Re-conceptualizing the Teaching of Physics for Non-majors: Learning from Instructor-Driven Reform

Abstract

At the University of British Columbia, as in many universities, the physics department offers courses to a wide variety of students, many of whom are not pursuing Physics as a major but are required to take Physics for their program of choice. So-called “service” courses targeted to this non-major population have historically been taught using the same topics, instructional sequences, and teaching techniques as those designed for Physics majors, even though there are significant differences in the background, motivation, needs, and goals of these two populations. In 2007, motivated by the desire to offer a course to their non-major students that would be more meaningful and relevant to them, the instructors of UBC’s introductory Physics course for non-majors initiated a series of ongoing changes to the course content, instructional sequence, and pedagogical tools. This chapter explores how the instructors’ motivations, goals, and pedagogical content knowledge have interacted with the logistical and cultural constraints of teaching in the context of a major research university to shape these course changes over the first two years of implementation. Results from ongoing research into the effects of these changes are described and specific examples of how curricular materials and pedagogical methods have evolved are presented.