Pictured left to right: David Meltzer, Larry Coleman (Association of Public and Land-grant Universities), Jack Hehn, Warren Hein, Nicole Gillespie (Knowles Science Teaching Foundation), Cathy O'Riordan, Ted Hodapp, Monica Plisch, J. D. Garcia, Stamatis Vokos, Jim Stith, Valerie Otero, Drew Isola, David Haase
National Task Force
There is a well-established and documented need for major improvements in physics and physical science education in the U.S., in order to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s increasingly technical workplace. To lead the physics community in a response to national and international pressure for a drastic improvement in pre-college science education, and to the national debate on accountability in pre-college education, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Physical Society, and the American Institute of Physics have formed a National Task Force on the Professional Preparation of Teachers of Physics. The Task Force will investigate the following questions:
- Increasing the number of qualified teachers – Are there generalizable, yet flexible, strategies that institutions (and in particular, physics departments and schools or colleges of education) can employ?
- Identifying best practice – Are there effective (a) strategies in recruitment, (b) models of professional preparation, and (c) higher education systems of support during the first three years of teaching?
- Research, Policy, Funding Implications – Are there characteristics of physics departments, special partnerships, and types of institutional support and extramural funding that foster effective programs? Are there important new research agendas in teacher professional education and development in physics, which can be identified and promoted? What new measures of discipline-based teaching effectiveness need to be developed? What new funding avenues and policy changes need to be in place to support these cutting-edge research and development efforts?
The Task Force will author a report of its findings, which it will distribute to all physics departments in the U.S., and disseminate through presentations, workshops, and other mechanisms, under the auspices of the sponsoring professional organizations.
Current Task Force Activities
May 2009
The task force continued its fast-paced schedule of site visits, including Arizona State University, Brigham Young University, Cal State Fullerton, City College of New York, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, and University of Northern Iowa. The site selection committee has nearly completed the list of institutions to visit, which will also include some smaller liberal arts institutions. The data collection subcommittee has been working with the AIP Statistical Research Center to develop a national survey of physics departments, scheduled to begin in June. At the APS April Meeting, Stamatis Vokos gave an invited talk to an audience of 30 people on the work of the task force. The full task force will meet June 10-12 in Houston at Rice University, and the final meeting will be September 27-29 at the American Center for Physics in College Park, MD. APS and AAPT are working together to schedule a joint session at the February 2010 meeting in Washington D.C. to unveil the report.
Conference Proceedings
APS April Meeting 2009:
Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics
Task Force Members
Stamatis Vokos, Chair (Seattle Pacific University)
Eugenia Etkina (Rutgers University)
J.D. Garcia (University of Arizona)
David Haase (North Carolina State University)
Drew Isola (Allegan Public Schools)
Eugene Levy (Rice University)
Valerie Otero (University of Colorado at Boulder)
Mary Ann Rankin (University of Texas at Austin)
Society liaisons:
Jack Hehn (American Institute of Physics)
Warren Hein (American Association of Physics Teachers)
Ted Hodapp (American Physical Society)
Cathy O'Riordan (American Institute of Physics)
Monica Plisch (American Physical Society)
Consultants:
David Meltzer, Senior Consultant
Contact the Task Force
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