Meltzer, Plisch, and Vokos Plisch, and Vokos Meltzer, Transforming the Preparation of Transforming the Preparation of Physics Teachers: A Call to Action of Physics Teachers: the Preparation Transforming Physics Teachers: A Call to Action A Call to Action The Task Force found that, except for a handful of isolated models of excellence, the national A Report by the Task Force on landscape of the professional preparation Teacher Education in Physics (T-TEP) of physics teachers shows a system that is Edited by David E. Meltzer, Monica Plisch, largely inefficient, mostly incoherent, and and Stamatis Vokos completely unprepared to deal with the current and future needs of the nation’s students. Physics departments, schools of education, university administrators, school systems, state agencies, and the federal government, along with business and foundations, all have indispensable collaborative roles to play so that every high school student has the opportunity to learn physics with a qualified teacher. ISBN 978-0-9848110-2-1 Transforming the Preparation of Physics Teachers: A Call to Action A Report by the Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics (T-TEP) Edited by David E. Meltzer, Monica Plisch, and Stamatis Vokos T-TEP is a joint effort of: American Physical Society American Association of Physics Teachers American Institute of Physics With support from: Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) December 2012 Transforming the Preparation of Physics Teachers: A Call to Action. A Report by the Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics (T-TEP) © 2012 American Physical Society. All rights reserved. Published by: American Physical Society One Physics Ellipse College Park, MD 20740-3845 U.S.A. With support from: Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) www.phystec.org The PhysTEC project is led by the American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers, with funding from the Na- tional Science Foundation and the APS Campaign for the 21st Century. This report was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant numbers PHY-0108787 and PHY-0808790. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this report are those of the Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Cover design by Krystal Ferguson ISBN 978-0-9848110-2-1 Additional documents related to this report, including the most recent PDF version, are available at: www.ptec.org/taskforce. David E. Meltzer, Monica Plisch, and Stamatis Vokos, editors, Transforming the Preparation of Physics Teachers: A Call to Action. A Report by the Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics (T-TEP) (American Physical Society, College Park, MD, 2012). T-TEP ii Members of the Task Force Beth A. Cunningham* Executive Officer (since January 2011) American Association of Physics Teachers Eugenia Etkina Professor, Graduate School of Education Rutgers University J. D. Garcia Professor Emeritus of Physics University of Arizona David G. Haase Professor of Physics North Carolina State University Philip (Bo) Hammer* Associate Executive Officer (2009-2010) American Association of Physics Teachers Jack G. Hehn* Director of Education (through August 2011) American Institute of Physics Warren W. Hein* Executive Officer (through December 2010) American Association of Physics Teachers Theodore Hodapp* Director of Education and Diversity American Physical Society Drew Isola Physics and Math Teacher Allegan High School Allegan, MI Eugene H. Levy Formerly Howard R. Hughes Provost and Professor of Physics and Astronomy Currently Andrew Hays Buchanan Professor of Astrophysics Rice University David E. Meltzer† Associate Professor, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Arizona State University Catherine O’Riordan* Vice President, Physics Resources Center (since January 2009) American Institute of Physics Valerie K. Otero Associate Professor of Science Education University of Colorado at Boulder Monica Plisch* Associate Director of Education and Diversity American Physical Society Mary Ann Rankin Formerly Dean of College of Arts and Natural Sciences and Professor, Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin Currently Senior Vice President and Provost, University of Maryland James H. Stith* Vice President, Physics Resources Center (through December 2008) American Institute of Physics Stamatis Vokos, Chair Professor of Physics Seattle Pacific University * Ex officio representatives of professional societies † T-TEP Senior Consultant T-TEP iii Transforming the Preparation of Physics Teachers: A Call to Action T-TEP iv Table of Contents Preface................................................................................................................................................................................vii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................................ix Executive Summary .....................................................................................................................................................xi Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Data Sources and Methodology ....................................................................................................9 Chapter 3: Findings ....................................................................................................................................................13 Chapter 4: Recommendations .............................................................................................................................23 Foundational Material I: Historical Context of U.S. Physics Teacher Education .......................29 Foundational Material II: Research on Physics Teacher Education ..................................................37 Appendix A: Physics Department Survey Documentation .................................................................41 A.1 AIP Statistical Research Center Report ...........................................................................................42 A.2 Survey Instrument ......................................................................................................................................47 A.3 Interview Protocol ......................................................................................................................................51 Appendix B: Site Visit Documentation ...........................................................................................................53 B.1 Letter Soliciting Nominations ...............................................................................................................54 B.2 Letter to Site Visit Host ............................................................................................................................55 B.3 Memorandum of Understanding .......................................................................................................56 B.4 Site Visit Questionnaire ............................................................................................................................57 B.5 Site Visit Volunteers ...................................................................................................................................58 Appendix C: Site Visit Report Summaries .....................................................................................................59 C.1 Arizona State University ..........................................................................................................................60 C.2 University of Arkansas ..............................................................................................................................62 C.3 Brigham Young University .....................................................................................................................64 C.4 Buffalo State College .................................................................................................................................66 C.5 City College of New York ........................................................................................................................68 C.6 University of Colorado at Boulder .....................................................................................................70 C.7 Illinois State University .............................................................................................................................72 C.8 University of Northern Iowa .................................................................................................................74 C.9 Rutgers University .......................................................................................................................................76 C.10 Seattle Pacific University ......................................................................................................................78 C.11 University of Washington ....................................................................................................................80 Resources for the Education of Physics Teachers ......................................................................................82 T-TEP v Transforming the Preparation of Physics Teachers: A Call to Action T-TEP vi Preface