Educational technology has attained significant importance as a mechanism for supporting experiential learning of science concepts. However, the growth of this mechanism is limited by the significant time and technical expertise needed to develop such products, particularly in specialized fields of science. We sought to test whether interactive, educational, online software modules can be developed effectively by students as a curriculum component of an advanced science course. We discuss a set of fifteen such modules developed by Harvard University graduate students to demonstrate various concepts related to astronomy and physics. Their successful development of these modules demonstrates that online software tools for education and outreach on specialized topics can be produced while simultaneously fulfilling project-based learning objectives. We describe a set of technologies suitable for module development and present in detail four examples of modules developed by the students. We offer recommendations for incorporating educational software development within a graduate curriculum and conclude by discussing the relevance of this novel approach to new online learning environments like edX
The purpose of this white paper is to provide guidance to funding agencies, leaders in the discipline, and its constituent departments about strategies for (1) improving access to advanced education for people from populations that have long been underrepresented and (2) improving the climates of departments where students enroll. The twin goals of improving access to increase diversity and improving climate to enhance inclusiveness are mutually reinforcing, and they are both predicated on a fundamental problem of inequality in participation. This white paper has been endorsed by the Board of …
Physics education research (PER) is a rapidly growing area of PhD specialization. In this article we examine the trajectories that led respondents into a PER graduate program as well as their expected future trajectories. Data were collected in the form of an online survey sent to graduate students in PER. Our findings show a lack of visibility of PER as a field of study, a dominance of work at the undergraduate level, and a mismatch of future desires and expectations. We suggest that greater exposure is needed so PER is known as a field of inquiry for graduates, that more emphasis should be p…
We describe a course designed to help future educators build an integrated understanding of the different elements of physics education research (PER), including: research into student learning, content knowledge from the perspective of how it is learned, and reform-based curricula together with evidence of their effectiveness. Course elements include equal parts of studying physics through proven curricula and discussion of research results in the context of the PER literature. We provide examples of the course content and structure as well as representative examples of student learning in th…
The current graduate school education system has largely been focusing on producing better learners and problem solvers. The rise of problem based learning approaches are testimonial to the importance of such skills at all levels of education from early childhood to graduate school level. However, most of the programs so far have focused primarily on producing better problem solvers neglecting problem finding at large. Problem finding, an important skill is a subset and first step in creative problem solving. Most studies on problem finding skills have only focused on industries and corporatio…
We present two programs that address needs to better prepare graduate students for their roles as professional physicists, particularly in the areas of teaching and education research. The two programs, Preparing Future Physicists (PFP) and a course, Teaching and Learning Physics, are designed to be mutually supportive, address these broader graduate roles, and support the development of the field of physics education research. While voluntary, PFP has attracted the participation of roughly half the physics graduate students at each of two large research institutions. Compared to the national …
A primary goal of many undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in the physical sciences is to prepare students to engage in scientific research, or to prepare students for careers that leverage skillsets similar to those used by research scientists. Even for students who may not intend to pursue a career with these characteristics, exposure to the context of applications in modern research can be a valuable tool for teaching and learning. However, a persistent barrier to student participation in research is familiarity with the technical language, format, and context that academic researcher…
Physics education research has consistently shown that students have higher learning outcomes when enrolled in interactive-engagement courses. Consequently, many schools are actively reforming their introductory curricula. For courses where the interactive sections (labs, tutorials, and/or workshops) are mostly taught by graduate student teaching assistants (TAs), good TAs are instrumental to the success of the reform. Many studies have investigated specific interactions between TAs and students, but more can be learned through a holistic examination of TA-student interactions. Over the course…
Learning quantum mechanics is challenging, even for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. Research-validated interactive tutorials that build on students' prior knowledge can be useful tools to enhance student learning. We have been investigating student difficulties with quantum mechanics pertaining to the double-slit experiment in various situations that appear to be counterintuitive and contradict classical notions of particles and waves. For example, if we send single electrons through the slits, they may behave as a "wave" in part of the experiment and as a "particle" in anothe…
In this study, we investigated the employment status of recent University of Ottawa physics MSc and PhD graduates, finding that 94% of graduates are either employed or pursuing further physics education one year post-graduation. Our database was populated from the public online repository of MSc and PhD theses submitted between the academic years of 2011 to 2019, with employment information collected in 2020 from the professional social media platform LinkedIn. Our results highlight that graduates primarily find employment quickly and in their field of study, with most graduates employed in ei…
Challenging problems of modern engineering education and a role of information technology are reviewed. An importance of simulation of real world physical problems in both graduate and lifelong/corporate education is discussed. It is proposed to integrate the hypermedia theory courseware with industrial strength simulation software. As a proof of the concept an educational environment "Heat and Mass Transfer in Advanced Semiconductor Technology" has been developed.
The pursuit of knowledge in particle physics requires constant learning. As new tools become available, new theories are developed, and physicists search for new answers with ever-evolving methods. However, it is the case that formal educational systems serve as the primary training grounds for particle physicists. Graduate school (and undergraduate school to a lesser extent) is where researchers learn most of the technical skills required for research, develop scientific problem-solving abilities, learn how to establish themselves in their field, and begin developing their career. It is unfor…
This paper identifies the challenges associated with coordinating the development of new research methodologies and an accelerated pace of new discoveries in materials science with slower-evolving textbooks and curricula. The target audience is the undergraduate to post-graduate educational community, but implications for the K-12 pipeline are also considered. This paper proposes a lab-to-market classroom continuum with the theory-experiment-data intersection as the conceptual and content framework where the MGI is likely to unfold.
Physics graduate teaching assistants (TAs) are often responsible for grading. Physics education research suggests that grading practices that place the burden of proof for explicating the problem solving process on students can help them develop problem solving skills and learn physics. However, TAs may not have developed effective grading practices and may grade student solutions in introductory and advanced courses differently. In the context of a TA professional development course, we asked TAs to grade student solutions to introductory physics and quantum mechanics problems and explain why…
Laboratory courses for upper-division undergraduates often involve sophisticated equipment, relatively small class sizes, and extended hands-on projects. These courses present distinct challenges and opportunities for the physics education research community as these features are not often present in other undergraduate courses. Here, we focus on an upper-division lab-based electronics course. As a first step in establishing learning goals for upper-division electronics, we interviewed graduate students and faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder about the use of electronics in their own…
Support for early career astronomers who are just beginning to explore astronomy research is imperative to increase retention of diverse practitioners in the field. Since 2010, Astrobites has played an instrumental role in engaging members of the community -- particularly undergraduate and graduate students -- in research. In this white paper, the Astrobites collaboration outlines our multi-faceted online education platform that both eases the transition into astronomy research and promotes inclusive professional development opportunities. We additionally offer recommendations for how the astr…
In this article, we provide an extensive overview of a wide range of quantum games and interactive tools that have been employed by the community in recent years. The paper presents selected tools, as described by their developers. The list includes Hello Quantum, Hello Qiskit, Particle in a Box, Psi and Delta, QPlayLearn, Virtual Lab by Quantum Flytrap, Quantum Odyssey, ScienceAtHome, and The Virtual Quantum Optics Laboratory. Additionally, we present events for quantum game development: hackathons, game jams, and semester projects. Furthermore, we discuss the Quantum Technologies Education f…
Establishing a national masters programme in high-energy physics: lessons from a Romanian case study
University of Bucharest（布加勒斯特大学）；West University of Timișoara（蒂米什瓦拉西部大学）；Babes-Bolyai University（巴比什-博约伊大学）；Alexandru-Ioan Cuza University of Iași（雅西亚历山德鲁·乔安·库扎大学）；IFIN-HH（霍雷胡-赫利乌研究所）；Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience（特兰西瓦尼亚神经科学研究所）
We discuss an investigation of student difficulties with degenerate perturbation theory (DPT) carried out in advanced quantum mechanics courses by administering free-response and multiple-choice questions and conducting individual interviews with students. We find that students share many common difficulties related to this topic. We used the difficulties found via research as resources to develop and evaluate a Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) which strives to help students develop a functional understanding of DPT. We discuss the development of the DPT QuILT and its preliminary …
Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are key partners in the education of undergraduates. Given the potentially large impact GTAs can have on undergraduate student learning, it is important to provide them with appropriate preparation for teaching. But GTAs are students themselves, and not all of them desire to pursue an academic career. Fully integrating GTA preparation into the professional development of graduate students lowers the barrier to engagement so that all graduate students may benefit from the opportunity to explore teaching and its applications to many potential career paths. In …
The lecture "Atomistic Materials Modeling" is a core qualification of the master program "materials science" at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH). Within the lecture, various modern methods for atomistic materials modeling are presented. Originally, the course was conceived as a traditional lecture. That didactic-methodical conception, however, does not seem to be ideal to support the students in reaching the educational objectives and to foster the students' interest in the covered topics. A new didactic concept based on interactive engagement is designed to allow for a more individ…
A vast scientific literature in physics education documents a general widespread difficulty in dealing with Electro-Magnetic Induction (EMI) at various levels of instruction. But, at the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of research that compares difficulties about EMI at different educational degrees. We discuss here a case study about Italian high school, graduate students' and teacher's conceptualization of some aspects of EMI as a function of the sample instruction level. We analyse the answers to a multiple choice written questionnaire, adapted from the literature and given to a tota…
We build on theoretical foundations of tool-mediated learning, tool design, and human computer interaction to develop a framework for implicit scaffolding in learning environments. Implicit scaffolding employs affordances, constraints, cueing, and feedback in order to frame and scaffold student exploration without explicit guidance, and it is a particularly useful design framework for interactive simulations in science and mathematics. A key purpose of implicit scaffolding is to support a range of educational goals including affect, process, and content. In particular, the use of implicit scaf…
This article tells the story of the founding of the Compass Project at UC Berkeley and describes its impacts. The Compass Project is a self-formed group of graduate and undergraduate students in the physical sciences. Its goals are to improve undergraduate physics education, provide our members with opportunities for professional development, and increase retention of students, especially those from populations typically underrepresented in the physical sciences. Compass fosters a diverse, collaborative student community by providing a wide range of services, including a summer program, fall a…
Learning quantum mechanics is challenging, even for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. Interactive tutorials which build on students' prior knowledge can be useful tools to enhance student learning. We have been investigating student difficulties with the quantum mechanics pertaining to the double-slit experiment in various situations. Here we discuss the development and evaluation of a Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) which makes use of an interactive simulation to improve student understanding. We summarize common difficulties and discuss the extent to which the Qu…
The workshop `Astrophysical Dynamics 1999/2000' followed a homonymous advanced research course, and both activities were organized by me. In this opening paper of the proceedings book, I describe them and document their strong impact on the academic life of the local institutions. The advanced research course was open to graduate students, senior researchers, and motivated under-graduate students with good background in physics and mathematics. The course covered several multi-disciplinary issues of modern research on astrophysical dynamics, and thus also of interest to physicists, mathematici…
Preparing students for the quantum information revolution: Interdisciplinary teaching, curriculum development, and advising in quantum information science and engineering
During the last ten years advances in open-source digital technology, used especially by data science, led to very accessible ways how to obtain, store, process, analyze or share data in almost every human activity. Data science tools bring not only transparency, accessibility, and reproducibility in open science, but also give benefits in open education as learning tools for improving effectiveness of instruction. Together with our pedagogical introduction and review of Jupyter as an interactive multimedia learning tool, we present our three-years long research in the framework of a complex m…
Currently, education and workforce training in quantum information science and technology (QIST) exists primarily at the graduate and postdoctoral levels, with few undergraduate efforts beginning to grow out of these. In order to meet the anticipated quantum workforce needs and to ensure that the workforce is demographically representative and inclusive to all communities, the United States must expand these efforts at the undergraduate level beyond what is occurring at larger PhD granting institutions and incorporate quantum information science into the curriculum at the nation's predominantl…
Graduate Training in Quantum Information Science and Engineering: Lessons, Challenges, and a Roadmap from the NSF Research Traineeship Programs
University of Georgia（佐治亚大学）；University of New Mexico（新墨西哥大学）；Rice University（莱斯大学）；University of Tennessee, Knoxville（田纳西大学诺克斯维尔分校）；Colorado School of Mines（科罗拉多矿业学院）；University of Washington, Seattle（华盛顿大学西雅图分校）；Middle Tennessee State University（中田纳西州立大学）；Dartmouth College（达特茅斯学院）；Ohio State University（俄亥俄州立大学）；Washington University in St. Louis（圣路易斯华盛顿大学）；University of Arkansas（阿肯色大学）；San José State University（圣何塞州立大学）；Yale University（耶鲁大学）；Florida International University（佛罗里达国际大学）；The University of Texas at Austin（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校）；Oklahoma State University（俄克拉荷马州立大学）；University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校）；IBM Quantum, IBM Research Cambridge（IBM量子，IBM剑桥研究所）；University of California, Santa Barbara（加州大学圣巴巴拉分校）；QuantWare；United States Air Force Academy（美国空军学院）；University of California, Los Angeles（加州大学洛杉矶分校）
