Below is the final excerpt from 3 AAPT White Papers that the
Executive Board prepared last summer. (<http://www.aapt.org> Click on
"planning for the future".)
In October the Board drafted a list of strategic actions. They'd
like members to go to this web site and type comments. Tell them what's
most important to you! If you're short on time, send a one-sentence e-mail
to Ruth Howes. rhowes@gw.bsu.edu.
Three of the 6 White Papers recommend that a National Center for
Physics Education (NCPE) be considered. The strategic action items,
however, say nothing about a NCPE. To fill this gap, I suggest that we
encourage the Executive Board to pursue creating INFRASTRUCTURE like the
NCPE. It would enable many of the proposed actions to be taken and endure.
If long-term funding should materialize, the AAPT & APS need to be
ready with a plan.
Cheers,
Jane Jackson
AAPT WHITE PAPER #2: to improve the K-12 physics curriculum.
by John Hubisz, North Carolina State University <hubisz@unity.ncsu.edu>
[John's recommendations are spread throughout his report, so I include my
favorite page. John becomes AAPT President next month. - JJ]
3. Unified Physics Program for grades K-12. As noted, we have some
excellent materials to draw from. In the past, various committees have
called for improved integration from one physics "level" to the next. We
can't possibly present an adequate picture of physics in, say, only grade
12, regardless of the amount of mathematical sophistication of the
students. It is a subject that needs time for assimilation.
In recent years there has been some improvement in the presentation
of physical science in the 9 th or 10th grade. Hewitt's Conceptual Physics
for high school has made inroads here. There are many other efforts being
field-tested that take advantage of recent findings of the PERs.
A serious problem here is that of schools offering biology first
followed by chemistry and then physics. Physics is the simplest science in
many respects and biology is the most difficult. A good understanding of
physics helps in chemistry and these two subjects make understanding
biology much easier. At present biology is primarily a memorization course
giving rise to two obstacles to overcome: a wrong impression of what
science is about and a tendency to select biology as a second or third
science course because the student already knows something about it. We do
have a long history of efforts and suggestions for a unified program of
physics. I have given papers on the topic.
I have attended several meetings of folks who wanted to set up a
Center for Physics Education (other names have been used) that would bring
together all worthwhile resources in one location to serve as a place for
teachers and researchers/authors to go to review what was available. Often
the APS was involved and the Forum on Education perhaps even evolved from
these discussions. The Database Project of the Forum certainly reflected
that interest. In the past couple of weeks I have received over 50 e-mail
messages encouraging me to support the proposal of David Hestenes for a
National Center for Physics Education. If you have read this far you know
that I will heartily endorse this project. What has been missing in the
past has been the enthusiasm expressed by these messages. My paper at
Beloit pointed out the problem of great efforts falling apart after the
initiators moved on. The Hestenes proposal should help solve that problem.
Perhaps the wheel will not be re-invented so often.
The best design that I have seen for a workshop is two weeks of
highly intensive activity during two summers followed by follow-up activity
in the classroom during the school year deriving from the experiences in
the workshop. These activities are supplemented by required get-togethers
of all group members (24 is an effective size) each fall and spring. If the
get-togethers could take place at a scientific meeting, all the better.
Making connections is extremely valuable. The number of physics teachers
who have never heard of the AAPT is much too large.
------------------------------------
Jane Jackson, Co-Director, Modeling Instruction Program
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics & Astronomy,ASU,Tempe,AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331 <http://modeling.la.asu.edu>