What do we want our graduates to get from their physics studies ? David Mills with thanks to Susan Feteris and Mario Zadnik

Skills used in workplace by US Physics majors Adapted from an American Institute of Physics Work-place study (1997) What they’ll need -

What we do: Australian physics dep’ts priorities (AUTC report Fig 4.4)

“What we got …” - u/g physics students tell ! 70% 40%

The Graduate Careers Australia take –Graduate Careers Australia Physics … “On a Personal Level: A physics education emphasises problem-solving and abstract thinking …very desirable employees in a wide variety of areas... work in high tech companies, … training in practical subjects such as optics, lasers …image processing, Personal qualities...(required) include curiosity, imagination, inventiveness and, above all, honesty in dealing with data, theory and colleagues. An ability to communicate one's ideas in spoken and written form is essential … The enjoyment of problem-solving & working with maths & computers …..

Typical sci graduate outcomes … general A quick list I T Numeracy/ Data analysis Problem solving Critical thinking Communic’n & presentation Team work

Students’ fortune lines for prac 3 rd year 4 th year Data Analysis Group work Independent planning Flexibility Provided by Susan Feteris

Typical Graduate Outcomes 2 Quick list I T Numeracy/ Data analysis Problem solving Critical thinking Communic’n & presentation Team work Add Ethics Cultural awareness Internat’l perspective Experimental design Planning, Flexibility Multidisciplinary Self-evaluation Life-long learning Experimt’l design… …

Who says? Engineer’g Australia requirement for Eng grads  Ability to apply knowledge of basic science and engineering  In-depth technical competence in one engineering discipline.  Ability to communicate effectively (peers & community)  Ability to undertake problem identification, formulation, solution.  Ability to utilise a systems approach to design and operation  … effective as an individual and in multi-disciplinary & multi- cultural teams … as leader/manager as well as team member.  Understand social, cultural, global environmental responsibilities  Understand principles of sustainable design/development.  Commitment to professional and ethical responsibilities.  Expectation and capacity to undertake lifelong learning.

Velcro  e.g.  e.g.  Communic’n Teamwork Self- evaluation Poster Interview Miniproject - making it stick! 1. Situations close to real life/work

1. Experimental Design & Inquiry Skills Outcomes R Millar (ICPE )...become more expert in selecting productive questions design suitable experiments; data reliable, accurate, valid? analyze / interpret data, draw conclusion evaluate quality of support for their conclusion In our programmes Are these outcomes achieved? How are they assessed? How do students get feedback (to improve)? Examples: projects, miniprojects, micro-projects, ….

2. Science communication unit, Curtin (Mario Zadnik) Whole class prepares & stages a scientific conference for a high school audience Realism – Task & Roles Peer review, Publication, Finances Planning, time management, accountability

3. Teamwork in Project component, 3 rd Yr Observational Astronomy, Monash (Susan Feteris) Key elements Team selection Peer- & self-assessment of contribution Monitoring: 3 progress reports on # meetings? which phase? (forming, storming, norming, performing…) any difficulties?

4. Students - is it worth it? - life long earning! Project in Faculty of Science, U Syd, staffed by Chris Stewart Students value range of skills … see usefulness, e.g. when compiling a CV Awareness-building, student can see the contribution of various subjects

5. Making sure it sticks Resources & Reality Whose responsibility? Sharing ideas & resources