Elementary Physics Course Based on Guided Inquiry

本科科学课程所采取的兼职教师通常有教科书为中心的讲座格式。 有必要进行新的课程设计，实施在最近的教育研究中发现有益的想法。该项目是已开发约两年的此类课程的延续和延伸。 这门基础物理课程，适合在职教师，体现了一些最新的教育理论和实践的创新。 人们发现，专题覆盖面的广度必须从标准水平大幅减少，以确保所涵盖的内容实际上是由学生学习和保留。 “能源”这一主题被用作一个概念支点，将各种主题联系在一起。 学生对物理现象的前/误解-由预测试确定-指导演示，活动和讨论。 预测试为学生对各种实验结果的预测进行全面的课堂讨论奠定了基础。 学生们通过指导性的“小型研究项目”，以小组形式进行调查，以检验他们的预测。课堂讨论围绕学生调查的结果（以及与预测的比较）展开，由讲师进行系统总结，提供观点，并以“能源转换和保护”为主题与下一个主题领域联系起来。“在课程交付期间，正在进行的测试和其他评估指导了专题报道的节奏和深度。 目标受众是未来的中小学教师和其他非技术学生。 该项目有可能显着提高知识和态度对物理学的一部分，其典型的经验与大学物理科学往往是令人厌恶的和非生产性的。

Undergraduate science courses taken by preservice teachers typically have textbook-centered lecture formats. There is a need for new course designs that implement ideas found beneficial in recent educational research. This project is a continuation and extension of such a course that has been under development for about two years. This elementary physics course, appropriate for preservice teachers, embodies a number of the recent innovations in educational theory and practice. It has been found that the breadth of topical coverage has to be substantially reduced from standard levels, in order to ensure that what is covered is actually learned and retained by the students. The theme of "energy" is used as a conceptual pivot to tie together the various topics. Students' pre/misconceptions regarding physical phenomena--as determined by pretesting--guide the presentation, activities, and discussion. The pretests form the basis for a thorough class discussion of the predictions made by students regarding the outcome of various experiments. Investigations to test their predictions are carried out by the students, working in small groups, through guided "mini-research-projects." Class discussions, centered around the results of the student investigations (and comparison with the predictions), lead to a systematic summing-up by the instructor to provide perspective, and tie into the next topical area with the thread of the theme "energy transformation and conservation." During course delivery, ongoing testing and other assessment guide the pacing and depth of the topical coverage. The target audience is prospective elementary and middle-school teachers, and other non-technical students. The project has the potential to significantly improve the knowledge of and attitude towards physics on the part of those whose typical experience with college physical science tends to be distasteful and nonproductive.