Bulletin of the American Physical Society
Joint Spring 2010 Meeting of the Texas Sections of the APS, AAPT, and SPS
Volume 55, Number 3
Thursday–Saturday, March 18–20, 2010; Austin, Texas
Session B2: Plenary Session I: New Directions in Physics Education |
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Chair: Paul Williams, Austin Community College Room: Robert Lee Moore Hall 4.102 |
Friday, March 19, 2010 8:30AM - 9:15AM |
B2.00001: Hands-On Science: An Inquiry-Based Integrated Science Content Course for Pre-service Elementary Teachers Invited Speaker: Much has been discussed about the need for better science curriculum and training for teachers of elementary school classrooms. Future elementary school teachers at UT Austin gain their degree from the College of Education, with significant credits earned in math and science. We will discuss a new inquiry-based curriculum in integrated natural sciences (physics, chemistry, geology, biology, and astronomy) introduced for these teachers. Some items may be of interest to instructors in other college-level science courses: the experience of die-hard lecturer-based instructors transitioning over to an inquiry class, of student mastery of a broad curriculum, and in tailoring a curriculum to a target audience. I will also discuss simultaneous efforts to offer the same curriculum to in-service K-8 teachers and to partner with other universities doing pre-service teacher preparation. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, March 19, 2010 9:15AM - 10:00AM |
B2.00002: Seeing the Growth of Physical Theory in Students' Minds Invited Speaker: Normally the conventional notion of physics teaching is to present the established canon of physics by accepted methods for the benefit of the deserving, that is, those who can get what is presented. More than 30 years now of physics education research reveals that if change in student understanding is the goal, this conventional notion of physics teaching is a \textit{spectacular failure}. The same body of research reveals that the spectacular failure is a consequence of the pedagogy. The dismal results are not due to the difficult nature of physics or to inadequacies of students. In other words, the failure of conventional instruction is totally unnecessary. The examples of alternative pedagogies that are not failures have a few features in common. One of these is the necessity for the teacher to pay close attention to the students' conceptions of the phenomena being studied and how these may be changing. That is, the teacher needs to be able to see the growth of physical theory in students' minds. Examples of and strategies for ways of seeing this growth in the classroom will be shared. [Preview Abstract] |
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