Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2013
Volume 58, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 13–16, 2013; Denver, Colorado
Session J7: Invited Session: AAPT: Learning Assistant Programs as Tools for Course Tranformation and Recruitment of Future Physics Teachers |
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Sponsoring Units: FEd Chair: Monica Plisch, American Physical Society Room: Governor's Square 16 |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 1:30PM - 2:06PM |
J7.00001: Learning Assistant Alliance for Promoting and Sustaining Transformation of Physics Education Invited Speaker: Valerie Otero The Colorado Learning Assistant (LA) model was launched at CU Boulder a decade ago in efforts of increasing research faculty members' awareness and involvement in evidence-based reforms and in the recruitment and preparation of K-12 teachers. Since then the program has been adopted by over 30 physics departments throughout the nation and has demonstrated positive learning outcomes in university physics, increased K-12 teacher recruitment, and increased research-based teaching practices among university faculty as well as among LAs who become K-12 teachers. The LA program has catalyzed the development of a Discipline-Based Educational Research group at CU Boulder and has garnered full financial support from the University. In this presentation, the Colorado LA model is framed as a model for institutional change. The national scaling of the model will be discussed and the new ``Learning Assistant Alliance'' research and development project will be described. Seven components of institutional change that align with the LA model are hypothesized and the associated national-scale research project will be proposed. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 2:06PM - 2:42PM |
J7.00002: Building an undergraduate physics program with Learning Assistants Invited Speaker: Edward Price In 2007, the CSUSM Physics Department began offering a B.S. in Applied Physics, its first physics bachelors degree program. The program has grown from 11 majors in 2008 to over 80 in 2012, due in part to recruiting students from local high schools and community colleges. More broadly, because most CSUSM students come from the local region, the longer-term health of the Department is coupled with the vitality and strength of local high school physics education. In addition, establishing a new physics degree required curriculum development and offered the opportunity to incorporate recent innovations in physics education when developing courses. A Learning Assistants (LA) Program, established by the Department in 2008, has been a critical component in these efforts to recruit students, build local educational networks, and implement innovative curricula. In an LA Program, undergraduate Learning Assistants assist faculty in class, meet regularly with the course instructor, and participate in a weekly seminar on teaching and learning, which provides guidance on effective instruction and an opportunity to reflect on their experiences in the classroom. The LA program promotes course transformation, improved student learning, and teacher recruitment. This talk will describe the CSUSM LA Program and its role in support of our growing applied physics degree program. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 2:42PM - 3:18PM |
J7.00003: Physics Undergraduate TA Programs in Research Universities: A Low-Cost Sustainable Model Invited Speaker: Robert Thorne |
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