TY - GEN
T1 - What else (besides the syllabus) should students learn in introductory physics?
AU - Pritchard, David E.
AU - Barrantes, Analia
AU - Belland, Brian R.
PY - 2009/12/16
Y1 - 2009/12/16
N2 - We have surveyed what various groups of instructors and students think students should learn in introductory physics. We started with a Delphi Study based on interviews with experts, then developed orthogonal responses to "what should we teach non-physics majors besides the current syllabus topics?" AAPT attendees, atomic researchers, and PERC08 attendees were asked for their selections. All instructors rated "sense-making of the answer" very highly and expert problem solving highly. PERers favored epistemology over problem solving, and atomic researchers "physics comes from a few principles." Students at three colleges had preferences anti-aligned with their teachers, preferring more modern topics, and the relationship of physics to everyday life and also to society (the only choice with instructor agreement), but not problem solving or sense-making. Conclusion #1: we must show students how old physics is relevant to their world. Conclusion #2: significant course reform must start by reaching consensus on what to teach and how to hold students' interest (then discuss techniques to teach it).
AB - We have surveyed what various groups of instructors and students think students should learn in introductory physics. We started with a Delphi Study based on interviews with experts, then developed orthogonal responses to "what should we teach non-physics majors besides the current syllabus topics?" AAPT attendees, atomic researchers, and PERC08 attendees were asked for their selections. All instructors rated "sense-making of the answer" very highly and expert problem solving highly. PERers favored epistemology over problem solving, and atomic researchers "physics comes from a few principles." Students at three colleges had preferences anti-aligned with their teachers, preferring more modern topics, and the relationship of physics to everyday life and also to society (the only choice with instructor agreement), but not problem solving or sense-making. Conclusion #1: we must show students how old physics is relevant to their world. Conclusion #2: significant course reform must start by reaching consensus on what to teach and how to hold students' interest (then discuss techniques to teach it).
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=71749097983&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=71749097983&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1063/1.3266749
DO - 10.1063/1.3266749
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:71749097983
SN - 9780735407206
T3 - AIP Conference Proceedings
SP - 43
EP - 46
BT - 2009 Physics Education Research Conference, PER
T2 - 2009 Physics Education Research Conference, PER: Physics Education Research across Paradigms
Y2 - 29 July 2009 through 30 July 2009
ER -