Indicates a research-demonstrated benefit
Overview
Minds-On Physics is an activity-based curriculum for high school physics, helping students to explore basic concepts; hone and link concepts; develop analysis and reasoning skills; learn to apply concepts in problem-solving situations (and avoid rote procedures); and organize knowledge so that it is generally useful. A brief Student Reader summarizes ideas from groups of activities, about 1 page of reading per activity at the beginning of the year and 2 pages per activity at the end.
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Type of Method | Full curriculum |
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Level |
Designed for:
High School
Can be adapted for: Teacher Preparation, Teacher Professional Development, Middle School, Intro College Calculus-based, Intro College Algebra-based, Intro College Conceptual |
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Setting |
Designed for:
Lecture - Small (<30 students)
Can be adapted for: Lecture - Large (30+ students), Recitation/Discussion Session, Lab |
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Coverage | Few topics with great depth |
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Topics | Mechanics, Electricity / Magnetism, Waves / Optics, Thermal / Statistical |
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Instructor Effort | Medium |
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Resource Needs | Lab equipment for student use - simple, Tables arranged for group work |
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Skills |
Designed for:
Problem-solving skills, Conceptual understanding of physics content, Connecting conceptual and mathematical understanding, Coherent framework for physics, Reflecting on one's own learning, Representing knowledge in multiple ways, Think like a scientist
Can be adapted for: Understanding how physics relates to the real world, Self-confidence around physics, Enjoyment of physics, Laboratory skills, Designing experiments, Creativity, Autonomy |
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Research Validation |
Based on research into:
how students learn,
student ideas about specific topics, research on expert-novice thinking Demonstrated to improve: scores on multiple choice conceptual tests ,
scores on written conceptual tests,
metacognitive skillsStudied using: conceptual pre/post exams ,
problem-solving pre/post exams,
student interviews,
classroom observations,
video of students,
analysis of written work,
research conducted at multiple institutions,
research conducted by someone other than developers |
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Compatible Methods | Peer Instruction, PhET, JiTT, CGPS, Physlets, SCALE-UP, Modeling, OSP, TEFA, Clickers |
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Similar Method | None |
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Developer(s) | William J. Gerace, Jose P. Mestre, Robert J. Dufresne, and William J. Leonard |
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Website | http://www.srri.umass.edu/mop |
