Draft:Beth Thacker
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Beth Thacker is a Professor of Physics at the Texas Tech University. She earned her Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Cornell University in 1990. She also worked as a postdoctoral researcher for The Ohio State University in the realm of Physics Education Research (PER) in 1992.
During her tenure at Texas Tech, she created an inquiry and laboratory-based curriculum, which is taught by using Socratic pedagogy. She also investigates the quantitative and qualitative reasoning and understanding of student's knowledge in physics concepts that are taught in conventional and non-conventional means. Currently, she works on understanding pedagogical content knowledge and assessing Learning Assistance (LAs) in inquiry-based physics classes.[1]
Career
[edit]Large Scale Assessment of Inquiry-based Curriculum
[edit]In a study published by Texas Tech University, Beth Thacker studied the results of a large-scale assessment in a large university. The study sought to understand how students interact with physics related materials, in new laboratories through introductory level courses. The assessments were presented as simple multiple-choice questions. This study was used to better gauge student's understanding of physics concepts. The goals of this curriculum were for students to learn physics concepts and scientific skills that would help them in their future careers, students learn concepts that will help them pass pre-professional exams, and for students to gain an epistemology that matches the epistemology of a scientist.[2]
Inquiry-based Experimental Physics
[edit]In a second study published by Texas Tech, Thacker examined the results of a laboratory-based physics course that had been taught for algebra-based students. Through its 20-year existence, the course has remained unchanged in any way. In the 2000's, Texas Tech developed an algebra-based physics course that was not lecture based or required any text. This course was aided by two grants of the National Science Foundation and received additional assistance from faculty at other universities as well. The course is primarily marketed toward health science majors and is based entirely on laboratory work. Students learn through inquiry-based group work and doing experiments to gain a better understanding of the world around them. The assessments in the course are designed to answer questions about the student's understanding and thinking skills they developed throughout the course.[3]
Assessing thinking skills during COVID-19
[edit]In a third study published by Texas Tech, Thacker sought to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic altered student's abilities to learn and perceive knowledge, as well as comparing the differences between students taught online or in person. The study applied a rubric that assessed a student's cognitive abilities when presented with free-response questions. The class was usually taught without a required textbook and allows for student group work. The course covers similar content from other units, but puts emphasis on developing experimentation-based models, as well as developing student's observational, analytical, and thinking skills.
The iteration of the course that was taught during the pandemic was held over Zoom. The class retained its size of 60 students per section and the course retained its pre-pandemic manual. The laboratory experiments were replaced with teaching assistants performing the experiments, as well as online videos and simulations. Group work was performed in breakout rooms, as instructors occasionally checked in on students to assess their understanding of the material. Students would complain to the instructors if one or more members of the group did not attend class or did not contribute substantially to group work; showcasing that the students recognized the importance of attending class.
The course that was taught after 2020 went back to in-person learning. The course returned to its original format, but with COVID-19 restrictions in place. Students also had to be informed when a case emerged in the class, but student work largely returned to its pre-pandemic format.
Results from the study
[edit]The results from the study concluded that there was largely little difference between the thinking skills of students who were taught online and students who were taught in-person. The results also indicated that the additional resources provided during online learning aided the students' learning ability after a transitional period from in-person to online.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Department of Physics and Astronomy: Beth Thacker, PH.D". Department of Physics and Astronomy. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ^ Thacker, Beth; Diaz, Abel; Eligon, Ann Marie (February 28, 2007). "The Development of an Inquiry-based Curriculum Specifically for the Introductory Algebra-based Physics Course". arXiv:physics/0702247.
- ^ Thacker, Beth (August 22, 2023). "Inquiry-based experimental physics: Twenty years of an evidence-based, laboratory-based physics course for algebra-based physics students". Physical Review Physics Education Research. 19 (2): 020116. Bibcode:2023PRPER..19b0116T. doi:10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.19.020116.
- ^ Thacker, Beth; Al-Salmani, Fatema; Johnson, Jordan (2023). "Assessing thinking skills in free-response exam problems: Pandemic online and in-person". Physical Review Physics Education Research. 19 (1): 010131. Bibcode:2023PRPER..19a0131A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.19.010131.
- Thacker, Beth, Abel Diaz, and Ann Marie Eligon. “The Development of an Inquiry-Based Curriculum Specifically for the Introductory Algebra-Based Physics Course.” arXiv.org, February 28, 2007. https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0702247.