Ron Thornton, Priscilla Laws and I are once again presenting an
NSF-sponsored Chautauqua Short Course on Active Learning in Introductory
Physics at the University of Oregonm June 5-7, 1997. A description is
included below. Please contact me if you want more information and/or an
application.
PROMOTING ACTIVE LEARNING IN INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS COURSES
A Chautauqua Short Course
presented by: Priscilla Laws, David Sokoloff and Ronald Thornton
June 5-7, 1997 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. Chautauqua courses are open to teachers of
undergraduate students in degree-granting institutions of higher
education in the U.S. This includes two-year and four-year colleges and
universities. High school teachers and faculty from outside the U.S.
may be admitted if space is available.
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