Course Identification

Participants will get acquainted with physics and science education research related to concept learning. Implement in their classes, research based teaching strategies intended to improve students' knowledge and skills in this area and will study the influence of these strategies on their students' learning.

Upon successful completion of the course- students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the research literature about students' learning difficulties in mechanics and electromagnetism.
2. Examine their own students' learning difficulties in mechanics and electromagnetism.
3. Demonstrate new, research based, teaching strategies to deal with their students' difficulties, will implement them in their classes and examine their influence on their students'' learning.

Students' preconceptions in introductory mechanics. (1982). Clement AJP 50(1)

Classroom demonstrations: Learning tools or entertainment? (2004). Crouch, Fagen, Callan, & Mazur AJP, 72(6).

Investigation of student understanding of the concept of velocity in one dimension. (1980) Trowbridge & McDermott. AJP 48(12)

Testing student interpretation of kinematics graphs (1994). Beichner, AJP 62, p 750
Cognition for Interpreting Scientific Concepts: A Study of Acceleration. F. Reif and S. Allen. Cognition and Instruction 9(1), 1992

Rule-governed approaches to physics-Newton?s third law. (1994). Maloney. Phys. Edu. 19

The Force Concept Inventory: a tool for monitoring student learning. ( 2002). Savinainen & Scott, Physics Education 37(1)

Using The Force Concept Inventory : to monitor student learning ( 2002) Savinainen & Scott, Physics Education 37(1)

Meeting the challenge of students? understanding of formulae in high-school physics: a learning tool. Bagno, Berger & Eylon, Physics Education, 43(1), 2008.
Potential difference and current in simple electric circuits: A study of student?s conceptsR. cohen, B. Eylon, and U. Ganiel. AJP. 1983. 51(5), 407-412

Surveying students? conceptual knowledge of electricity and magnetism (2001). Maloney et al. AJP 69(7)

From problem solving to a knowledge structure: An example from the domain of electromagnetism. 1997.Bagno and Eylon AJP 65(8)

Macro-micro relationships: the missing link between electrostatics and electrodynamics in students? reasoning. Bat-Sheva Eylon and Uri Ganiel. INT. J. SCI. EDUC. 1990, 12(1), 79-94
Restructuring the introductory electricity and magnetism course 2006, Chabay and Sherwood. AJP 74(4)