The intent of including history in physics courses is to give young students an increased sense of their own identities and a better understanding of their potential roles in our culture, as well as to show that physics is a valuable activity because it enlarges the variety of human experience. A review of the status of history in secondary school…

Old physics textbooks give us a great opportunity to learn about the history of science and rediscover different methods to teach physics to our students. There are many disused and forgotten experiments in them, but these can still be very useful to affirm and understand physics. This is the case of an instrument used in the 19th century to…

Presents an account of introducing some elements of the history of physics in ordinary physics courses in an Italian high school. (PR)

This column provides an updated list of thirty online lesson plan sites. Some are general, some specific, and some are geared toward one age level or another. The sites described cover topics ranging from American History to Physics to Astronomy.

Discussed are some of the reasons for and arguments against teaching the history of physics to physics majors. The course goals, philosophy, and content are described. Sources of material are listed. An outline of the course content, and a bibliography used to develop the course are included. (CW)

Argues that the history of physics can be used in physics teaching to provide students with dependable physics knowledge but to also train students to see their knowledge in varying contexts of change. (PR)

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Qualitative Methods in PER: A Critical Examination.] This article details methodologies employed to enable sharing and coconstructing the stories of three women's lives in physics. The first case explores the usefulness of timeline interviewing, where participants narrate episodes that are…

Analyzes more than 50 books and 14 periodicals for contributions to the history of physics. Recurring most frequently are topics in optics, ether, relativity, mechanics and atomic or nuclear physics although, historically, the works range from the 5th century B.C. to present times. (Author/CP)

A popular introductory physics laboratory experiment is one focusing on Snell's law. This is straightforward to complete with lasers and prisms, but here we present an alternative version that guides the students through some of the major historical developments, recreating and analyzing significant experiments. The discovery of Snell's law has a…

Focuses on the selection, classification, and comparative presentation of various proposals concerning the contribution of the history of physics in physics education that have been designed and/or carried out as part of either research or curriculum development during the last century. (Author/SAH)

A History-of-Physics laboratory in which students can reproduce historically significant physics experiments is described. The methods and materials used in the experiments are essentially those used originally. The objective is to provide students with an opportunity to repeat the experiments and to appreciate the significance of each in its own…

This dissertation presents the results of an experiment that measured the learning outcomes associated with three different pedagogical approaches to introductory physics labs. These three pedagogical approaches presented students with the same apparatus and covered the same physics content, but used different lab manuals to guide students through…

Framed within intersectionality, this multiple case study explores women's participation in physics through the construct of physics identity and with a focus on recognition. The study is drawn upon an empirical life-history exploration of three women: a native to Northwestern Europe, late-career white woman and two immigrant women to Northwestern…

Highlights the programs and educational offerings of the Center for History of Physics in New York City that was established by the American Institute of Physics. Reviews the variety of resources associated with the facility and outlines the specific services provided for educators and the public. (ML)

History of education reveals that the perimeter of a school subject as well as the manner of teaching it may vary according to the time period, the country, its political situation and its economic needs. Furthermore, if it clearly depends on the level of the learners and on the school itself, sometimes the teacher's preoccupations can adapt it.…