I propose to convene 12 teachers from 9 states to produce a high school electricity curriculum that engages students in hands-on experimentation to counteract misconceptions. Our strategy employs transient lamp lighting controlled by high-tech capacitors to reveal the physics of current propulsion. This stimulates students invent all required circuit concepts in highly intuitive form, including a pressure-like version of electric potential. We plan to write and evaluate the effectiveness of three instructional aids: INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP GUIDE -- to acquaint teachers with new instructional opportunities made possible by capacitor-controlled lamp lighting experiments. CLASSROOM RESOURCES BOOK -- to provide teachers with many useful experiments, duplicatable materials and teaching strategies in easily accessible format. BACKGROUND INFORMATION FILE -- to provide professional depth in areas of apparatus characteristics, misconceptions research and history of concepts. These materials will enhance the teacher's own understanding of electric circuits and make study of electricity enjoyable for students. They will help students construct visualizable models and learn to reason effectively with electric potential. We anticipate a salutary effect on students' preparedness for university courses in science and engineering, and on comprehension of electricity concepts by those who enter the work force directly from school.
