The Michigan Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers is dedicated to promoting excellence in physics education in the state of Michigan and to supporting physics educators statewide.

This organization shall endeavor to advance the knowledge of physics; to improve the teaching of physics; and to interest an increasing number of young people in making a career of physics. If you're interested please sign up to receive our emails.



The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many unprecedented challenges. From moving our instruction online, to mailing lab materials to students and the loss of regular contact with colleagues – all adaptations have led to a rapid re-invention of our teaching practices. The challenges of performing the essential work of physics teaching in this new format makes the collaboration facilitated by MIAAPT essential. 

If you have not yet registered for the AAPT National Virtual Summer Meeting (July 19-22), please consider doing so. This will be a unique professional opportunity with a focus on adapting our instructional practice. You can find more information at https://www.aapt.org/Conferences/SM2020/index.cfm 

The pandemic has also caused the MIAAPT board to re-imagine our programming for the 2020-21 academic year. We will be moving our meetings to a virtual format. While the delivery will be different, we will continue to stay true to our mission of connecting physics teachers across the state of Michigan. During the upcoming academic year, we plan to hold two primary activities.  

  1. MIAAPT Monthly Coffee Hours:  These virtual sessions will consist of discussing teaching practices, collaborating on lesson workshops and presenting new developments in the field of Physics Education Research (PER). The sessions will have a monthly theme and will be approximately an hour in length. 

  2. Online discussion channel via SLACK:  This discussion board will connect physics teachers across the state for sharing of resources and discussions in real time. We hope these discussions will empower educators to learn from one another and help provide some direction as we navigate the uncertainties of the upcoming school year. 

    Link to join the MIAAPT SLACK Workspace: 
    https://join.slack.com/t/miaapt/shared_invite/zt-ff99qgle-hGwVmIqsjHLi1vZQduN9Zg 

I encourage you to reach out to me if you have suggestions about coffee hour discussion topics or other programming ideas. Also, a reminder, we are still looking for a person to serve as the Second Vice President for ‘20-21. Per our bylaws this person should be a teacher at a two-year college. If you are interested in learning more about this role, please contact  our president, Nita Kedharnath (nitaked@umich.edu). 

The entire MIAAPT board thanks you for your support of this amazing organization. Together we will grow as educators, continue our critical work, and collectively navigate the changes ahead.  

Best regards, 
Robert Tarchinski 
MIAAPT First Vice President 


Pictures from the Spring 2016 Meeting at Cranbrook