Investigated was the nature of teachers' ideas about force and gravity, changes in materials, and energy. Information was obtained by using interview-about-events and interview-about-instances techniques. Examples of teachers' conceptions and ways of thinking are included. (YP)

Provides an inservice workshop experience for underprepared physics or physical science teachers. Describes a demonstration showing conservation of momentum using an air track, gliders, and a model railway train. Includes a brief introduction to demonstrations of Newton's second law, scattering of laser light, and the effect of a telescope on…

Discusses the design of introductory physics course for elementary education majors and nonscience majors. Describes the learning cycle used for constructing hands-on activities. Provides an example of a week's activity on energy. Presents an evaluation of the course based on examinations and the teacher's impressions. (YP)

Contains the abstracts and detailed schedule of the American Association of Physics Teachers summer meeting which was held in Columbus, Ohio, June 23-27, 1986. An author index is included. (ML)

Presents report summaries of the regional convocations of the Physics Teaching Resource Agent Group. Includes notes from the Northeast, North Central, Mid-Atlantic, Northwest, South Central, Southeast, and Western regions. Provides an overview of common problems and concerns and highlights successes and suggestions. (ML)

Written for teachers of "liberal arts physics," this article about logarithms outlines a way to review arithmetic skills in manipulating powers, discusses the attitude of physicists toward numbers, and gives an introduction to estimation. (MK)

Presents suggestions for demonstrating that a teacher cares about individual students in the class in a form that adolescents understand. Concludes that good physics teaching is more than only technical expertise and that teachers who successfully engage all their students have students who are convinced that the teacher cares about each as an…

Reports on the certification qualifications for biology, chemistry, and physics teachers in Ohio. All teacher preparation institutions in the state are at or above the minimum state requirement in credit hours. Data indicate that low percentages (four to five percent) of Ohio teachers lack valid certificates for their science teaching assignments.…

This handbook was prepared to help science teachers, administrators, and other school staff members understand and avoid situations in which accidents might occur in the science laboratory, on field trips, or during outdoor education experiences. Suggestions contained in this publication are generally agreed upon and recommended for consideration…

Presents Ausubel's theory of learning and discusses its implication for teaching physics in the classroom and some of the theory's shortcomings. (HM)

Discussed are two contrasting views about the nature of scientific thinking including Pearson's and Collingwood's. The contexts of questions, methods, problems, experiments, and history are described as contexts of inquiry. The physical thoughts of scientists from pre-Aristotelian times to the present are outlined in relation to contexts of…

Discusses: (1) the place of physics in the 11-16 curriculum; (2) the content of physics courses; (3) physics examinations; (4) Manpower Services Commission (MSC) involvement; and (5) resources and staffing concerns. Indicates that there are difficulties in recruiting/retaining adequate physics teachers and that there are inadequate physics…

Details the personal experiences, accumulated over a 25-year teaching career, of a physics teacher at a private boarding school in New England. (BT)

Proposes that physics teachers play the role of Galileo. Describes historical resources, costumes, materials, makeup, and objectives of the role-play. Provides three references on Galileo. (YP)

Examined are implications for biology teachers of proposed changes in the national biology curriculum in Great Britain. Access to teacher training, and the nature of teacher education courses are stressed. Future prospects for inservice and preservice teachers are discussed. (CW)