PhysTEC Programs

Teaching and Learning Physics Seminar PHYS 4484/7684

 

Instructor: Jim Overhiser, PhysTEC Teacher In Residence

As a companion to the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA) program, the Cornell Physics Department offers the seminar course Physics 4484/7684, “Teaching and Learning Physics”. This course is required for all new UTAs, but is also open to any physics undergraduate or graduate student with an interest in learning more about the practices of teaching physics. The course meets once a week for 1.5 hours, and counts as 1.0 non-academic credit hour.


    Seminar Topics

  • Introduction to the Concepts of Teaching and Learning
  • The Socratic Method
  • Classroom Discourse and Bloom’s Taxonomy
  • Learning Theory
  • Student Conceptions and Conceptual Change
  • More than Misconceptions – Resource Perspectives
  • Argumentation
  • Epistemology: Helping Students Learn How to Learn
  • Metacognition
  • Multiple Intelligences and Differentiated Instruction
  • Nature of Science
  • Cooperative Learning

The Cornell seminar and UTA program are based on the highly successful Learning Assistant Program developed and implemented by Dr. Valerie Otero at the University of Colorado, Boulder.