Welcome to the PHYS 5274 Physics Pedagogy :: Fall 2013

[PHYS 5274] Physics Pedagogy
Prerequisite: PHYS 2401.
A course in teaching methods and pedagogy for physics laboratories and recitations.
Course Syllabus::    Syllabus

Instructor:

• Dr. Beth Thacker

Class Schedule:

• F 12:00 pm - 1:50 pm @ SC 118

Course Texts:

The text will consist of a series of readings that will be provided.

The Nature of the Course:

Students will discuss the content and pedagogy of the laboratories and recitations they will be teaching, discussing teaching methods relevant to the materials, working through portions of laboratory and the recitation materials in order to illustrate instructional methods, pointing out areas of student difficulty, why the materials have been developed the way they are developed based on physics education research. Students will observe each other teaching, using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) and discuss the outcome of the observations. There will also be time allotted for discussion of issues of grading, course administration and other topics.

Expected Learning Outcomes:

1) Students will be able to teach research-based laboratories and recitations effectively.
2) Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the nature of the materials, including the use of research-based materials, modeling, effective pedagogy for teaching physics concepts and calculations, and interpretation of data, both in class and while teaching.
3) Students will understand various pedagogies, such as how to use interactive engagement, student-centered pedagogies and other teaching techniques.
4) Students will be able to develop and grade physics problems by a rubric, especially problems that require students to explain their reasoning and physics problems that require both conceptual and quantitative responses.

Methods of Assessing Expected Learning Outcomes:

1) Students will be observed teaching introductory physics laboratories.
2) Students will be evaluated on their discussion of the nature of the materials in class.
3) Students will be evaluated on their discussion of the readings.
4) Students will be evaluated on their discussion of different teaching techniques in class.
5) Students’ grading of undergraduate students’ physics papers will be evaluated.