What do we want our students to get out of the introductory physics course? Often these goals include improved conceptual understanding, improved critical thinking and improved writing and communication. These can be difficult goals to accomplish. One possible way to address these goals is through the use of peer ranking of student writing. In a…

The Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics has been collecting Enrollment and Degree data for over four decades. This departmental census goes out in the fall of each year to all physics and astronomy departments in the US and Puerto Rico. This report is based on data collected in the fall of 2005 from the 764 departments…

The issue of students' engagement in learning physics has generally been analysed in science education research using attitudes towards science, or motivation to learn science. However, the corresponding studies have their limitations. Therefore, the object of this paper is to present and to analyse an alternative to these theoretical approaches;…

Science educators have generally agreed that understanding the atom concept is the basis of science education. However, the numerous research studies have shown that many students at all educational levels have difficulties understanding this concept. This study was developed under three headings. The first was to identify misconceptions that…

Empirical research evaluating the effectiveness of learning objects is noticeably absent. No formal research has been done on the use of learning objects in secondary schools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of learning objects by high school students. The evaluation metric used to assess benefits and quality of learning objects…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 10th International Conference on Mobile Learning 2014, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society, in Madrid, Spain, February 28-March 2, 2014. The Mobile Learning 2014 International Conference seeks to provide a forum for the presentation and…

This guide offers information and procedures necessary to train mechanical engineering technicians. Discussed first are the rationale and objectives of the curriculum. The occupational field of mechanical engineering technology is described. Next, a curriculum model is set forth that contains information on the standard mechanical engineering…

This paper reports on the examination of physics teachers' beliefs and perceptions of laboratory and ICT supported physics instruction. The findings indicate that the teachers in the sample were generally positive about the affordances offered by the physics lab and ICT in physics instruction. However, school culture context, mainly the need to…

1:1 laptop programs, in which every student is provided with a personal computer to use during the school year, permit increased and routine use of powerful, user-friendly computer-based tools. Growing numbers of 1:1 programs are reshaping the roles of teachers and learners in science classrooms. At the Denver School of Science and Technology, a…

Many schools that are preparing to introduce Triple Science GCSEs may find it helpful to collaborate with other schools or other institutions to share expertise and explore how best to deliver the entitlement. This publication looks at some of the issues facing schools in doing this. It focuses on the benefits of collaborative working and the…

This study investigated the effect of Further Mathematics on students' achievement in mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics in Ogun State, Nigeria. Two Local Government Areas (LGAs) were judgmentally selected from the state. Ten secondary schools were also purposively selected from the two LGAs (Five schools from each LGA). At least twenty…

We present results from a comparative study of student understanding for students who attended recitation classes that used different teaching methods. Student volunteers from our introductory calculus-based physics course attended a special recitation class that was taught using one of four different teaching methods. A total of 272 students were…

This paper presents results from a number of trials of a new approach in assessing student conceptions in physics and changes in these conceptions over time. The goal was to explore the potential of Personal Construct Psychology and its central tool, Repertory Grid Technique, to aid in the diagnosis of learner difficulties and eventually the…

In 1982 and 1983 the Measurement and Evaluation Center of the University of Texas at Austin conducted a set of three studies analyzing student performance in a physics course required for engineering students (Physics 303K) in relation to the students' scores on the College board Mathematics Level 1 and Physics tests and to an introductory physics…

Science, particularly the physical sciences, has undergone several paradigm shifts during history. The modernistic and mechanistic world that was viewed through the lens of Newton's laws no longer offers valid answers to present-day questions. This paper examines four themes: the evolution of physics, the evolution of chemistry, the evolution of…