Van Nuys : Physics Professors to Meet at Valley College
Physics professors from two-year colleges across the Southland will meet Friday at Valley College in an effort to increase motivation and communication among their ranks.
The meeting is part of the American Assn. of Physics Teachers’ program called “Two-Year Colleges in the 21st Century: Breaking Down Barriers.”
The program seeks to increase contact among physics faculty at two-year institutions while allowing them to “pick each other’s brains a little bit” by sharing curriculum models and teaching strategies, Valley College physics professor Myron Mann said.
Being one of perhaps two or three physics teachers at a community college is “a little isolating” because two-year instructors are hidden from the community at large and the greater physics cohort, Mann said.
“You work alone, but you teach half of the introductory physics classes at community colleges,” Mann added.
A four-year, $1.18-million grant from the National Science Foundation bankrolls the program.
About 20 professors from schools between San Diego and Ventura are expected to attend the meeting, which runs between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at Valley College, 5800 Fulton Ave., Van Nuys.
For more information, call the Valley College Earth science department at (818) 781-1200, Ext. 329.
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