This ethnographic case study investigated the science practices of teachers at one public elementary magnet school in light of how school culture influenced science curriculum design and instruction. The purpose of the study was to address how school culture impacted the school's overall treatment of science as a viable content area. Key informant…

This article contends that the problem of classroom order rests less in the roles and compositions of classrooms than in the multidimensional nature of their social situations. Classroom order arises from the dynamic relationship between distinct situational requirements: the coordination of interaction into institutionalized patterns (routine)…

Integral equations are becoming a common means for describing problems in electromagnetics, and so it is important to expose students to methods for their solution. Typically this is done using examples in antennas, scattering, or electrostatics. Unfortunately, many difficult issues arise in the formulation and solution of the associated…

Magnet schools hold a prominent place in the history of education reforms in the United States. Best known for offering unique programs or curricula to attract students from outside a school's neighborhood, many magnet schools started off as neighborhood public schools but converted with the goals of increasing student diversity and achievement.…

We investigate the electromagnetic induction phenomenon for a "falling," "oscillating" and "swinging" magnet and a coil, with the help of a datalogger. For each situation, we discuss the salient aspects of the phenomenon, with the aid of diagrams, and relate the motion of the magnet to its mathematical and graphical representations. Using various…

Since its inception in the mid-80s, the computer mouse has undergone several design changes. As the mouse has evolved, physicists have found new ways to utilize it as a motion sensor. For example, the rollers in a mechanical mouse have been used as pulleys to study the motion of a magnet moving through a copper tube as a quantitative demonstration…

The physical properties of oxygen, in particular, the blue color of the liquid phase, the red glow of its chemiluminescence, and its paramagnetism as shown by the entrapment or deflection of liquid oxygen by a magnetic field, can be investigated in a regular school setting with hand-held spectrophotometers and digital cameras. In college-level…

This study explores the spontaneous explanatory models children construct, critique, and revise in the context of tasks in which children need to predict, observe, and explain phenomena involving magnetism. It further investigates what conceptual resources students use, and in what ways they use them, to construct explanatory models, and the…

A forgotten experiment by Andre Blondel (1914) proves, as held on the basis of theoretical arguments in a previous paper, that the time variation of the magnetic flux is not the cause of the induced emf; the physical agent is instead the vector potential through the term [equation omitted] (when the induced circuit is at rest). The "good…

A core topic in graduate courses in electrodynamics is the description of radiation from an accelerated charge and the associated radiation reaction. However, contemporary papers still express a diversity of views on the question of whether or not a uniformly accelerating charge radiates suggesting that a complete "physical" understanding of the…

Gravitomagnetism is a low velocity and weak gravitational field approximation of general relativity. It provides a simple approach to post-Newtonian gravitational phenomena via electromagnetic analogy. Intended for advanced undergraduate students, the present paper applies gravitomagnetism to the quantitative study of the geodetic precession and…

A differential magnetic circuit (magnetic bridge) is described. The circuit separates the magnetic field sensor and the sample under study. A Hall probe serves as the sensor. The signal from the sensor can be enhanced by concentrating the magnetic flux. The magnetic bridge works even with dc magnetic fields. The device is used for displaying…

The Kohlrausch ammeter is based on the measurement of the force acting between a solenoid and a soft iron rod inserted inside it. In this article, we present a new version of the instrument for educational purposes: in our device the dynamometer, which is usually employed to measure the force, is replaced by an electronic balance. The operation of…

This study investigates how students enrolled in entry-level geology, most of whom would graduate from college without university-level physics courses, thought about and applied the concept of gravity while solving problems concerning gravity. The repercussions of students' gravity concepts are then considered in the context of non-physics…

This study builds on existing research on school-community partnerships in middle and secondary schools by examining the roles of the students and the impact of social influences on their school-community liaising practices. Documents, observations, and 20 interviews with students, school leaders, teachers, and support staff from one urban,…