Experiments in Teaching Physics

Joanne O’Meara
University of Guelph & Co-Founder of Royal City Science

Abstract

Over the past decade we have made many changes to our undergraduate physics offerings at Guelph, for majors and non-majors alike. Our goal throughout has been to implement best practices from the Physics Education Research community, in such a way that we are mindful of resource implications. I will highlight some of the more significant changes we have made, such as designing and delivering an integrated course in first year that combines physics and calculus in a coordinated way, introducing gaming elements into our online course content for non-majors, and requiring all physics majors to take a course on communicating science to non-technical audiences. The seminar will also include a discussion of what we have learned about teaching during a pandemic, as well as plans for the future.