Prior to launching this blog I had written down numerous bullet points related to topics in physics teaching that I would deem important. In today's post, based on five selected points I would like to discuss how we could improve the learning experience for physics students by implementing changes in the physics curriculum, course syllabi, and teaching methods. Clearly, most the ideas can be traced back to my time as a postdoctoral research in the United States.
Departmental colloquium: By attracting more (undergraduate) students to departmental colloquia, we have the chance to introduce modern research topics to them and thereby provide support in finding out more about their personal interests. I am aware of some universities making it mandatory for students to attend such colloquia, but I don't mean to discuss this point here. Instead, I just want to make the point that such colloquia can be extremely valuable for students to broaden their horizon and boost their motivation. However, I know that at many universities departmental physics colloquia are solely attended by senior researchers and professors, albeit explicitly targeting undergraduate students, too. Therefore, we should think about ways of how to attract a higher number of students to such events. To this end, we also need to make sure that invited speakers adjust their presentations such that students can follow.
Ensure appropriate space for communicating and learning: Unfortunately, I know many universities which don't offer a sufficiently large space for students to study, learn and collaborate. Hallways are dark and narrow, seminar rooms are small and poorly equipped, seating areas are rare and always occupied. At many institutions, the importance of appropriate common rooms and seating areas is heavily underrated. For physics departments in particular, I suggest that rooms that are equipped with modern computer infrastructure ("computer labs") should be more common and inviting for students to use them.
Enable students to feel a sense of community: This is such an important point. During my time in the United States I noticed that many students are extremely proud to be part of a specific university. They live on campus, join clubs and registered student organizations (RSOs), visit sports events and wear official university apparel. By contrast, my experience at German universities has been entirely different. I understand that these two academic systems are entirely different, but most universities in Germany tend to give me the impression of being commuter colleges. Students come to campus in the morning, attend classes, and then head back home in the afternoon. Rarely do I get the feeling that students feel such a strong sense of community as in the US. I am not saying that German (and other European) universities should simply adopt the American system, since there certainly are several advantages to the German system, but I do think that they could do much better at offering possibilities to make students feel like they belong. Kudos to my physics department in Frankfurt, though, which has always been giving me the feeling of being part of a (relatively small) family when I was a student myself.
Internships and practical relevance: Unfortunately, from my experience many physics degree programs do not offer many opportunities for internships with tech companies. Instead, some departments live under the illusion that they are training all students to become scientists who work in academia. However, the reality is that most students will eventually work in the private sector. Therefore, I think that it would be beneficial to include more possibilities for internships and also more frequent discussions with regard to the practical relevance of the course material.
Office hours: In Germany, I noticed that office hours offered by professors, instructors and teaching assistants do not seem to be as common as in the US. I think that this opportunity should be offered to students more often. To be honest, I do not remember exactly the first time when I visited the office of a professor as a student, but I am quite certain that it was when I searched for an opportunity to work on my Bachelor thesis project, i.e., during the fifth semester of my undergraduate studies. Sadly, not a single professor announced office hours in their classes.
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