Effective Practices In Physics Teacher Education

Adapting to a Changing World was commissioned by the National Science Foundation to examine the present status of undergraduate physics education, including the state of physics education research, and, most importantly, to develop a series of recommendations for improving physics education that draws from the knowledge we have about learning and effective teaching. Our committee has endeavored to do so, with great interest and more than a little passion. The Committee on Undergraduate Physics Education Research and Implementation was established in 2010 by the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Research Council. This report summarizes the committee's response to its statement of task, which requires the committee to produce a report that identifies the goals and challenges facing undergraduate physics education and identifies how best practices for undergraduate physics education can be implemented on a widespread and sustained basis, assess the status of physics education research (PER) and discuss how PER can assist in accomplishing the goal of improving undergraduate physics education best practices and education policy.

This book focuses on some important aspects of Physics Education: the role of metaphors in Physics teaching and learning, the connections between Physics and Mathematics, the interaction of young children with Physics at the primary level, and recent developments in teacher education in the USA. Contributors present their research related to: • Preparing teachers for TPACK (technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge) and laboratory work. • Developing and evaluating teacher PCK (pedagogical content knowledge) in Quantum Mechanics. • In-service Physics teacher education for early childhood and primary levels. • Pre-service Physics teacher education at all levels. • In-service Physics teacher professional learning for second and higher-level education. Chapters in this book inevitably look into how Physics teacher education is organized in different countries. Suggestions are offered for possible ways of supporting Physics teachers’ learning. An emphasis is made on the much-needed measurements of the effectiveness of different teaching strategies that improve teaching for learning. All this should help professionals, researchers, and pre-service, as well as in-service teachers to get acquainted with the most recent research contributions in the field.

This book discusses novel research on and practices in the field of physics teaching and learning. It gathers selected high-quality studies that were presented at the GIREP-ICPE-EPEC 2017 conference, which was jointly organised by the International Research Group on Physics Teaching (GIREP); European Physical Society – Physics Education Division, and the Physics Education Commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). The respective chapters address a wide variety of topics and approaches, pursued in various contexts and settings, all of which represent valuable contributions to the field of physics education research. Examples include the design of curricula and strategies to develop student competencies—including knowledge, skills, attitudes and values; workshop approaches to teacher education; and pedagogical strategies used to engage and motivate students. This book shares essential insights into current research on physics education and will be of interest to physics teachers, teacher educators and physics education researchers around the world who are working to combine research and practice in physics teaching and learning.

This book presents the most up-to-date research contributions focusing on progress in the field of physics education. It provides researches and results that are based on the most relevant matters in physics teacher education and how these matters can be improved for the satisfaction of both teachers and learners. The work is the by-product of the collaboration between GIREP (the International Research Group on Physics Teaching) and the University of Malta. The contributing authors present close examinations of the following topics: ICT and multimedia in teacher education; experiments and laboratory work in teacher education; the role of quantum mechanics in teaching and learning physics; formal, non-formal and informal aspects of physics education at the primary level; strategies for pre-service physics teacher education at all levels; and in-service teacher professional learning strategies. The editors hope that many different stakeholders within scientific academia will find something of value in this compilation of the current most advanced ideas in physics education.

This report presents the results of a study of eight diverse thriving physics teacher education programs, defined as programs at large universities that typically graduate five or more physics teachers in a year. To support other institutions in emulating these successful programs, the study identified common characteristics of such model programs. These characteristics are embodied in a new tool, the Physics Teacher Education Program Analysis (PTEPA) Rubric. The rubric enables characterization of physics teacher education programs and is intended to provide programs with feedback, to guide programs in self-reflection toward improvement, and to provide a means to characterize program growth. This report documents the validation, use, and interpretation of the PTEPA Rubric. Further information about the PTEPA Rubric can be found at http://phystec.org/thriving.

The Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) is proud to bring together the first published collection of full-length peer-reviewed research papers on teacher education in physics. We hope that this work will help institutions consider ways to improve their education of physics and physical science teachers, and that research in this field can continue to grow and challenge or support the effectiveness of practices in K-12 teacher education.

In our world today, scientists and technologists speak one language of reality. Everyone else, whether they be prime ministers, lawyers, or primary school teachers speak an outdated Newtonian language of reality. While Newton saw time and space as rigid and absolute, Einstein showed that time is relative – it depends on height and velocity – and that space can stretch and distort. The modern Einsteinian perspective represents a significant paradigm shift compared with the Newtonian paradigm that underpins most of the school education today. Research has shown that young learners quickly access and accept Einsteinian concepts and the modern language of reality. Students enjoy learning about curved space, photons, gravitational waves, and time dilation; often, they ask for more! A consistent education within the Einsteinian paradigm requires rethinking of science education across the entire school curriculum, and this is now attracting attention around the world. This book brings together a coherent set of chapters written by leading experts in the field of Einsteinian physics education. The book begins by exploring the fundamental concepts of space, time, light, and gravity and how teachers can introduce these topics at an early age. A radical change in the curriculum requires new learning instruments and innovative instructional approaches. Throughout the book, the authors emphasise and discuss evidence-based approaches to Einsteinian concepts, including computer- based tools, geometrical methods, models and analogies, and simplified mathematical treatments. Teaching Einsteinian Physics in Schools is designed as a resource for teacher education students, primary and secondary science teachers, and for anyone interested in a scientifically accurate description of physical reality at a level appropriate for school education.