UW
Department of Physics
The Physics Education Group has taken a leadership role in the U.S. and abroad in promoting research on the teaching and learning of physics as a field for scholarly inquiry by physicists. Graduate students, post-doctoral research associates, and visiting faculty have come to the Center for Physics Education to learn about the research of the group. Among them are several who are active at a national level in physics education research today. Members of the group present talks at national and international meetings and have established an extensive publication record. Support from the National Science Foundation has enabled the Physics Education Group to conduct a coordinated program in which research, curriculum development, and instruction mutually reinforce one another.Graduate Program in Physics Education
Graduate students in the Physics Education Group select physics education as their field of research for the Ph.D. in physics. Students go through the usual admission process, which includes consideration of the General and Advanced Physics GRE scores, undergraduate grades, and letters of recommendation. To date, 22 graduate students in the group have received the Ph.D. in physics for research on the learning and teaching of physics. (See dissertation topics below).
Students take all of the same courses and fulfill all of the same examination requirements as the other graduate students in the Department. They must pass a written Qualifying Examination and an oral General Examination for a Ph.D. candidacy. They defend their dissertation research in an oral Final Examination.
All students who are Teaching Assistants in the Department are required to take a year-long, weekly Graduate Teaching Seminar conducted by the Physics Education Group. The purpose is to prepare graduate students and junior faculty for their present and future roles as instructors. Graduate students in the Physics Education Group help conduct the seminar, assume increasing levels of teaching responsibility for the large-enrollment introductory courses, and participate in the teaching of special laboratory-based courses for prospective and practicing teachers (K-12).
The Physics Education Group conducts a weekly research seminar. These regular meetings provide a forum for discussion of the research literature and for prsentations by group members and visitors to the Center for Physics Education.
Ph.D. dissertations by Physics Education Group members
"An investigation of understanding of kinematical concepts among introductory physics students" (David Trowbridge, 1979).Related information:"Improving preparation for college physics of minority students aspiring to science-related careers" (Mark Rosenquist, 1982).
"History and practice of ancient astronomy" (James Evans, 1983).
"Student understanding of single particle dynamics" (Ronald Lawson, 1984).
"Use of the computer for research on instruction and student understanding in physics" (Diane Grayson, 1990).
"The use of research as a guide for instruction in physics" (Peter Shaffer, 1993).
"An investigation of student understanding of electric concepts in the introductory university physics course" (Randal Harrington, 1995).
"Research as a guide for the development of tutorials to improve student understanding of geometrical and physical optics" (Karen Wosilait, 1996).
"Promoting active learning in lecture-based courses: Demonstrations, tutorials, and interactive tutorial lectures" (Pamela Kraus, 1997).
"Investigating student difficulties with reference frames and multibody systems in introductory mechanics" (Tara O'Brien Pride, 1997).
"An investigation of student understanding of the wave-like properties of light and matter" (Bradley S. Ambrose, 1999).
"Investigation of student understanding of hydrostatics and thermal physics" (Michael E. Loverude, 1999).
"Investigation of student difficulties in relating qualitative understanding of electrical phenomena to quantitative problem-solving in physics" (Stephen E. Kanim, 1999).
"Identifying and addressing student difficulties with the ideal gas law" (Christian Kautz, 1999).
"An investigation of student understanding of basic concepts in special relativity" (Rachel Scherr, 2001).
"Identifying and addressing student difficulties with rotational dynamics" (Luanna Gomez Ortiz, 2001).
"An investigation of student understanding of Galilean relativity" (Andrew Boudreaux, 2002).
"Improving instruction in mechanics through identification and elicitation of pivotal cases in student reasoning" (Hunter Close, 2005).
"Student understanding of the second law of thermodynamics and the related concepts of heat, temperature and entropy" (Matthew Cochran, 2005).
"Research on student understanding of quantum mechanics as a guide for improving instruction" (Andrew Crouse, 2007).
"An investigation into student understanding of energy in the context of mechanics" (Beth Lindsey, 2008).
"An investigation of student understanding of wave phenomena at a boundary as a guide to the development and assessment of instructional materials on mechanical waves" (Mila Kryjevskaia, 2008).
Physics Department Graduate Study in Physics
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