Physics – Physics Education
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aas...20918901v&link_type=abstract
2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #189.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society,
Physics
Physics Education
Scientific paper
Physics education research in the past two decades has focused almost entirely on pedagogical methods, but the curriculum content remains unchanged. In a recent editorial in Physics Today (July, 2006, p. 10) the ability of physicists to “imagine new realities” is correlated with what are traditionally considered non-scientific skills, including imagination and creativity, qualities which are usually associated with fine arts. In view of the new developments in physics of the 21st Century, the importance of developing creativity and imagination through education is gaining recognition.
We are investigating the effectiveness of teaching introductory physics from the viewpoint of symmetry, including the foundations of General Relativity and modern cosmology, without the need for the full tensor treatment. We will pilot a new course at UCSB in Winter Quarter, 2007 entitled Symmetry and Aesthetics in Introductory Physics. Our pedagogical model is based on three premises: that the introductory curriculum needs to be modernized; that mathematics should be presented as a language; and that theoretical physics has, at its core, a great deal in common with music, art, and dance. In this talk we will present the contents of our new course, and the means by which we plan to evaluate it in comparison to “regular” introductory courses. It is our hope that this modernized and integrated approach to introductory physics can also serve as a course for future teachers of primary and secondary school.
This work is supported by NASA grant #20070268 and the Planck Explorer Mission.
Cook-Gumperz J.
Lubin Phil M.
Mazur Eric
Raley J. D.
van der Veen Jatila
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