The Department of Physics and Astronomy at West Virginia University received a $160,000 grant from the American Physical Society to become a supported site in the Physics Teacher Education Coalition. As a supported site, WVU commits to bolster its support of physics students and increase the number of those who are highly qualified to teach physics when they graduate.

“We are very excited for the opportunity provided to WVU, and West Virginia, by this award,” said Gay Stewart, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and director of the WVU Center for Excellence in STEM Education.

“The Physics Teacher Education Coalition has a mission to improve and promote the education of future physics teachers. Since you can never be sure who will become a teacher, this is really a mandate to improve the physics education of every student, which in turn opens more doors for more of our students to be successful in STEM at WVU, while we build the teacher workforce to help improve STEM education K-12.”

The grant funding will support:

• Revision of the calculus-based course sequence
• A new teacher-in-residence to provide high school teaching experience and mentorship
• Improved adviser training
• Updating the university course requirements for licensure
• A new learning assistants program built around laboratory experience
• A new recruitment plan for majors

Over the past 20 years, the number of high school students taking physics has more than doubled to 1.38 million students, according to the coalition’s records.

But a 2009 study — the organization’s most recent comparing student understanding of basic physics concepts — showed that U.S. student performance in the subject is markedly lower than that of their peers in China.

According to department estimates, roughly 12 students graduate with a bachelor’s degree in physics each year from WVU, with one teacher emerging every five years.

By offering improved instructional experiences, more informed advising, and a supportive environment, the department hopes to increase the number of highly qualified graduates pursuing physics teaching careers to more than six a year.

“Since the most common number nationally is zero, this would make us one of the most successful programs in the country at supporting this area of need,” Stewart said.

This new grant is part of the ongoing activities coordinated by the WVU Center for Excellence in STEM Education, a University-wide initiative to achieve national prominence in STEM Education at WVU and in West Virginia, K-12.

John Stewart, Department of Physics, is the site director for PhysTEC at WVU. Paul Miller, Physics, Jeffrey Carver, Director of STEM Education Initiatives in the College of Education and Human Services and Gay Stewart are on the leadership team; they were co-investigators on the proposal.

For more information, contact John Stewart at jcstewart1@mail.wvu.edu, or Gay Stewart at (304) 293-5032 or gbstewart@mail.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

dr/02/18/2015

CONTACT: Devon Copeland, Director of Marketing and Communication, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, West Virginia University, 304-293-6867, Devon.Copeland@mail.wvu.edu

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