Assistant Professor of Physics

HPU Email: ebrewe@hpu.edu       

Office telephone and FAX: 236-3575

Office location: 247 Hawaii Loa Campus

B.A. DePauw University,

M.S. Physics Arizona State University, Ph.D.

Curriculum and Instruction, Physics Education, Arizona State University

Publications (Past five years):

“Resource Letter RPS-1: Research in problem solving,” L. Hsu, E.

Brewe, T. Foster, K. Harper. American Journal of Physics, 72(9) Sept. 04,  p.1147-1156.

Presentations (Past five years):

“From physics to physiology, a spread of curricular reform”,

contributed poster, Physics Education Research Conference, Syracuse, NY, July 2006.

“Group problem-solving, a manifestation of Vygotsky’s Zone of

Proximal Development?”, contributed poster, Foundations and Frontiers of Physics Education Research, Bar Harbor, ME, August 2005.

“Social construction of knowledge in a physics class”, contributed

talk, AAPT National Meeting, Salt Lake City, August 2005.

                        “The Energy Thread: An example of long-term conceptual,

pedagogical and thematic coherence”, invited talk, AAPT National Meeting, Madison, August 2003.

“Identifying expertise as a goal for introductory physics”, invited poster

Physics Education Research Conference, Madison, August

2003.

“Models, the Ideal Epistemological Anchors”, contributed talk Enrico

Fermi Summer Course on Physics Education Research, Varenna, Italy, July 2003.

“Energy as a unifying theme across the sciences”, invited talk Hawaii

AAPT meeting, Honolulu, April, 2003.

                        “Information gained, information lost”, contributed talk at National

Science Teacher Association meeting, St. Louis, April, 2002.

Service (Past five years):

Teacher Education Task Force, HPU, (2003-present)

Hawaii branch of American Association of Physics Teachers

(President, 2004-2006)

General Education Task Force, appointed representative,

(2004-2005)

                        Natural Science Curriculum Committee, Chair (2002-2003)

                        President’s Education Task Force, HPU, (2003)

University Curriculum Committee (2002-2003)

Phi Sigma Sponsor (2003-2004)

Courses Routinely taught at HPU (Past five years):

College Physics I

College Physics II,

The Professional Educator,

Science Curriculum and Instruction,

Grants, Contracts and Awards (Past five years):

“Investigating the Zone of Proximal Development,” HPU Trustees’

Scholarly Endeavors Program, Fall 2006, approved $4840.

“Re-Modeling for Algebra Based Physics”, National Science

Foundation approved $50,000, 9/04-9/06.

Description of  Research Interests:

My research is into teaching and learning in the specific context of physics.  My research is in Modeling theory and instruction, and extensions thereof, including problem solving, sociocultural learning theory, and the Zone of Proximal Development.