Events » 2021 PICUP Stipends to Support Curricular Change

PICUP Stipends to Support Computation-Based Curricular Changes

Rationale

The PICUP supports faculty in the development and improvement of undergraduate physics education through integration of computation across the physics curriculum. We have identified several barriers to curricular change [1 ,2 ,3]:

  • Lack of Instructor Time,
  • Departmental Norms,
  • Lack of Instructor Knowledge,
  • Choice of Platform, and
  • Issues with IT

Stipends

In order to help faculty address these barriers, we will offer up to 10 stipends of $5,000 each per application for faculty members who require additional support to make changes to their Physics curriculum.  These stipends will be provided in the form of checks sent directly to the awardees.

Eligibility

Awardees must be faculty members at accredited institutions in the United States who have attended a PICUP workshop (in person or online). For teams, only one member need have attended a PICUP workshop.  Preference will be given to:

  • faculty teaching at Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCUs, HSIs, TCUs, or AAPIs),
  • faculty teaching at two-year colleges and women’s colleges,
  • faculty teaching at financially disadvantaged institutions (serving financially disadvantaged students and/or not having financial resources to support faculty development),
  • and teams of faculty that are committed to working together to improve the likelihood of generating department buy-in.

Timeline

Applications were due April 15 by 5pm ET. If selected, the first half of the stipend will be disbursed in June after submission of a progress report, and the second half will be disbursed in August after submission of a final report.

Application

New applications are no longer being accepted.

References

  1. Ashleigh Leary, Paul W. Irving, and Marcos D. Caballero.The difficulties associated with integrating computation into undergraduate physics. In Proceedings of the 2018 Physics Education Research Conference, 2018.
  2. Charles Henderson and Melissa H. Dancy. Barriers to the use of research-based instructional strategies: The influence of both individual and situational characteristics. Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research, 3:020102,2007.
  3. Dancy and C. Henderson. Barriers and Promises in STEM Reform. Commissioned Paper for National Academies of Science Workshop on Linking Evidence and Promising Practices in STEM Undergraduate Education, 2008.

This project is funded in part by the National Science Foundation under DUE IUSE grants 1524128, 1524493, 1524963, 1525062, 1525525, 1504786, 1505180, and 1050278.