Brasil Final Report - Department of Physics - The Ohio State University

94
REMARKS AT THE SYMPOSIUM SESSION OF THE VII IACPE
Leonard Jossem
Ohio State University
Columbus, USA
jossem@mps.ohio-state
Why do we have international conferences on physics education? When one looks for
financial support to come to conferences such as this, the question is sometimes asked: "You have
international journals and e-mail and the Internet to provide communication, so why have
international conferences, and why spend so much money and time to travel to them?' The
answer, as we all know, is that these conferences serve a unique and irreplaceable function. They
provide for the face-to face renewal of old friendships, for the face-to-face formation of new
friendships, and for the face-to-face discussion of new ideas and of common concerns. These are
important matters that can be achieved in no other way.
So I hope that you will join me in expressing our appreciation and our best thanks to Marco
and all of the other Conference Organizers who have worked so hard to make this conference
possible, and to make it the success that it is.
Others in this Symposium will talk about specific concerns, so I want only to say a few
words about what I see as common concerns in the conference. They are mostly concerns about
how to adapt to changing conditions in the world.
A primary concern has to do with the changing social and technological context of
education. In recent years we have seen the commercialization of education - of education
becoming a commodity. This has brought with it changes in the nature of educational
administration, and an increase in institutional impediments to the improvement of instruction. It
has brought with it also increasing demands for assessment and accountability, not always in ways
that are appropriate to the educational process.
Other concerns include the effective use of the powerful new technologies of communication
and visualization, both for local and distance teaching, and the clear need for more and better
research in physics education.
There are concerns with the relations of the physics education community with the rest of
society. How to bring about public recognition that a well educated population with a good
background in science and technology is important for national progress, and is well worth the price
of achieving it?
I am reminded of a cartoon in which a man speaking on the telephone says "We have high
quality and low prices. Which do you prefer?"
And there are the concerns within the physics education community itself.
There is the changing focus and the increasing concern with student learning. "How do you
know?" "What is the evidence?" There is the continuing and increasingly recognized need for
research and renewal for instructional strategies and tactics.
Increased ease of communication makes it easier for mutual support across boundaries. As