Project PIEDMONT - Physics Incorporating Educational Development: Multiplying Output through Networks of Teachers

这个项目为北卡罗莱纳州相当一部分高中物理教师（70人）提供了参加一个为期三年的研讨会的机会。这将包括三个每期五周的夏季会议，在中间学年期间的18个周六会议，以及至少每周通过NEWTON与每位老师进行一次沟通。一个基于vax的电子邮件和数据库系统，由该大学的学术计算中心和由该项目工作人员领导的区域高中顾问成员开发。概念上的困难将在每届夏季会议开始时加以解决。解决问题的能力的发展将广泛使用大学版的《机械宇宙》和《超越》，以及经过实地测试的高中版本的同一程序。讲习班和概念组成部分的问题解决方面将使教师参与有效教授中学物理所需的各种活动和物理背景。讲习班参与者之间的互动时间和讲习班接触到的少数民族教师人数的限制将通过NEWTON加以解决。工作人员和参与者将使用NEWTON来讨论课堂物理和分配的工作，不断评估研讨会，以及组织学校之间的物理竞赛，宣传地方和区域物理会议。以及其他活动，其目的是在物理教育者群体中激发和建立更大的共同性。相当于国家科学基金请求的30%的金额由大学、参与的学区以及公共和私人组织分摊。

This project offers an opportunity to a substantial fraction of high school physics teachers (70) in North Carolina to participate in a three-year workshop. This will consist of three summer sessions of five weeks each, 18 Saturday meetings during the intervening academic years and communication to each of the teachers on at least a weekly basis via NEWTON, a VAX-based electronic mail abnd database system being developed by the University's Academic Computing Center and members of the regional high school advisory headed by this Project's staff. Conceptual difficulties will be addressed at the beginning of each summer session. The development of problem-solving skills will make extensive use of the college version of The Mechanical Universe and Beyond as well as the field-tested high school version of the same program. Problem-solving aspects of the workshops and concepts components will engage the teachers in the kinds of activities and physics background necessary to effectively teach secondary physics. Limitations on time of interaction among workshop participants and on numbers of minority teachers reached by the workshop will be addressed through NEWTON. The staff and the participants will use NEWTON in order to discuss classroom physics and assigned work, to continually evaluate the workshop as well as to organize physics competition among schools, advertise local and regional physics meetings, and other activities whose purpose is to invigorate and establish a greater sense of commonality in the community of physics educators. An amount equivalent to 30% of the NSF request has been cost- shared by the University, the participating school districts and public and private organizations.