2019 Medal Winners | francais

The 2019 CAP Award for Excellence in Teaching High School/CEGEP Physics (Prairies and Northwest Territories)

is awarded to

Brad Langdale

"I am so excited to accept the CAP High School/CEGEP Physics Teaching Award. I feel very lucky that I can make a living out of telling people about physics, that I can share my passion for science with others, and recognition for doing so is just icing on the cake." winner citation

The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that the 2019 CAP Award for Excellence in Teaching High School/CEGEP Physics (Prairies and Northwest Territories) is awarded to Brad Langdale, Spruce Grove Composite High School, in recognition of for his dedication to student achievement and for his extensive mentoring and professional development of teachers throughout the province. announcement

Brad Langdale has spent the past fourteen years making the study of physics more accessible to students as well as teachers in the Province of Alberta. In his classroom, students are encouraged to get up out of their seats and “do physics” by building, testing and analyzing everything from table-top trebuchets to water-rockets to floating buckets. Students discover physics isn’t a subject to be afraid or, even worse, board of, but a vivid and colourful story of the world around us, like a fairy tale but with more numbers and units.

His zest for teaching overflows to the larger educational community, where he is a frequent speaker at provincial Teachers’ Conventions and Specialist Conferences, creates educational YouTube videos on a number of topics and works with teachers on formative and summative assessment in Alberta. He mentors new teachers to the profession and endeavors for others to catch the same passion he himself has for his subject area. As one student put it:

“Being in Mr. Langdale’s class for all three years of my high school career has been a true gift. As a student that wishes to pursue science in post-secondary Mr. Langdale has helped me build confidence in myself and my academic abilities. Mr. Langdale is the kind of teacher that has true faith in his students and he gives his students the encouragement they need to reach their full potential. Without all of Mr. Langdale’s help over the past three years I don’t know how I would be able to be prepared to go onto post-secondary with confidence and excitement.” nominator citation

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