| Session: | PER Cognitive Issues |
| Meeting: | 122nd AAPT National Meeting: San Diego, CA |
| Location: | Pacific Salons Four & Five |
| Date: | Jan. 9 |
| Time: | 4:30 p.m. |
| Author: |
Kirsten Hogg, Kansas State
Univ. 785-532-1824, khogg@phys.ksu.edu |
| Co-Author(s): | Dean Zollman, Michael O'Shea |
| Abstract: | The physics education community has invested considerable time and effort into improving preservice teacher training over the past 15 years. At Kansas State University we attempt to prepare elementary teachers through a learning cycle course, Concepts of Physics1. The course is strongly activity-based, and the students work through a series of explorations and applications to build an understanding of mechanics, energy, and electricity and magnetism. During the past two years we have been evaluating elementary education students' attitudes toward learning and teaching physics. This talk reports on the rather complex perceptions and attitudes students have about their own learning processes, how their knowledge informs and influences their teaching, and their expectations for children's learning of physics. Additional information is available at http://www.phys.ksu.edu/perg. |
| Footnotes: |
*Supported by NSF grant
#CETP-98-76676. 1. Dean Zollman, Phys. Teach. 28, 20–25 (1990). Dean Zollman, Physics Education 29, 271–275 (1994). |