Alliance for Physics EXcellence (APEX)

卓越物理联盟（APEX）项目由亚拉巴马农业和机械大学（AAMU）领导，核心合作伙伴包括位于塔斯卡卢萨的亚拉巴马大学（UA-T）、德雷克州立技术学院、美国物理教师协会/物理教学资源代理商和亨茨维尔市学校系统。该合作伙伴关系还包括来自11个亚拉巴马数学科学和技术倡议（AMSTI）区域在职中心，麦迪逊县学校，斯科茨伯勒市学校，麦迪逊市学校和亚拉巴马州教育部的支持合作伙伴。APEX的愿景是通过改变整个亚拉巴马的中学物理教育，促进学生学习的重大收获。APEX是作为一个全面的变革代理人，成功地将尖端的教学实践整合到中学物理课程中，它直接影响到整个亚拉巴马学校系统25%的物理教师（41，000名学生）。该项目的总体目标是转变职前和在职物理教师的工作，因为他们获得了更深层次的物理知识，并采用基于物理教育研究的有效教学策略。这些教师继续将这些知识应用于他们自己的课堂“行动研究”，这是鼓励教师在课堂上进行实验的催化剂，同时也鼓励与物理教学同事分享这些发现。APEX建立在三个组成部分之上，每个组成部分都有自己的与总体项目目标相关的目标子集。第一个组成部分是一个教师培训物理教育中心，其目标是：（1）增加高素质在职教师的数量和代表性不足的少数民族职前教师的数量;（2）增加内容知识、教学法和教学技术知识和技能的深度和广度;（3）促进AAMU和UA-T的本科物理教师教育计划的发展;（4）实施网络基础设施资源库，以分享和传播最佳教学实践和经验教训;以及（5）通过亚拉巴马科学运动计划向学校分发实验室设备。第二个组成部分建立在物理教学研究计划，以促进和指导行动研究在课堂上，从而提高这些亚拉巴马教室循证最佳实践。第三个组成部分是物理领导力发展倡议，与政策制定者和管理人员合作，鼓励他们广泛支持物理教师和项目。APEX的最佳实践、经验教训和研究成果正在物理教育期刊上传播，并在地区和国家STEM教育会议上发表。

The Alliance for Physics Excellence (APEX) project is led by Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU) and includes as core partners the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (UA-T), Drake State Technical College, the American Association of Physics Teachers/Physics Teaching Resource Agents, and the Huntsville City School system. The partnership also includes supporting partners from the 11 Alabama Math Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) regional in-service centers, Madison County Schools, Scottsboro City Schools, Madison City Schools, and the Alabama State Department of Education. The vision of APEX is to promote significant gains in student learning by transforming secondary physics education throughout Alabama. APEX is serving as a comprehensive agent of change by successfully integrating cutting edge teaching practices within secondary physics programs, and it is directly impacting 25% of the physics teachers (with 41,000 students) throughout all Alabama school systems. The overarching goal of this project is transformation of the work of pre-service and in-service physics teachers as they gain a deeper content knowledge of physics and also employ effective pedagogical strategies based on physics education research. These teachers go on to apply that knowledge within their own classroom "action research," and this serves as a catalyst to encourage teacher experimentation within their classes - while also encouraging the sharing of these findings with physics teaching colleagues. APEX builds on three components, each with its own subset of goals relating to the overarching project goal. The first component is a physics education center for teacher training that works toward: (1) increasing the quantity of highly qualified in-service teachers and the number of underrepresented minority pre-service teachers; (2) increasing the depth and breadth of content knowledge, pedagogy, and instructional technology knowledge and skills; (3) promoting the development of the undergraduate physics teacher education programs at AAMU and UA-T; (4) implementing a cyber infrastructure resource repository for sharing and disseminating best teaching practices and lessons learned; and (5) distributing laboratory equipment to schools via the Alabama Science in Motion program. A second component builds on a physics teaching research program to promote and guide action research in the classroom, thus enhancing evidence-based best practices in these Alabama classrooms. The third component is a physics leadership development initiative that works with policy makers and administrators to encourage their broad support of physics teachers and programs. APEX's best practices, lessons learned, and research findings are being disseminated in journals of physics education, as well as being presentated at regional and national STEM education conferences.