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Physics at Brigham Young University

Physics at Brigham Young University. Steve Turley June 26, 2010. Outline. Introduction to BYU Department Culture Introductory Courses Advanced Courses Student Mentoring Majors. Facts About BYU. Location: Provo, Utah Total Undergraduate Enrollment: capped at about 30,000

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Physics at Brigham Young University

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  1. Physics at Brigham Young University Steve Turley June 26, 2010

  2. Outline • Introduction to BYU • Department Culture • Introductory Courses • Advanced Courses • Student Mentoring • Majors

  3. Facts About BYU • Location: Provo, Utah • Total Undergraduate Enrollment: capped at about 30,000 • Private, Religiously Oriented • significant financial support from LDS church • vast majority of students are Mormon • Students from all 50 states and 110 foreign countries, but mostly from the West • 30% from Utah • 13% from California • 5% each from Washington, Idaho, Texas

  4. History • University founded 1875 (high school) • First physics course 1881 • First full-time physics instructor 1901 • First physics graduate (Fletcher), 1907 • Department formed 1911 (Fletcher) • C. F. Eyring head, 1916-1951 • MS degrees 1933, PhD in 1959

  5. Admissions Selectivity • Some enrollment pressure, but most applicants are admitted • Some self-selection • Average high school GPA: 3.8 • 90% have ACT scores between 24 and 30 • Relatively high retention (about 93%)

  6. BYU Physics Faculty • 33 Full-Time Faculty (11 Prof/16 Assoc/6 Asst) • Almost all are research-active • Research areas • Astronomy/astrophysics • Acoustics • Plasma • Atomic • Optical • Condensed Matter • Nuclear • General Relativity • Statistical Mechanics

  7. Number of Physics Majors • Grew significantly from 1995-2000, a period when other programs were shrinking • Stable since then.

  8. Graduates Per Year

  9. Relatively Small Graduate Program

  10. Department Culture • Student emphasis • Collegiality • College and institutional ties strong • past history • alignment with institutional values • Values • Teaching • Relationships • Excellence

  11. Attracting and Retaining Majors • Orientation • Advisement • Promoting student-student interactions • Faculty mentoring • Undergraduate research • Teaching emphasis • Department culture

  12. Orientation • Freshmen meeting with SPS Officers, Associate Chair, and U-grad Advisor • Introductions • Suggestions for Success • Undergraduate Handbook • Required Introduction to Physics Class

  13. Advisement • Formal Advising • Class advisors • On-call advisors • College Advisement Center • Peer Advisors • Informal Advising • Research Advisors • Other Students

  14. Promoting Student-Student Interactions • Very Active SPS Chapter • Monthly meetings • Outreach • Undergraduate Study Room • Open Tutorial Labs • Peer Instruction • Undergraduate Research Groups

  15. Teaching Emphasis • Evaluation • Annual interviews • Rank and status reviews • Departmental Teaching Discussions • Outstanding full-time faculty teach general education and service courses • Student involvement as TA’s • Collegial environment for constructive formative and summative evaluation of each other’s teaching

  16. Introductory Courses • taught in large sections (100-300) • taught by our best full-time faculty • mostly taken by engineers, other majors in our college, and potential physics majors • seen as critical to attracting and keeping majors • many decide on a physics major their freshman and sophomore years

  17. Calculus-Based Physics

  18. Algebra-Based Physics

  19. General Education

  20. Physical Science 100

  21. Transition Courses • Introductory labs taught early in their experience to give them tools needed for undergraduate research • Modern Physics class first one with mostly physics majors • emphasis on professional development • encouragement to seek research experiences • connections with other majors

  22. Upper Division Courses • variety, taught frequently (large department) • enrollment 25-35 • standard texts and sequences: math physics, computational physics, labs, thermal physics, optics, electricity and magnetism, quantum mechanics • specialized courses: astrophysics, acoustics, solid state • special topics (rare): biophysics, chaos

  23. Faculty Mentoring • Undergraduate Research Experiences • Many start in first and second year • Students recruiting students • SPS Research night • Inviting students to lunch • Faculty accessibility • Office hours • Open door policy

  24. Undergraduate Research • Senior Thesis, Honors Thesis, Capstone Experience, or Student Teaching required of all graduates. • Most get department, college, or university support • Assessment • Alumni survey: overwhelming majority said it was a good or excellent experience • Exit interviews: very challenging, but often a defining undergraduate experience • Requires a lot of faculty time

  25. Senior and Honors Theses

  26. Capstone Projects

  27. Majors

  28. Physics Education • Used to complain about the preparation of our entering students • Realized, we were training most of their teachers • Allies and colleagues • student preparation • recruitment • Great TA’s • Stimulate department discussion of teaching

  29. Relationships • strong support from college and other departments • good cooperation with College of Education • gave us an FTE to hire teacher education specialist • we help them a lot with supervising student teaching and many committee assignments • students get strong reinforcement from faculty about choice of secondary teaching (class and research groups) • these are sometimes some of our best students (Carolyn Evans)

  30. Decision on Physics Education Major • all of the students I interviewed made final decision about major after coming to BYU • majors • some from other physics majors • many from other departments (flexible entry) • introductory courses matter a lot • pedagogy • engagement

  31. Departmental Support • full-fledged students (Spring Research Conference Award winners) • rewards for excellence in tutoring labs, etc. • mentoring (teaching and research groups) • “every way we can” • facilitate late entry into major • ask students and TA’s for opinions on teaching • personalize courses to their interests (paper topics, for instance) • students need to feel valued, cared for, and assisted

  32. Cultural Helps • service-oriented school • strong culture of teaching • department • missionary experience • strong emphasis on families • secondary school teaching often a good choice for students who want to spend f a lot of time with families • momentum (word of mouth) • many different reasons for making choice

  33. Other Factors • Methods class taught by someone with classroom experience • Shared core courses • One physics teacher responsible for whole group • Excellent relationships with local schools • Weekly “group meetings” • build apparatus • talk about salaries • discuss job opportunities • answer questions

  34. Change of Culture • Five years ago we averaged a couple of physics graduates a year • Major change • hired good people • shift in department culture • concerted effort • Now average about 12 physics education graduates a year • 5% of total U.S. physics education graduates in 2006

  35. Alumni Survey—Recruiting • Personal enrichment (91%) • Reputation of faculty (29%) • Reputation of program (36%) • Interest in subject area (100%) • Influence of family (39%) • Influence of other students (13%) • Influence of faculty members (20%)

  36. When Students Chose Major • Before college 53% • Freshman year 21% • Sophomore year 14% • Junior year 4% • Senior year 1%

  37. Why Students Chose Major • Direct interest in subject (53) • Understanding how things work (48) • Indirect Interest • Math (23) • Other field(4) • Flexible/Broad major (17) • Difficulty • Challenge/Intellectual Stimulation (22) • Aptitude (10)

  38. Choosing a Physics Major • Disciplinary Characteristics • Fun(13) • Religious/Aesthetic Reasons (10) • Problem solving (9) • Hands-on (8) • Fundamental, logical, concrete, meaningful, creative surprises • Financial • Career good (4) • Scholarship (1)

  39. RecruitingInfluence of Others • High School Course/Teacher (23) • College Course • Introductory Course (14) • Caring Faculty (2) • Family (6)

  40. Why Students Kept Major • Continued interest in subject (69) • Community: Professors (28), Students (11) • Inertia/Perseverance (23) • Challenge/Reward/Growth/Prestige (23) • Research Experiences (10) • Job/Career (8) • Broad Subject, Options (7) • Aptitude (6) • Still fun (5)

  41. Other Reasons to Stay • Predictable subject (“not art”) • Like learning new things • Organization of Department or Major • Increased understanding • Enjoy math or problem solving • Family encouragement • Want to help world or community • Religious motivations • Scholarship requirement

  42. Summary • Many factors lead to a strong department • Department culture and relationships important • result from intangibles • passing these on to the next generation • Count the cost • Play to your strengths • Physics education defines our future

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