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r.00TIMENT PFS0ME rp 045 236 SF 007 TITtF Cormission on College 111,vsics Newsint+er ':umler 20. INSTIT7ION Cormission on Coll. Physics, College Park, Md. Ptl VAT Son el NOTE 12n. AVAILABLF FPCY Commission on College Physics, 4'321 uertwick Poad, College Park, FM. 20740 Fr^ol FPPS PRT_CE FDPs Ft-ice MF-T0.2c PC-fn./0 OFSCPIPTOPS Enrollment Trends, *Physics, *Physics Teachers, Seconlary School science, *Sturlent 7nterests, Teacher Education, *Teacher Trnrovement, *Teacher Pecruitment ABSTPACT This newsletter contains five racers which were delivered at a session of tie Panel on the Prneparation c,f Physics Teachers. The pavers focAs on the general tonic of recruitment and prenaration of high physics +cacl.ecs. Sore of the important iES40S considered in the articles include poor !reacher nrenaraticn, incline of student enrollment in physils, student value shift toward the social sciences, lick of relevancy in physics inctrurtion, Gritici,mcf rresent college proorams, nreluelices toward teacino, and decline of orrplovment in physics. Suggestions are included Per teacher training proatins and stratenins. (1)P) At the 1969 Summer Meeting of the AAPT, held this past June in St. Louis, Missouri, the Commission's Panel on the Preparation of Physics Teachers (PPPT) organized cue morning session devoted entirely to in- vited papers and open discussion on the recruitment and preparation of high school physics teachers. The invited talks were: Ben A. Green, Jr., MITThe Background Robert B. Bennett, CCPThe Present: A Con- ference Repast Melba Phillips, U. of ChicagoDo We Really Need More Physics Teachers? Richard H. Sands, U. of MichiganIs there an Ex- citation Energy? E. Leonard Jossem, Ohio State U.Where Do We Go From Here? We were urged, by those attending this meeting, to use the relatively rapid and wide circulation of the CCP Newsletter to publish these five talks in the hopes of sustaining and expanding the considerable enthusiasm and genuine concern generated by this session. The Commission on College Physics has long been I 11 concerned with secondary school physics problems and, since its establishment by the Commission in May 1966, the Panel on the Preparation of Physics Teachers (PPI'7') has devoted its Owls toward translating this concern into programs for action within physics departments. In June of 1967, the PPPT sponsored a week-long workshop at the University of Minnesota which resulted in the publication of the Comission's widely distributed re- port, "Preparing High School Physics Teachers." Along with a review of pertinent statistical data, the report pre- sented a design for implementing a teacher preparation progreen, outlined a three-leveled physics curriculum to meet time various backgrounds and career goals of pro- spective teachers, gave (vi/get of some existing pro- grams. and made suggestions for student recruitment. It I Ol1111.111 Of PS illa ..!Ists3 t1H 11114 The report A41 proven to be instrumental in awakening OHIO Of ItaUti011 members of the profession to they responsibility in as- suring the existence of well trained high school physics teachers and several universities are considering or have ems1000rall PIS eta tiPPOOUM 111011 is Horn I;! nit KISOI Ol Olist/oce toritstlt 11 IOM Ot rty 0$0101 already begun programs. Still 04 Hit WHISSIPtt tt Hallo team atilt is II Kil+01 To further stimulate this adtonee, the PPPT sponsored PON* fot Mkt a conference just prior to this year's AAPT Summer Meeting which brought together college and university representatives from institutions which have vigorous ongoing teacher preparation programs and others which he shown promise in the establishment of such pro- grams. Robert Renne.r article reviews that conference. For the future, the Commission plans to publish revised version of its report, "Preparing High School Physics Teachers," which is now owl of print. to advance of publication, we will gladly maintain a list of those persons desiring copies. 1 The Background Ben A. Green, Jr. First, let me say that there are many people here to- Teachers, Characteristics and Service Loads, "" that, in day whose qualifications to speak on the history of today's effect, most people who teach physics in high school are topic far exceed mine. While some of you have been not prepared to do so by their college training. To be working on the supply of wellprepared high school specific, I will quote for you the fractions .-)f physics classes physics teachers for twenty years or more, my involve- taught by persons whose college transcripts show less ment with this problem began only two years ago when than18 semester hours preparationinphysics. But Iwas a staff member of the Commis ion on College first, consider the corresponding statistics for the other Physics and John Fowler asked me to work with the sciences. In biology, only 21% of classes are taught by Panel on the Preparation of Physics Teachers. At first, such underprepared teachers. In chemistry, the fraction is I did so out of a sense of duty. However, as the Panel 34%; in mathematics {high school only)the fraction taught me the magnitude and seriousness of the prob- is only 23%. In physics. the traction is 66%. lem, I was enlisted wholeheartedly into their attack on This one statistic tells us several things. It tells us that it. we should not be surprised to find that, for the most Appointed in May of 1966, the Commission's Panel on part, high school physics is not well taught. It tells us the Preparation of Physics Teachers began their inquiry not to expect that new curricula for high school physics into the problem by first collecting same background will be, in themselves, dramatically effective in increas- data. They asked Tom Joyner, who preceded me as staff ing the quality of the courses. It also helps us diagnose liaison mm, to make an informal survey of the univer part of the difficulty; the trouble is not with the high sitics in the United States to find out what resets ice school. While both poor salaries, which in the past have programs they were operating for physics teachers and prevented competent people from teaching at all, and how many such teachers they produced per year. poor working conditions in the schools are obstacles to The replies to Tom's inquiries gave the Panel its first the person who wants to teach physics, they are just as shock. We found that everybody had a problem, but much obstacles to the one who wants to teach chemistry. that nobody produced any teachers. To be more pre- Yet the chemistry teacher is twice as likely to be prepared cise, we could find only two institutions, out of the 1700 at the 18 semester hour level or better. The trouble is :nstitutions of high' r learning in this country, which with physics. produced more than ten physics teachers per year, and As the Panel recovered from these btnes and began only ten schools which produced at least five physics to consider what to do about it, other facts became ap- teachers per year. We form,' that the largest, most re- parem. Consider the problem facing the high school spected physics departments typically produced only one principal who most hire a physics teacher. The percent- physics teacher every five years. age of high school students who take physics has been We were depressed even further to read in the NSF dropping for many years. Several years ago the fraction report, "Secondary School Science and Mathematics taking physics was about Now it is Ices than 20%, and the trend shows no sign of slowing down. Low en- rollments mean that the principal cannot hire a person Ben A. Green, jr. is now at the MIT Fdweation Re- to teach only physics. Most people who teach physics starch Center. After taking his Ph.D. at johns must be ptimatily teachers of something else. Accord- Hopkins in 1956 he did applied physics for Rendix ing to the NSF snivel, only 4% of the physics teachers Radio and metal physics research for Union Car- taught only physics. The number who teach only one or bide. In 1961 he joined Care Western Resent two classes of physics is 81%. University, where his interest in ptogtatrned in- 11963 Re pott ot a surety by the Natkets1 Armistioft c4 State struction Ilowrished alongside his work in low Director. et Teacher relocation sod Cettikstion and the Ametitsit temperature ealorimetry. lie served on the staff of t/mist/oil lot the Vitsftteitstnt et klettet tot the Naiimal Sciehet the CCP dyeing 1967-6S before joining the FRC. tootAstioft. Itctited Witte* to be published in 1964. 111111211111111111116 111111111111111111P 2 I won't burden you with more gloomy statistics. The search man is, and his tolerance for lengthy problem situation looks bad; the solution must be complex. Any- solutions is correspondingly less. In any event, ere ex thing you pick out to work on is influenced by other perience of departments who recommendtheirso- facto's. Enrollments are down because the courses are called R-curriculum is that those who graduate from it either too hard or too dull. The courses are poor be- seldom enter the classroom. cause the teacher's heart is with his own subject, not phys 3. The sequence of courses will affect recruitment ics. And the school cannot afford a physics specialist and must accomodate the likely sources of students. because the enroli,nent is so low. Thus it must be possible to en:er the program as late The Panel chose to attack the problem at a sensitive as one's junior year, and still get at least 18 semester nointthe university physics department, for itis the hours in physics as a minor subject.