The Role of Physics Education Research in Reforming Undergraduate Education
Reforming Physics Education
Millikan on teaching physics
Millikan on the nature of the electron
Where are we now?
Building a community consensus
Doing physics education as science
Guidelines from Cog. Sci. / Education
Building a Reform Curriculum with PER
What do we find?
Example: Wavepulse math
Interview response of an “A” student
Example: Electric and magnetic forces
Magnetic poles problem: (UW PEG)
Results
Example: The concept of velocity
Instantaneous velocity problem
A solution exists
An experiment
Less instruction on the topic produced better results
The results were strikingly robust
Implications
PPT Slide
Workshop Physics (N = 20 - 30)
Circuit Question #3
Circuit Exam Error Rates
Example: Evaluating the Newtonian viewpoint
The Force Concept Inventory*
Analyzing the results
Do research-based instructional models produce better conceptual gains?
The UW Tutorial Model
Research design
Tutorials produced significantly higher gains than recitations
Extension to many schools
Where is university level PER done?
Why in Physics Departments?
Separately, we cannot build a community consensus
Building a community consensus of physics education
Email: redish@physics.umd.edu
Home Page: http://www2.physics.umd.edu/~redish/
Other information: Presentation given at the Physics Revitalization Conference, Arlington VA, October 3, 1998.