Event Detail Page
Workshop on the status of the Upper-division Physics Curriculum
June 5, 2014 - June 7, 2014 in Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Oregon State University plans to host a seminal workshop to define the current state of the upper-division physics curriculum, share lessons learned, and evaluate the potential for growth of this emerging field. This workshop will invite a deliberately varied group of participants to take a multi-faceted look at the upper-division. The workshop will be kept small (~50 participants) to encourage interactions and discussion.
Participants will include:
* faculty teaching upper-division courses from diverse institutions;
* curriculum developers;
* textbook authors;
* physics education researchers;
* developers of assessment tools;
* experts in professional development of collegiate faculty;
* experts in adoption issues;
* experts in connections between physics and partner disciplines; especially mathematics;
* representatives of dissemination venues (e.g. ComPADRE);
* representatives of professional societies;
* representatives of funding agencies;
The purpose of this workshop is to make a broad assessment of the current state of curriculum development and education research in physics at the upper-division level. Expert participants will identify desired goals and student learning outcomes for the curriculum as a whole, with particular emphasis on electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, and thermodynamics/statistical mechanics. Common student difficulties will be shared and discussed. The current status of curricular materials and physics education research will be assessed. Barriers to adoption of curriculum reform and opportunities for building community around future work will be explored.
The conference website is at: http://www.compadre.org/supc/
This workshop is primarily by invitation only, but we are reserving several spots for at-large participants, as well as 5 spots for junior participants. The workshop is supported by NSF, supplemented by funding from PERTG for the junior participants. We therefore anticipate being able to support both travel and local expenses for all participants.
If you are interested in participating in this workshop, please apply through the "apply as an at-large participant" link on the conference website.
Please contact either of us if you have questions about the workshop.
Tevian Dray
Corinne Manogue
