Discusses the use of relatively unskilled observers from disciplines other than sciences to improve teaching performance of college physics courses which are designed for nonscience majors and engineering and science students. Included is a description of the observer roles within the classroom and in interaction with instructors. (CC)

REPORTED ARE PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOULDER CONFERENCE ON PHYSICS FOR NONSCIENCE MAJORS, SPONSORED BY THE COMMISSION ON COLLEGE PHYSICS. PART I OF THIS REPORT IS AN INTRODUCTION EXPLAINING THE CONFERENCE. PART II CONTAINS EXPANDED COURSE OUTLINES OF PHYSICS COURSES FOR NONSCIENCE MAJORS THAT WERE PRESENTED TO THE GROUP BY SEVEN PARTICIPATING…

Four college educators critically examine an interaction in an introductory college physics classroom (HE 532 013). They explore the role of prior knowledge and new learning in the classroom discussion, misconceptions, the nature and content of the discussion, classroom techniques, use of language, and the process of concept formation. (MSE)

Two approaches to the content of thermodynamics were used in an introductory college physics course: traditional organization and organization based on Ausubel's learning theory. The influence of these organizations on engineering student's (N=58) cognitive structure was investigated using a word association test analyzed through hierarchical…

This paper describes the construction of a slide-rule computer that allows one to quickly determine magnitudes of several effects that result from the detonation of a nuclear device. Suggestions for exercises are also included that allow high school and college-level physics students to explore scenarios involving these effects. It is hoped that…

Describes a teaching assistant (TA) training program to improve quality of a college physics course. Presents the goals and structures of the physics course and the TA training program. Describes the formative evaluation procedure and its role in developing the training model. Concludes that students in the physics class valued the recitation and…

Interactive lecture demonstrations (ILDs) are a powerful tool designed to help instructors bring state-of-the-art teaching pedagogies into the college-level introductory physics classroom. ILDs have been shown to improve students' conceptual understanding, and many examples have been created and published by Sokoloff and Thornton. We have used the…

Examined the conceptions of teaching and learning of a group of 24 lecturers in first-year college physics and chemistry in Australia, and how those conceptions related to their approaches to teaching. Strong relations were found between conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching, though relations between conceptions of teaching and…

The study aimed to identify the attitudes of the students toward physics and its relation to some variables such as sex, cumulative average, and University level at three national Palestinian universities. The study sample consisted of 134 students of the Faculty of Science at the Islamic University, Al-Aqsa University and Al-Azhar University. The…

Noting the lack of time in the 2-year program and the impatience of most student technicians, the author suggests that physics should be taught inductively. Laboratory experiments with understanding of the underlying physics principles are suggested as the appropriate center of activity. Examples are given of this emphasis on experimentation as…

There are many schools (grades K-12) around the country that offer some sort of science research option for students to pursue. Often this option is a local science fair, where students do smaller projects that are then presented at poster sessions. Many times the top local projects can advance to some type of regional and, possibly, state science…

This paper discusses new teaching approaches that are not heavily dependent on hardware, i.e., approaches that replace lectures with other activities such as small-group seminars and individualized instruction. Emphasis is placed on methods relevant to college physics education, such as the Keller Plan, modular instruction, audio-tutorial methods,…

This article is the first of a two-part review of research on children's and adults understanding of gravity and on how best to teach gravity concepts to students and teachers. This first article concerns free fall--how and why objects fall when they are dropped. The review begins with a brief historical sketch of how these ideas were developed in…

This paper investigates the interactions between context and professional development of physics instructors in a case study of two physics faculty. A phenomenological-case study approach was used to analyze two physics faculty at different institutions over a year and a half using three semistructured interviews each. The data enabled the…

In this study, conceptual and algebra-based physics students were engaged in scientific inquiry using Physics Education Technology (PhET) interactive simulations via semester-long group projects. The instructor and students used the Scientific Abilities Assessment Rubrics (SAAR) to evaluate project presentations and papers (formative assessment).…