Collaborative Project: Research-Based Laboratories for Introductory Physics

物理入门教程是一门以研究为基础的课程，当它取代以微积分为基础的入门课程中的标准复习部分时，已被证明在提高学生的概念理解方面是有效的。该项目正在创建一套15个实验室，其中一些是基于教程的。其他的是基于新的和现有的研究，学生对三个领域的理解：能量和动量守恒，矢量，扭矩和旋转。然后，这些实验室经历了一个研究、评估和实施的迭代开发周期，并在6所服务于不同学生群体的大学进行测试。该项目的智力价值包括以下目标：(1)促进了解不同学生群体的需要的努力；(2)扩大研究型课程的影响，在全国范围内改进物理入门课程；(3)以已证实的课程材料为基础；(4)为目前现有工具不能充分解决的具体问题开发评估工具。该项目的更广泛影响是：(1)扩大研究基础，以便有效地开发入门物理课程；(2)传播关于物理教与学的研究成果；(3)向物理教员和教学助理示范有效的实验室教学方法；(4)为希望从事科学相关领域职业的妇女、代表性不足的少数群体和残疾人提供服务；以及(5)提供参与科学研究过程的实验室经验。

Tutorials in Introductory Physics is a research-based curriculum that has been demonstrably effective at improving students' conceptual understanding when introduced in lieu of a standard recitation section in the introductory calculus-based course. The project is creating a set of fifteen laboratories, some of which are based on Tutorials. Others are based on new and existing research into student understanding of three areas: conservation of energy and momentum, vectors, and torque and rotation. The laboratories then undergo an iterative development cycle of research, evaluation, and implementation and are being tested at 6 universities that serve diverse student populations. The intellectual merit of this project includes goals to (1) contribute to efforts to understand the needs of different student populations; (2) widen the impact of research-based curriculum, improving the introductory physics course on a national scale; (3) build upon proven curricular materials; and (4) develop assessment instruments for specific topics that are currently inadequately addressed by existing instruments. The broader impact of this project is to (1) broaden the research base for effective curriculum development in introductory physics; (2) disseminate the results of research on the teaching and learning of physics; (3) model effective laboratory pedagogy to physics faculty and teaching assistants; (4) serve women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities with aspirations for careers in science-related fields; and (5) provide a laboratory experience involving the process of scientific inquiry.