Workshop Physics and Related Curricula: A 25-Year History of Collaborative Learning Enhanced by Computer Tools for Observation and Analysis

Abstract

This article describes the 25-year history of development of the activity-based Workshop Physics (WP) at Dickinson College, its adaptation for use at Gettysburg Area High School, and its synergistic influence on curricular materials developed at the University of Oregon and Tufts University and vice versa. WP and these related curricula: 1) are based on Physics Education Research (PER) findings and are PER-validated; 2) feature active, collaborative learning; and 3) use computer-based tools that enable students to learn by making predictions and then collecting, displaying, and analyzing data from their experiments.