Ithaca College

Bob Beichner of North Carolina State University -- the main force behind the creation of the SCALE-UP approach to teaching physics -- was recently asked by the National Academy of Science to submit a white paper on this approach. SCALE-UP stands for "Student Centered Activities for Large Enrollment University Programs."

This approach combines lecture, laboratory, and recitation activities into a blended, active-learning environment. Ithaca College's performance-based physics teaching laboratory is based on the SCALE-UP approach.

To accommodate large class sizes, our room contains 11 seven-foot-diameter tables, with each table seating nine students working in groups of three, for a total of 99 students in the room. Each table has an associated 10.5-foot-wide storage cabinet along the walls of the room containing Pasco data collection equipment and whiteboard doors for solving physics problems.

A photograph of the Ithaca College room appears on the front page of Beichner's white paper. The Ithaca College physics department is the first to apply this approach to student learning in general education astronomy courses. A National Science Foundation grant of $150,000 is funding research into the effectiveness of using the SCALE-UP approach for teaching astronomy.

Read the White Paper at the National Academies Website (.pdf)