Teaching Physics with the Physics Suite CD

Written by one of the leaders of the Physics Education Research (PER) movement, Teaching Physics is a book for anyone interested in learning how to become a more effective physics teacher.

Rather than reviewing specific topics in physics with hints for how to teach them and lists of common student difficulties, Teaching Physics presents a variety of tools for improving both the teaching and learning of physics--from new kinds of homework and exam problems, to surveys for figuring out what has happened in your class, to tools for taking and analyzing data using computers and video.

Teaching Physics is a companion guide to using the Physics Suite, an integrated collection of research-based instructional materials for lecture, laboratory, recitation, and workshop/studio environments. But even if you don't use a single element from the Suite, Teaching Physics can help you enhance your students' learning experience.

* Introduction and Motivation
* Cognitive Principles and Guidelines for Instruction
* There's More than Content to a Physics Course: The HiddenCurriculum
* Extending Our Assessments: Homework and Testing
* Evaluating Our Instruction: Surveys
* Instructional Implications: Some Effective TeachingMethods
* Lecture-Based Methods
* Recitation and Laboratory-Based Methods
* Workshop and Studio Methods
* Using the Physics Suite

Bibliography
Appendix (on Resource CD)

* Sample Problems for Homework and Exams
* Action Research Kit
* Bibliographic Resources
* Other Resources
* Resources for Computer Assisted Data Acquisition andAnalysis EDWARD F. (JOE) REDISH is a Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland where he has taught for over 30 years. He received his Ph.D. in th4eoretical nuclear physics from MIT and was an active researcher in that field for 25 years. Since 1991, he has devoted his research effort to physics education and has established a research group at Maryland. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his scholarship of teaching and learning including the 1998 Millikan award from the AAPT. TEACHING PHYSICS is a book about learning to be a more effective physics teacher. It is meant for anyone who is interested in learning about recent developments in physics education. It is not a review of specific topics in physics with hints for how to teach them and lists of common student difficulties. Rather, it is a handbook with a variety of tools for improving both teaching and learning of physics from new kinds of homework and exam problems, to surveys for figuring out what has happened in your class, to tools for taking and analyzing data using computers and video.

TEACHING PHYSICS includes:

• an introduction to the cognitive model of thinking and learning that underlies modern physics education research
• principles and guidelines for making use of and understanding the implications of this cognitive model for the classroom
• a discussion of formative and summative evaluation with a variety of "thinking problems" useful for homework and exams
• a discussion of assessment of the success of instruction using research-based concept and attitude surveys
• discussion of 11 research-based curricular materials for use in lecture, lab, recitation, and workshops environments
• tips and guidelines for how to improve your instruction

In addition, the book comes with a Resource CD containing 14 conceptual and 3 attitude surveys, more than 250 thinking problems covering all areas of introductory physics, resource materials from commercial vendors on use of computerized data acquisition and video, and a variety of other useful reference materials.

TEACHING PHYSICS is a companion guide to using the Physics Suite, an integrated collection of research-based instructional material for lecture, laboratory, recitation, and workshop/studio environments. The elements of the Suite share the underlying philosophy of education described in this book.