Teaching Introductory Physics

This book is an invaluable resource for physics teachers. It contains an updated version of the author's A Guide to Introductory Physics Teaching (1990), Homework and Test Questions (1994), and a previously unpublished monograph "Introduction to Classical Conservation Laws."

A guide to teaching introductory physics, from high school to calculus-based college courses, this instructional tool presents systematic observations based upon research into how physics students come to learn and understand physical concepts, models and lines of reasoning. Includes many examples of test questions and homework problems.

Introductory physics attracts a wide variety of students, with different backgrounds, levels of preparedness, and academic destinations. To many, the course is one of the most daunting in the science curriclum, full of arcane principles that are difficult to grasp. To others, it is one of the most highly anticipated -the first step on the path to the upper reaches of scientific inquiry. In their years as instructors and as editors of The Physics Teacher, Clifford E. Swartz and the late Thomas Miner developed and encountered many innovative and effective ways of introducing students to the fundamental principles of physics. Teaching Introductory Physics brings these strategies, insights and techniques to you in a unique, convenient volume. This is a reference and a tutorial book for teachers of an introductory physics course at any level. It has review articles on most of the topics of introductory physics, providing background information and suggestions about presentation and relative importance. Whether you are teaching physics for the first time or are an experienced instructor, Teaching Introductory Physics will prove to be an exceptionally helpful classroom companion. The book should be particularly useful for graduate students teaching for the first time and for research physicists who have not taught the introductory course recently. Teaching Introductory Physics gives you access to the cumulative expertise of the world's most dedicated physics instructors-not just Professor Swartz and Miner, but many of the contributors and subscribers to the Physics Teacher. it is sure to enhance your teaching skills, helping you to give your students the basic knowledge

This collection is confined to an extremely fundamental level of subject matter common to the great majority of introductory physics courses. Questions range from simple to fairly sophisticated, extending over a variety of modes that emerge as essential components in the learning and understanding of physics. These modes include forming and applying basic concepts, operational definition, verbalization, connection of abstractions to everyday experience, checking for internal consistency and interpreting results.

A basic, non-mathematical textbook for non-science students in secondary school or college. The book is based on Robert Karplus' many years of research on how beginners think about physics. In the "modeling approach" students explore and test simple analog, working and mathematical models for physical phenomena. The models provide a clear, understandable transition to the key principles and theories of physics. The book begins with the basic concepts of relative motion, reference frames, interaction, systems, and a descriptive overview of energy transfer. Subsequent chapters develop the details of temperature and heat, thermal (internal) energy, forces and work, electrical energy and electrical circuits, velocity and acceleration, Newton's Laws, motion near the surface of the earth, periodic and circular motion, celestial mechanics and gravity, pressure and kinetic theory, light and sound, waves, and modern physics (Bohr model and the basics of quantum mechanics). The "Modeling Instruction" approach is used in secondary schools throughout the US (see modeling.asu.edu). This book is especially useful in conjunction with (or as preparation for) the study of chemistry.

This widely admired standalone guide is packed with creative tips on how to enhance and expand your physics class instruction techniques. It's an invaluable companion for novice and veteran professors teaching any physics course.

Deep Learning in Introductory Physics: Exploratory Studies of Model?Based Reasoning is concerned with the broad question of how students learn physics in a model?centered classroom. The diverse, creative, and sometimes unexpected ways students construct models, and deal with intellectual conflict, provide valuable insights into student learning and cast a new vision for physics teaching. This book is the first publication in several years to thoroughly address the “coherence versus fragmentation” debate in science education, and the first to advance and explore the hypothesis that deep science learning is regressive and revolutionary. Deep Learning in Introductory Physics also contributes to a growing literature on the use of history and philosophy of science to confront difficult theoretical and practical issues in science teaching, and addresses current international concern over the state of science education and appropriate standards for science teaching and learning. The book is divided into three parts. Part I introduces the framework, agenda, and educational context of the book. An initial study of student modeling raises a number of questions about the nature and goals of physics education. Part II presents the results of four exploratory case studies. These studies reproduce the results of Part I with a more diverse sample of students; under new conditions (a public debate, peer discussions, and group interviews); and with new research prompts (model?building software, bridging tasks, and elicitation strategies). Part III significantly advances the emergent themes of Parts I and II through historical analysis and a review of physics education research. ENDORSEMENTS: "In Deep Learning in Introductory Physics, Lattery describes his extremely innovative course in which students' ideas about motion are elicited, evaluated with peers, and revised through experiment and discussion. The reader can see the students' deep engagement in constructive scientific modeling, while students deal with counter-intuitive ideas about motion that challenged Galileo in many of the same ways. Lattery captures students engaging in scientific thinking skills, and building difficult conceptual understandings at the same time. This is the 'double outcome' that many science educators have been searching for. The case studies provide inspiring examples of innovative course design, student sensemaking and reasoning, and deep conceptual change." ~ John Clement, University of Massachusetts—Amherst, Scientific Reasoning Research Institute "Deep Learning in Introductory Physics is an extraordinary book and an important intellectual achievement in many senses. It offers new perspectives on science education that will be of interest to practitioners, to education researchers, as well as to philosophers and historians of science. Lattery combines insights into model-based thinking with instructive examples from the history of science, such as Galileo’s struggles with understanding accelerated motion, to introduce new ways of teaching science. The book is based on first-hand experiences with innovative teaching methods, reporting student’s ideas and discussions about motion as an illustration of how modeling and model-building can help understanding science. Its lively descriptions of these experiences and its concise presentations of insights backed by a rich literature on education, cognitive science, and the history and philosophy of science make it a great read for everybody interested in how models shape thinking processes." ~ Dr. Jürgen Renn, Director, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

This book discusses novel research on and practices in the field of physics teaching and learning. It gathers selected high-quality studies that were presented at the GIREP-ICPE-EPEC 2017 conference, which was jointly organised by the International Research Group on Physics Teaching (GIREP); European Physical Society – Physics Education Division, and the Physics Education Commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). The respective chapters address a wide variety of topics and approaches, pursued in various contexts and settings, all of which represent valuable contributions to the field of physics education research. Examples include the design of curricula and strategies to develop student competencies—including knowledge, skills, attitudes and values; workshop approaches to teacher education; and pedagogical strategies used to engage and motivate students. This book shares essential insights into current research on physics education and will be of interest to physics teachers, teacher educators and physics education researchers around the world who are working to combine research and practice in physics teaching and learning.