Re: General Physics

[Michael Bowen <fizzbowen@MINDSPRING.COM>]

At 11:11 2001/12/19, you wrote:
> hello all
> Next semester I am teaching a general physics class to people in the
> trades.  It is a one semester course that is supposed to cover
> everything.  How do I decide what to cover?

At some point, the curriculum committee (or academic affairs committee) at
your college should have approved an outline for the course. There is a
good chance that a copy of this outline is on file in the office of
instruction or in the science division office at your college. It is usual
for course outlines to list topics and/or expected outcomes for the course
(i.e., what should students be able to do at the end of the course that
they couldn't do at the beginning).

If you find, after teaching the course, that the course outline is
inadequate, you should update it to benefit future instructors of the same
course. This can be a thankless task, especially in a one-woman department,
if that happens to be your situation. However, one of the main reasons for
having a course outline is so that new (and not-so-new) instructors know
what they are supposed to teach. (!) In California, course outlines for
community colleges even have a section called "methods of instruction"
(well, at least they are supposed to have one, according to state
regulations) that suggests possible approaches and techniques for classroom
activities in teaching courses (these are not intended, however, to
infringe on instructors' academic freedom to conduct courses as they see
fit, provided they cover the requisite topics).

--MB

P.S. (Truth in Advising Act warning.) I am the longtime curriculum
committee rep for the science department at my college, so my viewpoint is
probably slanted accordingly.