Arizona State University's new summer graduate program for high school
physics & physical science teachers is one of very few in the nation. It
has some unique features that I think the community of physics teachers
will want to hear about and, in future years, replicate in other states.
A rich offering of courses falls into three categories: physics pedagogy,
interdisciplinary science, and contemporary physics. All courses are
designed to help teachers better serve their students. Expert teachers are
integrally involved in developing each course and in assisting faculty to
teach them using best practices.
This graduate program is an outgrowth of the Modeling Workshop Project, a
nationwide program for high school physics reform supported by the National
Science Foundation for the last decade and recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education as an exemplary K-12 science program and a
promising K-12 educational technology program.
Two days ago I posted the schedule:
June 11-29: two Modeling Workshops, Spacetime Physics, & Integrated
Chemistry/Physics. July 2-Aug 3: Light & Matter, Structure of Matter, Light
& Electron Optics, Energy & Environment, Leadership.
Tuition is $119/credit. District Eisenhower funds can support teachers
earning advanced degrees "provided that the training is designed to improve
the teachers' classroom instruction". Discuss this with your principal.
Please e-mail jane.jackson@asu.edu if you're interested.
Apply at <http://modeling.asu.edu>.
COURSE CATEGORIES:
The courses offered fall into three categories:
Category I. Physics pedagogy. Core courses on Physics Teaching
(PHS 530 & 531) are open to anyone seeking to improve their
practice of teaching physics; they are required for those seeking the
MNS degree. These courses provide thorough grounding in
research-based physics pedagogy in full accord with the National
Science Education Standards and use of computer technology in
physics teaching. Although subject to faculty oversight, most of the
courses in Category I and some in Category II are taught by teams of
outstanding in-service physics teachers. This conforms to the "peer
teaching principle" espoused by the NSES, which holds that
professionals are best taught by peers who are exceptionally
well-versed in the objectives, methods and problems of the profession.
Category II. Interdisciplinary science. Courses in this category:
1.enhance teacher understanding of interdisciplinary connections
and relations of science to society;
2.help teachers determine how to use that understanding to enrich
their own teaching, and
3.foster collaboration between physics teachers and teachers in
other sciences.
For example, consider PHS 540: Integrated Physics and Chemistry. The
purpose of the course is to stimulate true integration of physics and
chemistry in high school. The course is appropriate for chemistry
teachers as well as physics teachers. An innovative design for this
course has emerged from a study group of faculty and teachers.
However, there remain some knotty problems about modeling
molecular bonding that challenge the faculty and intrigue the teachers.
(Consider enrolling as a team with a chemistry teacher from your school.)
Category III. Contemporary physics. These courses are taught
by research faculty who work in areas addressed by the courses.
The listed courses span the range of major research areas in
contemporary physics and astronomy. They introduce teachers to
ideas, methods and results of 20th century physics that are ordinarily
taught only to physics majors in advanced undergraduate and graduate
programs. The courses bring high school physics teachers into
extended contact with research faculty to share the excitement of
scientific research. They provide unprecedented opportunities for
researchers to explain their fields in lay terms to highly-motivated,
well-informed teachers and thereby influence their students.
For example, PHS 560: Structure of Matter, was piloted in
summer 2000, with positive reactions from teachers and the
faculty instructor, who reported that the teachers made it the most
rewarding course he had ever taught!
Leadership Workshop: The one-day-per-week leadership workshop
is directed by experienced Teaching Associates. The main purpose
is to build a cohesive peer learning community. Out-of-state
teachers will learn how AzSTEP fosters learning communities
in Arizona, so they can see the potential for partnerships
back home. Teachers will share and compare what is going on in the
various courses they are taking for information and feedback that might
improve the courses. They will consider collectively how to expand
what they have learned in courses through science interest groups, and
how to use it in extra-curricular projects and science clubs.
--------------------------------------
Jane Jackson, Co-Director, Modeling Instruction Program
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics & Astronomy,ASU,Tempe,AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331 <http://modeling.asu.edu>