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Stopping Time, at Galalher Lecture, University of Mount Union, Alliance, OH, Tuesday, November 7, 2023:
stopping_time_mount_union.pdf

Time is of philosophical interest as well as the subject of mathematical and scientific research. Even though it is a concept familiar to most, the passage of time remains one of the greatest enigmas of the universe. The philosopher Augustine once said: "What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks me, I do not know." The concept time indeed cannot be explained in simple terms. Emotions, life, and death - all are related to our interpretation of the irreversible flow of time. After a discussion of the concept of time, we will review...

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Reflections, at University of Mount Union, Alliance, OH, Tuesday, November 7, 2023:
reflections_mount.pdf
Reflections on my life and career presented to students in introductory science classes.
Metamaterials for extreme optics, at Physics Colloquium, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, Wednesday, November 1, 2023:
boston_college_metamaterials.pdf
Nanotechnology has enabled the development of nanostructured composite materials (metamaterials) with exotic optical properties not found in nature. In the most extreme case, we can create materials which support light waves that propagate with infinite phase velocity, corresponding to a refractive index of zero, and materials where waves stop propagating, yielding extreme localization of light. In this lecture we will (interactively!) explore some of these unusual phenomena.
Advancing the Quality of Physics Teaching using Peer Instruction, at Long Island Physics Teachers' Association Fall Conference, Manhasset High School, Manhasset, NY, Saturday, October 28, 2023:
lipta_talk_archimedes.pdf
To improve learning — and therefore teaching — we need to pay attention to the human, social, cognitive, and aspirational sides of education. A first, key step in the process of improving learning is to shift from teaching by telling to teaching by questioning
Setting Learning Free, at 8th Unitek Learning Annual Academic Conference (online), Friday, September 15, 2023:
setting_learning_free_-_unitek.pdf
Teaching online during the pandemic provided a good opportunity to rethink our approach to teaching in any modality and discover that many activities that have traditionally been synchronous and instructor-paced, can be improved by making them asynchronous and self-paced. Some key points that emerged from the move to online teaching are that giving students more autonomy, emphasizing active learning, and promoting social interactions between students are key to better learning. Finally, recognizing that education is not a conveyor belt where ever student is identical, provides an opportunity... Read more about Setting Learning Free
Setting Learning Free: Lessons from Pandemic Teaching, at EDUCAMP 2023, Thursday, September 14, 2023:
setting_learning_free_-_educamp.pdf.pdf

Teaching online during the pandemic provided a good opportunity to rethink our approach to teaching in any modality and discover that many activities that have traditionally been synchronous and instructor-paced, can be improved by making them asynchronous and self-paced. Some key points that emerged from the move to online teaching are that giving students more autonomy, emphasizing active learning, and promoting social interactions between students are key to better learning. Finally, recognizing that education is not a conveyor belt where ever student is identical, provides an...

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AP50: Lessons from Pandemic Teaching, at LInc Lunch Talk, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, Wednesday, September 13, 2023:
linc_lunch_talk.pdf

Teaching online during the pandemic provided a good opportunity to rethink our approach to teaching in any modality and discover that many activities that have traditionally been synchronous and instructor-paced, can be improved by making them asynchronous and self-paced. Some key points that emerged from the move to online teaching are that giving students more autonomy, emphasizing active learning, and promoting social interactions between students are key to better learning. Finally, recognizing that education is not a conveyor belt where ever student is identical, provides an...

Read more about AP50: Lessons from Pandemic Teaching
Interactive Learning, online and in-person, at IAP Research Symposium on Innovative Leadership, Transforming Higher Education in the Digital Age, Cambridge, MA, Monday, June 19, 2023:
iap_workshop_2023.pdf

Learning is a social experience — it requires interactions and interactivity. The coronavirus pandemic has been a good opportunity to rethink our approach to teaching. Moving some tasks to an online format suggests that many activities that have traditionally been synchronous and instructor-paced, can be made asynchronous and self-paced. I will demonstrate how to move information transfer and sense-making online and make it interactive, promoting social interactions between students. In addition, he will discuss how the use of an online platform can promote intrinsic and...

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Setting Learning Free: Lessons From Online Teaching, at 2023 Ohio PKAL Regional Network Spring Conference at Kenyon College, Gambier, OH, Saturday, May 13, 2023:
setting_learning_free_pkal_original.pdf
The rapid transition to online teaching necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic has been a good opportunity to rethink our approach to teaching in any modality. Moving to an online format suggests that many activities that have traditionally been synchronous and instructor-paced, can be improved by making them asynchronous and self-paced. What may have seemed like a challenge at first, turned out to be a great opportunity to improve the quality of education.

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