Physics
RESULTS OF ASSESSMENT
2002-2003 (submitted 10/23/03)
The Department of Physics is currently continuing its long term assessment
plan. In past years, multiple efforts had been established, attempting to assess
how well our program serves our general student population as well as our
majors.
Our program assessment is carried out on two different levels. One analysis
has been focused on our majors (physics, applied physics, physics teaching, and
physical science composite teaching) and minors (physics and physics teaching)
and the graduates from these programs. We are assessing the degree to which
these students’ needs are met by our program, and how our program enables them
once they have graduated.
On another level, we focus more closely on the learning that takes place in
individual courses. This assessment considers not only the students who graduate
with a degree from our department, but also on students who are enrolled in
physics courses to supplement a major outside of our department and/or to
fulfill a general education requirement. These types of analyses take place in
selected courses, focusing on specific learning objectives. The assessment that
takes place on this level will be informative to all instructors in the
department and to all courses in which we are involved.
This report is organized according to these two different levels of
assessment. Under each level are items which describe specific assessment
efforts and their results.
I. The following assessments have been or are currently being implemented
in order to determine the effectiveness of our program in providing the
education and training necessary for our majors’ and minors’ post-graduation
success in employment, graduate school, and other endeavors.
A. Graduate Exit Survey
1. Our exit survey (of graduates in a physics, applied physics, physics
teaching, or physical science composite teaching major) has been expanded
and is included as a required part of graduation sign-off. (These
exit-surveys are filled out anonymously and filed with the department
secretary to ensure student anonymity.) Surveys ask students a variety of
qualitatively answered questions which aim to highlight student impressions
of the strengths and weaknesses of the departments ability and dedication
towards helping students succeed both during and after their college
careers.
2. The results of this instrument are not conclusive, but encouraging.
Since we graduate a relatively small number of individuals each year, it
would not be fair to state that the exit surveys currently provide a
reliable reading. We will continue to accumulate these data in subsequent
years. In the meantime, it should be noted that exit surveys are
overwhelmingly positive, all stating that the accessibility of and
interaction with faculty members was plentiful and beneficial. Graduates
also consistently listed numerous course and research experiences which they
found favorable. The laboratory and study facilities were also noted in most
responses. Negative comments were less frequent and not consistent between
individuals. Still, this assessment effort remains in progress as we
continue to collect more data.
B. Graduate Record Exam
1. We have continued to collect data on physics majors’ performance on
the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and are collecting data on both physics GPA
and overall GPA to look for correlations between local performance and
performance on the nationally standardized GRE.
2. We currently have data on approximately 50% of those students who have
taken the GRE during the past decade and we are continuing to collect more
data. We hesitate to make too many conclusions based on this data, due to
the fact that students who take the GRE have the option to not report their
scores to our department. In the future, we will make an effort to encourage
students to report scores to the department by assuring them that scores
will not be associated with names when the scores are reported.
C. Curriculum Analysis
1. A thorough analysis of our physics curriculum was completed as part of
the semester conversion process. We continually monitor our curriculum to
see if slight corrections are needed.
2. The department has a curriculum committee which is responsible for
such monitoring, and it has recommended small revisions to the curriculum
and individual courses over the past years. In addition, this committee has
developed and maintains a set of expanded course descriptions and topics on
file in the department. A thorough review of the curriculum is planned every
five years; the next iteration of this will be during the current academic
year (2003-2004) and the following year (2004 - 05). This review will
include a careful and deliberate revision of our department goals, and will
be informed by the newly released project report of the National Task Force
on Undergraduate Physics, Strategic Programs for Innovations in
Undergraduate Physics. Particular attention will be given to the 21
institutions highlighted in the report for their innovative physics
programs.
3. During the summer, our lower-division labs were evaluated and some
have been extensively revised in the process of supporting and purchasing
new lab equipment for our new Phsx 2210/2220 program at the WSU-Davis
campus. Plans to evaluate the Davis campus lab program and integrate it with
the Ogden campus lab program are still in the formative stages.
D. Grade and Artifact Analysis
1. The department analyzes student grades and artifacts of student
performance (written assignments, lab reports, senior presentation, etc.) to
help identify weaknesses in the curriculum. This level of analysis is aimed
specifically at courses and activities which are intended for our majors. As
a result of artifacts collected for the Northwest Accreditation process, the
department now has a reasonable sampling of the quality of work done by
students at all levels(both majors and general education students).
2. At this point, insufficient time has elapsed to collect enough data to
be meaningful, thus data collection is still in progress.
II. This second level of assessment is aimed at specific learning
objectives in specific classes. As a department with a commitment to and
research interest in physics education, the following list of undertakings is
meant to be useful in specific contexts and courses, as well as to other courses
and instructors, both at this institution and beyond.
A. The Force Concept Inventory
1. The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was integrated into regular
coursework beginning with a General Physics I course in the fall of
2000. This tool is used to measure conceptual understanding of Newtonian
mechanics. It is administered both at the beginning and the end of the
semester in order to gauge changes in students’ conceptions.
2. Previous use of the FCI enabled us to expand its use for the 2002-03
year, when it was used in both General Physics I and Physics for
Scientists and Engineers I. As student assessment using this measure
becomes more robust, it will be useful to individual instructors as well as
to the department when evaluating programs such as our lower division
laboratory program and its effectiveness in promoting the learning of
conceptual physics.
3. An instrument similar to the FCI is being developed elsewhere for
general education astronomy courses. The department will consider
implementing it if it proves to be as reliable for assessment as the FCI.
B. Nature of Science Understandings
1. Previous faculty research in the physics department focused on
learners’ understanding of the "nature of science" – the foundations of
scientific knowledge and how such knowledge is obtained.
2. The above research will be used as new curriculum are considered by
our curriculum committee. The curriculum committee has been charged with
looking at some of our general education courses (e.g., PHSX 1010) and
potential modifications to standard syllabi. In addition, the curriculum
committee is considering the addition of a recommended course that physics
teaching majors would take in order to better understand the nature of
science and its connection to science literacy.
III. Future assessment efforts
Our future efforts will continue in the directions outlined above and
expand upon these as time allows. This will consist of continual analysis of
the curriculum (see item I.C.2) as well as an ongoing effort in educational
research to evaluate specific learning objectives in specific courses.
(Towards this end, the department supports faculty whose research objectives
are in physics and science education.) We are confident that our current
direction will assist us in maintaining high standards in the teaching and
learning which takes place in our department.
Mission Statement
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