During the spring of 2004, the Statistical Research Center (SRC) of the American Institute of Physics sent a questionnaire to all 797 degree-granting physics and astronomy departments in the US. The purpose of this questionnaire, "The Academic Workforce Survey," was to determine the number of faculty positions in physics and astronomy, the number…

This paper considers what physics can offer students, both as physics majors and in other sciences. The recent increases in the technological character of the workplace appear likely to continue, leading to increasing numbers of individuals who should learn something about science. For many of these people, understanding the character of science,…

Scientific language is not simply for recording facts but it is also an instrument of thought. It has a central role in not only developing a sense of social identity for members of the scientific community and students in the classroom but also in inculcating views on the nature of science and reality itself. Physicists have created a language in…

This book contains questions for secondary school science students that require them to analyze data presented in various forms and apply knowledge and skills developed in novel situations. The content for the questions is derived from a science curriculum developed by a group of Caribbean nations. The material is organized into four sections: (1)…

The purpose of this safety manual is to provide a resource to help manage and minimize potential risks in science classrooms where students spend up to 60% of instructional time engaged in hands-on activities. This manual contains information on standards, legal aspects, and responsibilities for science safety; general laboratory safety for…

In 1994 with the initiation of Congress, the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) created a panel for the evaluation of educational programs in the content areas of mathematics, science, gender equity, educational technology, and safe, disciplined drug-free schools. In 1998, the Expert Panel on Mathematics and Science Education…

This book describes the TYC21 project (Two-Year Colleges in the Twenty-First Century: Breaking Down Barriers), which provided a framework to implement reform in science, engineering, and physics education at two-year colleges via the cooperative efforts of faculty in cross-educational activities. The project sought to increase the quality of…

This document addresses physics programs in community college in 2001-2002. The data was gathered from a list of 1,785 community colleges. A survey was mailed to the various campuses as well as sent via email yielding to a 78% response rate. Physics programs in community colleges were often so small that 43% of departments that offered physics had…

A force is a push or a pull. In All About Forces and Gravity, kids will join our host on a parasailing adventure to investigate how forces impact and shape everything that happens in the world around us. Learn about gravity and the work of Sir Isaac Newton, the English scientists whose scientific principles forever changed the way people looked at…

Forces are all around. Without them, there would be no movement. In fact, Sir Isaac Newton theorized that a force called inertia actually works to keep things exactly as they are at any given moment! Students will learn about Newton's laws and about how forces affect many aspects of life. With clear demonstrations and a unique hands-on activity,…

All kids are familiar with the basic idea of gravity--it's why things fall to the ground. Gravity uses exciting visuals and clear, colorful graphics to take students beyond the basics to explain that gravity is really a force of attraction between objects. They'll discover that all objects--no matter how large or small--have gravitational force,…

Traditionally, many science educators have taught science without addressing ethical questions. However, the inclusion of moral discourse in science teaching may help educators to bring to the fore problematic issues in relation to science, and it may offer an opportunity for students to practice their future engagement in the public discourse…

This document consists of the five consecutive issues of the journal "Imagine..." published during volume year 4. Typical journal articles cover teaching academically talented secondary students in the following focus areas: (1) planning ahead for college; (2) history and archaeology; (3) physics and astronomy; (4) the global society; and (5)…

Science has many explanatory concepts that have been proposed to account for the observable features of things. Such explanatory concepts often have associated with them hidden or unseen "theoretical entities." The electron is a key concept in understanding phenomena described by science. The question arises, however, as to how students…

This report is part of an annual national survey that examines salaries of full-time teaching faculty in 54 selected disciplines. Data for the study as a whole were collected from 305 public and 403 private institutions for the baseline year of 1997-1998 and the trend year of 1999-2000. This portion of the study covers salary data for Physics…