Physics (13) The project goal is to develop a coherent, guided-inquiry, algebra-based physics course sequence for medium enrollment, general education settings. This sequence is especially suitable for low-cost implementation at small regional universities and community colleges, where the audience is often diverse and relatively under-prepared. To address the needs of this audience, the curriculum integrates conceptual and mathematical concepts through the general pedagogical structure of the successful Physics for Elementary Teachers (PET) curriculum, with the goal of helping students develop the critical thinking skills and understanding of science needed to become part of a scientifically literate citizenry. It also draws on elements from both Constructing Physics Understanding (CPU) and Visual Quantum Mechanics (VQM).
The project has three main objectives:
Curriculum Development: To use the general pedagogical structure of PET as a coherent framework within which the conceptual and mathematical aspects of the algebra-based sequence are integrated.
Content Learning: To enable students to develop a deep understanding of the major conceptual themes of force, motion, and energy as they apply to mechanical, electrical and magnetic contexts, optics and select modern physics topics.
Nature of Science: To enable students to develop scientific thinking skills such as evidence-based reasoning, utilizing graphs to represent and to show relationships between data, and to develop a deeper understanding of algebraic representations beyond focusing on simple numerical solutions.
Intellectual merit: The curriculum developed in this project builds on a proven pedagogical structure to meet the need for a guided-inquiry algebra-based physics sequence suitable for diverse and under-prepared audiences. The course structure is based on recent research on science learning and incorporate proven pedagogical strategies such as activity-based instruction and collaborative/cooperative group learning. It also makes extensive use of technology to support student learning.
Broader impacts: The LEAP curriculum benefits all students, but especially females and underrepresented groups, since the use of collaborative/cooperative learning has been shown to particularly benefit these groups. For secondary education majors, these courses are likely their only exposure to learning content in a guided-inquiry setting. In addition, the focus on improving students' scientific reasoning abilities, especially skills associated with graphical representations, helps all students become more scientifically literate citizens.
