This blog is dealing with teaching physics (and materials science) in higher education. I started the blog a while ago because this topic constitutes a personal matter and I see a lot of potential in improving physics teaching and learning in the future. Not only with regard to physics, teaching in higher education is constantly evolving and transforming. This is why I believe that it is crucial to share and exchange our ideas about novel approaches, stories of success, and biggest failures in the context of teaching and learning.
In the following, I would like to provide the readers with a few selected general resources -- mostly articles and podcasts -- on teaching in higher education that I consider to be helpful. Please feel free to share further resources in the comments section.
- The "Professerror" podcast by Steven K. Ayer and Bryan Franz, see for example Apple Podcasts or Spotify. I really appreciate both hosts being very open and honest about their previous failures in academia. Some episodes have a particular focus on teaching in higher education: For example, the hosts discuss the role of effective communication with students and colleagues, and the details about applying to faculty positions, including discussions about the teaching philosophy statement.
- I also like this article (World Economic Forum) by Diana El-Azar on trends that will shape the future of higher education. Aside from the eye-opening discussion on future developments such as "learning from everywhere" and the potential end of the traditional lecture format, the article includes further links to other helpful resources.
- KPMG also offers a compilation of interesting articles on the future of higher education in a disruptive world. This includes a discussion about the end of the golden age for universities, the role of changing demographics, and how technology affects higher education.
- José Antonio Bowen has written an interesting book termed "Teaching Change". The author discusses how education needs to be redesigned. He also discusses his findings and ideas in the "Teaching in Higher Ed" Podcast, which brings me to my next recommendation.
- The "Teaching in Higher Ed" podcast, hosted by Bonni Stachowiak, is a phenomenal resource. With its more than 400 episodes, many of them being interviews with experts in teaching, it represents one of my favorite resources on how to become a better teacher in higher education.
- This article by Jeffrey R. Docking on campustechnology.com discusses the future of higher education being the hybrid campus. It contains a number of good ideas and takes into account the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on teaching in higher education.
- Occasionally, I like to browse peer-reviewed scientific journals that focus on higher education. In particular, this includes Physical Review Physics Education Research by APS as well as Physics Education by IOP Science. I am wondering whether one day I will also consider writing an article for publication in an education-focused journal.
I'm a bit disappointed to see you uncritically recommend Phys Rev PER. It regularly publishes papers that are obviously incorrect, i.e.both use and advocate statistical methods that even beginning students know to be seriously wrong. My most recent critique of a small fraction of such papers is at the url above, with earlier ones traceable from it. Perhaps even more seriously, the editors have written me that they do not want words like "incorrect" to be used in any critiques. They have essentially chosen to drop out of science.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is not even to mention a notorious recent example in which they published an intense religious tract as if it were a scientific paper.
Whoops, it seems the URL doesn't appear unless included in the text:
ReplyDeletehttps://econjwatch.org/articles/invalid-methods-and-false-answers-physics-education-research-and-the-use-of-gres
Thank you, Professor Weissman, for your valuable comment. I am going to read your article thoroughly. It will certainly help me and the readers of this blog to gain a more complete picture about this journal.
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