Table Of ContentAdapting to a Changing World--Challenges and Opportunities in Undergraduate Physics Education
Committee on Undergraduate Physics Education
Research and Implementation
Board on Physics and Astronomy
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
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Adapting to a Changing World--Challenges and Opportunities in Undergraduate Physics Education
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Adapting to a Changing World--Challenges and Opportunities in Undergraduate Physics Education
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Adapting to a Changing World--Challenges and Opportunities in Undergraduate Physics Education
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Adapting to a Changing World--Challenges and Opportunities in Undergraduate Physics Education
COMMITTEE ON UNDERGRADUATE PHYSICS
EDUCATION RESEARCH AND IMPLEMENTATION
DONALD N. LANGENBERG, University of Maryland, Chair
SUZANNE BRAHMIA, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
JERRY P. GOLLUB, Haverford College
DAVID HAMMER, Tufts University
CHARLES HENDERSON, Western Michigan University
PAULA HERON, University of Washington
THEODORE HODAPP, American Physical Society
MICHAEL P. MARDER, University of Texas, Austin
JOSÉ P. MESTRE, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
MARY BETH MONROE, Southwest Texas Junior College
VALERIE OTERO, University of Colorado, Boulder
DAVID E. PRITCHARD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JAMES SCHAFER, Montgomery Blair High School, Montgomery County Public
Schools
JACK M. WILSON, University of Massachusetts
HUNG-HSI WU, University of California, Berkeley
DEAN ZOLLMAN, Kansas State University
Staff
JAMES C. LANCASTER, Director
DONALD C. SHAPERO, Senior Scholar
CARYN J. KNUTSEN, Associate Program Officer
TERI G. THOROWGOOD, Administrative Coordinator
BETH DOLAN, Financial Associate
v
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Adapting to a Changing World--Challenges and Opportunities in Undergraduate Physics Education
BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
PHILIP H. BUCKSBAUM, Stanford University, Chair
DEBRA ELMEGREEN, Vassar College, Vice Chair
RICCARDO BETTI, University of Rochester
ADAM S. BURROWS, Princeton University
TODD DITMIRE, University of Texas at Austin
NATHANIEL J. FISCH, Princeton University
PAUL FLEURY, Yale University
S. JAMES GATES, University of Maryland
LAURA H. GREENE, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
MARTHA P. HAYNES, Cornell University
MARK B. KETCHEN, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center
MONICA OLVERA DE LA CRUZ, Northwestern University
PAUL SCHECHTER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BORIS SHRAIMAN, Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics
MICHAEL S. TURNER, University of Chicago
ELLEN D. WILLIAMS, BP International
MICHAEL S. WITHERELL, University of California, Santa Barbara
Staff
JAMES C. LANCASTER, Director
DONALD C. SHAPERO, Senior Scholar
DAVID B. LANG, Program Officer
CARYN J. KNUTSEN, Associate Program Officer
TERI G. THOROWGOOD, Administrative Coordinator
BETH DOLAN, Financial Associate
vi
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Adapting to a Changing World--Challenges and Opportunities in Undergraduate Physics Education
Preface
We live in turbulent but exciting times!
The U.S. economy is struggling to recover from a great recession. As we do so,
the circumstances within which we hope to rise are not those from which we came.
We are entering what some have termed “The Third Industrial Revolution.” In this
new world, what characterizes a leading economy is not factory production lines
producing well-designed machines. Rather, it is the ability to serve the informa-
tion and communication needs of populations approximating those of the entire
Earth. Specifically, the United States can no longer enjoy an unchallenged position
of leadership in this new world. Our preeminence is being challenged by many
countries and societies from both the developed and developing worlds.
In this new world, much depends on the capabilities of a nation’s citizens in
high technology. Those capabilities depend critically on the quality and levels of
education of those citizens, from kindergarten through graduate school. It is, thus,
not surprising that the performance of education institutions in the United States
has become the subject of national concern. Where once we could take pride in
being at the top of the world in education, comparative international studies show
that we are sliding down into the middle of the pack, not so much because we are
failing to meet our traditional standards, but because other nations are on innova-
tive and creative tracks that enable them to overtake and surpass us.
This is of particular concern because this new world requires a citizenry well
informed about technical matters and well educated in the STEM (science, technol-
ogy, engineering, and mathematics) subjects. It is not solely economic issues that
require such skills, but many political issues as well, including environmental and
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Adapting to a Changing World--Challenges and Opportunities in Undergraduate Physics Education
viii Preface
energy issues. For example, climate change (or disruption) has become a central
problem for all of us, including our children.
The first letter of STEM is for science. The component parts, including physics,
chemistry, biology, and Earth sciences, are not interchangeable. Physics is the
funda mental science that provides the foundation for all others. Education in
physics, at all levels, forms the gateway into technological competence and expertise
in almost everything of importance in our new world. Evidence indicates, however,
that the physics community remains in a traditional mode in which the primary
purpose of physics education is to create clones of the physics faculty. Yet there
are notable exceptions. Over the past several decades, active research by physicists
into the teaching of their subject has yielded important insights about what can
be done to heighten the quality of students’ understanding of the universe—at all
levels. But this new knowledge is slow to find significant adoption, nor is it fully
understood by physics faculty.
This report was commissioned by the National Science Foundation to examine
the present status of undergraduate physics education, including the state of physics
education research, and, most importantly, to develop a series of recommendations
for improving physics education that draws from what is known about learning
and effective teaching. Our committee has endeavored to do so, with great interest
and more than a little passion.
Our committee was composed of a broadly diverse pool of concerned physicists.
These individuals brought a considerable breadth of experience and expertise
and an understanding of the landscape of current physics education as well as an
appreciation for how education research has begun to transform understanding
of student learning. What they all shared is a deep dedication to physics and the
ways of thinking that characterize it. That’s where the passion came from. There
are two popular maxims about physics: “Physics is a social science,” and “Physics
is a contact sport.” Both were demonstrated in our work. I thank all the members
of the committee for their deep engagement in and devoted attention to meeting
our charge. It was a great pleasure to work with them.
Finally, let me thank the talented members of the NRC staff who supported us.
They include Jim Lancaster and Caryn Knutsen, who kept us on track, and Don
Shapero, representing the Board on Physics and Astronomy.
Donald N. Langenberg, Chair
Committee on Undergraduate Physics Education Research and Implementation
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Adapting to a Changing World--Challenges and Opportunities in Undergraduate Physics Education
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their
diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures
approved by the National Research Council’s (NRC’s) Report Review Committee.
The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments
that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible
and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence,
and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript
remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to
thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Michael Brown, Swarthmore College,
David Daniel, University of Texas, Dallas,
Fred Eiserling, University of California, Los Angeles,
Eugenia Etkina, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey,
Ken Heller, University of Minnesota,
Ernest M. Henley, University of Washington,
Kenneth Krane, Oregon State University,
Tom O’Kuma, Lee College, and
Howard Stone, Princeton University.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive c omments
and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommenda-
tions, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of
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