DATE: Oct. 23, 2009
Texas Tech Physics
Professors Earn NIH Grant to Study Best Teaching Practices for Undergraduate
Physics Instruction
Two professors at Texas Tech University’s Department of
Physics received $809,700 in funding from the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) to analyze different teaching methods of introductory physics and
determine which methods work best for student understanding of the material.
Beth Thacker, an associate professor of physics, and Kelvin
Cheng, a professor of physics, received the two-year Challenge Grant from the
NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Their award
is one of 19 to researchers in 12 states.
Cheng and Thacker will compare a course taught completely by
hands-on, lab-based instruction to the standard textbook-lecture-and-lab
course, and test newly developed course materials designed to enhance student
understanding. They will compare student learning outcomes from teaching
assistants who have received teacher training to those who have not and compare
courses taught with lecture-lab synergy to those without integrated lecture-lab
instruction.
Also, they will assess both the algebra-based and
calculus-based introductory physics courses.
“This funding is to make a large-scale assessment of these
different types of instructional methods,” Cheng said. “It is interesting that
this has not been done before on a large scale. I’m hoping this will involve
the whole department in a collaborative effort.”
Thacker said many instructors tend to teach the way they
were taught and are hesitant to adopt new curricula and teaching methods, even
though physics education research is beginning to indicate a number of
non-traditional methods may be more successful at increasing students’
understanding.
“Very few large universities have researched teaching
methods to see which are more effective,” Thacker said. “We are going to do a
systematic study of students understanding with a number different assessment
tools that will allow us to compare the effectiveness of different teaching
methods.”
The Challenge Grants seek to jump-start a range of research
projects that will address critical gaps in the basic biomedical and behavioral
sciences, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
Because introductory physics is a requirement for pre-health profession
undergraduates, Cheng and Thacker hope to discover the most effective way to
teach physics to these students.
More information about NIH’s ARRA grant funding
opportunities can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/recovery/.
To track the progress of HHS activities funded through the ARRA, visit
href=”http://www.hhs.gov/recovery”>www.hhs.gov/recovery. To track all
federal funds provided through the ARRA, visit www.recovery.gov.
:end
CONTACT: Beth Thacker, associate professor of physics,
Department of Physics, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-2996, or
href=”mailto:beth.thacker@ttu.edu”>beth.thacker@ttu.edu; Kelvin Cheng, professor of physics, Department of
Physics, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-2992 or
href=”mailto:kelvin.cheng@ttu.edu”>kelvin.cheng@ttu.edu.