Five Easy Lessons Strategies for Successful Physics Teaching

by Knight, Randall D.

• ISBN13: 9780805387025
• ISBN10: 0805387021
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-09-19
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

Five Easy Lessions: Strategies for Successful Physics Teaching "An invaluable resource for any instructor interested in creating a physics class where students are actively engaged in learning and applying physics. The book is filled with specific suggestions on teaching individual topics in addition to an excellent summary and overview of teaching strategies based on physics education research." Michael Read,College of the Siskiyous, CA "One of the most complete and helpful books on teaching introductory physics that I have ever come across. Not only does it provide thoughtful suggestions about how to improve your course topic by topic, it provides a marvelous primer on educational research into how students learn (or fail to learn) physics." Dale Pleticha,Gordon College, MA "I have used the great ideas from this book over the last few years. It contains excellent summaries of research into students' learning and offers lots of helpful and specific advice on how to bring the ideas that have emerged from this research into your classroom. It is a valuable resource for improving students' learning." Larry Lonney,Shawnee State University, Portsmouth, OHFive Easy Lessons: Strategies for Successful Physics Teachingis a paperback book packed with creative tips on how instructors can enhance and improve their physics class instruction techniques. It's an invaluable companion to Randy Knight'sPhysics for Scientists and Engineers or for any physics course.Randy Knighthas taught introductory physics for more than 20 years at Ohio State University and California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, where he is currently Professor of Physics. Professor Knight received a bachelor's degree in physics from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics before joining the faculty at Ohio State University. It was at Ohio State, under the mentorship of Professor Leonard Jossem, that he began to learn about the research in physics education that, many years later, led to this book. Professor Knight's research interests are in the field of lasers and spectroscopy. He recently led the effort to establish an environmental studies program at Cal Poly, where, in addition to teaching introductory physics, he also teaches classes on energy, oceanography, and environmental issues.

Author Biography

Randy Knight has taught introductory physics for more than 20 years at Ohio State University and California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, where he is currently Professor of Physics. Professor Knight received a bachelor's degree in physics from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics before joining the faculty at Ohio State University. It was at Ohio State, under the mentorship of Professor Leonard Jossem, that he began to learn about the research in physics education that, many years later, led to this book. Professor Knight's research interests are in the field of lasers and spectroscopy. He recently led the effort to establish an environmental studies program at Cal Poly, where, in addition to teaching introductory physics, he also teaches classes on energy, oceanography, and environmental issues.

Table of Contents

Preface
Teaching Introductory Physics	p. 1
Introduction	p. 2
Teaching Introductory Physics	p. 10
Physics Education Research	p. 23
An Active-Learning Classroom	p. 46
Topics in Introductory Physics	p. 63
Vectors and Mathematics	p. 66
Motion and Kinematics	p. 71
Force and Newton's Laws	p. 95
Impulse and Momentum	p. 122
Energy	p. 129
Oscillations	p. 149
Waves	p. 156
Thermal Physics	p. 167
Thermodynamics	p. 180
Electrostatics	p. 191
Electric Fields	p. 211
The Electric Potential	p. 221
Current and Conductivity	p. 236
DC Circuits	p. 245
Magnetic Fields	p. 255
Electromagnetic Induction	p. 268
Geometrical Optics	p. 275
Physical Optics	p. 288
Quantum Physics	p. 303
References and Resources	p. 326
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.