1. Case Study: Oregon State University
Corinne Manogue
Paradigms in Physics
Revising the Upper-Division Curriculum
Paradigms in Physics is a project at Oregon State University to revise the entire upper-division curriculum for physics and engineering physics majors to make our program more modern, integrated, and flexible and to increase students’ success.
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

2. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Support
National Science Foundation
DUE , ,
DUE , ,
Oregon State University
Oregon Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers
Grinnell College
Mount Holyoke College
Utah State University
Acknowledgements
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. DUE and DUE Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The project has also received support from the Department of Physics, College of Science, and Academic Affairs at Oregon State University and the Hutchcroft Fund at Mount Holyoke College.
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3. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Outline
The Oregon State Model
Department Culture
Classroom Culture
Spaces
Content & the Hidden Curriculum
Classroom Practice
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4. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Genetics
Learning is nonlinear.
People are not interchangeable.
Storytelling.
Connect with your students.
No powerpoint/No fade-ins.
Multiple messages.
Challenge for bright students.
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5. Four Curriculum Projects
Paradigms in Physics: complete reform of upper-division major.
The Bridge Project: to bridge the vector calculus gap between mathematics and physics.
Computational Physics for Undergraduates:
Second-generation, large-enrollment, lower-division course reform.
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

6. The Paradigms Project —The Old Curriculum
Long Sequences
Traditional Subdisciplines
Rigid Scheduling
Choices Difficult
Junior Level ~ Senior Level
Can’t Revisit Topic
Interrelationships Difficult
The Old Curriculum
Our old curriculum, full of year-long sequences of courses in the traditional physics subjects, was characterized by rigid scheduling that made choices difficult. Each subject area was treated in a single year, so that the junior-year sequences were roughly the same level of difficulty as the senior-year courses. Since it was difficult to revisit topics, it was also difficult to highlight many of the beautiful interrelationships across physics disciplines.
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

7. The Paradigms Project —Characteristics of Paradigms
Reorder topics as professionals think.
Case-study method.
Collaborative planning.
Active engagement.
Many sources of information.
Explicit attention to professional development.
All of the things that we do differently in the paradigms.
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8. The Paradigms Project —Our Program
Junior Year—9 Paradigms
3 week courses (one-at-a-time)
7 hrs/week (MWF 1 hr, TR 2 hrs)
Senior Year—6 Capstones
1 quarter courses (two-at-a-time)
3 hrs/week
Also Electronics, Optics, Thesis, Electives
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

9. The Paradigms Project —Paradigms (Junior Year)
Fall
Symmetries
& Idealizations
Static Vector Fields
Oscillations
Winter
1-D Waves
Spin & Quantum Measurements
Central Forces
Spring
Energy & Entropy
Periodic Systems
Rigid Bodies
Reference Frames
Paradigms
A list of the Paradigms courses that we currently teach at Oregon State University, emphasizing early quantum mechanics.
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

10. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Curriculum Design
Chop content into small pieces.
Make each piece a separate course.
Use evocative names.
Organize on multiple levels.
Use existing spaces and times.
“Throw away” textbooks.
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

11. The Hidden Curriculum —Content
Expectation values & Probability
Energy
Resonance
Symmetry
Normal Modes
Discrete & Continuous
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

12. Lower-division Reform
Old:
3 hrs lecture (250)
3 hrs lab (30)
New:
2 hrs lecture (200)
2 hrs active-engagement (70)
2 hrs lab (30)
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

13. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Spaces
Pay attention to every remodeling opportunity.
Do not buy more tablet-arm chairs.
Consider donors—mid-level commitment.
Do not forget air, lights, sound/acoustics
Aisles!
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

14. The Hidden Curriculum —Professional Development
Speaking
Writing
Modern Topics
Professional Identification
Career Development
Non-academic careers
Future teachers
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

15. The Hidden Curriculum —Problem-Solving
Moving away from templates
Using advanced notation
Breaking-up complicated problems
Developing harmonic reasoning
Novice Expert
Developing problem-solving confidence
Using Reflective Judgment
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16. The Hidden Curriculum —Integrate or Separate?
Math & physics
Experiment, Theory, Computation
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17. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Department Culture
Collaborative Solitaire
Set aside time to discuss curriculum.
Discuss curriculum details.
Refine rather than reinvent.
Be consumers of PER
AAPT
NSDL/ComPADRE
physics.oregonstate.edu/portfolioswiki
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18. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Classroom Culture
Research shows that active engagement works better.
What is active-engagement?
Lecture strategies/ template problem-solving
The Teaching Gap
Problems with clickers
Listen to students!
Action Research
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

19. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Curriculum Reform
Content Matters
Pedagogy Matters
(Metacognition Matters)
(Transitions Matter)
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20. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Content Matters
What we teach?
What do we leave out?
Do we teach concepts, facts, problem-solving, …?
What order do we teach it in?
How do the pieces contribute to our overall goals?
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21. Early Mathematics Content
What is the role of the number 2?
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22. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Physics Application
Dependence on two variables
Minus sign
Parameters rather than constants
Funny Greek letter
Physics content
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23. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Pedagogy Matters
Tutorials
Black-box Computer Simulations
Projects
Research
Small White Boards
Groups Activities
Compare & Contrast Summaries
Multiple Representations
Kinesthetic Activities
Reflection Activities
Visualization Activities
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24. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Dot Product
Record on your small white board something that you know about the dot product.
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25. Small White Board Questions
Allow the instructor to set a context.
Allow the instructor to see if everyone is on the same page.
“Quiet” members of the class are encouraged to participate.
Students vie to have their answers chosen.
Keep everyone engaged and awake.
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26. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Plane Wave Activity W o r k i n g w t h a p e y u b d , f s v c ~ . L l m C q
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27. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Plane Wave Activity
Students connect points
with equal value of
What is
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28. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Plane Wave Activity
Students connect points
with equal value of
What is
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29. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Large Whiteboards
Provide the opportunity:
to practice calculations,
to innovate,
to discuss problem-solving strategies, synthesis, evaluation, decision-making, etc.
to practice communication: how can they make their own reasoning understood, how can they ask effective questions about someone else’s reasoning.
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

30. Compare & Contrast Activities
Allow students to compare the results of many similar calculations without having to do many cases,
Allow students to discuss how can a particular problem-solving schema can be modified for other cases,
Engage a reflective mode of thinking,
Encourage students to look for patterns and rules.
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31. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Effective Activities
Are short, containing approximately 3 questions.
Ask different groups to apply the same technique to different examples.
Involve periodic lecture/discussion with the instructor.
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32. Charge & Current Density
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33. Kinesthetic Activities
Tap into to embodied cognition
Ask for students to use geometric reasoning,
Concretize idealizations,
Allow students to think conceptually about how you would measure things,
Keep everyone engaged and awake.
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34. The Hidden Curriculum —Lecture vs. Activities
The Instructor:
Paints big picture.
Inspires.
Covers lots fast.
Models speaking.
Models problem-solving.
Controls questions.
Makes connections.
The Students:
Focus on subtleties.
Experience delight.
Slow, but in depth.
Practice speaking.
Practice problem-solving.
Control questions.
Make connections.
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

35. Resources http:physics.oregonstate.edu/portfolioswiki 6/26/2010
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36. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Resources
Activities
Instructors’ guides
Pedagogical strategies
Courses
How students learn
Publications
Textbooks
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo

37. Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo
Socratic vs Groups
How does it feel to teach in these ways?
vs.
Everyone knows everything vs. No one knows anything
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Spin-Up 2010, San Luis Obispo