PHAS Colloquium Series: Physics Learning at Large and Small Scales

How do we know how people learn physics? This is a fundamental question of measurement. Large N studies in Physics Education Research (PER) (~30k students) find correlates of student learning such as teaching methods, class sizes, and tests. Small N studies in PER (~30 students) investigate why students learn the way they do. Studies of both kinds are necessary to build a full picture of student learning in physics. In this talk, Eleanor Sayre will discuss efforts to measure student learning using quantitative and qualitative data of physics students across the undergraduate curriculum and across institutions. Speaker: Eleanor Sayre, associate professor of physics, Kansas State University Eleanor Sayre is an associate professor of physics at Kansas State University and the research director of PhysPort.org. At KSU, she conducts research on how students develop professional identity in physics, linking the development of their technical knowledge with their perceptions of what it means to do physics. As part of her work with PhysPort, she directs phenomenographic studies of physics faculty needs around assessment and synthesis research on student understanding in introductory physics.
Location:
Science B 144
More information at http://www.ucalgary.ca/events/calendar/phas-colloquium-series-physics-learning-large-and-small-scales