The Summer Physics Institute for physics teachers has been held annually in July since 1988. This event is an intensive, one-week residential program for physics teachers from Maine and other New England states. It is intended for the master teacher, for teachers in the formative years of their careers, and for teachers who are trained in one discipline but are compelled to teach physics back home.
The genesis for the first annual physics Institute was an outreach program following a four-week Institute underwritten by the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation and held in July 1987 at Princeton University, Princeton NJ. Of the 50 teachers assembled for this program from 27 states, four were from Maine. The primary mission of the Institute was cause participants to develop new innovative teaching techniques to take home to share with other teachers in their own districts.
The first two programs in 1988 and 89 were held at the University of Maine. Beginning in 1990 and every summer thereafter, the Institute has been held at Bates College in Lewiston Maine. Original members of the group planning these programs were: Ann Billings, Tom Ford, and Earl Coombs. Other members of the faculty have included Norm Dodge and Jim Gibson. Current staff includes Steve D' Angelis , physics teacher at Maranacook Community School; Ralph Newell, physics teacher at South Portland High School., Earl Coombs, Professor of Physics at Kennebec Valley Community College. I serve as Institute Director
The agenda for this program
can be viewed by clicking here.
Any questions or comments about this summer's program should be
directed to me at my e-mail address posted below