaching but you will contribute to improvements in future professional development offerings. As part of a learning community and research study, all teachers will also have access to research results upon completion of the study.

If you have any questions that are not answered here please see our Frequently Asked Questions or contact Stephanie Smith at Active.Physics@gmail.com.