The Deconstruction of Our Reconstruction

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The Deconstruction of Our Reconstruction

• 2009 AAPT Spin-Up Regional Conference
• June 19, 2009
• Marquette University
• Milwaukee, WI
• Marty Johnston
• University of St. Thomas
• St. Paul, MN

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Ten years ago at the University of St. Thomas
0 graduates a handful majors 1 big pit in my
stomach
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Just three years before in the fall of 1995
it had all seemed so clear
Move to the new building Write successful
some grants Start undergraduate research
projects Rejuvenate the student club

• We had some great ingredients
• So why wasnt it working?
• Where were all the students?

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We had problems that went deeper than more floor
space and new equipment
- We had no real sense of community -
We didnt work as a team everyone was working
hard on their own agenda Great if you are
aligned Ok - if you are orthogonal in purpose
Problematic if you are at odds with each other
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We had problems that went deeper than more floor
space and new equipment
- We had no real sense of community -
- We lacked a vision not sure who we were -
Without a unified vision it was difficult to
resolve operational differences
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What to do?
We faced our differences and started
developing a unified and comprehensive vision
and philosophy
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What to do?
We faced our differences and started
developing a unified and comprehensive vision
and philosophy
not nearly as easy as I thought it would be
Found common ground by focusing on the
characteristics of our successful students
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Characteristics of Our Successful Students

• Could tackle real problems with messy and
  ill-defined boundary conditions.
• Were happy if you just threw them a manual and a
  reasonably clear statement of the problem.
• Didnt differentiate between analytical,
  experimental, and computational skills they
  used them all as needed to solve the problem at
  hand.

Although we took pride in our successful
students, we had to ask, to what extent had our
curriculum led to their success?
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The Problem

• Our curriculum was out of balance and lacked
  integration.
• The traditional topics were covered but they
  were not connected together in a meaningful
  manner.
• Many important ideas and skills that we observed
  in our best students were not explicitly imbedded
  into the curriculum.

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The Problem

• What
• We Taught
• Analytical
• Experimental
• Computational
• Communication

• What We
• Wanted
• Analytical
• Experimental
• Computational
• Communication

- Vs -
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Our Goal

• Revitalize our curriculum by
• Revising existing courses by increasing the
  experimental, computational and communication
  content in all of the courses

New Departmental Mission
Both inside and outside the classroom, the
University of St. Thomas Physics Department
provides undergraduate students with a broad
understanding and appreciation for physics,
cultivates problem solving skills involving
analytical, experimental and computational
techniques and teaches how to effectively
communicate technical ideas. We strive to instill
values that enable individuals to responsibly
engage the world they live in.
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Our Goal

• Revitalize our curriculum by
• Emphasizing interconnections between courses

e.g. redesigned the optics course to emphasize of
EM principles introduced in our EM sequence
with applications from biology
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Our Goal

• Revitalize our curriculum by
• Bringing in missing concepts and skills

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Our Goal

• Revitalize our curriculum by
• Bringing in missing concepts and skills

• CISC130 - Introduction Programming and Problem
  Solving in the Sciences
• MATH 240 - Linear Algebra
• PHYS 215 - Foundations of Modern Physics From
  the Atom to the Big Bang
• PHYS 225 - Applications of Modern Physics From
  the Atom to the Diode
• PHYS 323 Methods of Experimental Physics
• 5. Transitional Undergraduate Research
• Getting them in the laboratory before theyre
  ready to leave

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PHYS 323 Experimental MethodsBridge Between
the Introductory Courses and the Upper Level
Curriculum

• Bringing in missing concepts and skills

• Develops systematic problem solving skills by
  working on a single complicated experimental
  investigation over an entire semester.
• Builds on physical concepts they are familiar
  with as they learn new mathematics, build
  instrumentation, write code, learn how to
  communicate, and develop the confidence that
  helps them tackle the challenges of upper level
  courses.

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• Bringing in missing concepts and skills

PHYS 323 Experimental MethodsBridge Between
the Introductory Courses and the Upper Level
Curriculum
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Transitional Undergraduate Research

• Bringing in missing concepts and skills

• Tie undergraduate research efforts to topics
  introduced in the introductory and transition
  courses
• Students excited and productive in the lab
• Requires flexible faculty

Our Current Efforts Tied to Introductory and
Transitional Courses Non-linear Systems and
Complexity (Jalkio, Johnston, Ohmann) Quantum
Dots (Lopez del Puerto, Green) Astronomical
Data Mining (Ruch, Jalkio)
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Tracking Curricular Change
1998-99 2005-06
2008-09

Freshman Freshman
Class Phys I
Computing
Sophomore Sophomore
Class Phys II Mod Phys I
Electronics Exp Methods

Junior
Mod Phys II Stat M / Therm
E M I E M II
Optics
Senior Senior
Theo Mech Quan Mech

Freshman Freshman
Class Phys I

Sophomore Sophomore
Class Phys II Mod Phys I


Junior Junior
Mod Phys II Stat M / Therm
E M Electronics
Computing
Senior Senior
Theo Mech Quan Mech
Adv Lab Adv Lab
Freshman Freshman
Computing Class Phys I

Sophomore Sophomore
Class Phys II Mod Phys - A
Electronics Exp Methods

Junior
Mod Phys - F Stat M / Therm
E M I E M II
Optics
Senior Senior
Theo Mech Quan Mech

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Ok, so you made all those curricular changes,
what happened to the program?
We Grew We hadnt focused on increasing
students but it naturally came about By
paying attention to our mission we moved from
Graduating 1 to none / year to 10 to 12
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Ok, so how do you make all these changes?
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Building a Healthy Program

• Develop a Clear Mission and Vision
• Who are you?
• What do you want to accomplish?
• How will you work to achieve your goal?

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Building a Healthy Program

• Develop a Clear Mission and Vision
• Be Inclusive

• One person might initiate curricular revision,
  but they can seldom maintain it.

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Building a Healthy Program

• Develop a Clear Mission and Vision
• Be Inclusive

• Work in a collaborative manner.

e.g. Computation often suffers due to the lack
of faculty familiarity with computational tools.
Faculty members will need help and time to
develop computational skills
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Building a Healthy Program

• Develop a Clear Mission and Vision
• Be Inclusive

A key characteristic of a thriving department is
the active involvement of a substantial majority
of the faculty. R.C Hilborn, R.H. Howes, and
K.S.Krane, Strategic Programs for Innovations in
Undergraduate Physics Project Report, AAPT, 2003
(SPIN-UP)
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Building a Healthy Program

• Develop a Clear Mission and Vision
• Be Inclusive
• Learn From Others

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Learn From Others

• Three models that influenced our program
• Oregon States Paradigms of Physics
• Weave analytical, experimental and computation
  elements into an integrated discussion.
• C.A. Manogue et. al. Am. J. Phys., vol. 69, no.
  9, 2001, pp 978-990
• Clark University
• Computation plays a role in the development of
  new physics.
• The infusion of computational methods throughout
  the curriculum is essential.
• H. Gould, Computer Physics Comm., vol. 127, no
  1, 2000, pp. 6-10
• Lawrence University
• Introduce computational techniques early in the
  curriculum.
• Computation should permeate the curriculum.
• D.M. Cook, Proc. Intl Conf. Computational
  Science (ICCS), LNCS 2073, V.N. Alexandrov et.al.
  eds., Springer 2001 pp. 1074-1083

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Learn From Others

• Essential Reading
• Strategic Programs for Innovation in
  Undergraduate Physics Project Report
• edited by Robert C. Hilborn, Ruth H. Howes.
  Kenneth S. Krane
• published by American Association of Physics
  Teachers, 2003
• Strategic Programs for Innovation in
  Undergraduate Physics at Two-Year Colleges Best
  Practices of Physics Programs
• by Mary Beth Monroe, Thomas L OKuma, Warren
  Hein
• edited by Melanie J. Norton
• published by American Association of Physics
  Teachers, 2005
• Improving Undergraduate Instruction in Science,
  Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Report
  of a Workshop
• Published by The National Academies Press, 2003
• ISBN 0-309-50968-8 (available on Amazon)

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Building a Healthy Program

• Develop a Clear Mission and Vision
• Be Inclusive
• Learn From Others
• Build Allies
• Our Partners
• Computer Science
• Engineering, Mathematics
• Education

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Building a Healthy Program

• Develop a Clear Mission and Vision
• Be Inclusive
• Learn From Others
• Build Allies
• Value Curricular Reform

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Value Curricular Reform

• Align Faculty Expectations with Mission
• Value the Development of Course Material
• at the Departmental Level
• Treat Development as Scholarship

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Value Curricular Reform

• Boyer Model of Scholarship
• Scholarship of Discovery (Basic Research)
• Scholarship of Application (Applied Research)
• Scholarship of Integration (Interdisciplinary
  Collaboration)
• Scholarship of Teaching (Development of
  Pedagogy)
• Common to all are standards of excellence that
  can be evaluated.
• E. L. Boyer, Scholarship Reconsidered
  Priorities of the Professorate,
• Carnegie Foundation, 1990, pp. 15-25
• C. E. Glassick, M. T. Huber, and G. I. Maeroff,
  Scholarship Assessed Evaluation of the
  Priorities of the Professorate, Carnegie
  Foundation, 1996, pp. 22-36

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Building a Healthy Program

• Develop a Clear Mission and Vision
• Be Inclusive
• Learn From Others
• Build Allies
• Value Curricular Reform
• Build in Assessment

Dont run open loop feedback keeps systems
healthy
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Building a Healthy Program

• Develop a Clear Mission and Vision
• Be Inclusive
• Learn From Others
• Build Allies
• Value Curricular Reform
• Build in Assessment
• Hire and Mentor Carefully

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• For us, mission fit is as important as
  specialization.
• The faculty you hire need to understand the
  program they are joining.

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Building a Healthy Program

• Develop a Clear Mission and Vision
• Be Inclusive
• Learn From Others
• Build Allies
• Value Curricular Reform
• Build in Assessment
• Hire and Mentor Carefully
• Be Patient

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• Remember, change takes time.
• The successful programs that inspired our
  changes shared the following characteristics
• Large-Scale Faculty Support
• Long-Term Commitment to the Revision
• Healthy Programs Continue to Evolve

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Building a Healthy Program

• Develop a Clear Mission and Vision
• Be Inclusive
• Learn From Others
• Build Allies
• Value Curricular Reform
• Build in Assessment
• Hire and Mentor Carefully
• Be Patient

While were nowhere close to being done, our
program is vibrant and we can say with confidence
that the students skills are due to the
curriculum, not in spite of it.