I. Goal/subject of instructionA. Subject of ScienceB. Encouragement of ThinkingII. Student ThinkingA. Progression of KnowledgeB. Construction of KnowledgeIII. Student Engagement and ActivitiesA. Engagement of Student AttentionB. Different Types of KnowledgeC. Student Verbalization & ExplanationsIV. Elements of LearningA. Process of Science / LearningB. Important Elements to LearningV. Examples and LabsA. Realistic ExamplesB. Lab ActivitiesVI. Technology of TeachingA. Introduction of TechnologyB. Process of Science / ContentVII. Good Processes and Practices1Masters Paper – Physics 690 – November 1, 2005 – Chris OlszewskiThere is a current and projected shortage of mathematics and science teachers. One place to fill this void is from the ranks of currently employed engineers or physicists from industrial or research positions. As a Ph.D. physicist working in the telecommunications industry for 20 years,I have myself decided to teach at the secondary school level for three reasons:- I believe it is very important that students have qualified teachers who know the subject, especially since some of mine did not.- With an extensive physics background and an interest in teaching, I believe that I will be a very good teacher.- Having thoroughly enjoyed my career up to this point, I also believe that I will find teaching both rewarding and fun.This paper is written as a somewhat personal retrospection on how my thinking about what constitutes good teaching has changed as a result of my participation in the Alternate Teacher Certification program at Buffalo State College. Other professionals who may be on a similar track may use this as a heads-up for what they may expect as they make the transition to teaching. Also, designers and implementers of Alternate Teaching Certification programs may use my observations to modify their programs to improve the preparations of the teachers they produceMy background is somewhat rare for teaching at the high-school level, although not unique. I received my doctorate in physics about 20 years ago at the University of Illinois, and immediately went into systems engineering/applied research position at Bell Labs. I certainly was not interested at that time in teaching. For the next two years, I then held a variety of positions in systems engineering/telecommunications research at AT&T or one of their spin-offs.2As time went by, these companies grew smaller and smaller. I have used and maintained my capacity for scientific thinking and investigation during this time, investigating various different stresses on telecommunication networks and strategies to compensate for them. So, I have maintained and used a technical frame of mind in my activities.My decision to teach arose from the immense satisfaction I derived from teaching at a localcommunity college for several semesters, and acting as a volunteer for Project Astro, in which I as an amateur astronomer visited two third-grade classes for four years. While I had always considered teaching important, I did not expect to find it enjoyable or satisfying until I had actually done it. Thus, when the small start-up I worked at failed, I decided to try teaching full time as a profession. My decision to teach at the high-school level was arrived at consciously: at the high-school level, I believe one can start to talk about physics with enough detail to be “interesting” to me. Although higher educational levels would be even more interesting, students at the college level have already largely determined their interests and pursuits. Working with younger students gives the opportunity to shape their understanding of science and scientific thinking. In this respect, the younger the students are, the better: high school may be the last opportunity to really influence the mind and thinking of students for their later life.A decision to teach (as opposed to remain in an industrial/research position) is not taken lightly. The financial remuneration is quite a bit lower in teaching, however that is not the complete amount of benefit from a job. One has to balance financial compensation with internal job satisfaction to determine the total recompense for a job. This balance will likely vary from person to person.3Thus, in seeking to become certified to teach high school, I enrolled in an alternate teaching program. With my background, I did not believe that I needed (or wanted) to complete afour-year program to become a certified teacher. My intention was to become certified quickly.As I approached the prospect of teaching physics at the high-school level (or, approached the program to become certified), I admit to having several prejudices and pre-conceived notionsabout what good teaching at that level would entail, as well as notions about what would be included in an alternate certification program that would be useful in teaching. My incoming prejudices were:- I had more than adequate subject-matter mastery. I had studied physics as an undergrad and as a graduate student, with about 60 hours undergrad hours and about 20 graduate credits. Additionally, I had done research for my doctoral degree. I did not need to learn more physics – merely better ways to teach physics.- I had some ideas of how to teach physics. Most of my undergrad and graduate courseswere taught in a traditional lecture format: the instructor designs and delivers lectures,and prepares assignments for the students to complete. The students sit mostly passively taking notes, and learn the material by studying and completing the assignments. My ideas of teaching physics well were to show how physics can be relevant to everyday life, and to exploit my ability to explain physical/scientific topicsclearly to students. However, I did not intend to stray much outside the boundaries of the typical lecture format.- I did not anticipate learning much in the alternate teacher certification program at Buffalo State College. I expected to take classes in learning how people learn, and learning some techniques and approaches to teach physics to students. However, I4expected these techniques to be within the framework of a traditional lecture format. Although I had heard that “You can’t just lecture to these students anymore”, I expected only to find ways of making the information more relevant and interesting to the students. I did not expect my approach towards teaching to be revolutionized.What I learned in the alternate certification
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