Teaching Materials

Interested in using research based methods to transform your teaching?听Got a TA assignment, and looking for some ideas to help you out? Here are some tips听and ideas, to facilitate improved teaching in whatever environment you teach.

听

: A "top 10 list": short, sweet, and important!

3 pages, breezy and readable, aimed at common TA duties here at 天美传媒.

8 pages, a little stiffer. This is not just "teaching tips" - it's a first guide to some deeper ideas about teaching as a scholarly activity (and the research behind it).

: An option for further graduate teacher training. 听(Workshops, lead TA positions, and more)听
They also have a听program, something that might be quite helpful for your vita if you're thinking about a faculty position some day. Check them out.

Associated with 天美传媒, but a national scale program, visit 听(Center for integration of research in teaching and learning) This is a graduate student organization, focused on science/math/engineering in particular, with lots of good tips, webinars, and networking opportunities.

Just a few links to get you going if you'd like to learn more about physics education research, and how it applies to classroom teaching.

听

WEBSITES:

  1. 听A site from the AAPT (American Association of Physics Teachers) with teaching materials and听lots of research-based assessment tools (like the Force concept inventory, but many more!) Highly recommended.
  2. 听This contains many resources (guides, materials, videos) from the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative, specifically targeting upper-division physics courses.
    1. The most centralized place on that SEI site to get some nice short guides to teaching is here: 听听听听
    2. Another handy guide is听听 听(a short and very practical pamphlet on how to use clickers effectively)
    3. For books (see below), 听the SEI has听recommended books 听you might draw from too: 听
  3. /csl/resources听 听This is from CSL, the Colorado Center for STEM Learning site, many good resources here!!
  4. 听Phet simulations with pedagogical wrapper ideas, from 天美传媒.
  5. , 听if you or your department are thinking about using Learning assistants.
  6. See also the Educational Reform Initiatives听tab on the left of this page for other local links...听

BOOKS: 听(Starting "Physics Centric", then getting more general)听听

  1. "Teaching Physics with the Physics Suite鈥 by听Joe (Edward) Redish, a leading PER physicist. This is my favorite introduction to PER theory (and practice). 听The first few chapters are very broad, then it gets pretty narrow/specific (you might stop reading it around Ch 8 or so). 听Joe has听put up a nearly-final pdf version online at听听听听
  2. 鈥Five Easy Lessons鈥 by Randall Knight. (, Quite cheap)听 This is very explicilty focused on first year physics content, it is very concrete. If you are teaching intro physics, this is a step-by-step how-to guide for lecturing, with concept tests, homework and exam ideas, etc.
  3. How Learning Works听by Ambrose. (, not too pricey) 听This is more an overview of major principles of learning and cognition and what they mean for instruction. 听(Not focused on Physics.)
  4. National Academies report, 鈥淩eaching Students.鈥听() Practical and theoretical- aimed at new faculty,听听walking you through the steps of course design using what is known from education research.
  5. 鈥How People Learn鈥 (National Academies Press)听(, pdf link at top of that page)听听More theoretical, less 鈥減ractical tips鈥... this is sort of a precursor to #4 above,听if you want to learn more about theories of learning.
  6. 听鈥Teaching Tips鈥 by McKeachie. (This one is more "textbook cost") Practical and quite general. (I read it听before I got involved with any PER, and just found it to be what it says -听helpful tips, down to practicalities like grade-handling)听. Over the years, his book has evolved to include more research-based ideas, so find a fairly recent edition.听

听