There are still openings in the June 5-7 Chautauqua Short Course,
"Promoting Active Learning in Introductory Physics Courses" at the
University of Oregon. For those who are interested, a brief description
follows:
PROMOTING ACTIVE LEARNING
IN INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS COURSES
A Chautauqua Short Course
presented by: Priscilla Laws, David Sokoloff and Ronald Thornton
June 5-7, 1997 at the University of Oregon
This course is designed for those interested in making major changes in
introductory physics courses or in other introductory science courses.
Widespread physics education research has shown that a majority of students
have difficulty learning essential physical concepts in the best of our
traditional courses. A number of physics teachers are attempting to
address this problem. In this course we will focus on giving participants
direct experience with methods for promoting active learning.
Participants will explore activities from several successful curriculum
development projects which share common goals and techniques. The
curricula include 1) Tools for Scientific Thinking, 2) Workshop Physics,
and, 3) RealTime Physics. Although each of these is designed for use in a
different educational setting, they are all based on the outcomes of
physics education research, and the comprehensive use of microcomputers for
data collection and analysis. (The microcomputer-based tools used are
available for both Macintosh and MS-DOS computers, and both types of
machines will be available during the course.)
We will discuss adaptation of curricular materials to a range of
institutional settings including small colleges and large universities.
Samples of curricula will be given out, and strategies for better
integration of lecture and laboratory sessions by means of a series of
interactive lecture demonstrations will be discussed. Studies have
demonstrated substantial and persistent learning of physics concepts by
students who have used these materials. We will explore effective methods
for evaluation of conceptual learning.
As with all NSF-sponsored Chautauqua courses, there are no registration
fees or tuition. Participants or their institutions pay the cost of
lodging, meals and travel. Note that while the Chautauqua program is
supported primarily for U.S. college and university teachers, high school
teachers and faculty from foreign institutions are admitted if space is
available. We have had a number of high school teachers in this course in
the past who have said that they benefited from attending.
For more information and an application, contact David Sokoloff, Department
of Physics, 1274 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 1274, (541)
346-4755, sokoloff@oregon.uoregon.edu.
David R. Sokoloff
Associate Professor and Associate Head
Department of Physics
1274 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1274