Two-Year College Physics Workshop Project

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This three-year national program is a continuation of several successful projects administered by Joliet Junior College(IL) and Lee College (TX). It will provide 15 intensive workshops (five each year) for two-year college physics teachers at several qeoqraphically-dispersed two-year college campuses. One set of workshops will acquaint participants with the development and implementation of (1) microcomputer-based laboratories in mechanics and heat; (2) digital video, modeling, and microcomputer-based laboratories in electricity, magnetism, and opticsi (3) physics simulationsi and (4) active learning problem-solving strategies using conceptual exercises and overview case studies. The fifth workshop will be a working conference on introductory physics that will provide previous workshop participants an opportunity for sharing, gaining additional experiences, and discussing new developments and technologies. Each workshop will be led by two, two-year college physics professors and two or three university/college physics professors who play a major role in developing these areas. These workshops will provide participants with applications of the recent developments and findings of physics education research. As a result, participants will be able to evaluate these developments and will return to their campuses to begin implementing the workshop activities. Thus, these workshops, as they have done in the past, will facilitate the rapid incorporation of this knowledge and technology at two-year colleqes. The impact of the workshops will be reinforced by the continuation of a networking system that employs a microcomputer bulletin board system, an Internet access system, and a newsletter. The ultimate goal of this project is to help two-year college students develop a stronger understanding of classical and contemporary physics. The task of updating physics programs at two-year colleges is difficult, but essential, for the nation and for science because of the lar ge number of students, particularly women and minorities, attending two-year colleqes.