- Year 2019
- NSF Noyce Award # 1439726
- First Name Kurtis
- Last Name Fletcher
- Discipline Physics
- Co-PI(s)
James McLean, mclean@geneseo.edu;Dennis Showers, showers@geneseo.edu;Katie Rommel-Esham, rommel@geneseo.edu, SUNY Geneseo
- Presenters
Kurt Fletcher, SUNY Geneseo, fletcher@geneseo.edu
Need
The BLT program provides an opportunity to recruit physics majors into the teaching profession through early teaching experiences and by demonstrating the intellectual challenges that teaching presents.
Goals
Can the BLT program have a positive impact on the recruitment and retention of future physics teachers?
Approach
At weekly meetings on campus, participants design, revise, and build an apparatus to demonstrate a physical principle. They discuss learning outcomes, possible instructional strategies, and practice their presentations before visiting physics classrooms in neighboring school districts to present the demonstration and then donate the equipment to the local classroom.
Outcomes
This project builds and sustains a community of physics educators, assisting with recruitment and retention of future physics teachers. The undergraduates learn that high school science teaching provides interesting intellectual challenges.
Broader Impacts
Programs like this could be implemented for other subject areas and at other locations.
