Edwin Herbert Hall (1855–1938), discoverer of the Hall effect, was one of the first winners of the AAPT Oersted Medal for his contributions to the teaching of physics. While Hall's role in establishing laboratory work in high schools is widely acknowledged, his position as chair of the physics section of the Committee on College Entrance Requirements was contentious and his involvement in launching College Board Physics, what we call the “other Hall effect,” has largely been overlooked.1 This article details Hall's role in the development of College Board Physics.
REFERENCES
1.
For Hall's contributions to physics education, see David L. Webster, “Edwin Herbert Hall,” Am. J. Phys. 6, 14–16 (Feb. 1938); Sidney Rosen, “A history of the physics laboratory in the American public high school (to 1910),” Am.J. Phys. 22, 194–204 (April 1954); and Albert E. Moyer, “Edwin Hall and the emergence of the laboratory in teaching physics,” Phys. Teach. 14, 96–103 (Feb. 1976). A copy of of the College Board exam is available at TPT Online, http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.4818378.
2.
See
David A.
Ward
, The History of Physics Instruction in the Secondary Schools of the United States
, MA thesis, University of Chicago, 1911
(unpublished), and Sidney Rosen, A History of Science Teaching in the American Public High Schools 1820–1920, PhD thesis, Harvard University, 1955 (unpublished).3.
Frank W.
Clarke
, A Report on the Teaching of Chemistry and Physics in the United States (Board of Education, Washington, D.C., 1880); Charles K. Wead, Aims and Methods of the Teaching of Physics (Board of Education, Washington, D.C., 1884); National Education Association (NEA), Report of the Committee on Secondary School Studies (Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1893); National Education Association, Report of the Committee on College Entrance Requirements, in Journal of Proceedings of the 38th Annual Meeting of the National Education Association
(Chicago
, 1899
).4.
From 1840 to 1900 the use of “natural philosophy” in books published in America declined while the use of the term “physics” increased. The use of the two terms crossed over in 1869.
5.
J. Dorman
Steele
, Fourteen Weeks in Natural Philosophy
(A.S. Barnes & Co.
, New York
, 1872
).6.
Herbert
Spencer
, “What Knowledge Is of Most Worth?”
Westminster Rev.
72
, 1
–41
(July 1859
).7.
The Harvard University Catalogue
, 1876
–1877
.8.
For firsthand reports, see
Josiah P.
Cooke
, Report of the Director of the Chemical Laboratory at Harvard College
(Board of Overseers
, Cambridge, MA
, 1890
), and Edwin H. Hall, “Physics teaching at Harvard fifty years ago,” Am. J. Phys. 6,17–20 (Feb. 1938).9.
Edwin H.
Hall
, Descriptive List of Experiments in Elementary Physics for Admission to College in 1887
(Harvard College
, Cambridge, MA
, 1886
).10.
For a contrary viewpoint on Hall, see
Steven C.
Turner
“Changing images of the inclined plane: A case study of a revolution in American science education,”
Sci. Educ.
21
, 245
–270
(2012
).11.
See Ref. 1,
A. E.
Moyer
, p. 98
.12.
Edwin H.
Hall
and Joseph Y.
Bergen
, A Textbook of Physics: Largely Experimental
(Longman
, Green & Co., New York
, 1891
) was written to prepare teachers for the Harvard lab requirement. Bergen taught physics at English High School in Boston and instructed in the Harvard summer school of physics.13.
See
Keith
Sheppard
and Dennis
Robbins
, “Lessons from the Committee of Ten,”
Phys. Teach.
40
, 426
–431
(Oct. 2002
).14.
Ref. 3, Report of the Committee on College Entrance Requirements, p. 627. See Hall's description in
Alexander
Smith
and Edwin H.
Hall
, The Teaching of Chemistry and Physics in the Secondary School
(Longman
, New York
, 1902
), pp. 327
–333
.15.
See
G. Stanley
Hall
, “How far is the present high-school and early college training adapted to the nature and needs of adolescents?”
SchoolRev.
9
, 649
–652
(Dec. 1901
), and Woodhull, The Teaching of Science (The Macmillan Company, New York, 1918), p. 15.16.
Woodhull completed what was probably the first ever PhD in physics education in 1899.
John F.
Woodhull
, The Teaching Of Physics In Secondary Schools
, PhD thesis, Columbia University, 1899
(unpublished).17.
C. R.
Mann
, C. H.
Smith
, and C. F.
Adams
, “A new movement among physics teachers,”
School Rev.
14
, 212
–216
(1906
).© 2013 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2013
American Association of Physics Teachers
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