PERC 2020 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | Evaluation of Innovative Reforms in Upper Division Physics Courses |
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| Abstract: | Based on the successful reforms of introductory physics courses by Physics Education Researchers (PERers), physics educators and education researchers are now interested in making similar reforms to their upper-division courses. Unlike prior reform efforts in introductory physics courses, driving these reforms are the needs of the Department and not necessarily individual research interests. Many of these upper level reforms occur outside the direction of PERers and thus may not have robust evaluation plans. This does not mean that these innovations are not working, but rather that different evaluation methods must become available. In this session, the four speakers will discuss their innovations to upper-level physics courses and the methods that they have undertaken to evaluate the success of their innovations. |
| Abstract Type: | Talk Symposium |
| Session Time: | Parallel Sessions Cluster II |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Rebecca Lindell Tiliadal STEM Education: Solutions for Higher Education Lafayette, IN 47901 Phone: 7654305688 |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
N/A |
Symposium Specific Information | |
| Moderator: | Rebecca Lindell |
| Presentation 1 Title: | Skill Development in Physics Labs Beyond the First Year |
| Presentation 1 Authors: | Joseph F Kozminski Professor of Physics Chair, Department of Physics Lewis University |
| Presentation 1 Abstract: | The recent AAPT recommendations on the laboratory curriculum and on computational physics, as well as the Phys 21 report from the APS and AAPT Joint Task Force on Undergraduate Physics Programs, encourage physics programs to prepare students for a range of opportunities after graduation through a curriculum that develops and reinforces of a set of transferrable skills and knowledge. The laboratory is an ideal venue for developing many of the skills discussed in these documents, including design, technical, analytical, and communication skills. This talk will address innovative ways to implement these recommendations throughout the upper level laboratory curriculum, examples of revised curricula from Lewis University and other institutions, methods of evaluating skill development in the lab, and opportunities for developing new assessments. |
| Presentation 2 Title: | Introducing Computational Physics Across the Curriculum |
| Presentation 2 Authors: | A.Gavrin, Gautam Vemuri, and Yogesh Joglekar Department of Physics Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis |
| Presentation 2 Abstract: | Our department has undertaken a multi-year effort to make computational methods central to our physics curriculum. Our students should graduate with the attitude that computational approaches are a normal part of physics, used every day, and for a multitude of tasks. To accomplish this, our current objective is to make 25% of all work done by students in our upper division courses computational. This talk will begin with an overview of the history and change process of this initiative. What lead us to this decision, and how we have chosen to implement it as a department. It will then present an instrument developed in-house to measure students' attitudes and self-efficacy with respect to computation. This discussion will include both the process by which the instrument was developed, and what we have learned from the first few semesters of data. IUPUI is an urban public institution graduating 10-15 majors each year. |
| Presentation 3 Title: | Team-based Learning in Upper-Level Physics Courses: A Qualitative Case Study |
| Presentation 3 Authors: | Michele McColgan Department of Physics and Astronomy Sienna College Loudonville, NY |
| Presentation 3 Abstract: | Developed by Larry Michaelson, a management professor at the University of Oklahoma, Team-based learning (TBL) details a pedagogical approach designed to improve learning outcomes, increase student engagement, and create a sense of community. Unlike group-work used in other fields this approach explicitly has several key elements: teams of 5-7 students stay together for the entire semester, teams participate in a Readiness Assurance Process and in-class team activities, individual team members evaluate their members' contributions, and course grade weighting includes team components. After attending a workshop led by the Council on Teaching and Learning in 2017, four professors at Siena College in upstate NY began incorporating this pedagogy into their physics courses at all levels. In this talk, I will describe team-based learning in upper-level physics classrooms at Siena College. To evaluate this innovation, we are conducting a series of qualitative case studies of student experience of team-based learning in our upper-division physics courses. The implementation of team-based learning in physics courses and a preliminary report of the qualitative analysis will be described. |
| Presentation 4 Title: | Modernizing Upper-Division Mechanics: Preparing Students for a Complex World |
| Presentation 4 Authors: | David D. Nolte Edward M. Purcell Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy Purdue University West Lafayette, IN 47907 |
| Presentation 4 Abstract: | Given the growing importance of dynamical systems in science and technology, it is important to give students an up-to-date foundation for their future careers, embedding topics of modern dynamics--chaos, synchronization, network theory, neural networks, evolutionary change, econophysics and general relativity--within the context of traditional physics founded on Lagrangian and Hamiltonian physics. The goal of this approach is to modernize the teaching of junior-level dynamics, responsive to a changing society, while retaining the core traditions and common language of dynamics texts. The modern perspective is based on geometric aspects of dynamics and state space, providing a unifying context and environment for learning. The class and textbook using this approach has been pursued for the last 5 years at Purdue University, providing case studies in student reception of this method. |
