Included in this document are twenty papers, each discussing a specific aspect of the overall field of physics education. Problems relating to university level education, secondary level education, and to non-formal education are addressed. This publication is the result of an international conference on physics education held in Edinburgh in…

This research attempted to identify some of the possible factors related to the downward trend in secondary school physics enrollment in the United States. A pilot study was conducted in one high school to develop a "Science Attitude Inventory" that was then administered to 3,738 college preparatory students in 11 secondary schools in the…

This paper describes the present practical use of computers in two large beginning physics courses at the University of California, Irvine; discusses the versatility and desirability of computers in the field of education; and projects the possible future directions of computer-based learning. The advantages and disadvantages of educational…

The problem of this investigation was to compare the effectiveness of the lecture-discussion method of instruction and the multimedia programmed method in promoting achievement in a noncredit, college level physics course. The three instructors taught 180 freshmen who had failed to achieve a minimum grade of 70 percent on a physics placement…

Effective ways to teach the science of acoustics to non-engineering students are presented and discussed. Topics include the physics of sound, sound wave phenomena, and noise control. (MLH)

This study was proposed to determine the occurrence, stability, and character of kinetic structure patterns within college physics lessons. Six lectures were randomly chosen from the schedules of each of six cooperating physics professors and a transcription of audio-tape recordings of each lecture was prepared. The flow of discourse was broken…

This document is an evaluation instrument developed as a part of Harvard Project Physics (HPP). It consists of a 36-item, multiple choice (five options) Physics Achievement Test (PAT) designed to measure general knowledge of physics as well as the material emphasized in HPP. (PEB)

This study investigated the long term effects of the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) method at the University of California, San Diego. Groups of 139 and 137 undergraduate students took three physics courses taught by either the PSI method or the lecture/discussion method. Students from these groups were compared in two subsequent…

This study was undertaken to determine whether hierarchically structured problem situations could be developed and used to identify where individual solutions to problems in elementary physics are interrupted and whether examination of student approaches to problem situations would be useful to physics teaching. A random sample of 26 students…

Methods of instruction involved in an introductory, nontechnical college physics course were studied and compared. Students involved were divided into experimental and control groups respectively, about 50 in each group. The experimental group was instructed by lab method films for six experiments, while the control group was taught traditionally.…

Thirteen experiments and 15 activities are presented in this unit handbook for student use. The experiment sections are concerned with naked-eye observation in astronomy, regularity and time, variations in data, uniform motion, gravitational acceleration, Galileo's experiments, Netson's laws, inertial and gravitational mass, trajectories, and…

As a supplement to Project Physics Unit 2, specially selected articles are presented in this reader for student browsing. Eight excerpts are given under headings: the starry messenger, Newton and the principia, an appreciation of the earth, space the unconquerable, "Is there intelligent life beyond the earth?," the life story of a…

Test items relating to Project Physics Unit 2 are presented in this booklet. Included are 70 multiple-choice and 22 problem-and-essay questions. Concepts of motion in the heavens are examined for planetary motions, heliocentric theory, forces exerted on the planets, Kepler's laws, gravitational force, Galileo's work, satellite orbits, Jupiter's…

Seven experiments and 40 activities are presented in this handbook. The experiments are related to Young's experiment, electric forces, forces on currents, electron-beam tubes, and wave modulation and communication. The activities are primarily concerned with aspects of scattered and polarized light, colors, image formation, lenses, cameras,…

Teaching procedures of Project Physics Unit 4 are presented to help teachers make effective use of learning materials. Unit contents are discussed in connection with teaching aid lists, multi-media schedules, schedule blocks, and resources charts. Brief summaries are made for transparencies, 16mm films, and reader articles. Included is information…