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Rethinking Introductory Physics at Michigan State

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It’s been a while, but I’ve been busy. At MSU, we are beginning to reconsider what and how we teach introductory physics. This is, in part, motivated by our recent award from the American Association of Universities, and, in part, by our own faculty’s interest in changing the way we do things. The first steps of this transformation are considering what is important in our introductory courses, and what we want students to be able to do when they complete these courses. This is not generating a list of topics or skills. We are thinking very carefully about what the core ideas are in mechanics and electromagnetism and what practices we want students to engage in when taking our courses. Ultimately, we will blend the core ideas and practices into what we really want students to know and be able to do when they complete our courses (i.e., learning goals).

So, we got 20 physicists in a room and went at it. Believe me, this was tough. As it turns out, many faculty haven’t thought about their courses in this way. It’s absolutely fascinating to hear them discuss topics, move to concepts, and then finally to why the concepts matter. This was a productive and lively discussion. In the discussion, we produced the following lists from which we will build out our goals, and, eventually, our new curriculum. To be clear, these are traditional physics faculty engaging in a discussion about what they want their students to know and be able to do.

So take a look at the list and tell me what you think.

Core Ideas in Mechanics

  • Energy is conserved.
  • Forces cause changes in momentum.
  • Torques cause changes in angular momentum.
  • Exchanges of energy increase total entropy.
  • Measurements depend on frames of reference frames.

Core Ideas in E&M

  • Charges generate fields.
  • Fields affect charges.
  • Charge is quantized and conserved.
  • Energy is conserved.
  • Light can act as a wave or particle.
  • Measurements depend on frames of reference.

Scientific Practices

  • Construct and use models.
  • Communicate science effectively.
  • Engage in evidence-based arguments.
  • Evaluate solutions for reasonability.
  • Solve problems using mathematical and conceptual reasoning.
  • Design and execute experiments.


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