Innovations in physics teaching and the physics major
The roster of "Nontraditional Physics Teaching Strategies," referenced on page 5 of our Fall 1996 issue, has now become so extensive that the past summer's meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers on 13-16 August 1997 at the University of Denver merited a session exclusively devoted to them. Past President of the Association Robert Hilborn (of Amherst College) began the session by listing what he called "Innovative Delivery Developments": Priscilla Laws' Workshop Physics, Jack Wilson's Studio Physics, Joe Redish's CUPLE, P. Sokol's Dynamic Physics, Eric Mazur's Peer Instruction (in which lectures are interrupted every 15 minutes for three minute small group discussions), Minds-On Physics (see separate article, this issue), Tom Moore's Six Ideas That Shaped Physics, Alan Van Heuvelen's Overview-Case Study, Chubay and Sherwood's Electric and Magnetic Interactions, World Wide Web delivery, Lillian McDermott's Tutorials, and Bob Fuller's Paperless Classroom -- a list he did not claim to be complete. These programs all have the common goal to improve conceptual understanding, Hilborn said, and this is crucial for those not going on in science: it improves problem-solving skills and improves student attitudes.
They also have several common features. More attention is paid to the audience and their preconceptions and styles of learning. There are many opportunities to confront conceptual understanding, such as in-class discussion and peer interaction. There is more interaction -- facilitated by computer -- and both instructors and students get constant feedback.
As the following speaker, Clifford Swartz (SUNY, Stony Brook) observed, these teaching innovations all have predecessors. For example, "hands on" learning is another name for the "experience" advocated by John Dewey in 1916, Piaget's stages of development were preceded by the writings of Joseph Henry in 1840, and constructivism had its precedents in Pestalozzi (1805) and Rousseau (1762). "Why didn't earlier innovations stick?" Hilborn wondered. He then ventured his own list of possible reasons: 1) insufficient assessment, 2) unavailability of complete teaching packages, 3) lack of faculty development and reward, 4) lack of team effort rather than "lone rangers", and 5) lack of student awareness of how they learn. Hilborn sees the new role of the physics instructor not as one of information transmitter but rather as coach and as education researcher and developer. It's important for physics majors to learn the way we'd like to see them teach, he said, and this is valuable for other physics-related careers as well.
Physics-related careers were addressed by Kenneth Laws, who described how Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA) had revised their physics major to accommodate them. "Physics is useful preparation for physicists, but what else is it good for?" he asked. The physics curriculum has traditionally focused on physics problem solving and mathematical analysis, he observed. But the top three needs cited in a survey of physics graduates in their careers are interpersonal, communications and real problem solving skills, with knowledge of physics ranked twelfth. Seeking to provide more flexibility to its physics majors, Dickinson now specifies only six of the ten required courses. To motivate "need to know" learning, projects form the basis of many courses, and research courses are 20% of those required. Rather than focus on only problem sets, students are given experience in writing reports and papers, conducting symposia, and working in groups. Several methods successful in Priscilla Laws' introductory Workshop Physics course have also now been applied to upper level courses.
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The TEACHERS CLEARINGHOUSE FOR SCIENCE AND SOCIETY EDUCATION