Session GP1 - Poster Session IV.
POSTER session, Tuesday afternoon, October 30
Exhibit Hall B,
Faculty and student members of the Los Angeles Physics Teachers Alliance Group (LAPTAG) have constructed a plasma machine on the ULCA. Dr. Gekelman, the faculty advisor, provides information and materials on plasma physics via the Web and lectures to high school faculty and students. Faculty members then transfer the information to students at their respective schools and schedule time for experiments on the machine. A lab manual and curricular materials suitable for high school students is being developed using a lab based, discovery approach. The manual is available as a pdf document on the LAPTAG website (http://coke.physics.ucla.edu/laptag/plasma_exp.dir/laptag_plasma.htm). Introducing plasma physics into the high school curriculum provides a 20th century application of classical physics concepts that support and motivate student interest in physics. Students from LAPTAG schools use state-of-the-art computers, software, and equipment to perform developed labs and to design experiments of their own. Collaboration exists between students and faculty from different schools and the university. Learning physics concepts takes place in the context of a "science community" that realistically demonstrates the scientific process to students.