Teaching introductory physics: a sourcebook

Introductory physics attracts a wide variety of students, with different backgrounds, levels of preparedness, and academic destinations. To many, the course is one of the most daunting in the science curriclum, full of arcane principles that are difficult to grasp. To others, it is one of the most highly anticipated -the first step on the path to the upper reaches of scientific inquiry. In their years as instructors and as editors of The Physics Teacher, Clifford E. Swartz and the late Thomas Miner developed and encountered many innovative and effective ways of introducing students to the fundamental principles of physics. Teaching Introductory Physics brings these strategies, insights and techniques to you in a unique, convenient volume. This is a reference and a tutorial book for teachers of an introductory physics course at any level. It has review articles on most of the topics of introductory physics, providing background information and suggestions about presentation and relative importance. Whether you are teaching physics for the first time or are an experienced instructor, Teaching Introductory Physics will prove to be an exceptionally helpful classroom companion. The book should be particularly useful for graduate students teaching for the first time and for research physicists who have not taught the introductory course recently. Teaching Introductory Physics gives you access to the cumulative expertise of the world's most dedicated physics instructors-not just Professor Swartz and Miner, but many of the contributors and subscribers to the Physics Teacher.