A New Model for Physics Education in Physics Departments: Improving the Teaching of Physics from Elementary through Graduate School

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9354501 McDermott We are developing a comprehensive, multi-faceted program to be conducted by the Physics Education Group in the Physics Department at the University of Washington. The program consists of a group of interrelated projects that focus on undergraduate course improvement, teacher preparation and enhancement, and university faculty development. The goals for the project are: (1) to expand our knowledge of how students learn physics; (2) to increase student learning in the introductory physics course; (3) to prepare (K- 12) preservice and inservice teachers to teach science as a process of inquiry; and (4) to improve the teaching effectiveness of present and future college and university faculty. The first goal will be met by continuing our investigation of student understanding in physics. We will work toward the second and third goals by using results from this ongoing research as a guide in developing instructional materials for introductory physics students and for preservice and inservice teachers. We will progress toward the fourth goal by conducting workshops for undergraduate faculty, inviting faculty interns for short-term visits to observe first-hand the activities of our group, and producing a Faculty Development Handbook to help prepare teaching assistants, postdoctoral research associates and junior faculty for their role as physics instructors.