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Re: [Phys-l] Physics First Revisited



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ABSTRACT
A long thread "Physics First?" on the Southern California AAPT (SCAAPT) list was initiated by Mary Mogge who asked whether or not San Diego is still teaching Physics First (PF). Mike Horton responded that although the PF mandate had been overturned two years ago, some San Diego schools still employ PF; and that his studies show that (1) PF schools in California have been horrible failures, and (2) PF is successful only in "rich private boarding schools on the east coast."

Point "1" appears problematic because: (a) Horton's evidence is based on class average scores on the physics and biology sections of the California Standards Test (CST), but the validity of the former has been questioned by physicist Larry Woolf and others; (b) San Diego school board trustee Katherine Nakamura noted that adoption of PF drastically increased the number of students taking science; and (c) some SCAAPT posters cited quantitative data (not all from the dubious CST) indicating the relative success of PF.

Point "2" appears questionable considering favorable PF outcomes in classes far removed from "rich private boarding schools on the east coast": (a) the previously cited quantitative evidence from SCAAPT posters; (b) Jane Jackson's reports of pre-to-post test gains on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) comparable to those of high-school seniors for a Phoenix ninth-grade integrated physics/math class of disadvantaged students, and a high school near St. Louis in which roughly 30% were from the inner city; (c) quantitative evidence of the success of PF-type curricula reported by Mualem & Eylon (2007) and Goodman & Etkina (2008).

In "Physics First: Opening Battle in the War on Science/Math Illiteracy?" [Hake (2002a)], I argued that PF might help to overcome a systemic roadblock to science/math literacy of the general population - viz., the dearth of effective pre-college science/math teachers. This in turn might promote [paraphrasing John White (2008)] "the presentation of physics early, often, broadly, and well in the K-12 years," as advised earlier by e.g., Ken Ford (1989), Lewis Love (1999), & David Hammer (1999).
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In my Physhare post "Physics First Revisited" [Hake (2009)] I wrote [my insert at ". . . .[insert]. . . .]:

"John Mallinckrodt, web manager of the SCAAPT (Southern California AAPT) list, in a SCAAPT post of 15 Jan 2009 wrote 'The recent discussion. . . .[21 posts as of 15 Jan 2009]. . . that has broken out on the SCAAPT list of the Physics First movement . . . . e.g.: Hickman (1990), Bardeen & Lederman (1998), Lederman (2001a,b; 2007), Lederman & Bardeen (2002), Ewald et al. (2005), AAPT (2007), Sheppard & Robbins (2009) and references therein] . . . . is, I think, interesting and important. Nevertheless, it raises once again the question of the purpose of this list especially given the existence of several other physics email lists that are devoted specifically to discussions of this kind, especially including Physhare'. "

I should have pointed out that the SCAAPT thread "SCAAPT: Physics First?" [27 posts as of 24 Jan 2009, despite Mallinckrodt's suggestion of 15 Jan 2009 to shift the discussion to lists such as Physhare] was initiated by Mary Mogge, who wrote on 12 Jan 2009 09:56:4-0800:

"I'm trying to find out whether the San Diego USD is still teaching Physics First. My efforts at googling weren't very successful, so if any of you know the answer, please let me know. I'd be particularly interested in hearing from HS teachers in SDUSD."

To which Mike Horton responded on 12 Jan 2009 22:13:38-0800 [bracketed by lines "HHHHH. . . ."; my CAPS, my inserts at ". . . .[insert]. . . ."):

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Two years ago, they overturned the mandate that it would be required. Now it is optional. But, these schools hired and/or retrained so many teachers that they couldn't just get rid of it. Some got rid of it immediately. Some waited until it was time to adopt a new textbook and got rid of it. Others stuck with it and still do it today.

. . . .[1]. . . . I have studied San Diego and other physics first schools in California and THEY HAVE BEEN A HORRIBLE FAILURE BY ALL MEASURABLE ACCOUNTS. San Diego spent hundreds of millions of dollars on materials, trainings, curriculum coaches, college degrees, and textbooks and had nothing to show for it in the end. There were schools that had 0% proficiency in freshmen physics despite the fact that there is no school in the state that had 0% proficiency in junior physics. Students who would have been proficient in physics in 11th grade were not proficient in 9th.

. . .[2]. . .I have collected data and written white papers . . . . .[Horton (2004?]. . . . ON HOW UNSUCCESSFUL PHYSICS FIRST IS IN ALL EXCEPT RICH, PRIVATE BOARDING SCHOOLS ON THE EAST COAST.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Considering Horton's claims #1 and #2 above:

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1. That PF schools in California have been "horrible' failures is questionable:

a. Horton's (2004?) evidence is based on class average scores on the physics and biology sections of the California Standards Test (CST), but the validity of the former has been questioned by physicist Larry Woolf (2005) and others on the Phys-L list - see at <https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/archives/2005/01_2005/msg00043.html> and click on "Thread Next" at the top of the page to see successive postings on this topic;

b. According to the report by Gao (2006) - see below- San Diego school board trustee Katherine Nakamura noted that adoption of PF drastically increased the number of students taking science.

c. Some SCAAPT posters cited quantitative data (not all from the dubious CST) indicating the relative success of PF:

(1) Michael Lew of Loyola High School, SCAAPT post of 13 Jan 2009 08:16:50-0800: "We instituted Physics First . . . . last year and based on standardized test scores (FCI pre and post test, and CA State Science Tests) we were very successful."

(2) Patrick Healy of Palm Desert High School, SCAAPT post of 14 Jan 2009 16:31:12-0800: "I'm in my fifth year of teaching my CST aligned regular high school physics course to freshman with good results. Each year, the freshmen have consistently out-scored the juniors taking the same tests. Last year, on the CST, the freshmen achieved a 91% proficiency rate compared to 75% for the juniors. To be fair, the freshmen are all 'honors' while the juniors include both 'honors' and 'cp' . . . . .[college preparatory]. . . students, and we're not scheduling the entire student body in physics, like I believe was done in San Diego. But my point is that, for students who would be taking physics anyway, switching the order to physics first does them no harm. The advantage we give these students, from a scheduling perspective, is that they take honors chemistry as sophomores, and then A.P. Biology as juniors -- without requiring the traditional freshman biology course as a prerequisite. This leaves an opening in senior year to take a second science A.P. class (Physics, Chemistry, or Environmental Science) if they so choose. This has worked well.

(3) (3) Melissa Woods of the Santa Barbara High School District, SCAAPT post of 15 Jan 2009 07:15:56 -0800: "We have been doing physics first for about 15 years. . . . For my ninth grade students last year (140 out of the 350 physics students at SBHS), the student population consists of language learners, students who will be the first to go to college in their families, all the way through children of scientists. We have a 75% proficient or advanced pass rate on the CST. This is down from last year where a similar population scored 80% proficient or advanced. . . . . One of the main reasons we like physics first at our school is that we feel it builds a basis for our successful AP Science program. My students perform excellently on the chemistry CST's (85% proficient or above) the next year. The chemistry teacher where most of my students go says that her students are extremely well prepared to learn chemistry and is also in favor of physics first. After chemistry our students move on to take AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics, and AP Environmental science with a solid understanding of science under their belts. This year we have 270 students enrolled in these 4 AP courses. Some of the AP classes earn 90%+ pass rates year after year. To be fair our overall CST pass rate has not been as good (35% proficient or advanced out of 350 students). I attribute this to the fact that we have had 8 teachers in the last 6 years who teach the other students. Few had any physics backgrounds and all were new teachers. . . . . I am proposing that qualified teachers and a well thought out course have helped the students earn good tests results and that THE TEACHER MAY BE AS IMPORTANT IF NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE SCIENCE SEQUENCE." [My CAPS.]

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2. That Physics First is successful *only* in rich private boarding schools on the East coast is doubtful.

a. The quantitative evidence provided by the SCAAPT posters cited indicates that PF is relatively successful. But as pointed out by Mike Horton in his SCAAPT posts following those by Lew, Healy, and Woods, it may be the case that the PF's apparent success at Loyola, Palm Desert, and Santa Barbara high schools was due to the select nature of the schools, students, or teachers. However, Jane Jackson has reported successful implementation of a Modeling-version of PF in non-select environments: (a) an integrated physics/math class of disadvantaged students - their FCI posttest scores were comparable to those for typical honors physics courses of high school seniors taught with the Modeling method [Jackson (2003a); and (b) a regular physics class whose main teacher was a novice physics teacher with a degree out of field and in which roughly 30% of the students were from the inner city - the class average normalized gain <g> was 0.30 [Jackson (2003b), comparable to the average <g>'s of 0.43 for four regular physics classes for high-school seniors using interactive engagement methods [Table 1a of Hake (1998b)].

b. Quantitative evidence of the success of PF-type curricula has recently been reported by Mualem & Eylon (2007) and Goodman & Etkina (2008). Neither study taking place in "rich private boarding schools on the east coast."

Regarding San Diego's attempt to implement Physics First, Helen Gao (2006) of the San Diego Union Tribune wrote [bracketed by lines "GGGGG. . . ."; my CAPS]:

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Five years after making a trailblazing decision to require physics in ninth grade, the San Diego school board decided yesterday to do away with that mandate and give students more flexibility in science course work. The reversal follows years of controversy dogging the district's science program and months of intense lobbying and criticism by some teachers.

Under a proposal approved 3-2 by trustees, high school students no longer have to follow a particular sequence of science courses - physics in ninth grade, then chemistry and biology.
What order students take the courses is up to them, but they still have to pass three years of science to graduate. In the past, students needed a waiver if they wanted to deviate from the course sequence.

For the physical science requirement, students now can choose between physics and chemistry. They must take biology to meet the life science requirement. The third course would be an elective, anything from physiology to environmental science.

Trustee John de Beck, who proposed the changes, said students - in conjunction with their parents and counselors - should decide what science classes to take, based on their math skills and other factors. . . . . . . . De Beck garnered the support of colleagues Mitz Lee and Shelia Jackson. Board president Luis Acle and trustee Katherine Nakamura dissented.

Nakamura defended the current ninth-grade physics curriculum as a good course, especially for those who are intimidated by science. SHE NOTED THAT SINCE NINTH-GRADE PHYSICS WAS ADOPTED, THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS TAKING SCIENCE HAS SKYROCKETED.

The San Diego Unified School District boasts the highest percentage of students enrolled in science courses of any large urban district in the state. Even for students who are not pursuing careers in science, Nakamura said a certain level of scientific literacy is a must in today's world.
"Understanding the way the world works is very important," she said. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

It should be emphasized that the abandonment of the PF mandate in San Diego, as described by Gao (2006), does not necessarily indicate a deficiency in the PF approach to science education, other than the fact that it collides with the monumental inertia of the American K-12 educational system. In a PhysLrnR post "WSJ on Active Physics" [Hake 2006)], I discussed another report on San Diego's Physics First program - Rob Tomosho's Wall Street Journal article "Textbook Battle: Top High Schools Fight New Science As Overly Simple: San Diego's Physics Overhaul Makes Classes Accessible, Spurs Parental Backlash; Test Scores Barely Budge." The abstract of my post reads:

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ABSTRACT: Rob Tomosho of the Wall Street Journal reports the backlash from parents and teachers against the San Diego school district implementation of Leon Lederman's "Physics First" in the ninth grade through the use of Author Eisenkraft's "Active Physics." Among
possible reasons for the backlash are:

(a) "parents in affluent schools often resist changes that affect students who are already thriving," as indicated by Kati Haycock of the Education Trust,

(b) unfamiliarity of parents and teachers with the mountain of evidence for the superiority of interactive engagement over traditional methods in enhancing students' understanding of the
concepts and nature of science, and

(c) insufficient preparation of classroom teachers to *effectively* implement non-traditional science pedagogy. Better prepared teachers might be attracted to classrooms if their salaries and working conditions were drastically upgraded and they were treated as the valued professionals they are.
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As I indicated in a SCAAPT post of 15 Jan 2009 12:39:00-0800, my arguments for the support of Physics First are summarized in the abstract of "Physics First: Opening Battle in the War on Science/Math Illiteracy?" [Hake (2002a)]:

"It is argued that Lederman's 'Physics First' regime, while not an ideal ramp to science/math literacy for all students . . . . [such as the "Ken Ford (1989) Ramp" depicted in Fig. 2 of Hake (2002a)]. . . ., should nevertheless be vigorously supported as an important opening battle in the full scale war on science/math illiteracy as envisaged by the AAAS 'Project 2061.' This is because a widespread first physics course for *all* ninth graders might:

(a) help to overcome some systemic roadblocks to science/math literacy of the general population - MOST IMPORTANTLY THE SEVERE DEARTH OF EFFECTIVE PRE-COLLEGE SCIENCE/MATH TEACHERS;

(b) enhance the numbers of physics major and graduate students, through programs designed to provide a large corps of teachers capable of *effectively* teaching physics to vast numbers of students in the Physics First schools: ninth-graders plus those taking high school honors and AP physics courses."

In response to the above Mike Horton, in a SCAAPT post of 15 Jan 2009 21:05:23-0800 wrote:

"I never said that 'Physics for All' is a bad idea, but it appears that just as AAPT. . . .[AAPT (2007)]. . . . does, Dr. Hake sees the two as the same thing. Physics for all and physics first are not the same thing. I am and will always be a supporter of physics for all. Just not in the 9th grade. Neither of Dr. Hake's reasons for PF were actually related to PF. They were related to Physics for All. I completely agree with his points about how important Physics for All is, but again, neither of them had anything to do with when the physics is taken."

I disagree with that "Physics for All" has nothing to do with when physics is taken. To repeat a section of the abstract (above) of "Physics First: Opening Battle in the War on Science/Math Illiteracy?" [Hake (2002b)]:

"Lederman's 'Physics First' regime. . . . . should . . . be vigorously supported as an important opening battle in the full scale war on science/math illiteracy . . . [by promoting "Physics for All"]. . . . . .because a widespread first physics course for *all* ninth graders might . . .help to overcome some systemic roadblocks to science/math literacy of the general population - most importantly *the severe dearth of effective pre-college science/math teachers.*"

In his Physics Teacher article "Physics First and Physics for All (Well, sort of)" John White (2008) cogently stated the importance of "physics for all" as follows (his EMPHASIS):

"What is important for physics education in our society? We should present physics EARLY, often, broadly, and well in the K-12 years (required schooling for essentially everyone) so that ALL students get a fair opportunity to discover how physics might enrich their lives. . . . . . This is the ultimate goal: to educate citizens about science so that these citizens can provide good guidance regarding political issues that involve science. Then we are teaching Science Literacy (or Science Appreciation or How Science Matters)."

White's article reinforces points made by Ken Ford (1989) in "Guest Comment: Is physics difficult" Ford wrote [see Hake (2002a) for references other than Hammer (1999) and Love (2001)]:

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
. . . . Physics is difficult in the same way that all serious intellectual effort is difficult. Solid understanding of English literature, or economics, or history, or music, or biology - or physics - does not come without hard work. But we typically act on the assumption (and argue to our principals and deans) that ours is a discipline that only a few are capable of comprehending. The priesthood syndrome that flows from this assumption is, regrettably, seductive . . . If physics is not more difficult than other disciplines, why does everyone think that it is? To answer indirectly, let me turn again to English. Six-year-olds write English and (to pick a skilled physicist writer) Jeremy Bernstein writes English. What separates them? A long, gradual incline of increased ability, understanding, and practice. Some few people, illiterates, do not start up the hill. Most people climb some distance. A few climb as far as Bernstein. FOR PHYSICS, ON THE OTHER HAND, WE HAVE FASHIONED A CLIFF. THERE IS NO GRADUAL RAMP, ONLY A NEAR-VERTICAL ASCENT TO ITS HIGH PLATEAU. When the cliff is encountered for the first time by. . . (14- or) . . . 16- or 17-year olds, it is small wonder that only a few have courage (and the skill) to climb it. There is no good reason for this difference of intellectual topography. First-graders could be taught some physics . . . (Hammer 1999, Snyder 2001). . . , second-graders a little more, and third-graders still more. . . . (Love 2001) . . . [and Middle School'ers still more. . . (Hubisz 2001 a,b)]. . . Then for the. . .(ninth-). . . , eleventh- or twelfth grader, a physics course would be a manageable step. Some might choose to take it, some not, but few would be barred by lack of 'talent' or background. (My CAPS.)
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Well said, Ken Ford!


Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands.
<rrhake@earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/>
<http://HakesEdStuff.blogspot.com/>

"The three-year sequence must include a lot of process in addition to content. How does science work? How did we discover some of these things? Why is science such a universal culture? How do the traits of skepticism, curiosity, openness to new ideas, and the joy of discovering the beauty of nature affect the process of science? Long after all the formulas, Latin words, and theories are forgotten, the process will be remembered. The goal of teachers using the new curriculum would be to produce high-school graduates who will be comfortable with a scientific way of thinking."
Leon Lederman (2001a)

REFERENCES [Tiny URL's courtesy <http://tinyurl.com/create.php>.]

REFERENCES [Tiny URL's courtesy <http://tinyurl.com/create.php>.]
AAPT. 2007. "AAPT Statement on Physics First," online at <http://www.aapt.org/Policy/physicsfirst.cfm>: "The Executive Board of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) recognizes that teaching physics to students early in their high school education is an important and useful way to bring physics to a significantly larger number of students than has been customary. This approach-which we call 'Physics First'-has the potential to advance more substantially the AAPT's goal of Physics for All, as well as to lay the foundation for more advanced high school courses in chemistry, biology or physics."

Bardeen, M.G. & L.M. Lederman. 1998. "Coherence in Science Education." Science 281: 178 179; abstract online at <http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/281/5374/178?ck=nck>.

Ewald, G., J.B. Hickman, P. Hickman, & F. Myers. 2005, "Physics First: The right-side-up science sequence" Phys. Teach 43(5): 319-320; online free at <http://scitation.aip.org/dbt/dbt.jsp?KEY=PHTEAH&Volume=43&Issue=5>.

Ford, K.W. 1989. "Guest Comment: Is physics difficult?" Am J. Phys. 57(10), 871-872; online to subscribers at <http://scitation.aip.org/dbt/dbt.jsp?KEY=AJPIAS&Volume=57&Issue=10>.

Gao, H. 2006. "High school students given leeway in science," San Diego Union Tribune, 24 May; online at <http://tinyurl.com/7f82mz>.

Goodman, R. & E. Etkina. 2008. "Squaring the Circle: A Mathematically Rigorous Physics First," Phys. Teach. 46(4): 222-227; online to subscribers at <http://scitation.aip.org/dbt/dbt.jsp?KEY=PHTEAH&Volume=46&Issue=4>. The authors write: "Many advocates of 'Physics First' support a more conceptual ninth-grade physics course followed by chemistry and then biology while supporters of mathematically rigorous physics favor a sequence of biology-chemistry-physics. This paper describes a new approach that incorporates some of the best arguments from both sides. The main idea is to teach a mathematically rigorous ninth-grade physics course based on algebra alone, avoiding trigonometry. By selecting topics from the AP Physics B curriculum that form a foundation for both chemistry and biology, one can establish an efficient science sequence. The goal of this paper is to describe this new approach to Physics First and present data supporting its effectiveness."

Hake, R.R. 1998a. "Interactive-engagement vs traditional methods: A six thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses," Am. J. Phys. 66(1): 64-74; online at <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/ajpv3i.pdf> (84 kB).

Hake, R.R. 1998b. "Interactive-engagement methods in introductory mechanics courses," online at <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/IEM-2b.pdf> (108 kB) - a crucial companion paper to Hake (1998a).

Hake, R.R. 2002a. "Physics First: Opening Battle in the War on Science/Math Illiteracy?" Submitted to the American Journal of Physics on 27 June 2002; online at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/PhysFirst-AJP-6.pdf> (220 kB).

Hake, R.R. 2002b. "Physics First: Precursor to Science/Math Literacy for All?" APS Forum on Education Newsletter, Summer, 2002; online at <http://www.aps.org/units/fed/newsletters/summer2002/index.html>. A severely truncated version of Hake (2002a).

Hake, R.R. 2006. "WSJ on Active Physics," PhysLrnR post of 15 Apr 2006 14:49:58-0700 online at <http://tinyurl.com/89ptxy>. To access the archives of PhysLnR one needs to subscribe, but that takes only a few minutes by clicking on <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/physlrnr.html> and then clicking on "Join or leave the list (or change settings)." If you're busy, then subscribe using the "NOMAIL" option under "Miscellaneous." Then, as a subscriber, you may access the archives and/or post messages at any time, while receiving NO MAIL from the list!

Hake, R.R. 2009. "Physics First Revisited," Physhare post of 16 Jan 2009 15:59:32-0800; online at <http://tinyurl.com/96usjc>. To access the archives of Physhare one needs to subscribe, but that takes only a few minutes by few minutes by clicking on <http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=PHYSHARE> and then clicking on "Join or leave the list (or change settings)." If you're busy, then subscribe using the "NOMAIL" option under "Miscellaneous." Then, as a subscriber, you may access the archives and/or post messages at any time, while receiving NO MAIL from the list!

Hammer, D. 1999. Physics for first graders? Science Education 83(6):797-799; online at:
<http://www2.physics.umd.edu/~davidham/1stgrdrs.html>.

Hickman, P. 1990. "Freshman physics?" Science Teacher 57(3): 45-47; see also Hickman's PhysTec presentation of 2007, online at <http://phystec.org/presentations/071120_hickman.pdf> (940 kB)

Horton, M. 2004?. "Physics First is Bad for Science"; online at <http://scienceinquirer.wikispaces.com/csta>, scroll down to "White Papers." Horton's analysis is based on results of the Biology and Physics portions of California's CST Physics test.

Jackson, J. 2003a. "Closing Gap by Integrating 9th Grade Algebra and Physics Using Modeling Instruction," online at <http://modeling.asu.edu/listserv/gr9MathPhysics-disadv03.pdf> (12 kB). See also Jackson (2003b) for FCI data at Clayton High School

Jackson, J. 2003b. "Re: Physics First - PART 1," post of 19 Feb 2003 08:56:51-0700 to Physhare, PhysLrnR, Phys-L, and AP-Physics; online at <http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0302&L=physhare&O=A&P=20102>.

Lederman, L. 2001a. "Revolution in Science Education: Put Physics First." Physics Today 54(9): 11-12, September; online at <http://scitation.aip.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_54/iss_9/11_1.shtml>.

Lederman, L. 2001b. "Physics First," APS Forum on Education Newsletter, Spring; online at <http://www.aps.org/units/fed/newsletters/upload/spring01.pdf> (3.2MB), scroll to page 6.

Lederman, L. 2007. "Physics First, Chemistry and Biology," Phys. Teach. 45(6): 326; online to subscribers at <http://scitation.aip.org/dbt/dbt.jsp?KEY=PHTEAH&Volume=45&Issue=6>.

Lederman, L. & M.G. Bardeen. 2002. "Implementation Resource Book Suggestions from the Field"; 0.42 MB pdf at Project Arise <http://www-ed.fnal.gov/arise/>/ "Three Year High School Science Core Curriculum Implementation Issues (Bardeen, 2002)", where "/" means "click on." See especially the sections "Assessment and Student Achievement"; "Professional Development"; and Teachers' Fears/Resistance".

Love, L.E. 2001. "Physics in the Elementary School," APS Forum on Education
Newsletter, Spring; online at <http://www.aps.org/units/fed/newsletters/upload/spring01.pdf> (3.2MB), scroll to page 19. Love wrote: "Physics is the basic science that is fundamental to all the other branches of science. Physics can be used very effectively to help students learn to think, read, write, use mathematics as a thought tool, and provide insight into our cultural heritage and social environment. But physics is an area of study, which brings intellectual fear into the hearts of those people who have not been introduced to its simplicity, beauty, logic, and its ability to help us understand the world around us. I propose that many important concepts in physics can be effectively taught to 4th and 5th graders. I also propose that you can train the teachers of these students to effectively do this through an in-service program developed by any high school or university physics teacher, incorporating a hands-on curriculum that I have developed."

Mualem, R. & B. Eylon. 2007. " 'Physics with a Smile' - Explaining Phenomena with a Qualitative Problem-Solving Strategy," Phys. Teach. 45(3): 158-163; online free to all at <http://tinyurl.com/c4uueu>. The authors state: "This approach is already being adopted in many ninth-grade classrooms in Israel. Modest beginnings show that teaching with this method in the ninth grade increases the number of students who choose physics in senior high school and improves their stan¬dard problem-solving skills. Introducing the qualitative approach in the ninth grade can function as a foundation and basis for the quantitative treatment in later years. The approach can also be integrated into the teaching of physics in senior high school before introducing quantitative problem solving."

Sheppard, K. & D.M. Robbins. 2009. "The 'Physics First' Movement, 1880-1920," Phys. Teach. 47(1): 46-50; online at <http://scitation.aip.org/dbt/dbt.jsp?KEY=PHTEAH&Volume=47&Issue=1>.

Tomsho, R. 2006a. "Textbook Battle: Top High Schools Fight New Science As Overly Simple; San Diego's Physics Overhaul Makes Classes Accessible, Spurs Parental Backlash; Test Scores Barely Budge," Wall Street Journal, 13 April; freely online for awhile at <http://tinyurl.com/rn7cn> and more permanently at Mahajan (2006). I thank Keith Tipton, manager of Physhare, for bringing Tomsho's report to my attention.

White, J.W. 2009. "Physics First and Physics for All (Well, sort of)" Phys. Teach. 46(4): 255-256; online to subscribers at <http://scitation.aip.org/dbt/dbt.jsp?KEY=PHTEAH&Volume=46&Issue=4>.

Woolf, L. 2005. " Re: California standards test in physics," Phys-L post of 08 Jan 2005 15:12:57-0800; online at
<https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/archives/2005/01_2005/msg00099.html>. See also the fourth item down "incorrect 'correct' answers to test questions from the CA science standards test" at <http://www.sci-ed-ga.org/standards/index.html>.