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Re: inquiry based courses





On Thu, 20 Jun 1996 cwentworth@doane.edu wrote:

Do other college teachers who use inquiry based approaches, such as in the
AAPT model course, find similar problems? Maybe I haven't developed the
skill yet for conducting this course...


I know that this reply is a little late, but I am just getting my mail
under control after vacation. At NCCU we have been teaching an inquiry
based approach in a course for elementary education majors. Although we
continue to get the question "Why does an elementary teacher need
physics?", our evaluations have not suffered and we have not gotten the
negative responses that you report. In fact, there are always a couple of
students who make a point of saying how much they enjoy the course. I am
not familiar with "Powerful Ideas In Physical Science", but. perhaps, the
difference is that our course has concentrated not on specific physics,
but on the process of doing physics. It begins with a brief study of the
measurement process and uncertainties. It then proceeds with an experiment
study of functional relationships, beginning with linear relationships,
like the stretch of a spring, and moving into simple power laws, such as
the pendulum and Boyle's Law. The above takes about half a semester, and
the rest is spent in applying the tools to the study of energy. Beginning
with gravitational potential energy, it investigates the relationships
between mechanical, electrical and thermal energy experimentally. The
activities are highly structured, but most students realize that the
structure helps them organize their thinking, and there seems to be at
least as much enthusiasm as in our other introductory physics courses. We
lack the resources to do a proper analysis of the effectiveness of the
course, but everyone who has been involved in over the last 20 years has
felt that it works well.

Al Clark

PS Who publishes "Powerful Ideas In Physical Science"?