PhysTEC at Boston Univeristy: Enhancing Physics Teaching in Area High Schools AND at the University

The PhysTEC grant awarded to Boston University is helping to encode in the DNA of the physics department a culture that sees basic physics research and excellence in teaching as dual missions of a strong physics department. Boston University, a large research university located in an urban center, is working with area school districts to increase the number of highly qualified high school physics teachers. The experience of working with pre- and in-service physics teachers has had the added benefit of encouraging reflection within the physics department on strategies for effective teaching and learning. Physics majors are being encouraged to become undergraduate Learning Assistants, so physics majors graduating from Boston University will provide more effective instruction in physics, whether in the role of high school teacher, teaching assistant in graduate school, or research physicist mentoring and educating another generation of physicists.