Lillian C. McDermott
61
History
3/15/10
detailed guidelines that change often.
Trying to adhere to them has been a time-
consuming challenge.
(Guidelines in other parts of NSF do not seem to us to be as rigid.)
Certain requirements, such as partnerships with school districts, may work well for
a brief time but may last only as long as the personnel who submitted the proposal remain
in their positions.
Years ago, during an NSF project, we conducted workshops to prepare
teachers in a local school district to implement the
Elementary Science Study (ESS)
curriculum.
157
All progress vanished, however, when a new District Superintendent
eliminated the position of Science Supervisor, thus making it difficult to coordinate
teacher professional development.
In contrast, our group has been a stable resource that
local science teachers have been able to draw upon for many years.
There has been also been pressure in some K-12 programs for proposals to include
faculty in colleges of education and individuals in school districts or other organizations.
Sometimes such collaborations strengthen a project but making them a requirement does
not take into account varying conditions.
Administrative complications are often
multiplied.
Moreover, a productive collaboration is seldom the result of externally
imposed conditions.
It is initiated by individuals with common interests and objectives
who recognize the benefits of working together.
We have worked closely and effectively
with faculty at our pilot sites without any formal arrangements.
XII.
Reflections on History
In recalling my early days in the UW Physics Department, I remember the strong
influence that Arnold Arons had on my views about what constitutes good teaching. His
perceptive questions often led to dialogues with individual students that were, in effect,
informal “case studies.”
A gifted teacher, he intuitively recognized the implications for
the instruction of all students.
158
Arnold did not conduct research in physics education,
but he appreciated its importance and encouraged my efforts.
More often than not, the
results from systematic research supported his instructional approach.
157
See Refs. 3 and 10.
158
Arnold Arons wrote extensively about the teaching of physics.
His books include: A.B. Arons,
Development of Concepts of Physics
(Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1965);
A Guide to Introductory
Physics Teaching
(John Wiley & Sons, NY, 1990);
Teaching Introductory Physics (
John Wiley & Sons,
NY, 1997).
Arnold’s many papers were published in
AJP
and other journals.
Lillian C. McDermott
62
History
3/15/10
Arnold’s attempts to share his insights on student learning with our colleagues
were often not successful.
I soon realized that to convince physics instructors about the
low level of their students’ understanding, it is not sufficient to draw on interactions with a
few students or on personal teaching experience.
If students do not understand, a common
faculty reaction is that they are not smart enough or that the lectures are not clear.
Anecdotal examples are inadequate for making a strong case.
If, instead, one can
document with reproducible evidence that certain conceptual and reasoning difficulties are
common among students and that specific instructional strategies are often effective in
addressing these difficulties, the likelihood of positive impact on instruction increases.
A.
Growth of Discipline-based Research in Physics Education
In our group’s courses for K-12 teachers and underprepared students, we had many
opportunities to interact with individuals and small groups as they worked through
Physics
by Inquiry
.
In a
Guest Editorial
in
AJP,
I presented some insights from history, teaching
experience, and research that support the need for intensive preparation of teachers in both
the content and process of physics.
159
During our large-scale investigations in the
introductory course, we identified many of the same conceptual and reasoning difficulties
that we had found among teachers and underprepared students.
Similar instructional
strategies worked well with all of these populations.
These findings suggested that
systematic research on student learning could provide a sound basis for cumulative
improvement in instruction.
The results have been stable, reproducible, and generalizable
and thus a resource for all instructors, regardless of whether they use our curriculum.
We take a constructivist view of how scientific knowledge is acquired,
i.e.,
individuals must actively engage in the process of constructing concepts in order to be
able to apply them.
Meaningful learning, which connotes the ability to interpret and use
knowledge in situations not identical to those in which it was initially acquired, requires
deep mental engagement.
In a typical introductory course, little attention is paid to the
development of scientific reasoning skills.
This is the last physics course most students
take, but even majors would benefit from practice in inductive and deductive thinking.
159
L.C. McDermott, “Editorial: Preparing K-12 teachers in physics:
Insights from history, experience, an
research,
Am. J. Phys.,
74
(9), 758 (2006).
See Ref. 59 for supporting evidence.
