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Summary of “A physics department’s role in preparing physics teachers
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Summary of “A physics department’s role in preparing physics teachers:
The Colorado learning assistant model,” Valerie Otero, Steven Pollock, and Noah Finkelstein, pp. 84–90. U.S. science education faces serious challenges: under- graduates are inadequately prepared in science and mathemat- ics, and there is a critical shortage of K-12 teachers in these key areas. The Colorado Learning Assistant (LA) model helps address these intertwined problems: it provides an easy-to- adapt program that both enhances university-level science instruction and improves teacher preparation. The LA pro- gram builds on and contributes to efforts based on discipline- based education research (DBER) that are departmentally based. This paper documents some of the evidence that the Colorado Learning Assistant model positively impacts under- graduate student performance while at the same time sig- nifi cantly increasing the number and quality of science and mathematics K-12 teachers. It also engages research faculty in improving undergraduate courses as well as in taking some responsibility for recruiting and preparing their majors for all careers, including K-12 math and science teaching. This paper reports on the Colorado Learning Assistant pro- gram as it is implemented in the physics and astronomy depart- ments at the University of Colorado, Boulder (CU Boulder). Learning Assistants (LAs) are talented students, typically math, science, and engineering majors, who are hired to help transform large-enrollment undergraduate courses so that these courses are more closely aligned with instructional methods supported by educational research, such as interactive tech- niques that build on student prior knowledge. The LA program is composed of three key elements: 1) use of LAs in transformed instructional settings, in which students engage with each other in small-groups supported by LAs, 2) weekly meetings around disciplinary content that support LAs, TAs, and instructors, and 3) a multi-disciplinary science education course that provides practical and theoretical grounding in methods for instruc- tional transformation. Currently, each year the physics and astronomy departments at CU Boulder hire 50 LAs to help run approximately 6 transformed courses. This paper describes in detail one of the transformed instructional models in the phys- ics department: LAs are used to implement the research-based Tutorials in Introductory Physics 1 that replace the traditional recitation sections of the introductory sequence. Since the program’s beginning in 2003 through Spring 2010, over 300 LA positions have been fi lled in the physics and astronomy departments, and 16 physics and astronomy majors were recruited to teaching careers through the LA pro- gram. This more than doubled the annual number of physics and astronomy majors going into teaching at CU Boulder in comparison to the period before the LA program began. The LA program impacts roughly 2,000 introductory physics stu- dents per year and is still growing. Over 25 physics faculty have been involved in transforming a course or in sustaining previous transformations. Transformed physics courses that are supported by LAs show learning outcomes that are far superior to those in traditional courses as measured by con- ceptual content surveys. For example, student learning gains on the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation are two to three times higher than those of students enrolled in tradi- tional courses. The LAs themselves greatly outperform their peers on these same assessments, posting scores similar to our high-level graduate students. At CU Boulder the Learning Assistant program, which began in a single department with four learning assistants, has grown to become a university-wide effort. Because teacher recruitment and preparation are tied to improved education for all students through the transformation of undergraduate courses, many members of the university community at CU have a vested interest in the success of the LA program. The program brings together interested faculty members, department heads, deans, and senior administrators, each of whom has a stake in, and ben- efi ts from, increasing the number of high-quality teach- ers, improving undergraduate education, and increasing the number of math and science majors. The LA program has demonstrated success throughout campus and has been emulated by dozens of universities throughout the nation. In 2010, 85% of the LAs hired in 9 different departments were supported by CU Boulder’s administration and pri- vate donations. It is anticipated that by 2012 the program will be fully integrated into the standard operations of the university and not dependent upon grant funding. This paper suggests how the commitment of physics and astronomy departments to the enhanced education of all stu- dents and to the recruitment and preparation of future teach- ers can collectively enhance the status of education, both for the students considering teaching careers and for the faculty teaching these students. It implies that scientists can take action to address the critical shortfall of science teachers by improving undergraduate programs and by engaging more substantively in evidence-based solutions in undergraduate physics education and in teacher preparation. 1 Lillian C. McDermott, Peter S. Shaffer, and the Physics Education Group, Tutorials in Introductory Physics, 1st ed. (Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2002). APS-AJP-11-1001-Book.indb 20 APS-AJP-11-1001-Book.indb 20 27/12/11 2:56 PM 27/12/11 2:56 PM Summary: Thompson, et al. Teacher Education in Physics 21 Download 231.88 Kb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
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