NSF Chautauqua Short Course: Promoting Active Learning in Introductory
Physics Courses I
To be held at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Dates: June 3-5, 1999

NSF Chautauqua Short Course: Promoting Active Learning in Introductory
Physics Courses II
To be held at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
Dates: June 17-19, 1999

Widespread physics education research has shown that a majority of students have difficulty learning essential physical concepts in the best of our traditional courses. These Chautauqua courses are designed for those interested in making major changes in introductory physics courses or in other introductory science courses. The focus will be on giving participants direct experience with methods for promoting active involvement of students in the learning process through activity-based physics strategies.

Participants will explore activities from several successful curriculum development projects which share common goals and techniques, all of which are based on the outcomes of physics education research and the comprehensive use of microcomputers. (The microcomputer-based tools used are available for Macintosh, Windows and MS-DOS computers.) Samples of curricula will be given out. We will discuss adaptation of curricular materials to a range of institutional settings including small colleges and large universities.

While the emphasis will be on activity-based learning in laboratory or workshop environments, strategies for better integration of lecture and laboratory sessions by means of interactive lecture demonstrations will also be discussed. We will also explore effective methods for evaluation of conceptual learning. Studies have demonstrated substantial and persistent learning of physics concepts by students who have used these materials.

Course I will focus on first semester topics: mechanics, heat and thermodynamics. Use of computers will include data collection and analysis with microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) tools, basic mathematical modeling using MBL software and spreadsheets, and basic interactive video analysis.

Course II will focus on second semester topics: electricity and magnetism, waves and optics. In addition to use of computers for data collection and analysis (using MBL tools) this course will explore more advanced mathematical modeling and more advanced video analysis including recording of digitized physics movies.

Special airfares and reasonably priced accommodations will be arranged for both of these courses.

For college teachers of: introductory physics and other introductory science and mathematics disciplines. Prerequisites: none

Dr. Laws is a Professor of Physics at Dickinson College where she and her colleagues have developed a workshop method for teaching physics without lectures. Students in Workshop Physics courses use several related computer applications including spreadsheets linked dynamically to graphs for modeling, microcomputer interfacing for real-time data collection, and video analysis software. Workshop Physics has been published by John Wiley and Sons. Dr. Sokoloff is Professor of Physics at the University of Oregon where he integrates classroom testing on research-based curricula with the assessment of conceptual learning in introductory courses with large enrollments. He is the principal author (along with Ronald Thornton and Priscilla Laws) of Real-Time Physics--computer-supported active learning laboratories for use in traditional university settings. (recently published by John Wiley and Sons) He is also co-developer (along with Ronald Thornton) of microcomputer-based Interactive Lecture Demonstrations which create an active learning environment in lecture classes. Dr. Thornton is the Director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Teaching of the Physics and Education Department at Tufts University where he directs the development of software for microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) tools for real-time collection and analysis of data, for modeling and for vector visualization, and curricula designed to be used with these. The center conducts research on student learning in physics. The MBL software has won awards from EDUCOM, Computers in Physics, and the Dana Foundation.