Planning a Career in Physics Education
The United States as a whole and Georgia in particular face critical shortages in High School physics teachers. According to the American Association for Employment in Education, school districts consistently rank physics as the highest need area among all academic disciplines with regard to teacher shortages.
High School Physics Teacher
The American Physical Society lists activities carried out by physics teachers as:
- Writing lesson plans
- Developing demonstrations and lab activities
- Creating assessment/evaluation materials
- Grading student assignments
- Assisting with outreach or service initiatives
with two-thirds of those teachers teaching an additional non-physics science course.
Preparation for High School Teaching
Students with a B.S. in Physics are accepted for hire in many private high school settings while many public-school systems require Master’s degree training in Education in addition to the Physics B.S.
The purpose of this concentration is to prepare students for careers in the teaching of physics at the public high school level. Students following this track would be expected to have an interest in completing a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree after graduation. More information on the MAT can be found here.
