Colloquium: Prof. Mats Selen, University of Illinois
Location
Physics : 401
Date & Time
February 11, 2015, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Description
TITLE: The Evolution of Intro Physics at the University of Illinois
ABSTRACT: About 17 years ago we significantly changed the way we taught intro physics at UIUC. The innovation, which is hindsight seems almost trivial, was to define these courses in terms of their content and associated infrastructure rather than in terms of the faculty assigned to teach them. Having our courses rest on a solid departmental foundation rather than on the shoulders of faculty means that faculty have the time and freedom to innovate, making incremental yet significant improvements to these courses over time. In this talk I will discuss this evolution as well as several of the resulting innovations, including prelectures, just in time teaching, peer instruction, and a new approach to labs.
ABSTRACT: About 17 years ago we significantly changed the way we taught intro physics at UIUC. The innovation, which is hindsight seems almost trivial, was to define these courses in terms of their content and associated infrastructure rather than in terms of the faculty assigned to teach them. Having our courses rest on a solid departmental foundation rather than on the shoulders of faculty means that faculty have the time and freedom to innovate, making incremental yet significant improvements to these courses over time. In this talk I will discuss this evolution as well as several of the resulting innovations, including prelectures, just in time teaching, peer instruction, and a new approach to labs.