K-12 teachers learn important scientific concepts and reasoning skills. It features the laboratory-based curriculum, Physics by Inquiry , developed by Lillian C. McDermott and the Physics Education Group. A Video Resource is a 90-minute videotape, with natural break points for ease of use, that can be used by faculty and others in the preparation of teachers. The tape presents an in-depth look at the summer institute and provides an overview of the approach and research. The video features teacher participants in the summer institute as they study simple physical systems, develop basic physical concepts, relate scientific concepts to real-world phenomena, and discuss their reasoning with peers and instructors.
Viewers can observe the process of guided inquiry as it unfolds.
The tape highlights some of the necessary components of this kind of teacher preparation program, with particular attention paid to common difficulties identified through research on the learning and teaching of physics. A Video Resource is available for distribution. The video features teachers engaged in discussions with the instructors and with one another as they develop important scientific concepts and reasoning skills. Through direct experience, they begin to recognize and resolve some of the difficulties that are commonly encountered in the study of science. The video illustrates this process in the context of four topics, listed below, that are commonly taught in the primary and secondary grades.