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Curriculum S



Please excuse this cross posting to both the PhysLrnR
<http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/physlrnr.html> and Phys-L
<http://mailgate.nau.edu/archives/phys-l.html>.

At the San Diego AAPT meeting I gave a talk(1) on "Curriculum
S."(2,3) Here "Curriculum S" (Synthesis) is designed to serve
undergraduate students who wish to study physics as background for
something other than physics research: e.g., engineering, business,
law, medicine, music, teaching, economics, history.

Before posting my talk on the web next Monday (1/22/01), I should
like to list a number of physics departments (with URL's) that offer
"Curriculum-S-type" undergraduate programs. From "APS News" reports
(4,5) and various other sources I have now located a few such
programs as given in the APPENDIX.

It would appear that although a top-down approach to implementing
"Curriculum S" had minimal success,(2,3) a bottom-up approach,
evidently driven at least partially by the exigencies of reduced
physics-major enrollments, has been somewhat more productive - there
are now a few more blossoms on the "Synthesis Desert."(2)

If you know of any other physics departments that offer an
approximation to "Curriculum S" please let me know, either by way of
the list or in private. If there are any responses, I shall post the
results of the survey on Tuesday 1/23/01.

BTW, for my own outrageous views on the importance of properly
educating potential K-12 teachers, see ref. 6,

Thanks.

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<rrhake@earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>

REFERENCES
1. R.R. Hake, "Is it Finally Time to Implement Curriculum S? AAPT
Announcer 30(4), 103 (2000).

2. K. Ford, "Whatever Happened to Curriculum S?" Phys. Teach., March
1987, pp. 138-139.]

3. E.L. Jossem, "Undergraduate Curricula in Physics: A Report on the
Princeton Conference on Curriculum S," Am. J. Phys. 32(6), 491-497
(1964).

4. APS News Online, "Site Visits To Identify Strong Candidates for
New Education Program," October 2000, online at
< http://www.aps.org/apsnews/1000/100001.html >

5. APS News Online, "Physics Departments Explore Innovative
Curriculum Approaches" August/September 1997; online at
< http://www.aps.org/apsnews/0897/0804.html >

6. R.R. Hake, "The General Population's Ignorance of Science Related
Societal Issues: A Challenge for the University," AAPT Announcer
30(2), 105 (2000); on the web at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/> as [GuelphSocietyG.pdf,
8/22/00, 2100K] (62 References). It is argued (with tongue only
partially in cheek) that the failure of universities THROUGHOUT THE
UNIVERSE to properly educate pre-college teachers is responsible for
our failure to observe any signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.


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APPENDIX - Physics Departments with "Curriculum-S-type" Undergraduate Programs

1. Univ. of Arizona
< http://www.physics.arizona.edu/physics/student/undergrad.html >

2. Arizona State University < http://phy.asu.edu/student/ugraduate/index.html >

3. University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) < http://www.uark.edu/depts/physics/ >

4. Ball State < http://www.bsu.edu/csh/physics/prog.htm >

5. Florida State < http://www.physics.fsu.edu/ >

6. Illinois State < http://www.phy.ilstu.edu >

7. Louisiana State Univ. < http://www.phys.lsu.edu/dept/ungrad/ungrad.html >

8. Miami University (Ohio) < http://www.cas.muohio.edu/~physicsweb/ >

9. MIT < http://web.mit.edu/physics/acad_programs/undergrad_study.htm >

10. Sonoma State University <http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/catalog/>

11. Univ. of Maryland,
< http://www.physics.umd.edu/studinfo/ugrad/uguide/program.html#theph1 >

12. Moorehead State < http://physweb.moorhead.msus.edu/ >

13. Oregon State <http://www.physics.orst.edu/programs/undergradprog.html>

14. Rutgers <
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/descr/descr-ug-program.html#DESCR >

15. Univ. of Virginia
< http://www.phys.virginia.edu/Education/Programs/Degrees/ >

16. Western Michigan University
< http://tesla.physics.wmich.edu/ugradprogram/index.htm >

17. Xavier Univ. (Louisiana) < http://www.xula.edu/physengr_dept/index.html >