[phas-dept] Mar. 30 (Thursday) 4 PM - Physics and Astronomy Colloquium

[Heungman Park]

Spring 2017 Colloquium

Department of Physics & Astronomy

Mar 30, Thursday, 4-5 PM in Science Building 127

(coffee and cookies will be served at 3:50 PM)

Physics Education

The impact of student-teacher interactions in active-learning physics classes
Dr. Jon Gaffney

Eastern Kentucky University

[https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/RBIp4-NW0N2xRkxAfi-1k-fcRRFQnEZF2_YXHByzXWjrsxe1SF8Ao8VsxKoZAYwhdfKDEOzNVJtMZqakQqKsFaWGXmKvyCR3lv-kCOCoBILi1dcbJdjilrw6491G2FAA8dcp07mJ]

Dr. Jon Gaffney earned his BS in Physics and Mathematics with a minor in Philosophy from Bethany College in 2001. He earned his MS in Physics from the University of Pittsburgh in 2004, and after doing some teaching at Pitt and Duquesne, he transferred to North Carolina State University, where he earned a Ph.D. in 2010. His dissertation topic was about creating a framework for understanding students’ attempts at deductive reasoning in Physics.  Dr. Gaffney worked as a post-doc at the University of Kentucky, where he did research on a Physics for Teachers course. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Eastern Kentucky University, where he continues to do Physics Education Research.



Abstract:

Research-based pedagogical reforms in physics classes are known to improve students’ conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills, but implementing them is not trivial. For those reforms to be successful in other ways — such as improving students’ affect toward physics as a discipline — care needs to be taken to ensure that the students do not push back against the new modes of instruction. By looking carefully at the student/teacher interactions that happen in the classroom, we can find patterns that speak to student satisfaction (or frustration). Three constructs from research in the field of Interpersonal Communication are particularly useful: expectancy violation, instructor credibility, and face threat mitigation. In this talk, I will describe each of those constructs and present advice in terms of those constructs for thinking about the instructor’s role and choices when interacting with students.


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