Front Matter

The authors would like to thank Alan Gibson for providing endless support and encouragement. Without Al’s persistence and his work through the AAPT Publications Committee, the book would never have been completed. We also thank Mary Beth Monroe for working with the members of the Publications Committee as they oversaw the project and made many helpful suggestions; the Publications Committee, for continuing to support the several versions of the book; and the High School Committee, for seeing the need for this book and supporting it to completion.

Our sincere thanks to Dr. Richard B. Minnix and Dr. D. Rae Carpenter, Jr., long-time professors of physics at the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va. We thank them for inspiring us to love demonstrations, teaching us how to do demonstrations and use them in our classrooms, and allowing us to reproduce some of the demonstrations from their book, The Dick and Rae Physics Demo Notebook. Hundreds of teachers who were trained by Dick and Rae, and thousands of people who were entertained by the demo shows they gave to children of all ages can attest to the dedication and expertise of these two wonderful teachers.

We want to express our appreciation to Dr. Roy Unruh, Professor Emeritus, University of Northern Iowa, for granting us permission to use and modify materials that were developed via his National Science Foundation (NSF) PRISMS Project. Dr. Unruh reinforced the learning cycle approach to physics instruction, and he has inspired physics instructors worldwide to hands-on-minds-on learning. We are greatly indebted to Dr. Richard Olenick, professor of physics at University of Dallas, Irving, Tex. As principal investigator for the NSF C³P, Comprehensive Conceptual Curriculum for Physics, he granted us permission to use and modify materials within C³P for Teaching Physics for the First Time. We are very fortunate to have had the support of Dr. Unruh and Dr. Olenick in this endeavor.

Many, many thanks to Dr. Robert Williamson, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., and to Willis Garrett, retired physics teacher, Waterford High School, Waterford, Mich., for reading and correcting tremendous amounts of material.

You have received your fall teaching assignment and you are teaching physics. You examine your preparation and realize that you vaguely remember taking one or two physics courses in college years ago, or you perhaps are new to teaching and have an extensive background in a technological area but no classroom or education experience. The stockroom contains a legacy of jumbled equipment, which may be foreign in both name and use. Realizing that you’re going to have some of the school’s best students in your physics class, you are determined to do a good job.

Many physics teachers have had your experience and have survived the same frustration and anxiety that you may be feeling now. This resource book is designed to assist you as you get started. Jan Mader and Mary Winn, two high school teachers who are members of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and who are Physics Teaching Resource Agents (PTRAs), compiled this book. Based on an earlier version edited by Jim Nelson, this book contains specific ideas and information to help you in teaching the first days of a typical high school physics course as well as laboratory experiments, demonstrations, and articles to assist you with an entire year of physics instruction.

Included in Chapter 1 “Teacher Background Information” is valuable content on the learning cycle approach to teaching physics. The AAPT Committee on Physics in High Schools recommends the “phenomenological approach” to physics teaching. Learning cycles tie physical laws and concepts to concrete examples with which students are familiar through everyday experience, laboratory experiments, demonstrations, and videos. The materials in this book are designed to provide an understanding of and uses for this approach. Teachers and students find the use of the learning cycle approach more enjoyable and successful than the read-the-book-and-memorize-the-formula approach to physics instruction. In addition, Chapter 1 gives information and resources that provide helpful techniques for problem solving, alternative assessments, cooperative learning, and laboratory evaluations.

Physics is much more than a body of knowledge. It embodies habits of thought, philosophical attitudes, broad concepts, and basic skills that can be developed slowly all year and can last a lifetime. Teaching Physics for the First Time follows the typical high school physics text. You will find activities and demonstrations that correspond to your text. Physics is a wonderful adventure of the human mind and spirit. Resolve to make the learning process an adventure you share with your students—mishaps, pitfalls, and all—remembering that “physics is phun.”

For ongoing support for the high school physics teacher, it is highly recommended that you join AAPT, which is an exceptional resource to assist you in teaching physics. Included in your annual dues is a subscription to The Physics Teacher, an excellent journal containing articles written by and for high school physics teachers. Also, AAPT serves physics teachers at both the national and regional levels and is composed of 47 Sections throughout the nation, providing teachers support specific to their particular region. For additional information, contact AAPT’s webpage at www.aapt.org. Good luck and welcome to the profession.

—Jan Mader and Mary Winn

January 2008