Physics education

An inventory

Ben Wilbrink

warning I have not yet sorted out these publications along the lines of science versus pseudo-science. I reckon constructivist research to belong to pseudo-science, unless demonstrated otherwise.
I must confess that it dawned upon me only about 2010 that large sections of research literature on education in fact are not scientific at all, but ideology driven, under an academic cloak. Shame on me. The reason of my bias must have been that the main field of my own work has been university education. University education has not yet been affected that much by constructivist ideology, exceptions being schools of education. In the Netherlands, at least. Psychology, internationally, seems yo have been infected on a rather large scale with constructivist ideologies, the exceptions being hard science psychology groups (cognitive sciences).

The inventory will contain studies, web pages etc. that in one way or another might touch on the topic of designing physics test items.

september 2007   Physics is a broad field. In order to reach some efficiency in the study of physics and the design of physics test items, it would be nice to concentrate the efforts on one or two physics topics only. The one subject that seems most suitable to the VIP treatment is that of free fall. The history of the subject, that is until Newton's laws, is available in Dijksterhuis (1924) Fall and throw. A contribution to the history of mechanics from Aristotle until Newton [original in Dutch: Val en worp]. The main results also in Dijksterhuis (1950), available in English translation (1961). An important addition to the work of Dijksterhuis concerning Galileo is Stillman Drake (1990), among others on the times-squared law of distances in fall.
The work of Galileo is indeed a turning point in the science of physics, from natural philosophy to experimental science. From the attempt to find causes of natural phenomena, to the attempt to describe them on the basis of experimental observation. From the use of philosophical language to that of mathematics to do the theorizing.
Free fall is a rather simple concept in modern physics, it should be possible for readers not knowing much or anything of physics, to follow the main examples and arguments. Yet many important epistemological problems in science—and therefore also in education—may be illustrated using free fall. The most important problem being the relation between physics and mathematics. Free fall has something to do with gravitation, yet calling gravitation the cause of free fall is name-calling only. Understanding free fall more or less stops at the description of the phenomena, the most succint description being an appropriate mathematical formula. The danger, then, is to suppose that being able to reproduce this formula or apply it in toy-situations is proof of 'understanding' free fall. Have I made myself clear? I'm afraid not. But then the above is my program of action only.

direct hits

Jonathan Sandoval (1995). Teaching in subject matter areas: Science. Annual Review of Psychology, 46, 355-374. abstract

Derek A. Muller, Manjula D. Sharma, John Eklund & Peter Reimann (2007). Conceptual change through vicarious learning in an authentic physics setting. Instructional Science, 35, 519-533. abstract

Christina Stathopoulou and Stella Vosniadou (2007). Conceptual Change in Physics and Physics Related Epistemological Beliefs: A Relationship Under Scrutiny. In S., Vosniadou, A., Baltas and X., Vamvakoussi, (Eds), Re-Framing the Conceptual Change Approach in Learning and Instruction. Advances in Learning and Instruction Series, Elsevier Press. pp.145-165. pdf of concept

Christina Stathopoulou and Stella Vosniadou (2006). Exploring the relationship between physics-related epistemological beliefs and physics understanding. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32, 255-281.

• For pdf visit Vosniadou's site
• from the abstract Overall, the results suggest that sophisticated physics-related epistemological beliefs are necessary but not sufficient for physics understanding and point to the importance of taking them into consideration in physics education.

Carol L Smith, Deborah Maclin, Carolyn Houghton and M Gertrude Hennessey (2000). Sixth-Grade Students' Epistemologies of Science: the Impact of School Science Experiences on Epistemological Development. Cognition and Instruction, 18, 349-422.questia

• from the abstract Previous studies have documented that middle school students have a limited "knowledge unproblematic" epistemology of science (i.e., scientists steadily amass more facts about the world by doing experiments) with no appreciation of the role played by scientists' ideas in guiding inquiry. (...) We conclude that elementary schoolchildren are more ready to formulate sophisticated epistemological views than many have thought. We discuss how these findings relate to the broader epistemological literature, and the features of the constructivist classroom environment that may have supported the development of these sophisticated understandings.

Narumon Emarat and Ian Johnston (2002). The effectiveness of the Thai traditional teaching in the introductory physics course: A comparison with the US and Australian approaches. CAL-laborate, 9, October. html

• from the conclusions The findings of this project therefore support the widely held view that traditional teaching is relatively ineffective in helping students to learn physics concepts and in changing misconceptions.

Hartmut von Hentig (2003). Wissenschaft. Eine Kritik. Hanser. isbn 3446203761

• Er is met het bovenstaande weinig echt nieuws onder de zon, zie Hartmut von Hentig's (1969): Verstehen, wie Wissenschaft im Prinzip verfährt, in het (2003) boek p. 197-212. Hij bespreekt daar het didaktische werk van de natuurkundige Martin Wagenschein, dat ik beslist te pakken moet zien te krijgen. Er is een website aan hem gewijd: http://www.martin-wagenschein.de/
• Wiki.de: "Wagenschein entdeckte das Phänomen, wonach bei den meisten Menschen auch in hoch gebildeten Kreisen und selbst unter der ganz überwiegenden Zahl der Physik-Studenten für das Lehramt keine auch nur annähernd zutreffende Vorstellung über Ursache bzw. Zustandekommen der Mondphasen besteht (in der Regel werden die Mondphasen unzutreffenderweise mit dem Erdschatten in Verbindung gebracht); sog. 'Wagenschein-Effekt'. Im erweiterten Sinne liegt ein Wagenschein-Effekt immer dann vor, wenn Kenntnisse und Wissen in Kreisen, in denen dieses selbstverständlich erscheint, nicht vorhanden ist; insbesondere, wenn selbstverständlich erscheinendes Fachwissen unter den betreffenden Fachleuten weitgehend unbekannt ist."

Ronald K. Thornton and David R. Sokoloff (1998). Assessing Student Learning of Newton's Laws: The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation and the Evaluation of Active Learning Laboratory and Lecture Curricula. American Journal of Physics, 66, 338-352.

• I have not (yet) seen this one. Does anyone have a pdf for me?
• abstract of this or related article? html
• more articles from the Center for Science and Math Teaching here

Refik Dilber, Ibrahim Karaman and Bahattin Duzgun (2009) 'High school students' understanding of projectile motion concepts', Educational Research and Evaluation, 15: 3, 203 - 222

David Hammer & Andrew Elby (2003). Tapping epistemological resources for learning physics. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 12, 53-90. abstract

Dedre Gentner and Albert Stevens (1983). Mental Models. Erlbaum questia

• II. Phenomenology and the Evolution of Intuition. Andrea A. diSessa
• III. Surrogates and Mappings: Two Kinds of Conceptual Models for Interactive Devices. Richard M. Young
• IV. Kenneth D. Forbus (1983). Qualitative Reasoning About Space and Motion. In Dedre Gentner and Albert L. Stevens (Eds) (1983). Mental models. Erlbaum. pdf
  • The beginnings of a theory about common sense physical reasoning.

  
  

• V. The Role of Problem Representation in Physics. Jill H. Larkin
• VI. Flowing Waters or Teeming Crowds: Mental Models of Electricity. Dedre Gentner and Donald R. Gentner
• VII. Human Reasoning About a Simple Physical System. Michael D. Williams, James, D. Hollan, and Albert L. Stevens
• VIII. Assumptions and Ambiguities in Mechanistic Mental Models. Johan de Kleer and John Seely Brown
• IX. Understanding Micronesian Navigation. Edwin Hutchins
• X. Conceptual Entities. James G. Greeno
• XI. Using the Method of Fibres in Mecho to Calculate Radii of Gyration. Alan Bundy and Lawrence Byrd
• XII. When Heat and Temperature Were One. Marianne Wiser and Susan Carey
• XIII. Naive Theories of Motion. Michael McCloskey pdf

• XIV. A Conceptual Model Discussed by Galileo and Used Intuitively by Physics Students. John Clement (Appendix 1: Example of a Transcript from the Rocket Problem)

Bruce Sherin (2006). Common sense clarified: The role of intuitive knowledge in physics problem solving. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 43, 535-55. pdf

Michael McCloskey (1983). Intuitive physics. Scientific American, april, 114-122.

Gary L. Gray, Don Evans, Phillip Cornwell, Francesco Costanzo, Brian Self (2003). Toward a Nationwide Dynamics Concept Inventory Assessment Test. Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition. pdf

Robyn Arianrhod (2005). Einstein's heroes. Imagining the world through the language of mathematics. Oxford University Press.

• This is an unexpected 'direct hit.' Somewhat out of character, this is a popular book. Never mind, it is delightful. What makes it a direct hit is its exposition of the interplay between mathematics and physics, using the lives and work of Newton, Farady and Maxwell (and some others, such as Galilei and Einstein).
• I have made my comments on the book in matheducation.htm#Arianrhod.
• There is one specific point left to mention here, however. It is the role of thinking in terms of analogues in physics. A dangerous habit, nobody will deny that. It is a theme that is recurrent in the book, nevertheless is not mentioned in its index. To give you an idea: it is possible to use analogues in explaining Newton's laws of motion (note: explaining the laws, not motion itself, which can be described only, not explained). It is no longer possible to use analogues in explaining Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism: there is the mathematics only. What does the teacher of physics do to get her pupils to understand something of electromagnetism? Robyn Arianrhod has not written on the didactics of physics—not here, at least—but she suggests the answer in her subtitle: no more pictures of billiard balls or whatever, all imagining has to stop with the mathematics itself. Nature is at it is. To speak with Kurt Vonnegut: So it goes. Sounds like Zen Buddhism. And of course there is an enormous barrier for human beings trying to understand what is happening way out or reach of our senses, and especially also way out of reach of our mental capabilities to understand.
• So there is a lot of room for teachers to teach misconceptions. Researchers will be challenged to tackle the resulting problems almost all pupils have in 'understanding' physics. Why is it that electric current after all is no 'current' at all, and what riscs are there for pupils never to come to understand the implications of this state of affairs? See the work of Slotta and Chi (2006) for one kind of answer.

David Hestenes, Malcolm Wells, and Gregg Swackhamer (1992). Force Concept Inventory. The Physics Teacher, Vol. 30, 141-158. pdf<

This article describes the Inventory, but it does not show specific items from the instrument. This is important stuff. Especially also the closing section V Overcoming Misconceptions, rea it! Soem quotes from earlier sections:

• The first impression of most physics professors is that the Inventory questions are too trivial to be informative. This turns to shock when they discover how poorly their own students perform on it. It is true that the Inventory questions avoid the real complexities of mechanics. But such "trivial questions" are more revealing when they are missed. The Inventory questions are only probes for Newtonian concepts, so one should not give great weight to individual items. There are occasional false positives in the responses of non-Newtonians and false negatives from Newtonians. But only a true Newtonian generates a consistent pattern of Newtonian choices with an occasional lapse at most. Thus, the Inventory as a whole is a very good detector of Newtonian thinking.

  As a rule, "errors" on the Inventory are more informative than "correct" choices. The commonsense alternatives to the Newtonian concepts are commonly labeled as misconceptions. They should nevertheless be accorded the same respect we give to scientific concepts. The most significant commonsense beliefs have been firmly held by some of the greatest intellectuals in the past,2 including Galileo and even Newton.3 Accordingly, these commonsense beliefs should be regarded as reasonable hypotheses grounded in everyday experience. They happen to be false, but that is not always so easy to prove, especially if they are dismissed without a hearing as ill conventional instruction. The Inventory, therefore, is not a test of intelligence; it is a probe of belief systems.

  p. 2

• The Force Concept Inventory is not "just another physics test." It assesses a student's overall grasp of the Newtonian concept of force. Without this concept the rest of mechanics is useless, if not meaningless. It should therefore be disturbing rather than comforting that students with only moderate scores on the Inventory may score well on conventional tests and get good grades in physics. Of course, experienced teachers have learned to avoid problems that are "too hard" for the students. That includes most qualitative problems that seem so simple until student answers are examined. Students do better on quantitative problems where the answer is a number obtained by substitution into an appropriate equation, and even on harder problems that require some algebraic manipulation. So should we not be satisfied that they have developed quantitative skills? After all, physics is a quantitative science! Or do we have here a selection process that directs teachers to problems that students can answer with a minimum of understanding?

  p. 13

• Specifically, it has been established that (1) commonsense beliefs about motion and force are incompatible with Newtonian concepts in most respects, conventional physics instruction produces little change in these beliefs, and this result is independent of the instructor and the mode of instruction. The implications could not be more serious. Since the students have evidently not learned the most basic Newtonian concepts, they must have failed to comprehend most of the material in the course. They have been forced to cope with the subject by rote memorization of isolated fragments and by carrying out meaningless tasks. No wonder so many are repelled!
• The Force Concept Inventory is available as pdf file, but a password is needed to open the file, see http://modeling.asu.edu/R&E/Research.html for the email address for the request.
• See also: Findings of the Modeling Workshop Project (1994-00) pdf This is one section in the Final Report submitted to the National Science Foundation in fall 2000 for the Teacher Enhancement grant entitled Modeling Instruction in High School Physics. David Hestenes, Professor of Physics at Arizona State University, was Principal Investigator.
• See also the Modeling Workshop site http://modeling.asu.edu/R&E/Research.html for other research reports.
• N. Sanjay Rebello, Dean A. Zollman, Alicia R. Allbaugh, Paula V. Engelhardt, Kara E. Gray, Zdeslav Hrepic, and Salomon F. Itza-Ortiz (2005). Dynamic Transfer: A Perspective from Physics Education Research. In J. P. Mestre (2005). Transfer of learning: from a modern multidisciplinary perspective p. 217-250. San Francisco: Sage. an earlier paper pdf
  • I mention this chapter here because it shows some items from the Force Concept Inventory, an instrument to assess mental models about forces.

Mark A. Bedau and Paul Humphreys (Eds) (2008). Emergence. Contemporary readings in philosophy and science. MIT Press.

• Dedicated website http://mitpress.mit.edu/emergence
• Introductory chapter: pdf

Paul E. Meehl and Wilfrid Sellars (1956). The concept of emergence. In Herbert Feigl and Michael Scriven: Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Volume I: The Foundations of Science and the Concepts of Psychology and Psychoanalysis (pp. 239-252). University of Minnesota Press. html

James D. Slotta and Michelene T. H. Chi (2006). Helping students understand challenging topics in science through ontology training. Cognition and Instruction, 24, 261-289. pdf

• Michelene T. H. Chi (2005). Common sense conceptions of emergent processes: Why some misconceptions are robust. Journal of the Learning Science, 14, 161-199. pdf

Samuel B. Day & Robert L. Goldstone (2011). Analogical transfer from a simulated physical system. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 37, 551-567. abstract

Michael J. Jacobson and Robert B. Kozma (Eds) (2002). Innovations in Science and Mathematics Education. Advanced Designs for Technologies of Learning. Erlbaum. questia, ook:books.google

• James D. Slotta and Marcia C. Linn: The knowledge integration environment: Helping students use the internet effectively
  • "In this paper, we explore how students learn to ask critical questions that reveal the strengths and weaknesses of incomplete or conjectural information. We have developed the Knowledge Integration Environment (KIE) to engage students in sustained investigation, providing them with cognitive and procedural supports as they make use of the Internet in their science classroom. "
• Chris Dede, Marilyn Salzman, R. Bowen Loftin, and Katy Ash: The Design of Immersive Virtual Learning Environments: Fostering Deep Understandings of Complex Scientific Knowledge
  • " The simple fact is that the world of sensory experience is not Newtonian. More than a little research shows that children and adults learn many things about the physical world through their experience, but do not learn about Newton's Laws. In a deep sense, physics is not about the world as we naturally perceive it, but about abstractions that have been put together with effort over hundreds of years, which happen to be very powerful when we learn to interpret the world in their terms ... The trick is not to turn experience into abstractions with a computer, but to turn abstractions like laws of physics into experiences. Science is reorganized intuition. ( diSessa, 1986, p. 208)"
• Robert B. Kozma: The Use of Multiple Representations and the Social Construction of Understanding in Chemistry, 11-46

N. David Mermin (2005). It’s about time: Understanding Einstein’s relativity.. Oxford University Press.

• Didactics of explaining (special) relaivity. Fascinating. After a century of explaining (special) relativity to students, Mermin presents interesting improvements of the more or less standard way of explaining relativity.

Slotta, J.D., & Chi, M.T.H. (1996). Understanding constraint-based processes: A precursor to conceptual change in physics. In G.W. Cottrell (Ed.), Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 306-311). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. questia

Slotta, J. D., Chi, M.T.H., Joram, E. (1995). Assessing students' misclassifications of physics concepts: An ontological basis for conceptual change. Cognition and Instruction, 13, 373-400. pdf

Chi, M.T.H. (1993). Barriers to conceptual change in learning science concepts: A theoretical conjecture. In W. Kintsch (Ed.), Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Cognitive Science Society Conference (pp. 312-317). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. questia

Michelene T. H. Chi and James D. Slotta (1993). The Ontological Coherence of Intuitive Physics. Cognition and Instruction, 10, 249-261. questia

• "we believe that there is more structure in intuitive knowledge than diSessa has suggested and propose a theory of ontological categories as an alternative to his theory of knowledge fragments.

Andrea A. Disessa (1993). Toward an Epistemology of Physics. Cognition and Instruction, 10, 105-225. questia

• " The aim of this work is twofold: to understand the intuitive sense of mechanism that accounts for commonsense predictions, expectations, explanations, and judgments of plausibility concerning mechanically causal situations and to understand how those intuitive ideas contribute to and develop into school physics. "

Andrea A. Disessa (1982). Unlearning Aristotelian physics: A study of knowledge-based learning. Cognitive Science, 6, 37-76. pdf

• Wow. In a dynaturtle world you will find all essential ingredients of the naive physics problem. For the designer of achievement test items: this surely is one fantastic way to design physics items that are true to school life as well as to physics. A game as the testing format, I admire that. Would help tremendously in getting pupils to do their homework! b.w.

Lei Bao and Edward F. Redish (2006). Model analysis: Representing and assessing the dynamics of student learning. Physics Education Research, 2. pdf

• The article adresss the issue of multiple choice items being scores false or true only, in this way missing information that diagnostically might be important. The context is physics education, especially the use of tests like the Force Concept Inventory and the Force-Motion Concept Evaluation.

Mark P. Silverman (1998). Waves and grains. Reflections on light and learning. Princeton University Press.

• "In a more personal section about physics and learning, Silverman argues for self-directed learning and discusses the central importance of stimulating scientific curiosity in students."
• The foregoing is an understatement. Silverman implemented his own courses in this way, over a number of years, und published his experiences. In ch. 15 'A heretical experiment in teaching physics' he details this 'self-directed learning.' I have yet to read it, but I suspect some resemblances to the Koenigsberg laboratory in the early nineteenth century as described by Olesko. No tests. Portfolios, of course, there should be at least some evidence on achievements. Loads of enthousiasm of his students.

Audrey B. Champagne, Richard F. Gunstone and Leopold E. Klopfer (1985). Instructional consequences of students' knowledge about physical phenomena. In Leo H. T. West and A. Leon Lines: Cognitive structure and conceptual change (pp. 61-90). Academic Press.

• Susan R. Singer, Margaret L. Hilton, and Heidi A. Schweingruber (Eds) (2005). America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science.
  • free summary as http://darwin.nap.edu/execsumm_pdf/11311.pdf. The book itself may be read on NAP http://darwin.nap.edu/books/0309096715/html/75.html. The book is not about mental models, but should give a fair picture of the kinds of physics teaching nowadays in the US.
• Senta A. Raizen, Joan B. Baron, Audrey B. Champagne, and others. Assessment in Science Education: The Middle Years. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Improving Science Education, 1990. 129 pp.

Ibrahim Abou Halloun and David Hestenes (1985a). The initial knowledge state of college physics students. Am. J. Phys. 53 (11) 1043-1048. pdf. And
Ibrahim Abou Halloun and David Hestenes (1985b). Common sense concepts about motion. Am. J. Phys. 53 (11), 1056-1065. pdf.

• abstract An instrument to assess the basic knowledge state of students taking a first course in physics has been designed and validated. Measurements with the instrument show that the student's initial qualitative, common sense beliefs about motion and causes has a large effect on performance in physics, but conventional instruction induces only a small change in those beliefs.
• David Hestenes, Malcolm Wells, and Gregg Swackhamer (1992). Force Concept Inventory. The Physics Teacher, 30, 141-158. pdf
• David Hestenes and Ibrahim Halloun (1992). Interpreting the Force Concept Inventory. The Physics Teacher, 30, 502-506. pdf
• Richard Hake (1998). Interactive-engagement vs. traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses American Journal of Physics, 66,64-74 pdf
• Saul (1998). Beyond problem solving: Evaluating introductory physics courses through the hidden curriculum. Dissertation. Chapter 4: Chapter 4. Multiple Choice Concept Tests: The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) pdf
• Antti Savinainen1 and Philip Scott (2002). The Force Concept Inventory: a tool for monitoring student learning. Physics Education, 37, 45-52. http://kotisivu.mtv3.fi/physics/FCI_tool.pdf
• Antti Savinainen1 and Philip Scott (2002). Using the Force Concept Inventory to monitor student learning and to plan teaching. Physics Education, 37, 53-58. http://kotisivu.mtv3.fi/physics/FCI_monitoring.pdf

Jonathan Tuminaro (2004). A cognitive framework for analyzing and describing introductory students' use and understanding of mathematics in physics. Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park. pdf

David Hammer (2000). Student resources for learning introductory physics. American Journal of Physics, Physics Education Research Supplement, 68, 52-59. html

• abstract With good reason, physics education research has focussed almost exclusively on student difficulties and misconceptions. This work has been productive for curriculum development as well as in motivating the physics teaching community to examine and reconsider methods and assumptions, but it is limited in what it can tell us about student knowledge and learning. This article reviews perspectives on student resources for learning, with an emphasis on the practical benefits to be gained for instruction.
• David Hammer (1994). Epistemological beliefs in introductory physics. Cognition and Instruction, 12, 151-183. questia

Jennifer G. Cromley and Robert J. Mislevy (2005). Task Templates Based on Misconception Research. PADI | Principled Assessment Designs for Inquiry, Technical Report 6. pdf

• abstract Researchers spend much time and effort developing assessments, including assessments of students' conceptual knowledge. In an effort to make such assessments easier to design, the Principled Assessment Designs for Inquiry (PADI) project has developed a framework for designing tasks and accompanying measurement models. One application of the PADI framework involves “reverse engineering” existing science assessments. This paper reports one such effort, motivated by assessments that elicit students' qualitative explanations of situations that have been designed to provoke misconceptions and partial understandings. We describe four task-specific templates we created—three based on Hestenes, Wells, and Swackhamer's (1992) Force Concept Inventory and one based on Novick and Nussbaums's (1981) Test about Particles in a Gas (TAP). We then describe an overarching framework for these templates, another PADI object called a design pattern, based on Stewart's concept of “Model Using.” For each template, we describe a multivariate Student Model, a Measurement Model, and a Task Model. We conclude by suggesting how these templates and the design pattern could help researchers (and perhaps teachers) who wish to design new assessments in science domains where students are known to hold misconceptions.

David Hammer and Andrew Elby (2003). Tapping epistemological resources for learning physics. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 12, 53-90. paper pdf

• The class exercises in this research are about Newton's second and third law.
• abstract Research on personal epistemologies has begun to consider ontology: Do naive epistemologies take the form of stable, unitary beliefs or of fine-grained, context-sensitive resources? Debates such as this regarding subtleties of cognitive theory, however, may be difficult to connect to everyday instructional practice. Our purpose in this article is to make that connection. We first review reasons for supporting the latter account, of naive epistemologies as made up of fine-grained, context-sensitive resources; as part of this argument we note that familiar strategies and curricula tacitly ascribe epistemological resources to students. We then present several strategies designed more explicitly to help students tap those resources for learning introductory physics. Finally, we reflect on this work as an example of interplay between two modes of inquiry into student thinking, that of instruction and that of formal research on learning.

CIPS Constructing Ideas in Physical Science site

• "CIPS is a yearlong physical science course for seventh or eighth grade middle school students."
• Pedagogy "The development of the CIPS curriculum was guided by an underlying philosophy that concerns the source of students' knowledge about science, and how they can learn and retain valid scientific knowledge effectively. This philosophy rests on a set of pedagogical principles that arose from research on how students learn. These principles include:
  • Students have ideas about science based on their previous school and life experiences. These ideas are sometimes at odds with the science concepts that teachers try to promote.
  • Students make sense of new experiences based on their prior knowledge. Consequently, interpretation of these experiences may be quite different from those intended by the teacher.
  • Students construct knowledge gradually in a complex process in which they try to reconcile their old ideas and new information. Some of their old ideas may be resistant to change.
  • Interactions with tools (such as hands-on experiments and computer-based simulations) are critical to learning.
  • Students' learning is mediated by social interactions. Through social interactions, students' ideas are articulated, refined, appreciated and made available for other students to consider.
  • Complex skills (such as writing a scientific explanation) must be scaffolded over time.
  • Applying knowledge in new situations is evidence of understanding."
• For an example see this pdf Testing ideas about gravity..
• It should be evident by now, having taken notive from the items from the literature mentioned above, that the CIPS Project's pedagogy is derived from the work by David Hestenes and many others. The website does not mention any sources of ideas whatsoever, however. The CIPS project is hosted at CRMSE, Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education. "A pedagogical model will be applied, based on two decades of research on science learning, which indicate the importance of checking student understanding and building conceptual knowledge through tangible experiences." No link here, regrettably, to any materials, sources or publications. No indication of where the development effort stands at the moment, either.
• The same development team is responsible for the CIPS Professional Development Project: " This project will produce a robust professional development (PD) package for school districts to use to support implementation of the Constructing Ideas in Physical Science (CIPS) middle school curriculum. The CIPS PD package will engage teachers in 120 hours of substantive and innovative PD over two years. " Yet another development project is the responsibility of Fred Goldberg 'Professional Development Materials for Constructing Physics Understanding Among Prospective and Practicing Elementary Teachers', taking the effort further into primary education as well.

Nancy J. Nersessian (1995). Should Physicists Preach What They Practice? Constructive Modeling in Doing and Learning Physics. Science & Education, 4, 203-226. pdf

• change from naive physics, expert versus novice problem solving, model-based reasoning
• And the possible educational implications of this research
• For more recent online publications, see Nancy Nersessian's site.

Axel Sander Westra (2006). A new approach to teaching and learning mechanics. Dissertation Utrecht University. html

• abstract In this thesis a research project is described that took place from 2000 until 2004 in the Centre for Science and Mathematics Education in Utrecht. It involves a didactical research into the teaching and learning of an introduction to mechanics for fourth grade pre-university level students (Dutch: 4 VWO). Many people consider mechanics as an important part of physics, well worth teaching and learning, but also as a topic in which many difficulties in learning and understanding surface. The aims of the research are to contribute to a further understanding of these difficulties and to point in the direction of possible solutions.
• Axel Westra, C.W.J.M. Klaassen, P.L. Lijnse (2003?). A new approach to teaching/learning mechanics. pdf

University of Maryland Physics Education Research Group. Dissertations page (indivicual chapters downloadable).

• Saul (1998). Beyond problem solving: Evaluating introductory physics courses through the hidden curriculum
• Wittman (1998). Making sense of how students come to an understanding of physics: An example from mechanical waves
• Sabella (1999). Using the context of physics problem solving to evaluate the coherence of student knowledge
• Bao (1999). Dynamics of student modeling: A theory, algorithms, and application to quantum mechanics
• Tuminaro (2004). A cognitive framework for analyzing and describing introductory students' use and understanding of mathematics in physics

E. F. Redish, Jack M. Wilson and Chad McDaniel (1992) The CUPLE Project: A Hyper- and Multimedia Approach to Restructuring Physics Education. In Edward Barrett: Sociomedia. Multimedia, hypermedia, and the social construction of knowledge (pp. 219-256) Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. [nowhere online]

• p. 223: "In this section we elaborate on two basic problems in teaching introductory physics: (1) most students fail to build a coherent, scientific mental model of the material presented, and (2) the processes taught in the introductory course represent only a pale shadow of the activity of the professional scientist."
• The CUPLE project seems to have been shortlived, its authors will have carried the insights and techniques further, for example in PERG

James D. Slotta and Marcia C. Linn (2000). The Knowledge Integration Environment: Helping Students Use the Internet Effectively. In Michael J. Jacobson and Robert B. Kozma: Innovations in Science and Mathematics Education: Advanced Designs for Technologies of Learning.. Erlbaum. questia

• In questia the illustrations are a disaster. They are screenshots of SenseMaker, see the pdf article by Bell (1997) [below] for reproductions in color.Knowledge Integration Environment, followed up by the WISE web site. The earlier project is the http://kie.berkeley.edu/CLP.html Computer as Learning Partner (CLP) Project
• WISE introduction movie "The Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE) is a free online science learning environment supported by the National Science Foundation. In WISE modules, students work on exciting projects on topics such as global climate change, population genetics, hybrid cars, and recycling. Students learn about and respond to contemporary scientific controversies through designing, debating, and critiquing solutions, all on the WISE system." The WISE web site seems to be country-specific: the pages I am presented with as a new (teacher) member are in Dutch. (See the 'WISE in Translation' page here
• Bell, P. (1997). Using argument representations to make thinking visible for individuals and groups. In R. Hall, N. Miyake, & N. Enyedy (Eds.), Proceedings of CSCL '97: The Second International Conference on Computer Support for CollaborativeLearning, (pp. 10-19). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
• Linn, M.C. (1998, April). Using Assessment to Improve Learning Outcomes: Experiences from the Knowledge Integration Environment (KIE) and the Computer as Learning Partner (CLP). Paper presented at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.

Bernard d'Espagnat (2006). On physics and philosophy. Princeton University Press.

• The physics is quantum mechanics. The first part of the book "describes the relevant facts and the conceptual problems they raise, and, concerning the various contemplated solutions to the latter, it reports - and merely reports - what is useful for gaining an unbiased understanding of their real significance." What is interesting about the theme of the book is that Newtonian concepts are not very helpful, to say the least, to understand the empirical phenomena of quantum mechanics. The conceptual divide here might be analogous to that between Aristotelian and Newtonian physics, including the educational problems this divide poses for students and instructors, if not for researchers themselves. Bernard d'Espagnat promises to deal wit the issues in a non-technical manner, and that is just another reason to be interested in this work: how is it possible to do so, how does he pull the trick?

Project Galileo site

• "... your gateway to innovative science teaching methods."
• It's follow-up is the Interactive Learning Toolkit ILT
• The project is discontinued, while the materials will remain available
• I have not yet studied this project, one must register first, no fee asked.

John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking (Eds) (1999). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. National Research Council. html.

• The book is online available
• from the executive summary "Science now offers new conceptions of the learning process and the development of competent performance. Recent research provides a deep understanding of complex reasoning and performance on problem-solving tasks and how skill and understanding in key subjects are acquired. This book presents a contemporary account of principles of learning, and this summary provides an overview of the new science of learning."
• See especially Chapter 7, Effective Teaching: Examples in History, Mathematics, and Science html: Conceptual change, Teaching as coaching, Interactive instruction in large classes, Science for all children, Scientific thinking,
• "Several of the teaching strategies illustrated ways to help students think about the general principles or "big" ideas in physics before jumping to formulas and equations." "Often, the barrier to achieving insights to new solutions is rooted in a fundamental misconception about the subject matter. One strategy for helping students in physics begins with an "anchoring intuition" about a phenomenon and then gradually bridging it to related phenomena that are less intuitive to the student but involve the same physics principles. Another strategy involves the use of interactive lecture demonstrations to encourage students to make predictions, consider feedback, and then reconceptualize phenomena."

Susan Carey (1986). Cognitive science and science education. American Psychologist, 41, 123-1130.

• A review artcle about misconceptions in physics students (and other human beings). How to switch from one's 'alternative conceptual framework' to the theoretical framework taught in school?
• A good article, but it is over twenty years old by now. How about the follow-up of the issues posed by Carey? The link is to her website, look it up for some amazing cognitive research.

S. Carey and C. Smith (1993). On understanding the nature of scientific knowledge. Educational Psychologist, 28, 235-251. pdf

• " ... middle school and high school students have a common sense epistemology of science at variance with the constructivist epistemology we advocate as the appropriate curricular goal"
• This article is a forerunner of S. Carey and B. W. Sarnecka (2006), see the more recent version.

Susan Carey and Elizabeth Spelke (1996). Science and core knowledge. Philosophy of Science, 63, 515-533.

• Look at Carey's site for a copy.
• "Are studies of the emergence and modification of scientific theories and studies of cognitive development in children mutually illuminating?"

S. Johnson and Susan Carey (1998). Knowledge enrichment and conceptual change in folkbiology: Evidence from Williams Syndrome. Cognitive Psychology, 37, 156-200.site for a copy.

• folk biology: the authors mention several research groups somehow or other about folkbiology, as is this article itself. It might be the case that folkbiology is taken to be the typical biological chema's found in children.

Susan Carey (2000). Science education as conceptual change. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 21, 13-19. site for a copy.

• p. 17: Many of the components of standard curricula are based on a logical sequence of the concepts to be built up; they expose students to phenomena that illustrate the target theory, formal expressions that capture it, and problems that give students practice in using its machinery. These components are part of the solution, but as has been demonstrated again and again, they are not sufficient.
• p. 18: "... the culture of the classroom must be changed. Children must be engaged in building explanations and in constructing explanatory understanding."
• p. 18: "teachers and science educators should be made aware of the important and perhaps surprising consequences of looking at the problem of science education in terms of conceptual change. For example, I have often heard teachers and science educators blame student misconceptions on faulty education at an earlier stage in the curriculum. Rather, student misconceptions are inevitable. Not having the target concepts is not an undesirable stage in students but an absolutely necessary one. Indeed, students will construct intermediate steps and misconceptions that do not conform with the views of developed science, and educators should recognize when these steps constitute progress, not problems."

Smith, C., Maclin, D., Grosslight, L., & Davis, H. (1997). Teaching for understanding: A study of students’ pre-instruction theories of matter and a comparison of the effectiveness of two approaches to teaching about matter and density. Cognition and Instruction, 17, 317-393.

Vosniadu, S., & Brewer, W. F. (1992). Mental models of the earth: A study of conceptual change in childhood. Cognitive Psychology, 24, 35-585.

Wellman, H. M.,&Gelman, S. A. (1992). Cognitive development: Foundational theories of core domains. Annual Review of Psychology, 43, 37-375.

Feyerabend, P. (1962). Explanation, reduction, and empiricism. In H. Feigl & G. Maxwell (Eds.), Minnesota studies in the philosophy of science 3, (pp. 28-97). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Shirley J. Magnusson and Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar (2005). Teaching to Promote the Development of Scientific Knowledge and Reasoning About Light at the Elementary School Level. online te lezen In: How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom. Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences and Education (BCSSE) Edward F. Redish, Jeffery M. Saul, and Richard N. Steinberg (1998). Student Expectations in Introductory Physics. html. Probably the same paper published in the American Journal of Physics -- March 1998 -- Volume 66, Issue 3, pp. 212-224.

• abstract Students' understanding of what science is about, how it is done, and their expectations as to what goes on in a science course, can play a powerful role in what they get out of introductory college physics. In this paper, we describe the Maryland Physics Expectations survey; a 34-item Likert-scale (agree-disagree) survey that probes student attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions about physics. We report on the results of pre- and post-instruction delivery of this survey to 1500 students in introductory calculus-based physics at six colleges and universities. We note a large gap between the expectations of experts and novices and observe a tendency for student expectations to deteriorate rather than improve as a result of the first term of introductory calculus-based physics.

L. Viennot (1979). Spontaneous reasoning in elementary dynamics. European Journal of Science Education, 1, 205-221.

• I have not yet been able to locate the article. Does someone have a pdf for me?

Laurence Viennot (1996/2001). Reasoning in physics: the part of common sense. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic. Original French title: Raisonner en physique: la part du sens commun. [ I have not yet located a copy of the book ]

Martine M&eacute;heut (2006?). Science teaching in schools in Europe. Policies and research. European Commission: Directorate-General for Education and Culture: Eyridice. Translated and commenten on by Edgar Jenkins, University of Leeds. Martine M&eacute;heut is professor at the Institut Universitaire de Formation des Ma&icirc;tres de l'acad&eacute;mie de Cr&eacute;teil. http://www.eurydice.org/ressources/eurydice/pdf/081EN/081EN_007_C05.pdf

• Arising from the concern to improve science teaching and science teacher training, science education research has, since its emergence in the 1970s, developed a number of different strands: studies of the concepts and forms of reasoning associated with ‘common sense’ thinking; the development and validation of situations for learning; pupils' motivation towards learning science; the construction and use of electronic information systems; the diffusion of innovative practice; teacher training; etc. Addressing the issues associated with these different strands has led to the gradual integration of the contributions of a range of disciplines, especially the history and philosophy of science and psychology
  * cognitive psychology, in particular with respect to pupils' spontaneous concepts, modes of reasoning and procedures, and their development;
  * affective and social psychology, especially for those studies concerning pupil motivation and the teaching/learning context.
• This really is a useful review of and pointer to recent literature.

Igal Galili and Amnon Hazan (2000). Learners' knowledge in optics: interpretation, structure and analysis. INT. J. SCI. EDUC., 22, NO. 1, 57- 88. pdf

• from the abstract In place of confronting misconceptions individually, schemes provide a basis for the design of more effective methods of instruction to challenge the fundamental patterns of alternative knowledge. Student misconceptions identified in other studies were included for comparison. On the basis of the study, suggestions are made for modifications in curricula to improve optics instruction.

Carl Angell (). Exploring students' intuitive idas based on physics items in TIMSS - 1995. Department of Physics, University of Oslo pdf

Rolf Ploetzer and Kurt VanLehn (1997). The acquisition of qualitative physics knowledge during textbook-based physics training. Cognition and Instruction, 15, 169-205. JSTOR

Michelene T. H. Chi & Kurt A. VanLehn (1991). The content of physics self-explanations. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 1, 69-105. pdf

regulars

David Halliday, Robert Resnick & Jearl Walker (2001 6th). Fundamentals of Physics. Extended. John Wiley. isbn 0471392227 College-level physics. More info: Wiki

I think I'd like this book, if I had to study physics: short but clear exposition, clever figures, nice illustrations. Some 1145 pp in quarto format. Recent editions (2013: 10th) very much more, though!

Gita Taasoobshirazi & Martha Carr (2009). A structural equation model of expertise in physics. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 630-643. pdf

Robert Carlson, Paul Chandler & John Sweller (2003). Learning and Understanding Science Instructional Material. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 629-640.

Dutch

website met actuele dossiers: leraar24 natuurkunde

Tijdschrift voor Didactiek der β-wetenschappen, 27, nr. 1 & 2. Themanummer transdisciplinair vakdidactisch onderzoek: wiskundige verbanden in de natuurwetenschappen als casus. inhoudsopgave.

• Van Dooren, W., Ebersbach, M. & Verschaffel, L.: Over rekenen, doen en weten De ontwikkeling van schoolse, impliciete en expliciete kennis over beweging op een hellend vlak . pdf
• De Bock, D., Van Dooren, W. & Verschaffel, L.: (On)terecht lineair redeneren bij het oplossen van fysicavraagstukken door leerlingen van het secundair onderwijs. pdf

Cees Terlouw, Henny Kramers-Pals & Albert Pilot (2004). Over het leren aanpakken van eindexamenopgaven bij scheikunde in het voortgezet onderwijs. Tijdschrift voor Didactiek van β-Wetenschappen. pdf

F. A. B. H. Bos, C. Terlouw & A. Pilot (2008). Het effect van een sensitivering door een pretest op de verwerving van natuurwetenschappelijke begrippen. Tijdschrift voor Didactiek der β-Wetenschappen, 25, 25-50. pdf

Piet Lijnse (2008). Modellen van/voor leren modelleren. Tijdschrift voor Didactiek der β-Wetenschappen, 25, 3-24. pdf

TIMSS opgaven 2008 (TIMSS Advanced 2008 User Guide for the International Database. Released items physics) pdf hier downloaden

Advies Nieuwe Natuurkunde 2010 pdf hier downloaden

Natuurkunde leeft. Visie op het vak natuurkunde in havo en vwo. Commissie Vernieuwing Natuurkundeonderwijs havo/vwo. pdf

H. Schalk (2006). Zeker weten? Leren de kwaliteit van biologie-onderzoek te bewaken in 5 vwo. Proefschrift Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. web / pdf

• hoofdvraag: Hoe kunnen leerlingen in het biologieonderwijs in de tweede fase VO leren de kwali- teit van het door hen uitgevoerde eigen onderzoek beter te bewaken?

B. J. B. Ormel (2010). Het natuurwetenschappelijk modelleren van dynamische systemen. Naar een didactiek voor het voortgezet onderwijs. Proefschrift Universiteit Utrecht. download pdf

HBO-Raad (17 december 2009). Kennisbasis lerarenopleiding voortgezet onderwijs beta-studies. pdf

Nederlandse Vereniging voor het Onderwijs in de Natuurwetenschappen. Natuurwetenschap voor de basisschool. Proevenboek. Een uitgave van de bestuurscommissie 'Onderbouw' van de NVON. Meegezonden bij Didaktief, 2008, jaargang 38, #4. Bij het proevenboek hoort een in kleur uitgevoerd lesboek. Voor informatie over deze boekjes mail a.nienkemper at/apenstaart kliksafe.nl. De boekjes zijn vriendschappelijk geprijsd.

Commissie Vernieuwing Natuurkundeonderwijs havo/vwo site.

• NiNa (2006). Natuurkunde leeft. Visie op het vak natuurkunde in havo en vwo. pdf
• "De gebruikelijke benadering van het schoolvak is die vanuit de historie. Gewoonlijk wordt eerst de mechanica van Newton behandeld en daarna volgen vaak elektriciteit en optica. De moderne schoolnatuurkunde stopt met kernenergie en straling (...). Veelal ontbreekt daardoor in de schoolstof de inspiratie die uitgaat van de belangrijke en nieuwe uitdagingen van het vakgebied in de 21e eeuw. Het resultaat is een groeiende spanning tussen de schoolvakken en hedendaagse natuurwetenschap zoals leerlingen die leren kennen uit hun eigen ervaring (...). [p. 19] "
• The trouble is, having taken notice of the 'direct hits' literature mentioned earlier, that the Dutch committee seems to think the pupil is a tabula rasa that only needs to be written upon. This simply is a variant of the bucket theory of learning: the originally empty heads of pupils eagerly waiting to be filled up with the inspiring water that education will pour over them.
• Reality is quite different, and therefore this high-brow enthousiasm of physics teachers might in fact turn out to be counter-productive for not a small part of their audiences.
• The appendices contain some useful references.

Sander Bais (2005). De natuurwetten. Iconen van onze kennis. Amsterdam University Press.

• English version: ‘The equations: Icons of knowledge’. Harvard University Press. 2005.
• Een klein boekje. De auteur: “Mijn doel is om de lezer tot op zekere hoogte deelgenoot te maken van de opwindende boodschap die deze wetten uitdragen.”

Leo Molenaar (2003). Marcel Minnaert astrofysicus 1893-1970. De rok van het universum. Balans / Van Halewyck.

• Hoofdstuk 10. Pionier van de natuurkundedidactiek. Integrale tekst op dbnl. Het waren stevige conflicten die Minnaert aanging, o.a. met Evert Dijksterhuis.

D. W. Vaags (1975). Over het oplossen van technische problemen. Proefschrift T.H. Eindhoven. pdf

• Zie Ferguson-Hessler (1989, blz. 129): Vaags vond goede resultaten van studenten in de volgende instructieconditie: “ . . . het bekijken van een videoopname van een onervaren oplosser (gespeeld door een ouderejaars student), die de oplossing doorwerkte en daarbij een aantal bekende fouten maakte, die ter plekke gecorrigeerd werden door een docent.” Plaatsvervangend leren dus, lijkt me. Voor het leren van fouten (van jezelf, van anderen) zie Stellan Ohlsson (2011) Deep Learning.

Monica Ferguson-Hessler (1989). Over kennis en kunde in de fysica. Een studie van de cognitieve aspecten van het leren en doceren van natuurkunde. proefschrift TU Eindhoven. pdf

A. J. Treffers (1968). Biologieonderwijs in de Sowjet Unie, de Verenigde Staten en Nederland. Wolters-Noordhoff. Proefschrift UvA

• Voortgezet onderwijs, drie verschillende werelden. Op interviews gebaseerd onderzoek, ter plekke natuurlijk, op reizen door de VS en de Sovjet Unie.
• o.a. hfdst. III De plaats van de biologie in het onderwijs - V Het doel van het biologieonderwijs - VII Lessen en leerboeken

Miranda, J. de (1955). — Verkenning van de ‘Terra Incognita’ tussen practijk en theorie in middelbaar (scheikunde-) onderwijs. — Wolters. Proefschrift Utrecht.

• Een halve eeuw oud, maar hoe actueel!

Axel Sander Westra (2006). A new approach to teaching and learning mechanics. Dissertation Utrecht University. html (startpagina) or 10 Mb pdf - samenvatting [summary in Dutch]

J. van Westrhenen (1976). Aardrijkskundige onderwijsdoelen. Een onderzoek naar de feitelijk nagestreefde, cognitieve leerdoelen van arrdrijkskunde in het M.A.V.O., H.A.V.O. en V.W.O. Proefschrift UvA.

• Heel goed, ik moet dit toch een keer goed doornemen. Toetsvragen als manifestatie van wat de feitelijke leerdoelen zijn. Uiteenlegging naar begrippen e.d.

A. N. Borghouts (1962/1976) Inleiding in de mechanica. Delftsche Uitgevers Maatschappij.

Isaac Newton (1687). Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica pdf in delen LONDINI, Jussu Societatis Regiæ ac Typis Josephi Streater. Prostat apud plures Bibliopolas. Anno MDCLXXXVII. (EBook produced by Jonathan Ingram, Keith Edkins and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Latin text (scan + transcription)

H. J. E. Beth (1932). Newton's 'Principia.' deel I, II. Groningen: Noordhoff. [in Dutch]

TIMMS Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Nederlandse site

• TIMSS 2003 pdf

German

PIKO http://www.physik-im-kontext.de/

Volker Hagemeister (2000). Irrwege und Wege zur 'Testkultur.' Kann die 'empirische Wende' zur Qualit&auml;tssicherung beitragen? Die Deutsche Schule, 92, 1, 87-101. pdf

• Zusammenfassung Bedenken gegen den Einsatz von Tests sind keineswegs nur das Resultat irrationaler &Auml;ngste vor modernen Formen der Leistungsmessung. Im Gegenteil, gerade wer Erfahrungen mit standardisierten Tests hat, wird sich von der durch TIMSS ausgel&ouml;sten Test-Euphorie nicht mitrei&szlig;en lassen. Denn es ist sehr m&uuml;hsam, sinnvolle Aufgaben zu konstruieren. Au&szlig;erdem werden TestErgebnisse allzu leicht fehlinterpretiert. Zwar können valide Tests f&uuml;r Diagnosezwecke von gro&szlig;em Wert sein. Andererseits wird jedoch der &uuml;berregionale Einsatz von Testbatterien keineswegs zu mehr Gerechtigkeit oder sinnvollerem Lernen f&uuml;hren, wenn mit Hilfe der Testergebnisse L&auml;nder oder Schularten oder Sch&uuml;ler in Rangreihen gebracht werden.
• Volker Hagemeister (2006). Kritische Anmerkungen zum Umgang mit den Ergebnissen von PISA. pdf
• PISA link
• Karl Kie&szlig;wetter (1999)Unzul&auml;nglich vermessen und vermessen unzul&auml;nglich: Pisa u. Co. (Kritische Bemerkungen)
• Peter Bender (2003). Die etwas andere Sicht auf die internationalen Vergleichs-Untersuchungen TIMSS, PISA und IGLU http://math-www.upb.de/~bender/IGLU_TIMSS_PISA_Kritik.pdf [dead link? 12-2008]
• Peter Bender (2005). Neue Anmerkungen zu alten und neuen PISA-Ergebnissen und -Interpretationen http://www-math.uni-paderborn.de/~bender/neueAnmerkungenPISAausf%FChrlich.pdf [dead link? 12-2008]

English

Eric Jorink & Ad Maas (Eds.) (2012). Newton and the Netherlands. How Isaac Newon was fashioned in the Dutch Republic. Leiden University Press. Download free pdf here.

• ‘The Miracle of Our Time’ 13 How Isaac Newton was fashioned in the Netherlands Eric Jorink and Huib Zuidervaart
• Servant of Two Masters 67 Fatio de Duillier between Christiaan Huygens and Isaac Newton Rob Ilie
• How Newtonian Was Herman Boerhaave? 93 Rina Knoe
• The Man Who Erased Himself 113 Willem Jacob ’s Gravesande and the Enlightenment Ad Maas
• ‘The Wisest Man to Whom this Earth Has as Yet Given Birth’ 139 Petrus van Musschenbroek and the limits of Newtonian natural philosophy Kees de Pater
• Low Country Opticks 159 The optical pursuits of Lambert ten Kate and Daniel Fahrenheit in early Dutch ‘Newtonianism’ Fokko Jan Dijksterhuis
• Defining the Supernatural 185 The Dutch Newtonians, the Bible and the Laws of Nature Rienk Vermij
• Anti-Newtonianism and Radical Enlightenment 207 Jordy Geerlings
• Newtonianism at the Dutch Universities during the Enlightenment 227 The teaching of ‘philosophy’ from ’s Gravesande to Van Swinden Henri Krop

Wayne W. Welch (1979). Twenty years of science curriculum development: A look back. In D. C. Berliner (Ed.) (1979). Review of research in education volume 7 - 1979 (282-307). Peacock Publishers. first page

D. A. Wells (1967). Lagrangian dynamics. Schaum's Outlines. 24th impression, isbn 070692580.

• p. 5 Two general types of dynamical problems "Almost every problem in classical dynamics is a special case of one of the following general types:

William D. Hedges (1966). Testing and evaluation for the sciences in the secondary school. Wadsworth. lccc66-13465, 248 pp. paperback, from the library of Milton Sobel

• loads of examples
• the tradtional psychometric approach is endorsed, as is Bloom and others' taxonomic system

Savelsbergh (1998). Improving mental representations in physics problem-solving. Dissertation Twente University. pdf

• Here I would have liked to cite a short characteristic of this research. Someone deemed it wise to prevent copying from the pdf by scrambling whatever is copied. He/she/they/it had better read the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities html. Nevertheless, thanks for making the pdf available online in the first place.
• Refers to the work of David Hestenes, Michelene Chi, diSessa, to Lave (1988), etcetera.
• Due to the advanced character of the physics content used in this research, it is not easy to follow exactly what is happening here. I have yet to take a try.

Edward F. Redish and John R. Risley (Eds) (1990). Computers in physics instruction. Amsterdam: Addison-Wesley.

• themes: the computer's impact on the physics curriculum - physics computer simulations - computers in the physics laboratory - physics education research and computers - computational physics and spreadsheets - computer tutorials in physics - physics lecture demonstrations using computers - authoring tools and programming languages - computer utilities for teaching physics - computer networking and workshops - publishing physics software - videodiscs and visualization for physics

Andr&eacute;e Tiberghien, E. Leonard Jossem, Jorge Barojas (Eds) (1998). Connecting Research in Physics Education with Teacher Education . An I.C.P.E. Book. pdf

Adrienne T. Gibson (2007). Understanding teacher understanding: An ethical challenge. in P. C. Taylor & J. Wallace: Contemporary Qualitative Research: Exemplars for Science and Mathematics Educators. Springer. (p. 23-32)

• The article probably is a kind of summary of the author's thesis:
• Adrienne Taylor Gibson (2001). Teachers' perceptions of student understanding in the science classroom. Thesis. Science and Mathematics Education Centre, Curtin University of Technology. available at http://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-WCU20030702.095640/
• Feynman, 1985, citation: "The students had memorised everything but they didn't know what anything meant."

CPU Constructing Physics Understanding site

• Phase One: Elicitation " Each cycle begins with an elicitation activity that engages students in an extensive and robust whole class discussion centered around some interesting phenomenon. Students are usually asked to make predictions, explain their predictions based on prior knowledge, observe the outcome of the experiment, and then suggest ways of making sense of the outcome, which often surprises many students. At the end of the elicitation phase, learners share their ideas for making sense of the outcomes. " example
• I see no reference here to the relevant literature, but I suspect that the prominent place given to the elicitation phase is to get a handle on the naive physics ideas of the pupils. That is surely the right thing to do. It's a pity the 'CPU Pedagogy' page is just that: approximately one page plain talk.

TIMMS Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study: International site

Salters Horner Advanced Physics site

• "Salters Horners Advanced Physics is a context-led course placing students' learning in the environment and in situations in which physics is met in real life. "
• There does not seem to be any mission statement, report, or research to explain the instructional concepts used, how they are used, to what effect. I can't do much with this project.

B. L. Young (1979/2005). Teaching primary science. Longman.

“This book is desgned for use mainly in tropical countries where equipment and resources are limited.”.

The didactics are wholly inadequate for youngsters in primary education, as the next quotation shows. Wholly context-directed

• It emphasises a ‘process approach’ to the teaching and learning of science. That is, it stresses the way in which a scientist thinks and works, rather than the facts or concepts of science. This does not mean to say that important knowledge should not be taught. But it does mean that this nowledge is selected for its richness in binging out the processes of the subject.

  p. iii

• Makes one wonder: lots of attention for mathematical workouts ("with the stress upon calculation"); examples of given methods (instead of problems presented, asking what methods to use for solving them; no mention of common misconceptions and how to recognize them for yourself. This much I can readily see, not being a physicist or chemist myself.

B. White and J. Frederiksen (2000). Metacognitive facilitation: An approach to making scientific inquiry accessible to all. In J. Minstrell and E. van Zee Inquiring into Inquiry Learning and Teaching in Science (pp. 331-370). Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2000.

E. J. Dijksterhuis (1951/1969). The mechanization of the world picture. London: Oxford University Press.

Gerald Holton (1953). Introduction to concepts and theories in physical science. Cambridge, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.

John P. Keeves (Ed.) (1992). The IEA study of science III: Changes in science education and achievement: 1970 to 1984. International Studies in Educational Achievement. Pergamon Press.

T. Neville Postlethwaite and David E. Wiley (Eds) (1992). The IEA study of science II: Science achievement in twenty-three countries. International Studies in Educational Achievement. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Edward F. Redish and John R. Risley (Eds) (1990). Computers in physics instruction. Amsterdam: Addison-Wesley. (themes: the computer's impact on the physics curriculum - physics computer simulations - computers in the physics laboratory - physics education research and computers- computational physics and spreadsheets - computer tutorials in physics - - physics lecture demonstrations using computers - authoring tools and programming languages - computer utilities for teaching physics - computer networking and workshops - publishing physics software - videodiscs and visualization for physics)

Gabel, D.L. (edit.) Handbook of Research on Science Teaching and Learning.

Fuerzeig, W. & N. Roberts (Eds.) Computer Modeling and Simulation in Science and Mathematics Education, Springer

N. Thompson (Ed) (1987). Thinking like a physicist. Physics problems for undergraduates. Adam Hilger.

• "problems and solutions, selected from examination and tutorial questions used in the University of Bristol."
• The intention is to pose problems thet definitely are not routine, but demand insight. Some expertness, let's say. "allying basic principles, judicious assumtions and approximations, and simplified models of complex situations, and to consider the limitations of the resulting solutions—in short, to 'think like a physicist.'"
• These problems therefore are not in a 'closed' form, having definite answers.
• ".... many deal with topics that are essentially elementary, and should therefore be within the competence of undergraduates at alle stages."
• Fine. Even so, these problems are rather straigthforward. There is nothing 'diagnostic' about them, in the sense the Hestenes test can be said to be diagnostic of naive conceptions still ruling the game.

Roger Penrose (2004). The road to reality. A complete guide to the physical universe. BCA.

• Just to be sure not to miss anything . . . . . Penrose explains his science. This book is very, very different from the one by d'Espagnat, referred to above. This is evident already from the first sentence in the preface: "What laws govern our universe?" "Laws' and 'govern' suggest some feodalism in the cosmos. This definitely is not the kind of expression a philosopher might have suggested to him. The principles must be a bit complex too, Penrose needs moren than a thousand pages to present them. I will try to use it to resolve some technical issues, might they pop in in the search for what it is to understand physics, and what it is to assess this understanding.

Michael L. Scott, Tim Stelzer, Gary E. Gladding (2006). Evaluating multiple-choice exams in large introductory physics courses. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 2, 020102 , (2006). abstract and/or pdf

This article is a perfect illustration of the psychometrics misconception. 'Consistent ranking' does not prove anything, of course. The number of fire fighters and the seriousness of fires are higly correlated, so ...... ? This article is a bunch of crap. It's a pity content never seems to have been considered seriously. In appendix C: Final exams questions used in the validity study.

History

Dutch

Walter Lewin (2012). Gek op natuurkunde. Van het begin van de regenboog tot het einde van de tijd: Een reis langs de wonderen van de wetenschap. Thomas Rap. isbn 9789400401341

E. J. Dijksterhuis (1924). Val en worp. Een bijdrage tot de geschiedenis der mechanica van Aristoteles tot Newton. Groningen: Noordhoff.

E. J. Dijksterhuis (1892-1965). Clio's stiefkind. Bundel samengesteld door K. van Berkel. Bert Bakker. html op dbnl.org

Henk A. Klomp (1997). De relativiteitstheorie in Nederland. Breekijzer voor democratisering in het interbellum. Utrecht: Epsilon Uitgaven. handelsuitgave van proefschrift RU Groningen.

• http://www.epsilon-uitgaven.nl/E38.php
• Hoofdstuk 5: Het onderwijs in crisis.: het platonisme van Dijksterhuis—het gymnasium onderwijst vanuit eigen ervaring—het meetkunde-onderwijs en Euclides' axiomata—de grote strijd om de mechanica—het einde van de staatspedagogiek

K. van Berkel (1985). In het voetspoor van Stevin. Geschiedenis van de natuurwetenschap in Nederland 1580-1940. Boom. html op dbnl.org

J. Duursma en L. Lammerse (1928). Natuurkunde I. Arnhem: Ten Brink's Uitgeverij. met antwoordenboekje.

• "Het is onze bedoeling, dat het boekje de leerlingen in handen gegeven wordt, zoodat het tijdroovende dictaat vervallen kan. Daarom is de theorie beknopt, doch overzichtelijk behandeld. Meer tijd komt nu beschikbaar voor herhaling der theorie en verdieping door toepassing op de vraagstukken."
• Wat 'theorie' is, is meteen in de eerste zinnen van hoofdstuk I al duidelijk: "
  Alles wat ruimte inneemt, heet in de natuurkunde lichaam.
  We denken ons de lichamen opgebouwd uit moleculen, terwijl een molecule weer bestaat uit atomen.
  Een molecule is het kleinste deeltje van een stof, dat nog dezelfde eigenschappen bezit.
  Verder veronderstellen we, dat de moleculen in een lichaam van elkander gescheiden zijn, door heel kleine ruimten." Etcetera. Een goed docent weet er mogelijk nog iets van te maken zodat de doelgroep niet meteen voor het vak verloren is, maar echt behulpzaam is dit soort 'theorie' niet. Met alle respect voor de auteurs. Zoals te verwachten, moeten leerlingen de nodige kunsten leren verrichten op basis van de theorie, zoals berekenen hoe hoog benzine theoretisch opgepompt kan worden (p. 122), of (p. 115) na hoeveel slagen met een electrische pomt een autoband op 6 atmosfeer is gebracht. Enzovoort en zoverder.

English

Carleton W. Washburne (1921). Common science. World Book Company. html

• "A collection of about 2000 questions asked by children forms the foundation on which this book is built. Rather than decide what it is that children ought to know, or what knowledge could best be fitted into some educational theory, an attempt was made to find out what children want to know. The obvious way to discover this was to let them ask questions."
• The best method of presenting the principles to the children was the next problem. The study of the questions asked had shown that the children's interests were centered in the explanation of a wide variety of familiar facts in the world about them. It seemed evident, therefore, that a presentation of the principles that would answer the questions asked would be most interesting to the child. Experience with many different classes had shown that it is not necessary to subordinate these explanations of what children really wish to know to other methods of instruction of doubtful interest value.
• Obviously the quantitative methods of the high school and college were unsuitable for pupils of this age. We want children to be attracted to science, not repelled by it. The assumption that scientific method can be taught to children by making them perform uninteresting, quantitative experiments in an effort to get a result that will tally with that given in the textbook is so palpably unfounded that it is scarcely necessary to prove its failure by pointing to the very unscientific product of most of our high school science laboratories.
• When a principle is universal, like gravity, it is best brought out by imagining what would happen if it ceased to exist. If a principle is particular to certain substances, like elasticity, it sometimes can be brought out vividly by imagining what would happen if it were universal. Contrast is essential to consciousness. To contrast a condition that is very common with an imagined condition that is different brings the former into vivid consciousness. Incidentally, it arouses real interest. The story-like introduction to many sections is not a sugar coating to make the child swallow a bitter pill. It is a psychologically sound method of bringing out the essential and dramatic features of a principle which is in itself interesting, once the child has grasped it.
• Another means for motivating the work in certain cases consists in first doing a dramatic experiment that will arouse the pupil's interest and curiosity. Still another consists in merely calling the child's attention to the practical value of the principle.

Roger N. Shepard (2008). The step to rationality: The efficacy of thought experiments in science, ethics, and free will. Cognitive Science, 32, 3-35.

• abstract "Examples from Archimedes, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and others suggest that fundamental laws of physics were—or, at least, could have been—discovered by experiments performed not in the physical world but only in the mind. Although problematic for a strict empiricist, the evolutionary emergence in humans of deeply internalized implicit knowledge of abstract principles of transformation and symmetry may have been crucial for humankind's step to rationality—including the discovery of universal principles of mathematics, physics, ethics, and an account of free will that is compatible with determinism."
• If Shepard is right, then the thought experiment must be a powerful method in instruction.
• See Shepard, on mental rotation, in scholarpedia

E. J. Dijksterhuis (1950/1961). The mechanization of the world picture. London: Oxford University Press.

Andrew Warwick (2003). Masters of Theory: Cambridge and the Rise of Mathematical Physics. University of Chicago Press. review by Kathryn M. Olesko, American Scientist online May-June 2004

McNeill, K. L. Lizotte, D.J., Krajcik, J., & Marx, R.W. (in press). Supporting Students' Construction of Scientific Explanations By Fading Scaffolds in Instructional Materials. The Journal of the Learning Sciences. pdf

• from the abstract We investigated the influence of scaffolding on 331 7th grade students' writing of scientific explanations during an 8-week project-based chemistry unit in which the construction of scientific explanations is a key learning goal. (...) Fading written scaffolds better equipped students to write explanations when they were not provided with support.
• Rich theoretical framework.
• Katherine L. McNeill and Joseph Krajcik (2006). Supporting Students' Construction of Scientific Explanation through Generic versus Context- Specific Written Scaffolds. paper pdf (sample MC items)
• Harris, C. J., McNeill, K. L., Lizotte, D. L., Marx, R. W. & Krajcik, J. (2003, in press). Usable assessments for teaching science content and inquiry standards. Peers Matter, 1 (1).pdf

Barbara Y. White: Intermediate Causal Models: A Missing Link for Successful Science Education?. In Robert Glaser (Ed.) (19**). Advances in instructional psychology, volume 4. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum. questia

• " .... science and engineering are among the most fascinating enterprises of humankind. Instead of intimidating students, they should provide arenas for educational innovation and reform. There is a need to create instructional approaches that make these disciplines interesting and accessible to a wide range of students."

I. Bernard Cohen (Ed.) (2002). The Cambridge Companion to Newton. Cambridge University Press. questia

• a.o. Robert Disalle: Newton's philosophical analysis of space and time. - I. Bernard Cohen: Newton's concepts of force and mass, with notes on the Laws of Motion - George E. Smith: The methodology of the Principia

Russell McCormmach (2004). Speculative truth. Henry Cavendish, natural philosophy, and the rise of modern theoretical science. Oxford University Press. questia (the concepts of heat and of temperature; a newly found, long missing, unpublished manuscript containing his first theory of heat, approximately from 1790)

Kathryn M. Olesko (1991). Physics as a calling. Discipline and practice in the Königsberg Seminar for Physics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

• Niet online beschikbaar. In Nederlandse UB's: hier
• 19th century beginnings of university teaching of physics, heavily emphasizing measurment and error: Franz Neumann's teaching methods - error analysis and measurement - scientific work based on seminar exercises - the nature of science teaching
• p. 1 note 1 "There is no comprehensive history of the German seminar system, despite its strategic importance in the history of higher education"
• p. 2: "Decades before the establishment of the laboratory-based physical institutes that secured hegemony in physics instruction and research for the German universities, directors of physical seminars were creating exercises -- chiefly mathematical and measuring -- that prepared students for advanced training and independent investigations in physics." These exercises are not the kind one might find in achievement tests, the exercises were not meant to provide opportunities to 'exercise' the stuff taught. These exercises seem to have been very much the real stuff of doing physics research. 'Problem based learning' might have been somewhat adequate to label this kind of instruction, but it probably would have been an understatement of what really went on in the Neumaann seminars.
• p. 17: "So much did the perfection of of technique dominate seminar exercises [this is the period 1849-1876, bw] that students began to consider the rational execution of technique an important subject of investigation in itself. Hence their publications reflected less the expansion of theory or the discovery of something new than the problems they encountered in practicing physics, especially in processing data. The themes of these three chapters [6 to 8] -- error analysis and measurement, interpolation and certainty, and error over truth -- are drawn from their investigations."
• Kathryn M. Olesko (Ed.) (1989). Science in Germany : the intersection of institutional and intellectual issues. [UB Leiden open magazijn V 4761 S2 5]
• Kathryn M. Olesko. Tacit Knowledge and School Formation. Osiris 2nd Series, Volume 8,16-29. html
• Kathryn M. Olesko (1994). The meaning of precision: The exact sensibility in early nineteenth-century Germany. In N. Wise The values of precision, 103-134. Princeton University Press, 1994.
• Rudolf Fritsch: Mathematiker unter Franz Neumanns Nachkommen pdf

Roy MacLeod (Ed.) (1982). Days of judgement. Science, Examinations and the Organization of Knowledge in Late Victorian England. Nafferton Books (Driffield).

Graeme Gooday (1990). Precision Measurement and the Genesis of Physics Teaching Laboratories in Victorian Britain', British Journal for the History of Science, 23, (1990), 25-51 (revised version of BSHS 'Singer Prize' paper). [not seen yet]

Links

Nederland. Een startpagina natuurkunde: http://www.techniekweb.nl/www/182/

Research in Science Education site. This is a SpringerLink journal. I do not have access. However, Springer follows an open access policiy, so some of the articles are open access. Try your luck.

Journal of Research in Science Teaching html

• online, not for free

International Journal of Science Education pdf

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education html

• online, not for free

Journal of Engineering Education,

J. of Science Education and Technology,

European Journal of Science Education does not currently have a website.

Science Education

PADI Principled Assessment Designs for Inquiry site

• " The PADI project aims to provide a practical, theory-based approach to developing quality assessments of science inquiry by combining developments in cognitive psychology and research on science inquiry with advances in measurement theory and technology. "
• " The PADI approach to standards-based assessment moves from statements of standards, through statements of the claims about the capabilities of students' the standards imply, to the kinds of evidence one would need to justify those claims. These steps require working from the perspectives of not only researchers and experts in the content area, but experts in teaching and learning in that area. In this way, central science concepts and how students come to know them can be taken into account. Moreover, we incorporate the insights of master teachers into the nature of the understanding they want their students to achieve, and how they know it when they see it."
• online publications are technical reports of high applied science quality (my qualification, b.w.), see for example

Physical Sciences Centre site

Frontiers in Education Clearing House site. Sponsored by ASEE Educational Research and Methods Division, IEEE Computer Society, IEEE Education Society. This homepage provides links to American as well as international engineering education sites. The Frontiers in Education Conferences proceedings are available online (down to 1995).

www.arxiv.org

• "Open access to 393,416 e-prints in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science and Quantitative Biology"
• Pure frontline physics, mathematics, nonlinear sciences, computer science, quantitative biology
• physics education

Gardner, Howard Gardner (1991). The unschooled mind. How children think and how schools should teach. Basic Books. isbn 0465088953 — 303 pp., halfcloth, dust jacket, near mint — info

• • A. Arons (1973). Toward wider public understanding of science. American Journal of Physics, 41, 769-76. abstract. [See also Richard R. Hake (2004). The Arons Advocated Method, submitted to the American Journal of Physics pdf
  • A. Camarazza, M. McCloskey & B. Green (1981). Naive beliefs in 'sophisticated' subjects: Misconceptions about trajectories of objects. Cognition, 9, 117-123. abstract
  • J. Clement (1982). Student preconceptions of introductory mechanics. American Journal of Physics, 50, 66-71. abstract paywalled
  • M. McCloskey, A. Caramazza & B. Green (1980). Curvilinear motion in the absence of external forces: naive beliefs about the motion of objects. Science Education, 66, 211-227. abstract no download available
  • M. McCloskey, A. Caramazza & B. Green (5 december 1980). Curvilinear motion in the absence of external forces: naive beliefs about the motion of objects. Science, 210 no. 4474, 1139=1141. abstract paywalled

  from note 154, on p. 280

  http://www.benwilbrink.nl/projecten/physicseducation.htm s http://goo.gl/F9zCM