2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 232: Co-teaching in Undergraduate STEM Education: A Strategy to Enhance the Learning and Teaching Environment in Math, Physics, and Engineering Courses

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session

At its core, STEM research is a collaborative endeavor. Similarly, one can expect interdisciplinary coordination in STEM teaching to be fruitful. A recent NSF S-STEM grant has enabled us to develop and implement at Penn State Abington integrated courses that span topics in math, physics, and engineering.
Even though calculus is a prerequisite for physics at the majority of US undergraduate institutions, many students do not maintain the essential math skills, which undermines their success in physics. It's interesting to note that in recent years, we have begun to hear concerns from engineering majors who dislike having to take math classes that are required by engineering curriculum. The math and engineering professors could find this unreasonable. It is logical, though, given that math is typically taught to students as an abstract discipline, and they need to comprehend how it will benefit them in their future employment as engineers. As a possible solution to the problem, we embarked on creating an Integrated Curriculum starting with two pairs of courses: Calculus I + Physics I (Mechanics) and Physics 2 (E&M) + Electrical Engineering (Circuits and Devices). We will give a general overview of this initiative in this presentation, outlining its rationale and potential difficulties with integrated curriculum.
In this presentation, we will discuss the conditions that could enable co-teaching to effectively shift teaching practices and the challenges of co-teaching from an instructor’s point of view. We will also discuss the survey data gathered from the students every two weeks on their opinions of these integrated courses. It is our hope that not only will instructors who are new to or considering co-teaching learn about the practice and ideas for getting started, but instructors who have already tried co-teaching will delve into the research supporting the practice and adjust their approaches based on our experiences.

Authors

Dr. Burcu Ozden Pennsylvania State University [biography]

Dr. Burcu Ozden holds a master's degree in physics education as well as a doctorate in physics. She is currently an assistant professor at Penn State Abington. Her work focuses on defects, exciton-polaritons, radiation studies, engineering education, and the integration of sustainability in engineering.
Dr. Michael Kagan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6360-9273 Pennsylvania State University [biography]

Michael (Mike) Kagan is an associate professor of physics at Penn State Abington. He received a Ph.D. in Physics from the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Kagan's research interests are diverse and include Quantum Gravity and Cosmology, Electric Circuits and Algebraic Graph Theory; Physics Education
Dr. Matthew A. Fury Pennsylvania State University [biography]

Dr. Matthew Fury is a Professor of Mathematics and Division Head of Science and Engineering at Penn State Abington. He has a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Bryn Mawr College. Dr. Fury's research interests are in functional analysis, operator theory, and ill-posed problems. He has over 10 years of experience teaching Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Differential Equations. In more recent years, Dr. Fury has shifted focus to service in administration. He is especially interested in developing impactful practices and programs that support the success of underrepresented groups in STEM education.
Dr. Andrei Blinkouski Pennsylvania State University [biography]

Dr. Andrei Blinkouski is an Associate Teaching Professor of Physics at Penn State Abington. He earned his Ph.D. in physics and mathematics from Belarusian State University in Minsk, Belarus. His research interests include gravitation, cosmology, fluid mechanics, and physics education. In addition, Dr. Blinkouski is also involved in research with undergraduate students at Penn State Abington, helping young people choose their path in science and engineering.
Dr. Zafer Hatahet Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott
Dr. John Majewicz Pennsylvania State University [biography]

John Majewicz is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Mathematics at Penn State Abington. He received a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the Temple University under the guidance of Dr. Doron Zeilberger.

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