Integrates math and science through pressure and weight investigations using dancers' feet. Examines pressure by exploring the pressure exerted by a dancer standing on her toes, and investigates weight and measurement. Makes suggestions for assessment. (SAH)

Continues previous research on indirect-collective referencing (ICR) in physics literature, focusing on the level of communications and specific degree of documentedness of a communication. Explains ICR as a special kind of scientific referencing, mentioning references that are not indexed and hence not included in the Science Citation Index. (LRW)

Describes teachers' experiences in teaching a course for which a visit to help students use their physics in a real, working context with accompanying report is a compulsory component. Reports that teachers are enthusiastic about the value of visits as part of their teaching program and makes some suggestions for maximizing their effectiveness.…

Examines how 20th century philosophers of science have influenced current physics educational research. Examines the introduction of a study of these philosophers in several courses, including the calculus-based introductory physics course on optics and modern physics. Concludes that students seem to have made a marked improvement in their…

Reports on a study to discover physics student teachers' objectives for practical work in teaching physics. Participants took a course based on a unique perceptional approach. Results indicate that after attending the course, student teachers found that the practical work which they had done was very useful. (Author/MM)

Reports on a project that explored attitudes towards physics in Scotland, looking at students aged from 10-20 years old. Describes the main factors attracting school pupils into a study of physics together with the pattern of attitude changes that take place with age. The outcomes suggest some ways by which physics curriculum planners can develop…

Presents a system for formally characterizing elements of an introductory science class, measuring class performance based on this characterization, and modeling the value of the class based on the measurements. The main components of this modeling system include educational engineering with a formal set of practices, the use of computational…

Presents an activity on the electrostatic phenomenon known as induction. Reviews the principles illustrated by each of the activities described in this series. (DDR)

Presents a physics lab activity in which students determine if an electrode configuration simulates a section of concentric cylinders or concentric spheres. (WRM)

Presents the physical assumptions and mathematical expressions necessary to derive a fourth-order differential equation that describes the vibration of a particular car antenna. Contends that while students may not be able to derive or use the equation, they should be able to appreciate a guided derivation as an example of how physics is done.…

Discusses introductory polarized light measurements in which a diode laser pointer replaces the more frequently used polarized helium-neon laser. (WRM)

Investigates whether and how peer collaboration facilitated students' problem solving in physics. Finds that students' success was due to how they interacted and whether and how they invoked the relevant physics principles. (Author/CCM)

Presents guidelines for stocking, organizing, and maintaining a storage space for physics education laboratory and demonstration equipment. (WRM)

Presents an accurate answer for a common problem related to Archimedes' principle in order to correct an erroneous one given in popular physics texts. (WRM)

Presents two components of a piece of experimental equipment, the optical training ground and the electrical panel, which can be used to construct and test different electrical circuits and study laws of electricity, experimental problem solving, and basic light phenomena. (YDS)