What Else (Besides the Syllabus) Should Students Learn in Introductory Physics?
written by
David E. Pritchard, Analia Barrantes, and Brian R. Belland
We have surveyed what various groups of instructors and students think students should learn in introductory physics. We started with a Delphi Study based on interviews with experts, then developed orthogonal responses to "what should we teach non-physics majors besides the current syllabus topics?" AAPT attendees, atomic researchers, and PERC08 attendees were asked for their selections. All instructors rated "sense-making of the answer" very highly and expert problem solving highly. PERers favored epistemology over problem solving, and atomic researchers "physics comes from a few principles." Students at three colleges had preferences anti-aligned with their teachers, preferring more modern topics, and the relationship of physics to everyday life and also to society (the only choice with instructor agreement), but not problem solving or sense-making. Conclusion #1: we must show students how old physics is relevant to their world. Conclusion #2: significant course reform must start by reaching consensus on what to teach and how to hold students' interest (then discuss techniques to teach it).
Physics Education Research Conference 2009
Part of the PER Conference Invited Paper series Ann Arbor, Michigan: July 29-30, 2009 Volume 1179, Pages 43-46
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![]() <a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=9898">Pritchard, D, A. Barrantes, and B. Belland. "What Else (Besides the Syllabus) Should Students Learn in Introductory Physics?." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 29-30, 2009.</a>
![]() D. Pritchard, A. Barrantes, and B. Belland, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2009, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9898&DocID=1530).
![]() D. Pritchard, A. Barrantes, and B. Belland, What Else (Besides the Syllabus) Should Students Learn in Introductory Physics?, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2009, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9898&DocID=1530>.
![]() Pritchard, D., Barrantes, A., & Belland, B. (2009, July 29-30). What Else (Besides the Syllabus) Should Students Learn in Introductory Physics?. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Retrieved February 11, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9898&DocID=1530
![]() Pritchard, D, A. Barrantes, and B. Belland. "What Else (Besides the Syllabus) Should Students Learn in Introductory Physics?." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 29-30, 2009. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9898&DocID=1530 (accessed 11 February 2025).
![]() Pritchard, David E., Analia Barrantes, and Brian Belland. "What Else (Besides the Syllabus) Should Students Learn in Introductory Physics?." Physics Education Research Conference 2009. Ann Arbor, Michigan: 2009. 43-46 Vol. 1179 of PER Conference Invited Paper. 11 Feb. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9898&DocID=1530>.
![]() @inproceedings{
Author = "David E. Pritchard and Analia Barrantes and Brian Belland",
Title = {What Else (Besides the Syllabus) Should Students Learn in Introductory Physics?},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2009},
Pages = {43-46},
Address = {Ann Arbor, Michigan},
Series = {PER Conference Invited Paper},
Volume = {1179},
Month = {July 29-30},
Year = {2009}
}
![]() %A David E. Pritchard %A Analia Barrantes %A Brian Belland %T What Else (Besides the Syllabus) Should Students Learn in Introductory Physics? %S PER Conference Invited Paper %V 1179 %D July 29-30 2009 %P 43-46 %C Ann Arbor, Michigan %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9898&DocID=1530 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2009 %O July 29-30 %O application/pdf ![]() %0 Conference Proceedings %A Pritchard, David E. %A Barrantes, Analia %A Belland, Brian %D July 29-30 2009 %T What Else (Besides the Syllabus) Should Students Learn in Introductory Physics? %B Physics Education Research Conference 2009 %C Ann Arbor, Michigan %V 1179 %P 43-46 %S PER Conference Invited Paper %8 July 29-30 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9898&DocID=1530 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
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