Fifty-five high school science teachers will be given coursework sufficient to certify them to teach physics. The curriculum has been planned as a result of collaboration between five University of Wisconsin campuses (River Falls, Green Bay, Waukesha, Eau Claire, and Platteville), administrators from 54 Wisconsin school districts and several physics master teachers. Most teachers will take eleven or twelve semester credits of physics over a period of two summers and the intervening academic year. The program is flexible enough to accommodate teachers who need more or fewer credits. Academic year courses will be given at several locations within commuting distance of most teachers' homes. Master teachers, Physics Teaching Resource Agents (PTRAs), will be part of the instructional staff in order to help the participating teachers identify with their peers and encourage their participation in Wisconsin physics teachers networks. This program addresses the most important science education problem identified in a 1986 needs assessment done by the Wisconsin Department of Instruction. The targeted school districts were identified in 1987 as the program was being planned. The districts have committed themselves to implementing more and/or more rigorous physics courses in their schools, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has promised continual support for the program following funding by the NSF. (Women and Minority participants will be recruited vigorously.) An amount equal to approximately 20% of the NSF request for funding has been cost-shared by the University of Wisconsin, the State Department of Education and the individual school districts.
