A Multi-Institutional and Department-Wide Approach to 2nd Generation Introductory Physics Curriculum Reform

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Abstract

Intellectual Merit: This project supports and expands ongoing efforts at Oregon State University, Lane Community College and Linn-Benton Community College to promote department-wide, team-based, curricular reform. This is called second generational reform because the teams are making coherent choices in order to adapt existing Physics Education Research (PER)-based materials for clearly-defined goals tailored to the specific needs of students in Oregon, both as they transfer between institutions and as they move into the upper division. These teams are being used to choose both content and skill-based goals, such as how deeply to address Gauss' law, and how much time to spend on graphical reasoning. The teams also address scaffolding and continuity issues, and are creating capstone experiences that will be common at the participating institutions. The faculty at Oregon State University build on experience with the development of the Paradigms in Physics program, a holistic upper-division physics reform effort. When implementing a new curriculum, there is need for each instructor to have deep knowledge of how to implement the activities, which requires pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). PCK is the teacher knowledge that bridges the gap between understanding the content and knowing good teaching practice, and it includes knowing how students will engage with content, and the why's and how's of specific teaching practices in a discipline. A crucial by-product of team-based reform is the sharing and building of community-wide PCK. A national advisory committee provides formative feedback and discussion. Broader Impacts: There is a national need for consistent curricula used by both the state universities and community colleges as well as a need for a model that addresses feasibility and sustainability for large-scale reform. The example of multi-institutional team-based curricular reform and building shared PCK provides a strong model for institutions nationwide to implement coordinated, holistic, curricular reform. This model also addresses the difficulty of long-term sustainability, promoting shared PCK among people rotating in and out of teaching duties.