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Buffalo State PHY 690 - The Decision:

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Formative Experiences of a Career Changing BS (Physics): An Environmental Consultant Becomes a Physics Teacher through Alternative CertificationE-mail: [email protected]:The first year of a teaching career is filled with challenges and rewards. Both of these are addressed by a person who became certified to teach via the Alt Cert Physics Program at Buffalo State College. The factors that played into the decision of becoming a teacher and a brief over view of the Alt Cert Physics Program at Buffalo State College are also discussed.The Decision:Back to School:The First Year:8. Thompson, G., Jenkins, J., (2004). Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion. HarperCollins, New YorkFormative Experiences of a Career Changing BS (Physics): An Environmental Consultant Becomes a Physics Teacher through AlternativeCertificationNicholas Golembieski121 Department of Physics, SUNY–Buffalo State College, 1300 Elmwood Ave, SC222, Buffalo,NY 14222, USA1 Science Department, Pine Valley High School, 7755 Rt. 83, South DaytonNY 14138, USAE-mail: [email protected]:The first year of a teaching career is filled with challenges and rewards. Both of these are addressed by a person who became certified to teach via the Alt Cert Physics Program at Buffalo State College. The factors that played into the decision of becoming a teacher and a brief over view of the Alt Cert Physics Program at Buffalo State College are also discussed.Introduction:In this paper, I will discuss my experiences as a new teacher coming from the Alt Cert Physics Program at Buffalo State College and how these experience have changed and shaped my life as a first year teacher .Throughout my first year as a physics teacher, I went through a series of emotional/mental challenges and rewards. Some of these I was prepared for and for some I asked myself, “What in the world am I going to do?” Thankfully when I got to a challenging time in my new career, I had guidance and support to help me plan, adjust and manage my careerchange. When the rewarding moments came, they were some of the most substantial moments inmy professional life. I had never felt such appreciation or intrinsic satisfaction in my career before. This hooked me and from then on I knew I had made the correct choice in changing careers. Discovering that my love for science, curiosity and enlightenment could be challenged, expanded upon and shared, changed my view of what work is. 1The Decision:I received a BS in Physics in 2002 from SUNY College at Fredonia. I had anticipated moving upon graduation to an area of with more opportunities in Physics (California) but family matters kept me in Western New York. This led to my searching for a local job in physics. While this search was being conducted, I went to work as an environmental consultant. The work was easy and the pay was enough to get by but I wasn’t getting anywhere. With little need in Western New York for an employee who has a BS in physics, I spent the next couple of years as a consultant moving laterally through a business with little room for growth. The day I found out Iwas going to be a father, I knew I had to change what I was doing. There was now a need to get out of the redundancy I had found myself in. This is when I began researching graduate programs. While debating what field to move into, I had a conversation with a close relative who was a retired teacher. He reminded me of how good it feels to share ones passion with others and how rewarding it can be to work with kids. I had been a TA for a couple of physics labs while working on my BS, and remembered how good it felt to motivate and captivate peoplewith physics. After that conversation, I narrowed my research to education. This is where thingsbegan to get a bit easier. I reviewed the physics education/education programs from all the local Western New York institutes and Buffalo State College shadowed all others in comparison. The Alt Cert Physics Program at Buffalo State College is streamlined to help expedite the transition to physics teacher, tailor made for professionals with science/engineering backgrounds and utilizes Physics Education Research curriculums. After my first contact with Dr. Dan MacIsaac from the Physics Ed. program there, I knew exactly where I would be going to graduate school. I explained to him that I did poorly as an undergrad but I had matured immensely over the past couple of years. He was personable and understanding of my background and situation.Back to School:The jump back to college wasn’t as easy as I had anticipated. My first semester at Buffalo State College I took three classes and worked full time. This left little time for much else. I did find that I was more than capable of doing this and discovered that I had matured immensely in the year since my days at Fredonia State. Those years were filled with little responsibility and a lot of fun. I believe that was a partial contributor to my lack of physics knowledge that was evident after my first day of PHY 620: Powerful Ideas & Quantitative Modeling: Force, Motion and Energy. PHY 620 is one of three (100+ hrs) intensive courses that make up the backbone of the Alt. Cert. program at Buffalo State.1 I had always considered mechanics to be the strongest area of my understanding of physics. This was challenged immediately. By confronting my preconceptions and learning about modeling I began to understand how knowledge of physics is built upon and constructed. This was new and exciting to me. I finally seemed to gain an understanding of physical phenomena and now could do more than crunch numbers that I was never sure what they actually meant. From then on, I knew how physics should be taught and 2experienced. This enlightenment continued throughout my physics education courses at Buffalo State College. Through the use of PER(Physics Education Research) the faculty at Buffalo State College was able to create a program that not only helped to address the need for physics teachers but also produce instructors that have the ability to guide students in the 0understanding of physical phenomena. After attending Buffalo State College for three full time semesters and two intense summers I jumped out into the world of public education and put my new understanding and knowledge to the test.The First Year:I began teaching regents physics with the accompanying lab, physical chemistry and general science


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