introductory physics and thriving undergraduate physics programs
Post on 11-Jan-2016
54 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Introductory Physics and Thriving Undergraduate Physics
Programs
Robert C. Hilborn
Amherst College
Support fromAmerican Association of Physics Teachers,American Physical SocietyAmerican Institute of PhysicsThe ExxonMobil Foundation
National Task Force on Undergraduate Physics
Outline
• Current statistics
• Some history
• Brief survey of recent CBIP efforts
• SPIN-UP and the role of CBIP in physics departments
• Some provocative thoughts
• Discussion
Calculus-Based
Introductory Physics
Bachelor’s Degree Production
Source: AIP Statistical Research Center: Enrollments and Degrees Report, and *NCES Digest of Education Statistics
National Statistics
Facts and Figures 27-28% of high school students take physics.
The % is growing! 50:50 men/women!!
70-75% of high school students go on to 2-year, 4-year colleges and universities.
350,000 students take college/university intro. physics each year (25-30% in 2-year colleges). About 50% of those take CBIP.
Only 3% of those taking calculus-based physics ever take another physics course.
SOURCE: AIP Statistics Division
The Changing Role of Physics
Physics
20th Century 21st Century
Summary of the New Environment
• Changing role for physics in the universe of science
• Changing student population– demographics– preparation– interests
• Changing National Focus– emphasis on K-12
Some history of CBIP via textbooks Curry, Street, and Purcell 1950s
Halliday and Resnick 1960s
The clone era 1960s-1990s and on…
Outliers: Berkeley Series and Feynman Lectures
Recent developments – see Joe Amato, Physics Today, Dec. 1996.
MechanicsThermal PhysicsElectricity/MagnetismWaves
Difficulties:1. Large amount of
material favors recipes and memorization techniques, often without long-term retention.
2. Emphasis on pre-20th Century physics often doesn’t inspire students.
3. Isolated from the rest of physics and other sciences.
4. Students have changed since we were in college.
The Standard Model of Introductory Physics
OpticsRelativityAtomic PhysicsCondensed Matter PhysicsNuclear PhysicsHigh Energy PhysicsChaosYour Favorite Subject Here
General Philosophy for CBIP A thorough and rigorous coverage of a limited number
of topics is more effective than an encyclopedic and show introduction to a wide range of subject matter.
Physics should be taught as a growing subject and the student should be given illustrations of problems on present frontiers.
Senior and experienced staff members should engage in the teaching of introductory physics courses, in the training of teaching assistants, and in experimentation directed at the improved teaching of physics.
•Carleton Report, Am. J. Phys. 25, 417 (1957).
Innovative Delivery
Workshop Physics - P. Laws et al. Interactive Lectures-Peer Instruction - E.
Mazur (Harvard), J. Mestre, W. Gerace (U. Mass.), T. Moore (Pomona),…
Interactive Demos – R. Thornton, D. Sokoloff Studio Physics - J. Wilson (UMass), K.
Cummings (S. Conn) , Cal Poly SLO, U. New Hampshire, …
SCALE-UP – B. Beichner (NCSU), J. Saul (UCF),…
Dynamic Physics - P. Sokol (Penn State)
Innovative Delivery - 2 Overview--Case Study - A. van Heuvelen (Rutgers) “In-line” text exercises, take-home experiments - R.
Chabay and B. Sherwood (NCSU), J. King et al (MIT). Complete PPT and WWW package: G. Gladding,
(Illinois) WWW – JiTT- E. Patterson, G. Novak (Air Force), A.
Gavrin (U. Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis) Tutorials - L. McDermott, P. Heron, J. Redish Context-Rich Problems -Heller (Minn.) Computer-Intensive - R. Fuller (U. Nebraska), W.
Christian (Davidson)
Innovative Ideas: Texts Joe Amato, Physics Today, Dec. 1996. R. Knight, Physics: A Contemporary Perspective (Addison-
Wesley) R. Chabay and B. Sherwood, Matter and Interactions,
(Wiley) Tom Moore, Six-Ideas that Shaped Physics (McGraw-Hill)
IUPP J. Rigden, L. Coleman, J. Barojas, Physics In Context
(IUPP) Relativistic Mechanics first, J. Reichert J. Amato, C. Holbrow, J. Lloyd, Modern Introductory
Physics (Springer) L. McDermott, P. Heron, et al, Physics by Inquiry (Prentice
Hall) Eric Mazur … (Prentice Hall) Cummings, Laws, Redish, Cooney, Understanding
Physics, PER Revised HRW (Wiley) …..
CBIP and Thriving Departments
The role of CBIP in building a “thriving” undergraduate physics program.
Strategic Programs for Innovations in Undergraduate
Physics
Supported by ExxonMobil FoundationAmerican Institute of PhysicsAmerican Association of Physics TeachersAmerican Physical Society
National Task Force
on Undergraduate PhysicsJ. D. Garcia (U. Arizona)
S. James Gates (U. Maryland)
Robert Hilborn (Amherst College), Chair
Ruth Howes (Marquette), Co-Chair
Ken Krane (Oregon State)
Elizabeth McCormack (Bryn Mawr)
Laurie McNeil (U. North Carolina-Chapel Hill)
Jose Mestre (U. Massachusetts)
Tom O’Kuma (Lee College)
Doug Osheroff (Stanford)
Joe Taylor (Princeton)
Carl Wieman (U. Colorado)
Ex Officio:AIP- J. Stith, J. HehnAPS-J. Franz, F. SteinAAPT-B. Khoury, W. HeinPKAL – J. Narum
Site Visits to 21 “thriving” undergraduate physics programs.
Survey (with AIP) all 761 bachelor’s degree granting physics programs in the US (74% response).
Report and Analysis.
See AAPT web site http://www.aapt.org/Projects/ntfup.cfm
Ask your department chair for the report!
Physics Today, September, 2003.
Site Visit Departments• Angelo State University
• University of Arizona
• Bethel College
• Brigham Young University
• Bryn Mawr College
• Colorado School of Mines
• Cal State San Luis Obispo
• Carleton College
• Grove City College
• Harvard University
• University of Illinois
• University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse
•Lawrence University•North Carolina State Univ.•North Park University•Oregon State University•Reed College•Rutgers University•SUNY Geneseo•University of Virginia•Whitman College
Site visit teams employed about 65 physics volunteers.
20 +/- other possibilities
What makes an UPP Thrive?Conclusions from the Task Force Site Visits
Strong and sustained departmental leadership Well-defined sense of mission Recruit and retain students
– Challenging and supportive program– Multiple-tracks/options– Prof. development and mentoring– Introductory courses – Career information - alumni
Emphasis on the entire program of the department, including interactions with other departments
SPIN-UP and CBIP
Most of the site visit departments have experimented with CBIP – mostly pedagogy and not content.
Departmental effort (not just junior faculty or just senior faculty w/o research programs).
CBIP often used as a recruiting tool for physics majors.
Designed to serve the appropriate audience. Department continually works to improve the
course(s).
The Survey: 74% Response Rate Thanks to Ken Krane and Roman Czujko: 60% report “significant” curricular change in the
past several years. Of those 71% report changes in CBIP.
Change Content and Ped.
Content only
Ped. only
Of those reporting change in CBIP
50% 10-20% 30-40%
Some Difficult Questions
• Why haven’t the innovations been widely adopted?
• Why is there resistance to educational change?
Why Don’t Innovations Stick? Innovations are no good? Innovations good, but no documentation of their
success. Assessment is difficult (pace Mike Zeilik and Bob Beichner).
Large upfront investment of resources required. Lack of faculty development and reward. Difficult to make the effort a ‘departmental project’ with
long-term sustained focus. Student resistance.
How to make them stick: G. Gladding and R. Lopez – Sunday.
To be discussed Saturday afternoon.
I was hired to do research. My evaluations are great – of course my
students are learning! “Reform” is just dumbing down the
curriculum. (see quote from Lloyd Taylor, 1938)
The Resistance
Provocative (?) Thoughts The goals of CBIP are often ill-defined, if defined at all.
An improved CBIP by itself will not save your undergraduate physics program.
Energy and enthusiasm and concern count. Details of content and pedagogy are of secondary importance.
One size does not fit all. Local details are important.
A departmental effort is crucial. (The “energetic hero” model does not work in the long run.)
Continuous experimentation and feedback are crucial.
Don’t underestimate the “tyranny of the textbook.” Textbooks do matter, and the net effect is usually negative.
Conference Survey
Please fill out CBIP survey form (one form per department) before the end of the conference.
top related