Adaptation of Workshop Physics for an Integrated Lecture/Laboratory Course

物理教学界专注于重新设计课程内容和教学方法，以便学生在结束物理课程时具有良好的概念理解，解决问题的能力，对技术的适应以及物理如何与他们自己生活中的问题相关的意识。传统的物理课程和教学策略并不总是能满足这些目标。Muhlenberg学院的物理系也有同样的目标，并致力于从入门课程开始改革整个物理课程。物理系正在采用迪金森学院开发的车间物理课程，并将其与现有的传统大型讲座/实验室形式相适应。学生每周有两次两小时的实验时间，进行实时微机实验、电子表格建模和车间物理课程的动觉实验。利用Muhlenberg学院科学报告厅的新技术，在实验室中使用计算机为基础的工具来进行其他工作坊物理活动，如互动讲座演示或合作小组学生活动。通过在课堂和实验中使用相同的工具和课程，消除了课堂学习的障碍。学生们已经对实验中使用的工具有了一定的了解，他们将重点放在讨论的物理原理上。同样的技术完全集成到课程的各个方面（讲座和实验）以及探究驱动的方法中。我们设想课程的这两个部分一起工作，避免同步问题和冗余，这些问题经常限制传统课程的有效性。

The physics teaching community is focused on redesigning course content and pedagogy so that students leave their physics course with good conceptual understanding, problem solving skills, comfort with technology and an awareness of how physics is relevant to issues in their own lives. These objectives have not always been met with traditional physics curricula and teaching strategies. The physics department at Muhlenberg College shares these goals and is engaged in reforming the entire physics curriculum, beginning with the introductory courses.The physics department is adopting the Workshop Physics curriculum, developed at Dickinson College, and adapting it to the existing traditional large-lecture/lab format. Students meet twice a week in two-hour lab periods to do real-time microcomputer based experiments, spreadsheet modeling and kinesthetic experiments from the Workshop Physics curriculum. Using the new technologies in the science lecture hall at Muhlenberg College, computer-based tools used in the laboratory are used to do the other Workshop Physics activities as interactive lecture demonstrations or cooperative-group student activities. By using the same tools and curriculum in both lecture and lab, obstacles to learning in the lecture are removed. Students, having already developed an understanding of the tools used in lab, focus on the physical principles under discussion. The same technology is fully integrated into all aspects of the course (lecture and lab) as well as the inquiry-driven approach. We envision these two parts of the course working together, avoiding the synchronization problems and redundancy that so often limit the effectiveness of more traditional courses.