Reports one student's reaction to an innovative course that presents concepts with a minimal amount of math, removes much scientific jargon, provides a historical perspective, and allows optional student involvement in research. (GS)

This amply illustrated booklet provides a physical description of the sun as well as present and future tasks for solar physics study. The first chapter, an introduction, describes the history of solar study, solar study in space, and the relevance of solar study. The second chapter describes the five heliographic domains including the interior,…

Physics 30 is a 12th-grade science course for students in Alberta, Canada. This document is the final test for the course. Intended for administration during June 1989, it contains 49 multiple-choice questions and 4 written-response questions. Two-and-one-half hours are allowed for completing the test. No answer key is included since scoring is…

The teaching laboratory in physics departments in colleges and universities is a source of great potential strength in undergraduate education. Recent surveys and conferences, have identified inadequate teaching equipment and laboratory development. This report reviews these problems and offers suggestions for an enhanced federal effort to solve…

This document outlines the use of machine-scorable open-ended questions for the evaluation of Physics 30 in Alberta. Contents included are: (1) an introduction to the questions; (2) sample instruction sheet; (3) thirty sample items from the complete course; (4) item information including an answer key, difficulty, and source of each item; (5)…

This case study is an inquiry about feedback in the context of professional development. It tells the story of the feedback process between a teacher and his colleague as they work with a group of adolescent science students. The entire process is reported in a day-to-day description of the interaction between the two men: (1) "Beginning the…

Misconceptions associated with the origins of force and the effectiveness of a bridging strategy for developing correct conceptual models in mechanics are identified for high school physics teachers in this paper. The situation investigated was whether a table exerts an upward force on a book. Student misconceptions related to this phenomenon as…

The major program components of the Physics 30 curriculum are outlined in this document. These key elements include: (1) process skills; (2) psychomotor skills; (3) attitudes; and (4) concepts (subject matter). Each of the components has been assigned an emphasis rating (expressed in a percentage) and a priority rating (designated by a ranking of…

An approach which is designed to help students better understand the utility of models in understanding and doing physics, specifically in a course in light and color, is described in this paper. Explanations are given and illustrations are provided of an analogue model of waves which assist in the creation of an abstract model to deduce Snell's…

In 1983-84, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges developed and field-tested an instrument, the General Academic Assessment (GAA), to assess community college students' knowledge in several liberal arts areas, including the sciences. The GAA was completed by a sample of 8,024 students at four large, urban community college districts. The…

Variation in the salaries of U.S. and Canadian members of the American Institute of Physics are examined, based on a spring 1985 survey. Graphics highlighting some of the patterns are presented, along with detailed tables and brief summary text. The overall response rate was 65%. Tables cover salaries and geographic location for Ph.D.s salaries…

This pamphlet provides American Institute of Physics (AIP) member society officers with information on science public information (PI), particularly those officers of scientific organizations and universities located in smaller communities where it may be hard to get direct assistance from centralized PI offices. Chapter I provides some general…