The topic for this workshop is very broad and general. In spite of the general nature of the topic four general themes emerged from the panel papers and round table discussion related to the workshop. Three of the themes are related to concepts which can be taught to students and for which teachers will need preparation to teach properly. These themes are preparing teachers to teach

• Scientific modeling,
• Contemporary physics concepts, and
• Using everyday objects and experiences.

The fourth theme was the cooperation of universities and schools in the teaching of physics and the preparation of teachers.
The Workshop participants generally agreed that the first three themes were not independent of each other. Significant overlap between them exists.
For the purposes of this discussion contemporary topics include quantum physics and microscopic explanations and models for topics such as thermal processes and friction.
In this report we discuss the first three topics together and then add a short discussion of the fourth one.

Important problems

The participants generally agreed that contemporary physics should be taught in the schools. Reasons for including these topics include

• Promote scientific literacy among the general student population.
• Helping students understand and experience the excitement of recent discoveries in physics,
• Providing students with the ability to see how contemporary physics applications and technology are present in their everyday lives,
• Offering a context in which to teach problem solving and scientific modeling, and
• Preparing many students for a future in which they may need to know or apply some aspect of contemporary physics in their careers.

A major concern is the inertia of the physics curriculum. The present introductory course which usually follows, approximately, the historical development of physics from Galileo to about the end of the 19th Century seems to be somewhat universal. A survey of the physics topics in this general seems to fill whatever time is available. While some attempts to change the order of topics in this course have had limited success, the vast majority of courses follow this pattern.

Many of our participants felt that the separation of physics into “classical” and “modern” was artificial and represented a major problem. By removing this separation and introducing topics when they would fit logically into a sequence of study we could provide for a better logical development and integrate contemporary topics the existing courses without dealing directly with major changes in the present order of topics.
For example, students could investigate the experimental results of atomic of spectrum once they had completed a study of conservation of energy. They could learn early in their year of physics that energy levels in atoms are quantized. While they could not build a complete model for these quantized energy levels at the time, they could, at least, understand quantization as a model and some of the experimental evidence for it.

Some participants felt that an integrated approach was not appropriate. They believed that students needed to realize are large the fundamental paradigm shift that occurred in the early part of the 20th Century was. By integrating topics thorough out the course the teachers would not communicate to the students the magnitude of this major change in our way of thinking. Thus, neither the teachers nor the students would have a complete picture of how counter intuitive quantum physics is.

The level of formalism was also discussed at some length. Some participants felt that students must see a rather complete mathematical formalism before they could understand contemporary physics. Others were very comfortable with a more conceptual approach. In particular, some participants emphasized connecting the conceptual study of contemporary physics to applications and technology. They believed that these applications provide motivation for the students and a context in which they can learn contemporary topics. Then, a conceptual approach provides an appreciation and understanding of the role of physics in 21st Century life.

Issues related to teacher preparation seem to be dependent on the nation in which the teachers are prepared. For example, in Italy most physics teachers have a strong background in formal mathematics while in Kansas USA the teachers of physics have frequently studied biology as their primary topic. Thus, they have a rather weak background in mathematics.

A important issue is that teachers may not know contemporary physics well and thus be uncomfortable teaching it. Alternatively, they will have studied quantum physics in a traditional physics curriculum and will conclude that it is too hard for students to learn.

The way to teach teachers about the pedagogy related to contemporary physics is another important issue. Some of the workshop participants reported good success in integrating the teaching of the content with introducing pedagogical methods. A few participants felt that the students needed to struggle with and learn the ideas first then learn about the pedagogy later. Others were constrained by the administrative structure of their universities so that the pedagogy and content must be separated. A question was raised about whether one could use a constructivist approach in teaching these concepts.

Possible solutions

The pedagogical approach that has developed over the last twenty years needs to be continued and improved. While it has been primarily developed using the context of classical physics, it should be used in all areas of physics. In the teaching of contemporary physics we need to identify topics which can be best taught and learned using this pedagogy. Then the focus of teaching contemporary physics should be these topics. The choice of such topics may differ depending on instructor preferences and pedagogical style. However, the important point is that the shift in pedagogy should be small when the concepts change from classical to contemporary.

Many of the workshop participants felt that the best pedagogy involved a phenomenological approach to teaching contemporary physics. However, such an approach does not necessarily mean that students should do the historically important experiments such and the photoelectric effect or Franck-Hertz experiment. These experiments can be difficult to complete and somewhat abstract to analyze. Thus, simpler experiments which focus on key observations may be most appropriate. These experiments should provide a coherent approach to the most important ideas in contemporary physics.

In selecting the content and pedagogy for contemporary we need to keep in mind that our future teachers are not “little physicists.” That is: they are not likely to become researchers in physics and need the skills of the researcher. Instead, they need content and a teaching model that will be appropriate for secondary classes. The level of the content and the amount of mathematical formalism is not well known at the present time. Research needs to be conducted to determine the appropriate balance between conceptual learning and mathematical formalism which is needed for secondary teachers to successfully teach contemporary physics. The teachers need enough formalism so that they can answer students’ questions or, at least, know when they do not know the answer. However, the amount of formalism should not be so great that no time is available for developing a conceptual and phenomenological understand of the topics.

Finally we realize that technology, particularly visualization, can play a fundamental role in preparing teachers. If teachers learn through appropriate technology, they are likely to use technology appropriately in their own teaching.

Summary

On the topic of preparing future teachers to help students learn contemporary we have many opinions, many of which are supported by our experiences in preparing teachers and working directly with secondary school students. We feel that the topics of contemporary physics must be taught for the reasons stated above. However, we recognize the methods and even the topics taught to typical physics students are not appropriate for secondary students or for their teachers.

We know from experience and research that recent advances in the pedagogy of physics, which is based on research, is effective for teaching classical topics. We believe that these same methods with only minor modifications will prove to be equally valuable for teaching understanding of contemporary topics. Thus, we advocate the use of these methods and research to assess their effectiveness.

We also feel that the separation of the classical and “modern” topics should be looked at carefully. For at least some of the contemporary topics this separation may prove to be artificial and may even hamper learning. Research into the best arrangement of the curriculum for both secondary students and their future teachers is needed.

University-School Cooperation

Our discussion of university-school cooperation focused on descriptions of successful program in several countries, including Italy, USA, Slovenia and India. From these discussions a number of common positive aspects and several concerns arose. These issues can help other university faculty and students develop and succeed in working with school teachers and students.

The positive aspects which emerged from our discussions are:

• The people involved in the program should include university faculty, university students (both graduate and undergraduate), school teachers and school students.
• School teachers should be an integral component of the program. They should be the important resource on how to communicate with their students. Some of their knowledge will be transferable to communications with university students, so they can help the university faculty understand better how to teach physics at all levels.
• Both physics content and physics pedagogy should be involved in any program.
• The groups should meet, at least, several times to discuss the same physics content. With several meetings the school students will learn the physics at some depth and the university people will become aware of ways to transmit successfully understanding of physics.
• School teachers should work with other school teachers to help them become involved in the program. This approach can increase the number of teachers and students involved without increasing the time commitment of the university faculty.
• A successful pilot program or small effort can attract other faculty within the physics department or institute.
• When possible we should take advantage of the resources of the technical industry. They can provide people and money as well as examples of the practical applications of physics.

Concerns that we need to keep in mind when developing university-school cooperative programs include:

• Popularization of the physics content can occur in such a way that understanding does not happen. Frequently, cooperative programs involve helping school students learn about contemporary research. We need to be able to help them learn at a conceptual level and maintain a depth of understanding.
• Communication can become one-way with the university people transmitting to the school people. We must work to keep two-way communication open.
• Money and time are never sufficient. We must use our resources wisely and not spread them so thinly that we cannot make a real difference.
• Our colleagues may not find such programs interesting and thus we become the only faculty involved. We need to work to involve our colleagues in a variety of physics sub-disciplines.
• Successful models in one institution may not transfer directly to others. Differences in culture, travel differences and even government regulations mean that we must adapt successful program to our own situations.
• We need to work to make such programs sustainable beyond a short time. Frequently, this means that we need to involve the upper levels of the university administration is seeing the importance of the efforts.

We these ideas in mind we feel that the foundation of university-school programs can help with the education of school teachers and their students as well as increase the understanding of university faculty and students about pedagogical and physics issues.

Relation to Seminar goals

The Seminar is focusing on the best ways to prepare future and in-service teachers so that they can help their students learn physics. Our discussions have focused on an area which many physicists think is the most difficult to teach to either teachers or their students and on the cooperation between schools and universities. While we have not reached any clear conclusions, we have raised a number of questions, suggested several practices, and identified areas in which research on teaching and learning can help make decisions in the future. We have also identified positive characteristics of programs and concerns that we need to be aware of.