Loyola University Chicago

Department of Physics

Minutes for the Denver meeting of the Committee on International Education

=================================================================
Minutes for the Denver meeting
of the Committee on International Education
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Members Present: Ramsey (chair), Drenchko, George
Guests Present: Adair, Aubrecht, Chang, Chesick, Finn, Fitzgibbons,
Bob Fuller, Richard Fuller, Gottlieb, Halpern, Harms, Jossem, Lin,
Lotze, Manos, Preese, Snyder, Van Hise, Yazdi
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The meeting was called to order by the chair at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday,
August 13, 1997.

Members and friends present introduced themselves, while the database
was circulated to be updated.

The minutes of the January meeting at the Phoenix were unanimously approved.
Typographical corrections to the original copy were corrected.
(Motion: Drenchko, Second: George)
================================================================
CHAIR'S REPORT:

Announcements:

1. Future AAPT meetings were announced so that the committee could plan
for sponsored sessions:
Winter New Orleans 3-8 January 1998
Joint Columbus, OH 18-21 April 1998
Summer Univ. of Neb. 3-8 August 1998
Winter Anaheim, CA 9-14 January 1999
Joint Atlanta, GA 20-26 March 1999
Summer San Antonio 2-7 August 1999
Winter San Diego, CA January 2001 with Astronomical Soc.

2. Information about workshops was given, including:
a. Workshop guidelines (submitted by A. Menard) were forwarded to
the Executive Board for possible adoption and dissemination
b. These guidelines are available on the committee web page:
http://www.unl.edu/physics/cie.html
c. The new fee structure for workshops and contributed papers was
announced. General fees for 1/2, 1 and 2 day workshops will be:
$25, $40, and $75 respectively. Add $5 per day for additional audio
visual materials and about $15 per day for computers.

3. The committee's Annual Report is due on December 1st. Copies will be
sent out to members and friends of the committee as soon as it has been
submitted to the AAPT Past President, R. Hilborn.

4. Columbus joint meeting with APS: Three 1/2 hour back-to-back plenary
sessions will be allocated for general interest talks at the joint AAPT/APS
meeting in Columbus (April, 1998). Suggestions for speakers were solicited.
The submission deadline for all papers is January 9, 1998.

5. A general AAPT mission statement for international involvement was
submitted to B. Khoury and the Executive Board for adoption. It encourages
collaborative ventures and exchanges in support of the committee's mission.

6. The next IACPE meeting will be in Brazil in the year 2000. More detailed
information will be disseminated by the committee as it becomes available.

7. Copies of the monograph, containing the Phoenix session papers which
reported on the LFMK meeting in Sweden, were passed out to attendees.
The Chair suggested that similar reports be generated on other international
meetings for which AAPT members are involved. This is an effective way to
disseminate information and would likely be a minimum requirement for any
funding received from an external agency.

8. It was announced that Betty Preece received a Distinguished Service award
from AAPT (see The Physics Teacher, May, 1997, p.265). Betty has been a long
time friend of the committee and has contributed greatly to its
accomplishments. Congratulations to Betty!

9. The Chair received a letter from a Fuller Fund awardee: Prof. Victor
Aleshkevich of Moscow State University. He mentions that a similar organization
to AAPT exists in Russia, called the General Physics Council of Russian
Universities (GPC). He extended an open invitation to AAPT members to visit
Moscow State U. and encouraged contact between our committee and the GPC.

10. The committee home page was reviewed: The committee's website is
functional, thanks to Chris Moore. It contains a list of members, the mission
statement, a list of upcoming international conferences, a copy of the workshop
guidelines and a link to the AAPT home page. As of this meeting, AAPT has
provided a link to our web page from their home page. E-mail addresses of
members and contacts will be included. As per the Phoenix meeting minutes,
the following will also be included:
(1) a summary of the latest meeting minutes
(2) the latest Annual Report
(3) invitation for volunteers to submit their names for the friends
list or to serve on the committee, with a point of contact
(4) summaries of committee activities and international participation.

11. An appreciation letter to the Stray Cats was sent out by the Chair.
A copy of the text will be included as an appendix to these minutes in the
written version.

12. It was announced in Physics Today (August, 1997, p.47) that Great
Britain has rejoined UNESCO, in view of the fact that administrative changes
have been made within the organization. The attendees were reminded that
the Committee on International Education had voiced a favorable opinion
(January, 1994 meeting) that the USA rejoin UNESCO in order to foster the
international cooperation and exchange afforded by membership. We felt that
this would encourage more educational exchanges.

13. The committee introductory package for new members was distributed at
the Phoenix meeting.

14. The Chair received a letter from an AAPT member who is doing Peace Corps
teaching in Fiji. He will be returning to the US in December of this year.

15. An announcement was made as to the availability of the Directory of
Physics and Astronomy Staff from the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Information is available on the APS server:
http://www.aps.org/apsnews/1296/11758.html
The approximate cost is US$80.

16. There has been a change in the GIREP URL since publication of the
September, 1996 Announcer. The new URL is: http://pef.pef.uni-lj.si/~girep/

17. A number of international conferences were announced, including those
received from J. Valadares (Portugal) and CIE member Marcelo Alonso after
the Announcer deadline. Most of these conferences were for September and
October and were held in Germany, Russia, Mexico, Spain and Cuba.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary of completed projects/Status of continuing projects:

Copies of the 1996 Committee Annual Report and the AAPT Executive Board
comments were distributed. Highlights of some accomplishments:
1) The committee data base and e-mail lists have been updated.
2) The mission statement has been updated and is accessible on our website.
3) The Announcer has been publishing our list of international conferences.
4) A list of seven potential plenary speakers of international reputation
has been submitted to the Executive Board. They are listed in the University
of Maryland minutes.
5) Attempts are being made to contact the APS Forum on International Physics
and the European Physical Society, to initiate collaboration on possible
projects common to all groups. The Chair will keep the committee informed
on progress.
6) Our list of international contacts around the world has grown to about
twenty different countries being represented. If anyone knows of an
international colleague who is interested in sharing information about
teaching conferences and programs in their country, please inform the chair.
7) Nominations have been submitted for consideration to serve on the committee
and these have been forwarded to the Nominations Committee.
================================================================
Reports on Denver Sessions:

Gordon Ramsey announced the following upcoming sessions at this meeting.

Poster: Progress in International Physics Teaching. This was combined with
the rest of the posters. There were a number of international contributors,
including some from Canada, Mexico and the Middle East. - G. Ramsey
Inv/Con: (Joint with Instructional Media) From Here to There: Uses of
Instructional Media in Physics Education (Invited Speaker from Germany
Ulrich Harms, educational software developer) - N. Morley and G. Ramsey
Cracker Barrel: Making Connections with International Physics Teachers -
B. Preese
===============================================================
Guest Announcements:

1. Juan Burciaga, Colorado College, announced a workshop on "Teaching Freshman
Physics", held October 24-25, 1997 in Monterrey Mexico. He circulated
information on the meeting.
2. Robert and Richard Fuller announced that the Fuller Fund has been increased.
This fund was established in memory of their father and awards memberships in
AAPT for physics teachers in countries around the world who would otherwise not
be able to afford it. More information is available on the committee website.
They encouraged both members and friends of the committee to submit nominees
at any time to the AAPT secretary.
3. John Fitzgibbons and Harry Manos gave brief accounts of the VI IACPE
conference in Argentina. The committee is sponsoring a session in New Orleans
with highlights from this conference. He also mentioned that a teacher in
Hungary who is doing research about Radon and seeks collaborators in the USA.
Len Jossem will obtain more information about this to present at a future
meeting.
4. Yvette Van Hise announced that the Bauder fund is looking for proposals
which would sponsor international visitors, such as the Stray Cats, to
participate in AAPT meetings.
5. Simon George mentioned that the Indian Association of Physics Teachers
holds annual meetings in October and plans to invite our members for the
1998 meeting. He suggested that we apply for external funding if we are
interested in attending. They are also interested in exchanging ideas on
programs of common interest.
===============================================================
OLD BUSINESS:

The Chair stated that the AAPT Announcer has been listing the international
conferences which we submit for dissemination. These are also posted on the
committee web page. Anyone having information on an international conference
is strongly encouraged to submit this information to him EARLY, so that there
will be time to announce and plan for these conferences.

================================================================
NEW BUSINESS:

1. A request for suggestions regarding sessions to sponsor at future AAPT
meetings was made by the Chair. The following sessions were submitted:

New Orleans, January 3-8, 1998:
Inv/Con: Teaching Physics Around the World: Personal Perspectives - G. Aubrecht
Inv/Con: Report on the 6th Inter-American Conference on Physics Education in
Cordoba, Argentina - H. Manos, R. B. Clark and T. Halpern
Workshop: Logarithmic Park: the scales of dinosaurs. - E. Martinez (Argentina)

University of Nebraska, August, 1998:
Call for papers deadline: January 16, 1998. Abstract deadline: April 3, 1998.
Cracker Barrel: Making Connections with International Physics Teachers -
this would be similar to the Cracker Barrel session in Denver.

Trinity University, San Antonio, August, 1999.
L. Adair suggested that we sponsor a Reception for International visitors at
this meeting, due to its close proximity to Mexico. This would be similar to the
highly successful reception at the University of Maryland meeting, sponsored
by our committee. She also suggested that we should sponsor a session for
papers related to Latin America.

Any suggestions for future meetings should be sent to the Chair for submission
to the AAPT staff.

2. Gordon Ramsey proposed sponsorship of the workshop offered by E. Martinez
on "Logarithmic Park: the scales of dinosaurs" for the New Orleans meeting.
There was strong support for this and it was approved by the committee.
He also suggested that those who recommended plenary speakers, contact them
to see when they will be in the US. Then we can recommend their participation
to the AAPT staff.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
===============================================================
I wish to thank Harry Manos for taking notes, which enabled me to write
these minutes. The accuracy is my responsibility, but the credit for the work
during the meeting goes to Harry.

Submitted by G. Ramsey