Sustainably Integrating Computation Throughout the Physics Major Degree

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This project aims to serve the national interest by investigating the integration of computation throughout the curricula in the undergraduate physics major. Acknowledging the significant role that computation plays in student knowledge and skills, academic programs of study, and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the project initiates a wide-ranging effort to integrate computation into all levels of the undergraduate physics program. Recognizing the importance of broad-based efforts in higher education to foster the success of students with diverse talents and experiences, the project integrates this perspective in its approach to establish, integrate, and sustain computation in physics. Guided by national reports, this department-level multi-year structured change effort - led by a departmental Computation Implementation Task Force - has strategically selected two mid-level courses for initial implementation. The project aims to (1) integrate computation as a standard tool to solve physics problems into the undergraduate physics curriculum and (2) establish a departmental process for sustaining changes to the curriculum and teaching practices. In alignment with the department-wide effort, the project is mapped to Kotter’s Eight Stage Model of Institutional Change with a specific focus on communicating the change vision, empowering broad-based action, and generating short-term successes. Importantly, this effort has intentionally integrated evidence to guide the change process. Project inputs are aligned with proposed activities, deliverables, expected outcomes, vision of change, and targeted/broad dissemination activities. Data collected relating to students’ performance and experiences include information from student records, course assessments, surveys, and semi-structured interviews with a subset of students. These are compared to historical and pre-post data. Data collected from faculty through quasi-ethnographic interviews will probe their experience and perceptions of the curricula modifications and the change process. The team will conduct thematic analyses of qualitative data and descriptive comparative analyses of quantitative data and the findings will be disseminated to internal audiences (to guide department change efforts) and external audiences (to contribute to knowledge and understanding of the effectiveness of establishing computation as a problem-solving tool into the physics curriculum). The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through its Institutional and Community Transformation track the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.