Describes a six-week project, in which students ground their own mirror, built a working telescope, and learned how and why it all works. (PR)

Describes simple and inexpensive labs for introducing students to fiber optic communications. Students investigate light as a carrier wave; look into the difficulties associated with "light" communication; and learn about modulation, optical fibers, and critical angles. (PR)

Describes a teaching strategy, used in a high school physics class, based on a series of "what if" questions. (PR)

Describes an investigation in which students predict and verify the effect that the number of clicks of a toy copter gun has on the height that the copter will attain. Provides follow-up questions for the students. (MDH)

Reports on research designed to discover whether certain conceptual difficulties experienced by present day students in the realm of action at a distance are parallel to the experiences of scientists in previous generations. Contains 60 references. (DDR)

Explains how cartoons are used to promote public understanding of science. Argues that cartoons have proven popular and can be usefully applied in the classroom where improved motivation is one of the benefits. (Author/DDR)

Explores the applicability of selected technology diffusion models to the growth of literature in Indian and World physics (1900-50). Focuses on the applicability and validity of two forms of Lotka's Law and negative binomial distribution model to the cumulative author productivity data on Indian physics. Looks at linkages between…

Outlines and defends claims about the metaphysical nature of the theory of Democritus; the modified theories of Gassendi, Boyle, and Newton; and the chemical atomic theory of John Dalton. (DDR)

Describes an educational software program for the study of and detection methods for the cosmic ray muons passing through several light transparent materials (i.e., water, air, etc.). Simulates muons and Cherenkov photons' paths and interactions and visualizes/animates them on the computer screen using Monte Carlo methods/techniques which employ…

Examines the American high school system, focusing on Advanced Placement (AP) physics, and the role of specialist mathematics, science, and technology high schools. Considers how these ideas could contribute to science curriculum development in Great Britain. (DDR)

Illustrates an approach to research-based teaching strategies and their evaluation. Addresses a teaching sequence on the superposition of electric fields implemented at the college level in an institutional framework subject to severe constraints. Contains 28 references. (DDR)

Describes an approach to teaching the conceptually demanding topic of fluids which focuses on promoting student teachers' continual evolution toward a suggested scientific model. Discusses the approach in detail. Contains 45 references. (DDR)

A study examined the relative effects of course and program on 39 college students' motivation over a semester-long introductory physics course, a discipline chosen because of its emphasis on higher-order learning. Results include information about student learning motives, changes over time, and student emphasis on different learning goals and…

Describes the use of two tiny light bulbs and a cloth grating to construct a semiquantitative experiment for determining the wavelength of light from an interference pattern. (WRM)

Describes how the authors used portions of popular movies to help students review concepts related to electromagnetism. Movies used and concepts covered in the review are listed, and a sample activity is described. (WRM)