A great deal has long been known about student difficulties connecting real-world experiences with what they are learning in their physics classes, making learning basic ideas of classical physics challenging. Understanding these difficulties has led to the development of many instructional approaches that have been shown to help students make…

The Physics First movement--teaching a true physics course to ninth-grade students--is gaining popularity in high schools. There are several different rhetorical arguments for and against this movement, and it is quite controversial in physics education. However, there is no actual evidence to assess the success, or failure, of this substantial…

Suggesting, from the results of an information study, that a dichotomy exists between learning physics and passing physics courses, explores the consequences of the dichotomy for standard lecture format and Personalized System of Instruction courses. Includes discussions of student responses to problem-solving approaches, textbook study, and…

Describes a method of teaching physics for mastery. The method includes writing assignments on journal sheets, discussions of major concepts by student teams, and individual mastery conferences using questions formulated around the results of the group discussions. Discusses the ramifications of using this method. (MDH)

Presents the fourth part of interviews with award winning secondary physics teachers concerning their teaching methods and philosophies. (SL)

Presents the third of a four part article interviewing award winning secondary level physics teachers. Discussed are their teaching methods and techniques, and the courses they teach. (SL)

This article describes an exploration into improving the process and the outcome of learning in interactive teaching at the first-year university physics level, using what is becoming widely known as the "variation approach to learning." To explore this approach we chose an area of mechanics that is widely known to pose learning…