Overview
We are engaged in a number of nationally recognized projects in curriculum development/physics education research.
Please also visit the OSUPER [1] webpage, which is the group wiki page for Oregon State University Physics Education Research, for more information on some current projects, activities, and publications.
For more information about our relationship with other education research groups at Oregon State, please visit the websites for the Center for Research in Lifelong STEM Learning [2] and for the ESTEME [3] (Enhancing STEM Education) research cluster.
Lower-division Course Reform
Dedra Demaree [4]
demareed@physics.oregonstate.edu [5] (541) 737-1713 WNGR 373
The Physics Department is embarking on a new project to reform the teaching of our lower-division, large-enrollment courses. We are using a team approach involving faculty, instructors, and teaching assistants. Dedra Demaree was hired to get this process into fast gear based on her expertise in Physics Education Research and current best practices in teaching.
This project currently involves:
- classroom renovations and course restructuring
- curriculum development
- assessing student learning and attitudes in the reformed classes
- faculty development and studying faculty discourse within the classroom
- TA training and development
An outcome of this focus has been working with a team of faculty from OSU and local community colleges to build a discourse community to share and develop effective activities and to share PCK through the discourse that we have about the course content.
Details for the assessment plans are on the the OSUPER [1] webpage.
Paradigms in Physics
Corinne Manogue [6]
corinne@physics.oregonstate.edu [7] (541) 737-1695 WNGR 493
Tevian Dray [8]
tevian@math.oregonstate.edu [9] (541) 737-5159 KIDDER 298A
David H. McIntyre [10]
mcintyre@ucs.orst.edu [11] (541) 737-1696 WNGR 463
Emily van Zee [12]
Emily.vanZee@science.oregonstate.edu [13] (541) 737-1880 WNGR 267
Mary Bridget Kustusch
mary.bridget@physics.oregonstate.edu [14] (541) 737-6080 WNGR 491
David Roundy [15]
roundyd@physics.oregonstate.edu [16] (541) 250-0137 WNGR 401B
The Paradigms in Physics Program [17] at Oregon State University is a restructuring of the traditional upper-division curriculum to be more modern, more flexible, and more inclusive. The focus of our current NSF-grant is to design materials to support faculty teaching more traditional courses who may wish to experiment with one or more pieces of our successful curriculum, be it a single activity or an entire course. Four main strands have been identified:
- New content: The PIs are developing two new textbooks: one for quantum mechanics and one for vector calculus that emphasize their innovative approach to these topics, while encouraging, but not requiring, the use of active engagement.
- Case studies: The PIs are designing a new website [17] to provide the information necessary for successful adoption of one or more of their activities, showing how to combine lectures and active engagement in a coherent way.
- Community of scholars: The PIs will host a small number of visitors who will be immersed in, and contribute to, the entire Paradigms package.
- Education Research: The PIs are doing research into students’ ability to reason harmonically and metacognitively, and into how these capabilities are affected by Paradigms curricular materials.
Computational Physics for UnderGraduates (CPUG)
Rubin H. Landau [18]
rubin@physics.oregonstate.edu [19] (541) 737-1693 WNGR 499
Please see the CPUG website: http://www.physics.oregonstate.edu/CPUG [20]
Instructional Materials and Techniques
Kenneth S. Krane [21]
kranek@physics.oregonstate.edu [22] (541) 737-1692 WNGR 367
Ken Krane's physics education research ranges from materials and curriculum development for undergraduate teaching to the structure of academic physics departments. He has been involved in studying how students understand energy and momentum conservation in introductory physics and how they interpret their first exposure to probabilistic concepts in modern physics. Based on the latter research, with NSF support he is developing instructional materials that support interactive teaching methods in courses covering modern physics. He is also involved in an NSF-funded project to develop and test interactive classroom materials for teaching nuclear and particle physics. He has been a leader of the SPIN-UP study of the characteristics of successful physics departments, and for 10 years he directed the New Faculty Workshop that provides mentoring to recent hires in physics and astronomy. He is the author of three textbooks: Modern Physics (3rd edition, 2012), Physics, with David Halliday and Robert Resnick (5th edition, 2002), and Introductory Nuclear Physics (1988).
Engaging People in Cyberinfrastructure (EPIC [23])
Rubin H. Landau [18]
rubin@physics.oregonstate.edu [19] (541) 737-1693 WNGR 499
As part of the EPIC project, Rubin Landau and Sally Haerer are producing videos for the National Digital Library of Science. A sample [24] is available.
Computational Physics Textbooks
Rubin H. Landau [18]
rubin@physics.oregonstate.edu [19] (541) 737-1693 WNGR 499
Rubin Landau has written several textbooks on Computational Physics and Advanced Quantum Mechanics. Please see his website [18] for further information.
The Vector Calculus Bridge Project
Tevian Dray [8]
tevian@math.oregonstate.edu [25] (541) 737-5159 KIDDER 298A
Corinne Manogue [6]
corinne@physics.oregonstate.edu [26] (541) 737-1695 WNGR 493
There is a "vector calculus gap" between the way vector calculus is usually taught by mathematicians and the way it is used by other scientists. This material is essential for physicists and some engineers due to its central role in the description of electricity and magnetism. The goals of this long-term project to understand this gap and to develop curricular materials to help bridge it from both the mathematics and physics sides. For more information, see the Vector Calculus Bridge Project Homepage [27]