Since 2001, the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) has been working to address the dramatic shortage of qualified teachers of physics and physical science in the United States. It has done this by experimenting with and refining models of teacher education programs, by disseminating information about innovative programs to the physics community, and by working directly with physics departments to engage them in a full spectrum of activities necessary to educate and encourage these teachers. After seven years, the project is now in a position to evaluate the impact of efforts to recruit, educate and mentor more physics teachers.
PhysTEC institutions, sites that have received significant project support to develop model teacher education programs, have placed a strong emphasis on recruiting students. Below is a graph showing that PhysTEC institutions committed to increasing the number of physics teachers [1] have been successful in meeting that goal. In several cases, the increase was about a factor of 10. While the absolute numbers may seem small, each year there is a need for about 1200 new physics teachers, and only about 400 new teachers with a physics degree are hired [2]. If a fraction of the nearly 800 institutions that grant a physics bachelor's degree make similar increases, this will greatly reduce the critical shortage of physics teachers.
Most graduates of PhysTEC teacher education programs go into K-12 classrooms where they have an opportunity to make a difference for many students each year. As a result of maintaining close contact with graduates, the project can report early career outcomes on nearly 90% of PhysTEC graduates. As shown in the graph below, 82% of these graduates are currently teaching in K-12 schools or seeking teaching employment, and another 4% are teaching at the college level. Most are teaching physics and/or physical science. Other commonly taught subjects include math and chemistry.
At PhysTEC institutions, transformed introductory physics courses use “interactive-engagement” methods shown to improve student learning in comparison with traditional didactic instruction [3]. These courses also serve to model effective teaching practices and often engage more advanced students as Learning Assistants, giving them an early exposure to teaching. PhysTEC institutions use research-validated instruments including the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) [4] and Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) [5] to track student learning and ensure that course transformations are effective. The graph below shows normalized learning gains for courses at PhysTEC sites, both before (“Traditional”) and after (“Transformed”) changes were implemented. Normalized learning gains are determined by dividing the difference in pre-test and post-test scores by the maximum possible increase. Learning gains approximately doubled at many sites as a result of PhysTEC-supported course transformations, and learning gains on the FCI were nearly identical to published data for “interactive-engagement” instruction [3].
Teacher education does not end at graduation. PhysTEC institutions provide critical mentoring and induction support during the first years of teaching. Teacher retention is serious problem, and one study reported that 40% of new physics teachers left teaching within their first five years [6]. Mentoring can help improve retention rates of new teachers [7]. Last year, most PhysTEC teachers in their first and second year of teaching were mentored by Teachers in Residence (TIRs). TIRs are master physics teachers who play a central role in PhysTEC teacher education programs. In addition, the project provided mentoring to other new physics teachers located near PhysTEC institutions.
The PhysTEC project website has more information on key components of PhysTEC programs as well as descriptions of efforts at each PhysTEC institution. A related project, the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PTEC) network, is an organization of more than 110 member institutions committed to improving the education of physics and physical science teachers. The PTEC website has information on becoming a member, upcoming conferences and workshops, and a digital library of resources on physics teacher education.
