Dr. Brian Utter and colleagues have obtained a Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) grant to support, ultimately, the production of more well-qualified high school science teachers. But this grant does more for our department and JMU students than encourage the production of much-needed teachers. It is giving our upperclassmen an opportunity to really learn physics by helping to teach it. It has spurred the reform of our introductory physics classes, making them more engaging and productive. It has brought a Teacher-in-Residence to the department to help connect our department to the College of Education, the prospective high school teachers, and give the TIR some experience outside the usual high school classroom.
The recent article in the Breeze give more details.
