Physics at Brigham Young University
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Transcript of Physics at Brigham Young University
PHYSICS AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITYSteve TurleyJune 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 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
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
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%)
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
Number of Physics Majors
Grew significantly from 1995-2000, a period when other programs were shrinking
Stable since then.
Graduates Per Year
Relatively Small Graduate Program
Department Culture
Student emphasis Collegiality College and institutional ties strong
past history alignment with institutional values
Values Teaching Relationships Excellence
Attracting and Retaining Majors Orientation Advisement Promoting student-student interactions Faculty mentoring Undergraduate research Teaching emphasis Department culture
Orientation
Freshmen meeting with SPS Officers, Associate Chair, and U-grad Advisor Introductions Suggestions for Success Undergraduate Handbook
Required Introduction to Physics Class
Advisement
Formal Advising Class advisors On-call advisors College Advisement Center Peer Advisors
Informal Advising Research Advisors Other Students
Promoting Student-Student Interactions Very Active SPS Chapter
Monthly meetings Outreach
Undergraduate Study Room Open Tutorial Labs Peer Instruction Undergraduate Research Groups
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
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
Calculus-Based Physics
Algebra-Based Physics
General Education
Physical Science 100
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
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
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
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
Senior and Honors Theses
05
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Capstone Projects
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Majors
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Undergraduate Majors by Program
BS Physics
Astronomy
Applied: Selected Options
Applied: Computer Science
Physics/PS Education
Applied Physics*
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
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)
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
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
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
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
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
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%)
When Students Chose Major
Before college 53% Freshman year 21% Sophomore year 14% Junior year 4% Senior year 1%
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)
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)
RecruitingInfluence of Others High School Course/Teacher (23) College Course
Introductory Course (14) Caring Faculty (2)
Family (6)
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)
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
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