Faculty Teaching Institute, November 2023

Events » November 2023 FTI

Faculty Teaching Institute, November 2023

November 2 - November 5, 2023

Denver, CO

Overview
Agenda
Hotel & Travel
Materials
Participants
Leaders

Registration for the November 2023 FTI in Denver, CO, has closed.

The FTI: Physics and Astronomy Faculty Teaching Institute is our flagship workshop program and is dedicated to developing faculty members' teaching practice. The next FTI will be held us in beautiful Denver, CO from November 2-5, 2023. Registration closes October 10, 2023.

This 4-day immersive workshop will dig deep into the how and why of helping students learn physics and astronomy, so you can build the type of teaching practice that you want. In the workshop we will cover things such as:

Managing your role as a new faculty member
Principles of effective teaching and learning
Equity, diversity, and inclusion in the classroom
How to help students learn through presentation, small group work, whole class discussion, reading, simulations, demonstrations, think-pair-share, and more.
How to assess students compassionately, to support their learning
Managing challenging teaching situations
Creating a teaching action plan

Workshop Schedule

Thursday, November 2: 7:30am-7:30pm
Friday, November 3: 7:30am-5:55pm
Saturday, November 4: 7:30am-5:50pm
Sunday, November 5: 7:00am-12:50pm

The workshop schedule is as follows: We will have a working breakfast at 7:30am from Thursday to Saturday, and at 7:00am on Sunday. After breakfast, the first session will begin at 8:30am from Thursday to Saturday, and at 8:00am on Sunday. Click here to view the full working schedule.

Registration

The cost of registration is $500. Hotel room costs and several meals will be paid directly by our National Science Foundation grant. Click here for details about the expenses that are covered by the registration fee.

Please complete the registration as soon as possible, but certainly before October 3, 2023.

Financial Support Available

The National Science Foundation grant provides some registration, caregiver, and travel subsidies for participants from departments with severe financial constraints, with preference given to participants from minority-serving institutions if applications exceed the available funds. For more information and to apply for this support, please email PI Bob Hilborn at r hilborn at aapt dot org. The email address has been obscured to make harvesting more difficult. Please remove spaces and replace "at" with @.

Post-Workshop Engagement

Learn more about the FTI Faculty Online Learning Community (FOLC) and additional opportunities to remain engaged with a vibrant community of faculty interested in teaching and learning.

Click here for more reasons to attend the FTI.

WORKING SCHEDULE

All meals and sessions will take place in the Capitol Peak A Ballroom unless otherwise noted.

WIFI INFO

Network: Hyatt Meetings
Password: AAPT2023

Day 1: Thursday, November 2
Time	Session(s)
07:00 - 08:30	Badge pickup
07:30 - 08:30	Working Breakfast
08:30 - 10:00	Welcome to the FTI! (Prather, Scherr, Hilborn, Bagger)
10:00 - 10:15	Stretch break (15 min)
10:15 - 11:15	Your career: Imagining your role (Stetzer, Scherr) 5-minute break
11:20 - 12:35	Considering your identity and belonging (Scherr, Hairston)
12:35 - 01:35	Working Lunch
01:35 - 03:05	Experiencing the active class, principles of teaching and learning (Prather, Boudreaux)
03:05 - 03:35	Snack break (30 min)
03:35 - 04:35	Foundations: Lesson design (Wallace, Prather) 5-minute break
04:40 - 05:40	End-of-day discussion and planning: Pods, Q&A, action planning
05:40 - 05:50	Welcome from Societies & Group Photo
05:50 - 06:30	Unscheduled time
06:30 - 07:30	FTI Hosted Dinner

Day 2: Friday, November 3
07:30 - 08:30	Working Breakfast
08:30 - 08:45	Welcome to day 2! (Boudreaux, Prather)
08:45 - 09:00	PhysPort can help! (Scherr, Boudreaux)
09:00 - 09:30	Teaching: Information delivery and independent work (Stetzer, Prather) 5-minute break.
09:35 - 10:20	Teaching: Whole class discussions (Boudreaux, Prather)
10:20 - 10:35	Stretch break (15 min)
10:35 - 11:35	Teaching: Think-pair-share (Stetzer, Prather)
11:35 - 11:50	Stretch break (15 min)
11:50 - 12:35	Teaching: Quantitative and collaborative problem solving (Wallace, Prather)
12:35 - 01:35	Working Lunch
01:35 - 02:05	Teaching: Simulations, demonstrations, and visualizations (Scherr, Stetzer)
02:05 - 03:05	Formative assessment (Boudreaux, Prather)
03:05 - 03:20	Snack break (15 min)
03:20 - 03:50	Improving your teaching I: Teaching reflection (Scherr, Wallace) 5-minute break
03:55 - 04:40	Improving your teaching II: Post-workshop engagement with the FTI (Rundquist) 5-minute break
04:45 - 05:55	End-of-day discussion and planning: Pods, Q&A, action planning, and “midterm” feedback: Stop start continue
05:55 - 06:30	Unscheduled time
06:30 - 08:00	Dinner on your own
08:00 - 09:00	FTI lounge (optional) Location: Fireside \| The Bar, located on the lobby level of the hotel Come get a drink of your choice and chat with presenters and other participants

Day 3: Saturday, November 4
Time	Session(s)
07:30 - 08:30	Working Breakfast
08:30 - 08:50	Welcome to day 3! (Stetzer, Scherr)
08:50 - 10:10	Teaching: Collaborative learning with worksheets (Scherr, Stetzer)
10:10 - 10:25	Stretch break (15 min)
10:25 - 11:25	Teaching: Common questions and sticky situations about group work (Prather, Stetzer) 5-minute break
11:30 - 12:30	First day & student engagement (Boudreaux, Stetzer)
12:30 - 01:30	Working Lunch
01:30 - 02:30	Teaching inclusively (Scherr, Hairston) 5-minute break
2:35 - 3:35	Summative assessment (Wallace, Prather)
03:35 - 04:05	Snack break (30 min)
04:05 - 04:35	Teaching: Labs (Scherr, Stetzer)
04:35 - 05:50	End-of-day discussion and planning: Pods, Q&A, action planning, and individual action planning session #1
05:50 - 06:30	Unscheduled time
06:30 - 08:00	Dinner on your own
08:00 - 09:00	Tenure and promotion discussion (optional)

Day 4: Sunday, November 5
Time	Session(s)
07:00 - 09:00	Working Breakfast
08:00 - 08:55	NSF plenary discussion with Program Officers Eleanor Sayre and Kathleen McCloud (optional) 5-minute break
09:00 - 09:15	Welcome to the final day of the FTI! (Wallace, Scherr)
09:15 - 10:15	Your career: Doing your role well (Stetzer, Scherr)
10:15 - 10:25	Break (10 min)
10:25 - 10:55	Bringing it all together: Course, unit, and lesson design (Wallace, Prather)
10:55 - 11:40	Individual action planning session #2 (Prather, Boudreaux)
11:40 - 11:50	Snack break (10 min)
11:50 - 12:35	Collective action planning session (Scherr, Boudreaux)
12:35 - 12:50	Final words (Prather)

Health and Safety Protocol for the November FTI

COVID vaccination is strongly recommended.
Masks are also recommended, though optional.
If you feel sick before the meeting, please stay home for everyone's safety.
A limited number of COVID self-test kits will be available upon request at the registration desk.
In the event of a positive test during the meeting, please isolate in your guest room and promptly inform programs at aapt dot org for assistance. The email address has been obscured to make harvesting more difficult. Please remove spaces and replace "at" with @.

Hotel Logistics + Participant Meals

Grand Hyatt Denver
Address: 1750 Welton St, Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 295-1234

Please note that the hotel guest rooms and the meeting space are not under the same roof. Participants will walk outside about 30 - 50 ft, which is covered, to go to the meeting space on the 38th floor, also known as the Pinnacle Club. Click here to see how to get to the meeting space.

Your hotel room, along with all breakfast and lunch expenses, will be paid directly by our National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. We will make hotel reservations for you. Please do not make your own hotel reservations.

Room reservations will be made for you at the Grand Hyatt Denver, 1750 Welton St, Denver, CO. Your room expenses (except for incidentals) will be paid directly by our NSF grant. The reservations will be for a Wednesday, November 1 arrival and a Sunday, November 5 departure unless you have specifically arranged for other dates.

Those of you who need alternative arrival and departure dates should email programs at aapt dot org for assistance. The email address has been obscured to make harvesting more difficult. Please remove spaces and replace "at" with @.

Travel from the airport to the hotel

Denver International Airport (DIA) is the most convenient airport for travelers. To reach the hotel, you can opt for taxis, Uber, Lyft, or the Denver Airport Rail.
The free MallRide Shuttle goes from Union Station (light rail stop) to within a few blocks of the hotel. The buses go about every 5 minutes and there is no fare charge.
The A Line rail service provided by Regional Transportation District (RTD) runs from Denver International Airport to LoDo's (lower downtown) Union Station and back. The Denver airport rail has six stops and takes approximately 37 minutes. The cost for a one-way trip is $10.50. However, keep in mind that the Union Station is approximately one mile away from the Grand Hyatt. If you choose to take the Denver Airport Rail, you might have to walk the remainder of the way to the hotel (possibly in the snow) or you may choose to order an Uber/Lyft or taxi to the hotel.

Parking

For those driving to the hotel, the Grand Hyatt has valet and self-parking options.

Overnight:

Valet - $59
Self - $45

Daily:

Valet - $30
Self - $20

Note About Altitude

Denver is known as the Mile High City due to its elevation, but many visitors may not even be aware of the altitude difference. However, the air is significantly thinner and drier than in most other cities. Here are some useful tips to ensure that you remain happy and healthy during your stay in Denver:

Drink plenty of water. This is the most effective way to help your body adjust to the higher altitude, both before your trip and while you are here. In fact, you should aim to drink twice as much water as you would normally consume at home.
Dress in layers. Check the weather forecast a couple of days before your trip to Denver to pack appropriately.

Packing List

Please come prepared with a device that you can easily type on (e.g., laptop or tablet with keyboard). There will also be a binder and other materials that you may want to account for when determining the size of your luggage. Finally, casual dress will be appropriate for the FTI. Meeting rooms may be a bit cool, so you may wish to bring a light sweater or equivalent.