Revitalizing the Upper-Division Physics Curriculum

Corinne A. Manogue

Department of Physics

Oregon State University

Corvallis, OR 97331

corinne@physics.orst.edu

The Paradigms in Physics Program at Oregon State University has totally reformed the entire upper-division curriculum for physics and engineering physics majors. This has involved both a rearrangement of content to better reflect the way professional physicists think about the field and also the use of a number of reform pedagogies which place responsibility for learning more firmly in the hands of the students. Along the way we are learning about what it takes to successfully design and implement large scale modifications in curriculum and to institutionalize and disseminate them. The particular emphasis will be on how are reforms have influenced how we teach quantum mechanics. I will share some of our joyful experiences and hard-learned lessons.