Barriers to women and minorities:

- Our profession generates what is often perceived as a chilly climate.

- Subtle socio-cultural dynamics in introductory classes often inhibit under-represented groups and are not noticed by instructors.

- Instructors reveal low expectations of some students by how long they wait when posing questions.

- Difficult career prospects discourage potential entrants.

- Students don't know the ropes.

- Large classes can generate fear.

- Foreign teaching assistants (T.A.s) often treat men and women differently due to cultural factors.

Why is it different in other fields (e.g.: medicine, law, other sciences)?

- Individuals make a difference

- Historical & cultural factors can strongly influence a fieldís receptiveness.

What can we do? Some suggestions:

- "Physics as a Profession" - a 1 credit course (Arizona State University)

- Starting a chapter of the Society for Physics Students and providing separate spaces for students can be useful.

- Attracting minority and women faculty can improve a departmentís climate.

- Improve the mentoring provided by faculty members. Student progress should be carefully tracked.

- Utilize peer-mentoring, which is especially helpful when difficulties arise.

- Implement better training of T.A.s: utilize role playing and video methods, teach about body language and behavior, cultural differences and language modes, and gender differences.

- Take advantage of the expertise of minority and women faculty members at other institutions.

It is necessary to distinguish between program assessment and student assessment.

I. Program Assessment

A. For program review (for peace of mind & for administration) use external groups. (The American Association of Physics Teachers can help with this).

B. For help in redesigning one part of a program, one can use outside consultants from other institutions.

C. Accreditation is a form of program assessment that can help the status of a department in the administration's view and help place graduates. Accreditation/certification is a big success story in chemistry.

II. Student Assessment

A. There is a need for a central, public database for assessment information. It should be made available to chairs (can AAPT do this?). This includes:

i. Standardized tests on overall physics knowledge;

ii. Subject-based concept tests (mechanics, thermodynamics, etc.);

iii. Literature on methods of assessments.

iv. Names and locations of experts in assessment (not necessarily in physics)

B. Important Components

i. Retention - tracking performance of students through the physics program. One also needs data on students as they enter college/university (ACT/SAT).

ii. Attitude - All agree that it is important, but how do we assess it? Inquiry - has the course helped the student to see/appreciate the utility of physics?

iii. What do we do for the majority of students (non-physicists). Are attitudes and concepts more important? We should use the NSF Guidelines on expectations for scientific literacy.

C. Since standardized testing and statistics present problems for smaller departments, they should assess more frequently. Students buy into assessment because they see how it affects their education. Value added is seen by both faculty and students. Attitude and concept understanding can be readily assessed several times in one course. The more data the better - and at least initially, a variety of tools/approaches should be used. This way, you discover what works best for your faculty and students.

Graduate Record Exams - The main question is "Are GRE scores a good indicator or assessment of a studentís potential for graduate study in Physics?" While we all use GRE scores to screen applicants, especially those from foreign countries, we should look for evidence of independent research effort. Larry Kirkpatrick of Montana State University said future GREs will have fewer questions and more emphasis on conceptual understanding. Suggestions for improvement of the test format are welcome. AAPT should look into national tests (including MCAT) and evaluate how well the Physics portion is conducted. Some small departments reported difficulties in providing adequate coverage of material (e.g. nuclear physics) for the GRE exam.

Assessment - Are students learning and professors achieving the actual goals of their courses? Outcome-based assessment and ìauthentic assessmentî will be the answer to this question. There are some concerns about having more tests and more data for analysis that may not be conclusive. Some departments have comprehensive exams for graduating seniors and evaluation of effectiveness of learning Physics in laboratory. Test instruments for General Physics, though incomplete, are available from AAPT. The University of Maryland and Arizona State University have conducted an attitude assessment which compares the studentsí level of interest in physics before and after taking the course. Embedded assessments such as those demonstrated in Session B of this meeting are considered to be very effective means of measuring learning.

Undergraduate research experience is important. As such, it should be supported at the same level as other courses and laboratories. Successful research projects require a committed faculty sponsor. The sponsor must be given allowance for using undergraduates in research projects, in all promotion and tenure decisions. The sponsor should be given support materials such as the AIP publication, How to Involve Undergraduates in Research, and materials from the Council on Undergraduate Research. Safety issues cannot be ignored.

The match between student and project is critical. We cannot ignore student interests, ultimate career intentions (individual or team), and research styles (i.e. on-campus, at another campus, in industry). Each project should ideally be summarized in both oral and written reports. Intermediate progress reports can ensure a good final report.

Graduate schools should interpret student research as being indicative of graduate school interest. The goal is for the student to experience the process of doing physics.

Many schools encourage off-campus summer research. We would recommend a national clearinghouse for summer opportunities to insure that no slot goes unfilled and that the maximum number of students have the opportunity.

To summarize, students may not be as productive as experienced researchers, but bright undergraduates can do a lot.

All of those present at this breakout discussion felt that research participation at the undergraduate level is essential. Several participants discussed how they get students involved as freshmen using small independent study investigations, either with or without credit. Bill Bickle from the University of Arizona shared two pages of projects that he had worked on with first-year students. These require very low overhead in terms of faculty time and often times involve students from other majors (music, art, drama) who have a physics question that can evolve into a small project. Concern was expressed about the likely cutback in funds for Department of Energy (DOE) education programs. These benefit both the participating laboratories (by getting researchers involved in the education process and by the direct contributions of the participants to the research) and the students and faculty members that participate in the program. Funds are available to support undergraduate research through Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), private companies and foundations, Society of Physics Students grants, and internal support from departments. The Council on Undergraduate Research is a good resource for sources of private funds. It was pointed out that faculty members with NSF grants can frequently get NSF supplemental grants to involve students through the REU program; not enough faculty take advantage of this grant opportunity.

It is important that oral and written presentations be a required part of all undergraduate research experiences. This might be a talk at a state, regional or national meeting, a paper in the Journal of Undergraduate Research in Physics, or a paper in a well-respected refereed journal. The department can use these presentations and papers as recruitment tools to encourage students to major in physics.

Concern was expressed about how faculty members' participation in undergraduate research is viewed for promotion and tenure considerations, especially at larger universities. Reward systems may need to be changed to encourage improvements in undergraduate education.