2016 Medal Winners | francais

PRESS RELEASE / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The 2016 CAP Medal for Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Physics

is awarded to

James Fraser

"I am extremely honoured to receive this award from the Canadian Association of Physicists. I would like to thank my colleagues and graduate students for the many thoughtful discussions and in particular, I would like to thank my Queen's support staff, graduate student teaching team and the undergraduate students who have been willing to walk with me in this enterprise." winner quote

The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that the 2016 CAP Medal for Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Physics is awarded to James Fraser, Queen's University, in recognition of for being a leader in adopting innovative teaching pedagogies, in developing new teaching methods, and in his scholarly approach to researching the effectiveness of his new methods. Recognized as a top, inspirational teacher by students and faculty alike, his contributions to excellence in undergraduate physics teaching span the range from engaging first-year students as apprentice scientists, to guiding upper year students in their transition to independent scientists, to actively facilitating faculty adoption of research-based instructional strategies, and to bridging the gap between practice and Physics Education Research. announcement

James Fraser (Associate Professor, Queen’s University) is committed to helping first-year students become apprentice-scientists by enabling them to build their own learning community. He has “flipped” his first-year introductory physics class, challenging his 200 students to take more responsibility for collecting information ahead of lecture so in class they can focus on understanding and applying it. Lecture topics are set by areas that students identify as problematic and class time is spent in Socratic discussion in small groups, with the flow of the lecture set on-the-fly by student needs. Fraser strives to continuously improve the learning environment through student surveys and pre-and post-testing to measure teaching effectiveness. Learning gains are more than double the results achieved with traditional lecture delivery. Students are very supportive of these changes, and Fraser has been recognized through numerous teaching awards including the Queen’s Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching (2012) and the Chancellor A. Charles Baillie Teaching Award (2015). Fraser’s first-year physics course also acts as a “demonstration site” for fellow faculty to observe large-class active learning.

Fraser is very active in the dissemination of research-based instructional strategies, through presentations and workshop facilitation both at Queen’s and elsewhere in Canada, USA, and Central America. Workshops are designed using the best practices used in courses: participants complete an online survey after doing an advance reading, with the topics of the workshop set by their specific concerns. In the workshop, feedback from participants through a classroom response system or flashcards allows the workshop to change on-the-fly to meet their needs.

Fraser is also a contributor to physics education research through graduate student supervision and collaboration with education researchers. Topics currently being explored include: bridging the gap between physics education research and frontline teaching, overcoming the gender gap in first-year physics, and improved training to help TAs develop into teaching professionals. nominator citation

The CAP Medal for Excellence in Teaching honours faculty members who have a comprehensive knowledge and deep understanding of their subject and who possess an exceptional ability to communicate their knowledge and understanding in such a way as to lead their students to high academic achievement in physics. This medal was introduced in 1996.

Prof. Fraser will be presented with his medal by 2015 Physics Nobel Prize winner Art McDonald with congratulatory handshake from His Excellency The Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, at the Recognition Gala at the Shaw Centre on Thursday, June 16, 2016. The Gala is the closing event of the CAP Congress hosted by the University of Ottawa, in Ottawa, Ontario, from June 13-17. Please refer to the Congress program (http://www.cap.ca/en/congress/2016) for the schedule of plenary talks by CAP medal winners. medal description

ABOUT the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP)

The Canadian Association of Physicists, founded in 1945, is a professional association representing over 1600 individual physicists and physics students in Canada, the U.S. and overseas, as well as a number of Corporate, Institutional, and Departmental Members. In addition to its learned activities, the CAP, through its charitable arm - the CAP Foundation, also undertakes a number of activities intended to encourage students to pursue a career in physics. cap description

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For more information, please contact: Mrs. Francine Ford, Executive Director Canadian Association of Physicists Tel: 613-562-5614 E-mail: cap@uottawa.ca www.cap.ca