Session H1: Physics Education and Outreach

Teaching thermal physics in the paradigms project

Thermal physics is probably the most disliked course in the physics major curriculum, with students feeling that they are being led through a mathematical maze, leading to an unsatisfactory conclusion. Classical thermodynamics involves scary derivatives, while statistical mechanics leads to lengthy summations and is difficult to apply to interacting systems. It is unsurprising that students find themselves failing to see the physics for the math. In this talk, I will discuss my experiences teaching the Energy and Entropy paradigm, and will introduce materials we have developed to aide student understanding of partial derivatives and their relationship to experimental observables.   

Harnessing materials from the Paradigms Project to help students learn to ``think like a physicist'''

One of the major goals of upper-division courses is and should be to help the next generation of physics majors learn to ``think like a physicist'' instead of merely reproducing ``correct'' answers to problems from the text or lectures. To accomplish this goal often requires a shift in our instructional approach that may seem time-consuming and overwhelming. The Paradigms in Physics Project provides the tools and support to aid in this shift at the lecture, activity, course, and even program level. This presentation will present an overview of the project and some of the many ways that these tools can be used to help our students learn to ``think like a physicist.''   

Physics in the Courtroom

The principles, methods and technologies of physics can provide a powerful tool for the discovery of truth in the criminal justice system. Accordingly, physics based forensic evidence is relied upon in criminal prosecutions around the country every day. Infrared spectroscopy for the determination of the alcohol concentration of an individual's breath, force, momentum and multi-body dynamics for purposes of accident reconstruction and the basic application of sound metrological (measurement) practices constitute but a few examples. In many cases, a jury's determination of guilt or innocence, upon which the liberty of a Citizen rests, may in fact be determined by such evidence. Society may well place a high degree of confidence in the integrity of verdicts so obtained when ``the physics'' has been applied in a valid manner. Unfortunately, as concluded by the National Academy of Sciences, ``The law's greatest dilemma in its heavy reliance on forensic evidence--concerns the question of whether---and to what extent-- -there is science in any given `forensic science' discipline.'' Even where valid physical principles are relied upon, their improper application by forensic practitioners who have little physics training, background and/or understanding calls into question the validity of results or conclusions obtained. This presentation provides examples of the application of physics in the courtroom, where problems have been discovered and how they can be addressed by the physics community.   

Changing Reasoning Ability in College Students

Data from several years and several different classes have shown that student scores on the Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning don't change much over the course of a single semester, and are strongly correlated with FCI gains. So what does change Lawson scores? We have new data that we think shows that more interaction with materials that demand reasoning (and not just clicker questions and end of chapter Homework problems) improves reasoning ability and subsequently conceptual development.   

Student perspectives of a graduate bridging course in astronomy and astrophysics in South Africa

Astronomy and Astrophysics have been designated the flagship areas of research in South Africa. To this end, a national postgraduate structure, the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme was established at the University of Cape Town. Despite overall success the programme has failed to recruit and retain Black South African students. In order to address this postgraduate bridging program, the Extended Honours Programme, was established to address the issue. An important part of the EHP includes a research component investigating the reasons for the lack of successful participation. In general, a numbers of issues have been identified including for example s specific difficulties with intermediate level physics, general learning problems and affective issues. We present preliminary results from recent interviews carried out with each cohort of students that entered the EHP over the past four years. Prior to each group interview each student completed a personal meaning map and an identity survey. Preliminary results of these data and the interviews will be discussed.   

Teaching Chats $\sim$ Developing a Department Culture of Talking About Teaching

As everywhere in academia, when one looks close enough, one will find a somewhat split culture within physics departments: In this case, focus on research and focus on teaching. With the changing physics course preparedness that freshmen are bringing to college it is now more important than ever to include research focused faculty into the development of teaching. Faculty from education departments has done its part, but often there seems to be some disconnect between ``hardcore'' (read: research) physicists and the views that have developed in education departments. The author wants to champion the opinion that a little bit of truth in both points of view and that a third way can be defined by engaging all faculty in casual, but compassionate, regular meetings and talks about teaching challenges, techniques and technologies, and thus raising awareness and interest in the teaching of undergraduate physics.