The project; Physics and Life: Summer Institutes for Secondary Science Teachers, proposes a series of intensive summer institutes for teachers of physics and life sciences, grades 8-12, to be held in 1989, 1990 and 1991. They will combine science and the history of science, amplified by an intensive laboratory training. Some twenty candidates will be selected primarily from around Minnesota and the upper mid-west to participate in each institute and at least half of the spaces will be reserved for those teachers who will require room and board. Teachers will repeat important historical experiments in order to understand the development of scientific concepts and the mutual enrichment in physics and biology. Many of these experiments will be conducted with a simple and inexpensive apparatus and may be used by teachers as demonstrations or labs. In each field, the historical study will culminate in modern biophysical experiment. By incorporating parts of these courses into their school curricula teachers will demonstrate the links between different sciences and their practical applications; enhance their students' understanding of the scientific process, improve their experimental skills and problem-solving techniques, make learning more entertaining, and as a result increase the enrollment into science courses and improve students' proficiency in science. The 1989 institute will be on electricity and its applications to biology and medicine. The course will be based on works and discoveries from Gray and Dufay, to Du Bois-Reymond, and Helmholtz. The 1990 institute will focus on optics and vision. The course will be based on works from Archimedes to Maxwell. The 1991 institute will be on acoustics and hearing. The discussion and experiments will be based on original works from Galileo to Helmholtz. Cost-sharing is approximately 24% of the National Science Foundation request.
