Group Reports from Breakout Sessions B1 and B2

 

These are the un-edited presentations of each of the breakout groups.

 

Blue Group: 

 

B1: 

 

  • How to guide students through an investigation
  • Be secure/confident in teaching ability
  • Having the background to be confident
  • Learn by observing other teachers

 

B2: 

 

  • Observations should begin at the sophomore level
  • Departments should address B1
  • Convince colleagues teacher training is important
  • Collaborate with 2-year colleges
  • Develop long term plans and institutionalize them
  • Focus on science 4-8

 

Brown Group:

 

B1:

 

  • Many of the skills are in some prepared packages
  • Powerful Ideas in Physical Science (AAPT product, http://www.aapt.org/programs/pipsprod.html ) aimed at K-7 group material translate to classroom
  • C3P – likewise

 

Skills

-inquiry based on observation                           -use scientific method – exp design

-use & interpretation of graphs              -reading instruments

-know what an equation is                                -estimation

-making measurements & using dimensions

-safety awareness

-students working collaboratively

 

B2: 

 

Connect & cooperate w/ college of education

Build an inquiry based curriculum

Treat “education” faculty equally

Get the right faculty in the classroom

Student involvement in outreach (part of curriculum)

Faculty MUST buy in; be able to document success in a reportable way

 

Red Group:

 

B1:

 

Pre service:

1) Hands on

2) build student accountability into exercises

3) know and be able to handle student misconceptions

4) classroom management (inquiry)

5) teacher training physics class with integrated lecture/lab

 

Alternative Certification:

- possible primary source of physics teachers

            do they know content?  Yes

            do they know teaching techniques? No

                        1) training in physics by inquiry

                        2) classroom management

 

B2:

 

Physics Dept.  Help

1) develop a relationship with the Dept of Education

 

Is the Dept committed?

 

2)  make same commitment to physics the school makes to engineer

3) dept. must prepare college faculty in PER (physics education research)/teaching

4) integrated training physics class with integrated lecture/lab

5) integrate with other science dept.

6) must have a slot & resources for a person with pedagogical expertise & experience

7) students in outreach as part of degree

 

Green Group:

 

B1: 

 

Students should accept individual responsibility for their current and ongoing learning.

-understand their own and recognize a range of learning styles (content &   

  pedagogical integrated)

            -take themselves and others through the process of scientific inquiry and doing

             physics

            -experience with cooperative learning activities and collaboration

            -successful problem solving experience

            -an appreciation for the value and process of science

 

Student has to believe in their own ability to do physics, to believe that all students can learn physics

 

B2: 

 

Encourage faculty to assume a wider range of professional responsibility

  • raise awareness of PER proven methods
  • place more value on teaching as a career choice
  • form alliances with other programs
  • play larger role in assessment (dept. questions on final exams)

 

 

Purple Group;

 

B1:

 

- Be prepared to teach by inquiry, to learn things they didn’t learn in school, design investigations, equipment

- know the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills): 40% labs, limited overarching topics

- K-4 should have physics course

   5-12 should be majors & have had inquiry courses as part of major

                        Modify don’t add!

- Visible pedagogy (PER)

- Dialog w/ real teachers – master teachers part of department

- Physics by Inquiry

 

B2:

 

- Increase # certified (recruitment)       recruit women

- Awareness of obligation

- Awareness of Ed funding

- Collaboration w/ COE (College of Education)

- Chain of communication back to HS

- Master teachers as part of departments or college

- Departments can influence national policy (NSF)

- Streamline (modify don’t add courses, topics)

-         Awareness of teaching as career, removal of stigma, approach graduate students

 

Pink Group:

 

B1:

 

Process:

  • Be able to understand, use and communicate the scientific process.
  • Should feel confident in the use of the scientific method
  • Be capable of directing students in discovering answers for themselves.

 

Content:

  • Be able to accurately communicate concepts and information in specific topics:

(at least)  force, motion, heat, energy, light, sound, electricity, circuits

                                                           

B2:

 

  • collaboration is the key – physics dept.

      college of education

      research on pedagogy

 

  • the support of department chair & administration is CRUCIAL

 

Short-term planning:

  • Course modifications
  • New or altered degree plans
  • Develop advisory board of in service K-12 teachers

 

Long-term planning:

  • Change in culture
  • Advisory board is important for continuing input on effectiveness
  • Incorporate pedagogical research findings
  • As physics educators – be active in helping to shape public policy

 

Snowman Group:

 

B1:

 

After completing a physics course the pre service teacher shall

-have a broad knowledge base that is applicable to the child’s world

-overcome their “phear” of physics (a.k.a. physics phobia)

-have enough confidence in their understanding of science to guide their students’ school classroom

-have labs skills transferable to the school classroom

-be able to design grade-level appropriate laboratory experiments/activities

-be able to incorporate multi-sensory experiments to the learning of science

-be able to scrounge

 

B2:

 

As physics departments, we need to

-work with the other science/math depts. & the college of education to provide a science lilteracy sequence that begins w/ physics

-include the following in the intro phys. sci. course:  conceptual physics, discovery-based learning and activities that are age appropriate

-provide support for courses geared to pre service teachers, recognizing our service responsibilities

-provide the preservice teacher with

  • TX AAPT packet of resources?
  • TEKS correlation to course (keep in touch w/ leaving students)

-design a Science Teaching Methods Class for the 8-12 pre service teachers

  • grade appropriate labs
  • methods class w/the science teacher in mind

-MODEL scrounging