PERC 2018 Abstract Detail Page
Previous Page | New Search | Browse All
| Abstract Title: | Justifying the design of pathways into the Living Physics Portal instructor community |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | We are designing and testing ways to build a virtual community around teaching introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS) students through the Living Physics Portal. Our team focuses on designing supports for instructors who are currently peripherally connected to the IPLS community. We illustrate Portal features that could engage community members and enable them to participate more extensively. We justify our design using ideas from existing literature about what enables communities to grow and be sustained, e.g., providing opportunities to develop a sense of belonging, influence community activities, and be recognized for contributions. We show data from a pilot "curriculum swap" working group of newcomers to demonstrate the efficacy of this feature. We find that a series of facilitated synchronous conversations can help people to see themselves as more central participants in a geographically-distributed instructional community and may lead to higher levels of future engagement. This work is supported by NSF #1624478. |
| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
| Session Time: | Poster Session II |
| Poster Number: | B104 |
| Contributed Paper Record: | Contributed Paper Information |
| Contributed Paper Download: | Download Contributed Paper |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Alice Olmstead Western Michigan University and University of Maryland, College Park |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
Chandra Turpen, University of Maryland, College Park; Edward F. Redish, University of Maryland, College Park; Sarah McKagan, American Association of Physics Teachers; Adrian Madsen, American Association of Physics Teachers |
