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At a conference on educational physics, someone described a series of multiple-choice problems to test students' ideas about various mechanical phenomena. One of the problems questioned students' conceptions about the shape of the Earth's orbit in the solar system. The question was as follows: Which of the following schematic illustrations corresponds most accurately to the real situation regarding the position of the Sun and the shape of the Earth's trajectory around the Sun, when viewed from top? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our students are burnt out, and we need to pay attention. Last fall, I attended the 2022 Physics Congress of Sigma Pi Sigma and Society of Physics Students (SPS). (The conference is sometimes known as PhysCon.) It is the largest gathering of physics and astronomy undergraduate students in the world—there's around 1000 of them there plus around 200 other physicists there as mentors, speakers, etc. During the opening session, these students were surveyed about the top issues affecting physics and astronomy departments today. Among options like careers and jobs, lack of research funding, and many other issues, burnout rose to the top by a large margin. The number two spot went to mental health concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Conference for Women in Physics (ICWIP) meets every three years in locations around the globe. Under the auspices of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), ICWIP draws female physicists (and a few males) from over two dozen countries to meet for three days and share stories and research, in order to promote a more equitable physics community. The first ICWIP was created to get a sense of the status of women in physics globally. This goal has been upheld with the following conferences. But the value of a meeting is not just for those who attend; sharing what is learned is in many cases even more valuable. In this paper, we share an overview of the ICWIP, focus on what will be useful for readers of The Physics Teacher, and highlight the fact that the proceedings of the ICWIP are all available for free through AIP Publishing, as part of the goal of sharing work that will help make physics a more diverse and equitable field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graph: f1 I B Mary Jane Head b i received the association's Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT. An AAPT member since 1994, Head has worked tirelessly in almost every capacity with the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the Physics Teaching Resource Agents, and numerous districts and universities to design research methods, develop and disseminate curriculum materials, plus provide training and workshops for in-service and pre-service teachers. She helps implement the physics strand for the Texas Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers at the Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), professional development and Professional Learning Communities (PLC). Book by AAPT "The Role, Education, Qualifications, and Professional Development of Secondary School Physics Teachers" is mentioned. Workshops and conferences planned by AAPT are discussed.

Presents a lecture series on the `Frontiers of Physics.' Challenge of arousing interest in introductory physics courses; Reasons for holding the lectures; Methodology; Responses of students attending the lecture; Evaluation of the lecture. INSET: Student responses..

The article offers world news briefs related to physics as of September 2013. The Texas Physics Consortium has been approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to offer a joint BS degree in physics. U.S. physics students have won gold and silver medals at the 44th IPHO on July 7-15, 2013 in Denmark. The 18th Annual Fall Meeting of the (North Carolina State University (NCS) - American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) will be held in Oct. 25-26, 2013 in South Carolina.

A calendar of events for the U.S. in 2013 is presented which includes the 18th Annual Fall Meeting of the North Carolina Section-American Association of Physics Teachers in October, the Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop in June and the 2013 Physics Department Chairs Conference in May.

The article offers news briefs of the U.S. in 2013 related to the physics teaching. The Physics of Atomic Nuclei (PAN), a free summer program, for science teachers and students accepts applications for summer 2013. The Two-Year College (TYC) meeting "Classroom Pioneers: Trail Blazing in Undergraduate Physics Education," will be held in July 13, 2013 in Portland, Oregeon. The New England Section spring meeting will be held in Milton, Massachusetts from April 12-13, 2013.

The article offers information on the biennial Physics Department Chairs Meeting to be held in College Park, Maryland on June 8-10, 2012, Advanced Laboratory Physics Association's (ALPhA) 2012 Topical Conference on Laboratory Instruction: Beyond the First Year (BFY) of College that will be held in Pennsylvania on July 25-27, 2012, and the 2012 Physics Research and Education Gordon Research Conference to be held in Waterville, Maine on June 17-22, 2012.

The article features events and studies related to physics. It says that Vernier will offer workshops on data-collection technology for STEM in various locations in October and November 2011 including Cleveland, Ohio, Buffalo and Albany, New York. American Institute of Physics (AIP) Statistical Research Center shows 161% rise on girls taking high school physics in 2009. A calendar of American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) meetings for October and November 2011 is also presented.

The article offers information on the Using Astronomy to Teach Physics (UATP) topical workshop to be held at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska on July 27-30, 2011.

The article offers information on the LivePhoto Physics Project workshop to be held at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York on June 20-24, 2011.

The article offers information on various events related to physics education for 2011 in the U.S. including the workshop on using astronomy to teach Physics to be held in Lincoln, Nebraska on July 27-30, the 2011 Physics Teacher Education Coalition Conference to be held at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, Texas on May 23-24, and The Physics of Atomic Nuclei (PAN) Program to be held at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory from July 31 to August 12.