First-Time Physics Teachers
Welcome teachers!
Whether you teach AP physics, middle school physical science, upper elementary physics topics or informal physics, you all have a stake in the physics understanding of your students. Some of you are well-prepared with a good physics background, some of you may need some help through sharing with each other, discussing challenging topics, finding and using good resources and through some mentoring (aapt.org).
Whatever your situation, The Physics Front is here to help provide you with the best in teaching practices and content with editor-vetted materials that are appropriate to your classroom. Please feel free to browse the collection, register for full access to the filing cabinet, sharing and other tools and features. We hope you find what you are looking for. If not, let us know. Suggest good materials that you find useful and begin to share with each other.
Helpful Resources for New Teachers
- Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8
- Research-based report answers questions about how is science learned, and how science should be taught in K-8 classrooms.
- The Physics Classroom
- For high school physics: student-centered tutorials, interactive question/answer sets, Shockwave simulations, tips for teachers, narrated demonstrations, lab manuals. A Physics Front "Elite Choice"
- PhET: Physics Education Technology
- Award-winning set of 100+ interactive simulations for physics, chemistry, and biology....many have been classroom-tested in grades 6-12. A Physics Front "Elite Choice".
- How Do You Know if They're Getting It? Writing Assessment Items that Reveal Student Understanding
- Guidelines for creating multiple choice assessments that reveal student thinking.
- Visionlearning: The Process of Science
- A must-see for the new teacher. This classroom-tested instructional unit explores experimentation as a dynamic process by real people in real labs.
- Understanding Science: Fair Tests: A do-it-yourself guide
- A practical guide on how to design a fair test: set up control groups, manipulate variables, and interpret data.
- Illinois PER: Interactive Examples
- Unique collection of interactive homework problems for algebra-based and calculus-based introductory physics. All problems are designed in a Socratic-dialog format with immediate feedback provided at each step. A Physics Front "Elite Choice"
- Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Assessment & Rubric Information
- Impressive collection of hundreds of rubrics covering everything from research projects to oral presentations.
- Physics Olympiad Exams
- Collection of eight years of Physics Olympiad exams and solutions.
