Session C5: Education I

Friday, October 15, 2010

What does a bachelor's degree in physics actually mean? How is a physics degree obtained at University of ``X'' different from one obtained at ``Z'' State University? In March of 2009, a collaboration of scholars were gathered together to participate in the Tuning USA Process: an educational initiative funded by the Lumina Foundation with the goal of defining and clarifying undergraduate and graduate degree standards in various fields across the country. The Tuning USA is modeled after the Tuning Europe project, launched in 2000 by the European Commission to examine and unify degree standards across a number of countries and educational institutions. In collaboration with the Utah Board of Regents, physics faculty from state institutions of higher education worked on this pilot project, which concluded in November of 2009. As a member of the Utah Physics Working Group, I will give my perspectives on the Tuning USA Process, and how it might be beneficial on a national scale.   

Friday, October 15, 2010

\textit{Science in the Parks} is a community outreach program that brings informal science education to children and their families in the Ogden, UT area. Rather than hosting a traditional science camp on a university campus or other facility, this program brings science to kids in the parks in their own neighborhoods and where they already visit a federally funded free-lunch program. Over a six-week, six-park tour, the program reaches thousands of children, draws in 50 different undergraduate volunteers in various programs, and presents 5 different scientific themes in a carnival-like atmosphere. This presentation will describe the philosophy, strategies, and outcomes of the program.   

Friday, October 15, 2010

The Astrophysics Science Project Integrating Research {\&} Education (ASPIRE) provides hands-on activities for K-12 students and teachers to use in the classroom through immersive Flash activities as well as traveling kits. These projects and techniques are a successful way to contact groups of people either in the classroom or in an informal situation. The ASPIRE team presents information about the development of Flash activities and creating hands-on experiments that have the potential to reach large audiences with minimal finances.   

Friday, October 15, 2010

The idea of a communication gap between the sciences and the arts is persistent in academia. To help bridge this gap, I created an Honors course that attempts to make connections between physics and drama: Physics in the Plays of Tom Stoppard. Three of Stoppard's plays explicitly incorporate physics into their plots. The topics included in the plays span the syllabus of a typical conceptual physics course, from Galileo's experiments with freely falling balls to quantum indeterminacy. A descriptive physics text is used along with the plays to supply the necessary background and continuity. The structure of the course, and student reactions, are described.