9455732 Stewart Research shows that students use formula-centered problem-solving strategies that differ from those used by experienced scientists, and that the knowledge students gain in introductory physics is a randomly organized set of facts and equations, with little conceptual understanding and many misconceptions. Many approaches have been developed to overcome these problems, and have met with reasonable success in small institutions, or for a particular professor. These approaches are often too expensive or complicated to transfer to large comprehensive universities. Also, graduate students, the future instructors of science, are in general inadequately trained as educators. A teaching system designed to overcome these problems in a method that could be standardized and made available to larger engineering schools, as well as being appropriate for smaller institutions, will be developed. The method involves leading the student from concrete "hands-on" examples to conceptual understanding through group discussion, in the idea first, name afterward fashion. Quantitative experimental results provide verification. Concepts are related to everyday phenomena familiar to the student. Students are taught how to think about physics problems. Cooperative learning, found to improve retention of female and minority students, is emphasized. Graduate and advanced undergraduate students are brought into the teaching process as apprentices, with materials to acquaint them with the teaching strategies to be employed. In a calculus-based introductory physics course (>300 students annually), over a three year period, the technique will be refined, using testing and interviews to determine the most successful strategies. The results will be made available in a format designed to facilitate implementation elsewhere. A standard of evaluation for conceptual understanding for electromagnetism, similar to the Hestenes mechanics evaluati on, will be developed. The "hands-on" Activity Guide would be useful in non-engineering courses, particularly classes for educators, and could be adapted for use in lower education.
