Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2015
Volume 60, Number 1
Monday–Friday, March 2–6, 2015; San Antonio, Texas
Session W3: Invited Session: Growing the Physics Major |
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Sponsoring Units: FEd Chair: Duncan McBride, National Science Foundation Room: 002AB |
Thursday, March 5, 2015 2:30PM - 3:06PM |
W3.00001: Physics Majors in the US: Trends and Implications Invited Speaker: Theodore Hodapp The number of undergraduate physics majors has doubled over the last 15 years, with more growth in sight. In that same time period the total number of PhDs awarded as well as those earned by domestic students has seen a similar rise. The picture is not so rosy when we look at underrepresented groups including women, and minority students. Nevertheless, we are now educating record numbers of physics students. This talk will explore some of the underlying issues, and present evidence for why some of these trends are present. Part of the discussion will include implications for physics programs. How big can programs become? What changes might be needed? What do we sacrifice, and what do we gain as a discipline? Will our new graduates get jobs? Bring your questions and thoughts to the discussion. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 5, 2015 3:06PM - 3:42PM |
W3.00002: Strengthening the Physics Program at Brigham Young University -- What Have We Learned? Invited Speaker: Scott Sommerfeldt During the decade of the 1990s, the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Brigham Young University (BYU) experienced remarkable growth, growing from approximately 200 majors in the first half of the decade to over 300 majors by the end of the decade. Since that time, the number of majors has held fairly steady, fluctuating between 300-350 majors. One can naturally ask, what led to this significant growth? This is a difficult question to answer, as a number of variables are potentially involved, all of which may have had some impact on the outcome. This paper will explore a number of items that have been implemented in the program over this time that may have contributed to establishing a strong physics program that provides an excellent education for our undergraduate majors. Many of these possible contributors can be viewed as an outgrowth of perhaps one major characteristic of the department -- a strong and unified commitment to providing excellent undergraduate training in physics. This commitment to undergraduate education has informed many of the decisions that have been made over the past several decades. Several examples that will be discussed include the implementation of the requirement that each student complete a mentored learning experience before graduation, the introduction of several different degrees to better accommodate the range of student interests, and moving the experimental and computational lab courses to earlier in the student's program to allow later courses and research to build upon these skills. As a result of the greatly enhanced process of program assessment that has been put in place at BYU, these various elements are reviewed regularly, which provides feedback and allows us to make modifications as warranted to try and further strengthen the program. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 5, 2015 3:42PM - 4:18PM |
W3.00003: Losing and Saving and Losing Physics in Texas Invited Speaker: Michael Marder Texas has the second-largest population of the states, and played even a larger role in education reform movements of the past 15 years than its size would indicate. In the Fall of 2011, physicists across the country were surprised to learn that six university physics programs in Texas were threatened with closure because of small graduation numbers. Five of them ultimately closed. Many of the faculty at the institutions losing programs came together and formed a consortium that eventually made it possible to continue offering physics,by unconventional means, to their undergraduates. In the Spring of 2013 came an even larger change. Physics had been part of the recommended high school graduation plan in Texas. As part of a bill making sweeping changes to high school graduation requirements and accountability, the physics requirement was removed. Physics may partly be falling victim to the national focus on STEM, which suggests that the various disciplines of science are interchangeable and not individually important. None of the changes in Texas are hard to imagine coming to other states as well. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 5, 2015 4:18PM - 4:54PM |
W3.00004: Morehouse Physics {\&} Dual Degree Engineering Program: We $C.A.R.E.$ Approach Invited Speaker: Willie S. Rockward Growing the physics major at any undergraduate institution, especially Morehouse College -- a private, all-male, liberal arts HBCU, can be very challenging. To address this challenge at Morehouse, the faculty and staff in the Department of Physics and Dual Degree Engineering Program (Physics {\&} DDEP) are applying a methodology and pedagogical approach called ``We $C.A.R.E$'' which stands for \underline {\textit{C}}\textit{urriculum, }\underline {\textit{A}}\textit{dvisement, }\underline {\textit{R}}\textit{ecruitment/Retention/Research, and }\underline {\textit{E}}\textit{xtras}. This approach utilizes an integrated strategy of cultural (family-orientated), collaborative (shared-governance), and career (personalized-pathways) modalities to provide the momentum of growing the physics major at Morehouse from 10-12 students to over 100 students in less than 5 years. Physics {\&} DDEP at Morehouse, creatively, altered faculty course assignments, curriculum offerings, and departmental policies while expanding research projects, student organizations, and external collaborations. This method supplies a variety of meaningful, academic and research experiences for undergraduates at Morehouse and thoroughly prepares students for graduate studies or professional careers in STEM disciplines. Thus, a detailed overview of the ``We $C.A.R.E.$'' approach will be presented along with the Physics {\&} DDEP vision, alterations and expansions in growing the physics major at Morehouse College. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 5, 2015 4:54PM - 5:30PM |
W3.00005: How to double the number of undergraduate physics majors Invited Speaker: Sacha Kopp Many colleges and universities around the country have a solid physics program that prepares students bound for graduate physics study. For a variety of reasons, the number of students choosing to major in physics may be small, typically \textless 1{\%} of the student body. When compared to other majors, this population is experiencing negligible growth. I will describe a campaign launched while at the University of Texas at Austin aimed at recruiting and retention of majors. This campaign includes actual programmatic changes in the curriculum and instruction of majors. Additionally, it includes a direct marketing campaign that attempted to change student attitudes about physics and its relation to their current major. Finally, it includes a program to reach out to local high schools and engage students in a discussion about their career choices before they apply for college. I will share some numerical and attitudinal data that suggests positive changes in the student population. [Preview Abstract] |
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