The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), Central Pennsylvania Section will hold its spring workshop at Penn State Schuylkill on Friday, March 11. This workshop will be a sharing of methods and ideas for physics or physical science teachers of all experience levels. It will focus on how we can use the idea of an engineering project to learn basic physics concepts.
The workshop will open with a keynote address by Judge John E. Jones III, United States district justice of the Middle District of Pennsylvania. In 2005, Jones presided over the landmark case of Kitzmiller v. Dover School District, after which he held that it was unconstitutional to teach intelligent design within a public school science curriculum in what has come to be known as the Dover Decision.
Jones will present "From Scopes to Kitzmiller: The Legal Battle Regarding Teaching Evolution in Public Schools." His talk will trace the legal cases starting with the Scopes trial in Tennessee up to today, including Kitzmiller, and highlight the reasons for the jurisprudential progression. His presentation also will highlight matters related to the Supreme Court and the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment.