9th InterAmerican Conference on Physics Education

IX InterAmerican Conference
on Physics Education

OBJECTIVES

THEMES AND WORKING GROUPS

LECTURES

SPONSORS

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

REGISTRATION AND LODGING

INFORMATION

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTRIBUTORS

SPANISH / PORTUGUESE

The Conference will be held in San José, Costa Rica, 3-7 July 2006.

New discoveries are made daily, appearing and taking their place without seeking our approval or even consulting us: they simply arrive, bringing with them the need to adapt these new discoveries to new applications. Some surprising features in the development of the human being have come from the field of physics. This science, fulfilling its humanistic mission, offers fundamental knowledge about the universe in which humanity finds itself. In any event, the transmission of knowledge through physics brings many benefits to human progress, offering a collection of tools that permit us to solve a broad range of problems, leading to a better quality of life for all. The principal aim of this Ninth InterAmerican Conference on Physics Education is to contribute to the improvement of education by sharing the innovations and research undertaken in physics pedagogy to the community of teachers and education researchers in the experimental sciences.

How do we master this knowledge, or rather, how do we find that knowledge we need, and also, how do we create the knowledge that we need? Through education, but a particular sort of education. An education that not only provides certain facts but also provides mechanisms through which persons, despite countervailing conditions, can develop with a critical and responsible spirit, an education that, in the midst of the glut of available information, provides what is essential for making sense in our lives of the world around us.

Conference Objectives:

To present, to discuss and to publish new ideas to improve the education of the physics at all different levels of education, as well as to prepare teachers of physics.
These conferences occur every three years in a different country. They are coordinated by a permanent Inter-American Council (known in Spanish acronym as CIACIAEF)

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Sponsors

The InterAmerican Council on Physics Education (IACPE), or CIAEF in Spanish and Portuguese, in coordination with both the Physics Department (Escuela de Física) and the School of Teacher Training of the University of Costa Rica, the Physics Department of the Universidad Nacional, the Department of Sciences of the State University for Distance Learning and the Ministry of Science and Technology, invite you to the 9th InterAmerican Conference on Physics Education to be held in San José, Costa Rica, July 3-7, 2006. (The conference will be held at the University of Costa Rica, in San Pedro, suburb of San José.) The conference is promoted by the International Commission on Physics Education (ICPE), one of the commissions of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and is sponsored by it.

The conference is also supported by the American Physical Society (APS), the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), by UNESCO, CLAF, OAS, the Costa Rican College of Physicists, by the Costa Rican Ministry of Science and Technology and by the Costa Rican Academy of Sciences.

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Themes and Working Groups

1. The preparation of physics teachers
2. Teaching physics to professionals in related fields
3. The relation between physics, other sciences, technology and society in the teaching of physics
4. Informal physics learning and the use of appropriate techniques and technology
5. Physics Olympiads: national, Ibero-American, and international
6. Physics instruction at non-university levels
7. Research on the pedagogy of physics and science in the classroom
8. The use of teaching laboratories at intermediate and upper levels
9. Celebrations of the World Year of Physics.

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Lecturers

Alberto J. Cañas, Institute for Human & Machine Cognition, USA-Costa Rica.
Franklin Chang Díaz. NASA. Costa Rica - USA
Joaquín Martínez. Universitat d'Alacant, Torregrosa, Spain.
Modesto Thames: Exploratorium, San Francisco, USA
Marco Antonio Moreira, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Rodolfo Gambini: President of the Program for Developing the Basic Sciences at the Universidad de la Republic of Uruguay.
Héctor Riveros: National University of Mexico.

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InterAmerican Council on Physics Education

The local executive committee of IACPE for organizing this conference consists of: Leda Roldán (Organizer of the IX IACPE and Vice President of the InterAmerican Council on Physics Education), Universidad de Costa Rica; Amadeo Sosa (President of the InterAmerican Council on Physics Education); Gordon Aubrecht, (Executive Secretay of the InterAmerican Council on Physics Education, Ohio State University, United States; Marco A. Moreira (Organizer of the VII IACPE), Universidad Federal de Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Alberto Maiztegui (Organizer of the VI IACPE), Academy of Sciences, Argentina; Maite Andre (Past President of the InterAmerican Council), Pedagogical Institute of Caracas, Venezuela.

Local Organizing Committee

The local executive committee of IACPE for organizing this conference consists of: Leda Roldán of the Universidad de Costa Rica, Fernando Ureña of the State University for Distance Learning, Evelio Hernández of the National University, Leticia Durán of the Ministry for Science and Technology, and Walter Fernández, President of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Registration

Registration costs for Participants: US$ 150 (Includes: conference materials, certificates, refreshments, social activities, and programmed lunches). Participants registering after March 1, 2006 must pay US$ 180. Payment will be made in Costa Rica according to the Conference program, but you must send your registration application in accordance with the registration instructions.
Registration: Send electronically before March 1, 2006 to the following address: lroldan@ice.co.cr. This registration information must include: name and surname, home address, country, telephone, fax, e-mail, institution to which you belong, and whether you wish to present any work. You should indicate whether you wish to make an oral presentation or present a poster. If you do, you must include the title of the proposed contribution.

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Hotels and lodging

Lodging arrangements are being handled through the Galaxy Tours Agency. Telephone: (506) 257-7797 Fax: 223-1216 E-MAIL: galaxy@ice.co.cr or Gabriela Morales at gmorales@viajesgalaxy.com.

Here we list only the most basic information. The Agency can be contacted to make a reservation, to purchase tickets inside Costa Rica, or to arrange for other activities either before or after the conference.

Price per person

Hotel
Single Occupancy
Double Occupancy
Bird of Paradise*
San Pedro
(includes breakfast)
$322
$205
D´Galah*
San Pedro
(does not include breakfast)
$406
$244
Balmoral
San José central
(includes breakfast)
$490
$250
*Space limited in these hotels.
Price includes:

Transfers airport – hotel – airport
6 nights’ lodging in the hotel you choose
All hotel taxes

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Optional tours

Also contact Galaxy Tours for more information about these excursions.

TOUR DETAILS

	Price	B	L	D	E1	E2	BT
Adventure Combo Tour (Rafting and Canopy)	$95	-	x	-	x	-	x
Arenal Volcano & Hot Springs	$80	-	x	x	x	-	-
Canopy tour San Lorenzo	$77	-	x	-	x	-	-
The Best of the Pacific	$85	-	x	-	x	-	x
Carara National Park & Beach Resort (Saturday)	$80	x	x	-	x	-	-
City Tour of San José	$26	-	-	-	x	x	-
Irazú / Orosí Valley / Lankester Gardens	$58	-	x	-	x	x	-
Irazú Volcano	$36	-	-	-	x	-	-
Orosí Valley / Lankester Gardens	$43	-	x	-	x	-	-
Poás Volcano	$36	-	-	-	x	-	-
Poás Volcano / Grecia / Sarchí	$46	-	-	-	x	-	-
Poás Volcano / Grecia / Sarchí	$56	-	x	-	x	-	-
Poás Volcano & Peace Waterfall Gardens	$70	-	x	-	x	x	-
Grecia / Sarchí oxcart factories and stores	$29	-	-	-	-	-	-
4 IN ONE (Poás Volcano, Peace Waterfall, Old Port, Rio Sarapiquí)	$79	x	x	-	x	x	x
Monteverde One Day (min 4 persons)	$125	x	x	-	x	-	-
Old Town Show Day (Friday and Saturday)	$45	-	-	x	x	-	-
Moon Ram (typical Night – Wednesday)	$49	-	-	x	x	-	-
Cable Railway (Aerial Tram)	$84	-	x	-	x	-	-
W. W. Rafting class III Sarapiquí	$75	x	x	-	-	-	x
W. W. Rafting class IV Christmas / Pacuare	$95	x	x	-	-	-	x
Tortuguero One Day	$75	x	x	-	-	-	x
Pacuare, 2 days and 1 night (double occupancy with meals)	$259	-	-	-	-	-	-

Persons interested in attending must register. Those who wish to submit a poster or oral presentation must send an abstract in English, Spanish, or Portuguese before March 1, 2006 by e-mail to lroldan@racsa.co.cr. Participants will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of their work by March 15, 2006. All decisions of the panel are final.
Oral communications will consist of 15 minutes of presentation with 5 minutes for questions. Posters will have a total area of 0.80 m x 1 m height. Articles appropriate for oral communication will be selected by the organizing committee, which will inform the participants of the status of their work. If changes are required, the author will have 15 days to make the necessary changes. Accepted articles must be submitted in the same manner as the abstract, before April 1, 2006. Articles received after this date will not be published. All decisions to accept, reject, or require changes by the panel are final.