Reviews the history of physics teaching and the introductory physics laboratory in the United States. The Harvard List of Forty Experiments, and subsequent developments in the physics curriculum are discussed. The rationale for the introductory laboratory is established with criteria for improvements. Bibliography. (LC)

Recommends to industrial arts teachers the value of analyzing the nature of matter in the same manner that industry does before producing goods. (GR)

Describes the objectives and content of a freshman physics laboratory course designed to eliminate the cook-book type of experiments. Instead, students are encouraged to devise their own experimental designs, execute the experiments, and interpret the results in their own way. The authors report that student reaction to the course is generally…