Physics Colloquium: Educational Transformation at a Critical Time: The Promises of Engagement of ...

Thursday, May 17, 2018

3:30 PM-4:30 PM

Noah Finkelstein, PhD, University of Colorado Boulder

Educational Transformation at a Critical Time: The Promises of Engagement of Physicists and Education Researchers

Significant, perhaps unprecedented, attention is being paid to the needs for transformation within the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at the undergraduate level. This talk examines how higher education STEM disciplines, and physics departments in particular, are positioned to contribute to these discussions. I will review the growth of our own program in physics education research (PER) at CU-Boulder as an example. Our work develops a new line of inquiry in physics education research through work at the individual, the course, and the departmental scales. I present samples of these scales reviewing: how we can build on understanding of student reasoning to study and transform our introductory through upper division courses, how these impact individuals, and how these efforts draw from and contribute to campus-wide initiatives and models of change.

Contact Information

Professor Eric Brewe
eric.brewe@drexel.edu