PHY 500
PHYSICS EDUCATION RESEARCH SEMINAR
3, 3/0; Sp 07, Sp 08
Designed for practicing or future high school physics teachers. Includes reading and discussion of current research in physics education, evaluation and discussion of the application of this research to the New York State physics core curriculum, and the exploration and practice of assessment techniques in high school physics.
PHY 502
INITIAL PHYSICS TEACHING EXPERIENCE FOR ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Acceptance to the alternative certification in physics program.
Full-time physics teaching with college supervision and school supervision: lesson and unit design, classroom management, designing and implementing student assessment, participation in school community.
PHY 507
ENERGY AND FORCE INTERACTIONS FOR K-8 TEACHERS
3, 1/4
Designed for elementary teachers to better understand physics and the nature of science. Focus on interactions and energy: energy, force, friction, gravity, magnetic fields, light, and electricity. Not appropriate for students with extensive physics background.
PHY 510
PROCESS SKILLS IN PHYSICS TEACHING
6, 3/3
Use of inquiry-based teaching techniques to develop concepts central to the New York State physics core curriculum. Use of mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design to pose questions, seek answers, and develop strategies to achieve these goals in the physics classroom with adolescent learners.
PHY 511
COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS FOR TEACHERS
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: PHY111, PHY112 and PHY213 or instructor permission
Study of problems from various physics content areas using a variety of computational tools (e.g. spreadsheets, computer programming) and techniques (Newton’s method, Runge-Kutta). Physical systems including harmonic oscillator with damping, gravitational force (orbits, central force problem), electric and magnetic field and potential calculations, thermal and statistical physics, motion with air friction, wave motion, quantum mechanical tunneling and scattering. Pedagogical issues associated with using computation in the high school classroom.
PHY 518
WAVE PHENOMENA AND OPTICS
3, 3/0; F 07
Wave phenomena, including types, motion, interaction, and propagation; diffraction and interference; geometrical optics. Emphasizes research-based profiles of student conceptual difficulties and instructional strategies to remedy them.
PHY 520
MODERN PHYSICS
3, 3/0
Major developments in twentieth-century physics and how they changed our understanding of the nature of space and time and the structure of matter. Application of physics education research to teaching relativity and quantum physics in a high school physics course.
PHY 521
EXPERIMENTS IN MODERN PHYSICS FOR TEACHERS
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: PHY520 or equivalent
Hands-on activities and advanced experiments chosen from the areas of optics, modern physics, nuclear physics, and solid state physics with the goals of learning modern laboratory techniques, data analysis, and lab report writing.
PHY 522
PHYSICS OF ENERGY SOURCES FOR TEACHERS
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: PHY107 and PHY108 or equivalent
Different energy sources, their global supply, and physical laws governing their present use in the world. Topical energy sources and physical laws for the hydrogen fuel cell, solar cell and wind turbine; using them in applications and devices
PHY 525
NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS
3, 3/0
Major developments in nuclear and particle physics in the twentieth century, culminating in the standard model. Discussion of how these developments changed our understanding of the structure or matter.
PHY 590
INDEPENDENT STUDY
3, 0/0
PHY 620
POWERFUL IDEAS AND QUANTITATIVE MODELING: FORCE, MOTION, AND ENERGY
6, 3/3
Designed for practicing or future high school physics teachers. Activities and laboratory experiences develop ideas in force, motion, and energy. Exemplary pedagogical techniques are modeled and examined.
PHY 622
POWERFUL IDEAS AND QUANTITATIVE MODELING: ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM
6, 3/3
Designed for high school physics teachers. Activities and laboratory experiences develop ideas in electricity and magnetism. Exemplary pedagogical techniques are modeled and examined.
PHY 690
MASTER’S PROJECT
6, 3/0
Study of a problem of special interest, pre-approved by the physics graduate committee and submitted in acceptable form according to directions given by the Physics Department.
