Workshop II: Creating a guide for programmatic assessment, review, and improvement in undergraduate physics programs

American Physical Society, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

In the United States there is a growing emphasis on accountability in higher education, and departments are increasingly asked to set and assess learning goals. At the same time, physics departments face several challenges spanning from programmatic enrollments through the lack of diversity within the discipline. To address these concerns, the American Physical Society (APS) has identified a unique opportunity to develop meaningful assessments of physics programs, which are already required of nearly every department, while fulfilling their desire to improve the education of their students by implementing known best practices. APS leadership has formed and formally charged a nationally recognized task force of leaders in physics program evaluation and revitalization to create a guide for programmatic assessment, review, and improvement, and to undertake the training of departmental reviewers and department chairs in using the guide. The guide will be an operational document designed to be immediately useful to a department chair or faculty member engaging in programmatic assessment, review, or improvement. This workshop will allow the APS to lay the groundwork to ensure that the guide can achieve national impact. A workshop for the task force to meet in person will be held in February 2018 in College Park, MD to revisit the plan for the structure and content of the guide, adjust the plan as needed based on what lessons have been learned from writing so far, plan the next steps, and finalize a comprehensive plan for engaging community leaders in adopting and shaping guide practices. Outcomes of this workshop will include specific written sections for dissemination to the physics community, and a clearly articulated framework of the guide and how departments can implement its practices.