High School Physics Curriculum Research Articles

Archimedes' Effect, information integration and individual differences

The methodology developed by Anderson (1982) within the framework of the Information Integration Theory is applied to the study of 13‐14 year old students' mastery of an elementary concept in the high school physics curriculum, Archimedes' Effect. Of the five factors of variation tested in the experiment, (a) the volumic mass of the liquid, (b) the volume of the immersed object, (c) the volumic mass of the solid, (d) the horizontal or vertical position of the solid and (e) the depth of immersion, only a and c were systematically taken into account by a majority of the subjects, whose task was to judge the strength of the effect in different situations. Individual differences were pronounced. Six groups could be formed on the basis of the importance assigned to one or two factors. The use of the Anderson paradigm in learning or classroom testing situations is discussed in the light of the results of this study.

Twenty Years of Science Curriculum Development: A Look Back

In 1954, the National Science Foundation (NSF) spent $1,725 on its first precollege curriculum development activity. The money was used to support a conference of educators, scientists, and federal officials to discuss ways of improving science curricula in the schools. On November 27, 1956, a grant of $303,000 was made to the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) to design a new high school physics curriculum. Thus began a 20-year period of science and mathematics curriculum development activity unparalleled in our nation's history. Between 1956 and 1975, more than $130,000,000 was appropriated by NSF for course content improvement projects. During this same period, an additional $565 million was used to support various teacher-training activities. The goal of many of the teacher-education efforts was the implementation of the new curricula.

High School Physics Curriculum Development in the Philippines

High School Physics Curriculum Development in the Philippines