It is well documented that a significant number of high school physics teachers around the country have little to no background in the discipline, which can result in reduced student learning in the classroom. The Mitchell Institute Physics Enhancement Program (MIPEP) was founded in 2012 to address this problem by targeting out-of-field high school physics teachers. MIPEP participants work with university faculty and master teachers over a two-week period during June each summer, focusing on both subject comprehension and pedagogy for implementation. Participant pre- and postprogram content knowledge and confidence were measured using an assessment compiled of questions from mechanics, electricity and magnetism, optics, and modern physics. We observed statistically significant improvement in both physics knowledge and confidence over the course of the program. A detailed analysis of the 2021 cohort showed that a majority of participants grew in knowledge and confidence for every topic covered. The data presented may encourage other institutions to implement similar programs.
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January 2023
This content was originally published in
Journal of Undergraduate Reports in Physics
Research Article|
January 01 2023
Improving Out-of-Field Preparation of High School Physics Teachers
Carlee Garrett;
Carlee Garrett
a)
1
Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station
, Texas 77843, USA
a)Corresponding author: ccatg2023@tamu.edu
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Anne Wang;
Anne Wang
1
Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station
, Texas 77843, USA
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Jonathan Perry;
Jonathan Perry
b)
2
Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin
, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
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Tatiana Erukhimova
Tatiana Erukhimova
c)
1
Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station
, Texas 77843, USA
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a)Corresponding author: ccatg2023@tamu.edu
b)
Electronic mail: jonathan.perry@austin.utexas.edu
c)
Electronic mail: etanya@tamu.edu
J. Undergrad. Rep. Phys. 33, 100001 (2023)
Citation
Carlee Garrett, Anne Wang, Jonathan Perry, Tatiana Erukhimova; Improving Out-of-Field Preparation of High School Physics Teachers. J. Undergrad. Rep. Phys. 1 January 2023; 33 (1): 100001. https://doi.org/10.1063/10.0022465
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