D. Roberts March 05 University of Maryland Undergraduate Education Douglas Roberts Assoc. Chair,...

March 05University of MarylandD. Roberts

Undergraduate EducationUndergraduate Education

Douglas RobertsAssoc. Chair, Undergraduate Ed.


Physics MajorsPhysics Majors

Total

Bachelors awardedEntering

Actual: 28 Phys B.S. for Sp 04 ~ 29 total B.S. for year 43 freshmen + 10 trans. F 04 = 53 total F 04 entering

~210 majors


Education InitiativesEducation Initiatives

• Majors Lecture Courses– Separate sequence of introductory physics for physics majors– Class sizes of 40~50 students– Taught by some of our best teaching faculty

• Lab Courses– Again, separate sequence for physics majors– Lab sections with ~12 students

• Each student uses their own setup– Taught by faculty members, in the lab, not just a TA– Sequence includes in introductory lab course, PHYS 174,

designed to lay a foundation in data gathering and analysis

• Small student : faculty ratio– ~200 majors : 70+ faculty– Can provide students with a range of expertise and a variety of

research opportunities



• One technique we employ to maintain vibrancy and relevancy of our program is to be flexible and adaptable– As the job market for physicists evolves, we can evolve with it– Not all physics majors will do physics research for their eventual

career– The training the receive as physics majors does, however,

prepare them for a variety of other things

• Alternate Areas of Concentration– Professional Track– Education (9 Students)– Meteorology (2 Students)– Biophysics (in process) (2 Students on trial program)– Computational Physics (in process)

• Physics Minor– Just added this year (used to be a “citation”)


Education InitiativesEducation Initiatives• Pre-Med (Phys 121/122) Innovation

– We have an active Physics Education Research Group that has developed material that is currently being employed in our algebra-based introductory physics sequence

• Replaced traditional TA-led recitation sections with “tutorials”– Focus is on small group interactive activities that develop and

reinforce the understanding of the concepts presented in lectures– Still have a problem solving center manned by TAs where students

can get assistance with specific homework problems• Expanding use of personal response devices (“clickers”) during lecture

– Allows instructor to get real-time feedback from the students– Engages students via their direct participation during the lecture– Clickers are currently being used in courses other than 121/122

• On-line Homework being used more and more– Trying multiple products– Becoming necessary due to lack of TA support to grade homework

manually• Slawsky Clinic

– Tutoring center available to all students in non-majors introductory sequences

– Manned by volunteers/retired physicists and TAs



• Undergraduate Research– As a department, we see the experience gained by students

doing directed research with one of our research groups as a valuable component to their education

– We encourage all students to get involved in research• Currently about 75% of our majors have been involved in

research at some point in their careers at Maryland– Variety of research programs gives students a lot to choose from– To graduate with Honors in Physics, students must do a

research thesis– Working on a program change proposal to give students the

option to substitute the final lab course with a research project• Several students currently doing this on a case-by-case

basis


Lecture Demonstration FacilitiesLecture Demonstration Facilities

• We have one of the best, if not the best, lecture demonstration facilities in the world– http://www.physics.umd.edu/deptinfo/facilities/lecdem/

lecdem.htm

• Demonstrations available for virtually any course, at any level

• Also a great resource for outreach– “Physics is Phun” program– “Question of the Week”– Physics Olympics


Quality of Physics MajorsQuality of Physics Majors

• Physics attracts some of the best students entering the University of Maryland– Average SAT score of 1380– 5 Banneker/Key Fellows (full merit-based fellowship) entered

physics in the Fall• This is a very high percentage of majors compared to other

departments– About 40% of majors receive some kind of fellowship support– About ¼ of our majors are double majors– Donations from the physics faculty are used to offer laptop

computers to Banneker/Key Fellows

• Relatively easy to sell this department– Great academics at state university prices


Where 2004 Graduates WentWhere 2004 Graduates Went

• Graduate School (17)– Physics (8)– Math (3)– Engineering (1)– Education (1)– Astronomy (1)– Geology (1)– Oceanography (1)– Schools: Princeton, MIT, Maryland, Michigan, UC Santa Cruz,

Scripps, Johns Hopkins• Job Market (10)

– Naval Research Lab– NASA– Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab– US Patent Office– Local High School


FacilitiesFacilities

• Undergraduate Physics Lounge– Newly renovated lounge for our undergraduates gives them a

place of their own to study and socialize– Computers placed in lounge– Access restricted to physics majors

• Very active Society of Physics Students• Advising available in our Student Services Office (full-

time professional adviser, Tom Gleason), as well as faculty advising

• Departmental “Tea” every day at 3:30 in the lobby– Opportunity for students to faculty to interact outside classroom

• We want our majors to feel that they are part of a supportive community– It is their department


Things That Need ImprovementThings That Need Improvement

• Lab Equipment / Lab Space– Innovation is being stifled by our inability to update equipment

and experiments due to lack of financial support– Several of the experiments in our upper-level labs are dated,

and when equipment fails it is difficult to replace (even if there was money to do so)

– We are currently at the limit in terms of space and equipment of how many students we can accommodate in our labs

• Additional program tracks and the physics minor will only tend to exacerbate this problem

• We don’t see sacrificing the benefit derived from allowing students to work independently on the equipment as a satisfactory solution


Backup SlidesBackup Slides


Professional Physics TrackProfessional Physics Track


Professional Physics TrackProfessional Physics Track


Meteorology Physics TrackMeteorology Physics Track


Meteorology Physics TrackMeteorology Physics Track


Education Physics TrackEducation Physics Track


Education Physics TrackEducation Physics Track

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D. Roberts March 05 University of Maryland Undergraduate Education Douglas Roberts Assoc. Chair,...

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