94
Portland
EA06:
4:50-5 p.m. Western Science and the Social Context
in 19th Century India
Contributed – Rajive Tiwari, Belmont Abbey College, 100 Belmont-Mt. Holly
Road, Belmont, NC 28012;
Modern science was introduced in India in the 19th century during the
British colonial rule. The native response to this science was influenced by
several political, social, and cultural factors. By way of exploring these re-
sponses, science-related articles in contemporary popular Hindi magazines
and newspapers were investigated. It was found that the reception offered
to the new science was not one of simple acceptance or rejection. Instead,
a complex and nuanced response was observed which was shaped by the
prevailing nationalist climate, spread of Christian missionary activities
facilitated by colonial rulers, growth of Hindu reform movements, and the
preexistence of a body of indigenous scientific scholarship. Excerpts from
relevant articles that illustrate a range of attitudes towards European sci-
ence will be presented.
Session EB: Physics Majors: High
School to Doctorate
Location: Galleria III
Sponsor: AAPT
Date: Tuesday, July 16
Time: 4–4:40 p.m.
Presider: Joe Kozminski
EB01:
4-4:10 p.m. Supporting Students in their Transition
from High School to University
Contributed – Dimitri R. Dounas-Frazer, Compass Project at UC Berkeley,
Physics Department, Berkeley, CA 94720-7300; dimitri.dounasfrazer@gmail.
com
Jacob Lynn, Nathaniel Roth, Anna M Zaniewski, Compass Project at UC
Berkeley
Given the size of the UC Berkeley Physics Department, integrating with
the community and developing a physics network can be a daunting task
for incoming freshmen. To fold students into the Physics Department and
promote retention of students from all backgrounds, the Compass Project
offers a wide range of services, including a residential summer program for
incoming freshmen. The Compass Summer Program incorporates aspects
of Modeling Instruction, Complex Instruction, and philosophies which
have developed organically within our organization. We describe our peda-
gogical approach in the context of the 2011 program on non-Newtonian
fluids, and we show that the Compass Summer Program is having a posi-
tive impact on retention, diversity, and community in the Berkeley Physics
Department.
EB02:
4:10-4:20 p.m. Undergraduate Research as Curriculum:
Perspective from a Physics Department
Contributed – Michael R. Braunstein, Central Washington University, Physics,
MS 7422, CWU, 400 E University Way, Ellensburg, WA; 98926 braunst@
cwu.edu
The physics department at Central Washington University currently
requires majors to complete an undergraduate research project. This
initiative is supported by a variety of resources both within the department
and at the university. Our experience suggests that a valuable perspective
on undergraduate research programs in such an environment is explicit
consideration of them as curriculum. There are a number of implications
of this perspective, ranging from identifying learning outcomes and as-
sessment mechanisms, to allocation of resources and establishing criteria
for selecting appropriate research projects, and we will present some of the
results, benefits, and consequences of our efforts to frame undergraduate
research in this manner.
EB03:
4:20-4:30 p.m. Redesign of Introductory Labs to
Increase Retention of STEM Students
Contributed – Nina Abramzon, Cal Poly Pomona, 3801 W. Temple Ave.,
Pomona, CA 91768;
Barbara M. Hoeling, University of Applied Sciences Landshut
Phu Tran, Norco College
Peter B. Siegel, Claudia L. Pinter-Lucke, Cal Poly Pomona
Programs aimed at increasing retention and graduation rates have been
implemented at Cal Poly Pomona and at Norco College. As part of these
programs there were interventions done to the freshman physics labs. The
new labs were designed to follow the inquiry- based approach. The design
elements will be presented in detail together with assessment of student
learning and student attitudes.
EB04:
4:30-4:40 p.m. Physics on the Levels
Contributed – Stacy Palen, Weber State University, 2508 University Circle,
Ogden, UT 84408;
Non-academic models of teaching and learning sometimes have interesting
parallels to academic practice. I will present the model of teaching and
learning that has been in use in dressage training for more than 3000 years,
and compare it to physicist preparation in the U. S. today. This comparison
has led me to think about physicist preparation (from novice to PhD) in a
new way. I will present a possible model for a physics “learning pyramid,”
and some thoughts about how this model might inform the response of the
community to the brave, new world of academic instruction.
Session EC: Panel – Fighting Over
Lab Goals
Location: Broadway I/II
Sponsor: Committee on Laboratories
Co-Sponsor: Committee on Physics in Undergraduate Education
Date: Tuesday, July 16
Time: 4–5 p.m.
Presider: Dick Dietz
Welcome to the Portland Physikz Pub which has been the home of
many memorable arguments (mostly nonviolent) about conten-
tious issues in physics. Who will ever forget the night devoted to
tachyonic neutrinos? Today we have seated about the disputation
table several experienced and opinionated physics laboratory
mavens. The barkeep has already cut them off, so for the next
hour they will be able to devote their entire attention to answer-
ing questions about one of their favorite subjects, the goals of
physics labs. The presider will do his best to keep the proceedings
provocative and perhaps even civil.
Panelists:
–
Mark Masters
, Department of Physics, Indiana-Purdue
University, Fort Wayne, IN
–
Dean Hudek,
Physics Department, Brown University,
Providence, RI
–
Gabe Spalding
, Physics Department, Illinois Wesleyan
University, Bloomington, IL
–
Heather Lewandowski,
Department of Physics, University of
Colorado, Boulder, CO
–
Randy Tagg
, Department of Physics, University of Colorado,
Denver, CO
Tuesday afternoon
