Here at Delta State University we have an immediate need for an adjunct to teach our PHY 115 – Physics of Sound class online this fall. This is a general education physics course geared toward majors in entertainment industry studies, music, and speech and hearing science. I’ve built the course myself, and am willing to walk an adjunct through it before the semester begins in mid-August. It helps if you are also a musician with a little music theory, but that isn’t necessary.
Enrollment in the course is currently at 16 students, and typically it reaches somewhere in the low 20s. The laboratory component is accomplished using kits which we distribute to the students either by handing them out on campus or via mail. The anticipated compensation would be $3,000.
Our preference would be to establish a partnership with a physics education research group to take on this course, and eventually maybe even one or two others, on a regular basis. The person teaching the classes would, of course, need to have 18 graduate hours in physics at a minimum.
Having no physics major here at DSU, our focus has been on pedagogy in the classroom. Many of our learners come to us woefully underserved by their high schools, and both keeping them engaged and overcoming their educational shortcomings can be difficult.
A long-term relationship with a research group would help us support continued research into how best to reach these learners. I could see this class providing useful experience to a senior graduate student, put a little money in their pocket via the adjunct pay, and serve as an additional laboratory for pedagogical work.
Historically the demographics in the course are 61% Caucasian, 33% African-American, and 6% other with a median ACT score of 21, which puts half the class at college-ready.
Interested parties or institutions should reach out to me at jgerald@deltastate.edu.
James A. Gerald, PhD
Interim Dean of Graduate and Honors Studies
Associate Professor of Physics
Kent Wyatt Hall Suite 239
Delta State University
Phone: 662-846-4834
