Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2007 APS March Meeting
Volume 52, Number 1
Monday–Friday, March 5–9, 2007; Denver, Colorado
Session L7: Physics Education Award - PSSC |
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Sponsoring Units: FEd Chair: Wolfgang Christian, Davidson College Room: Colorado Convention Center Korbel 4A-4B |
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 2:30PM - 3:06PM |
L7.00001: The PSSC project in perspective Invited Speaker: The talk will consist of three parts. (1) A tribute to J.R. Zacharias and F.L. Friedman, who would have received the award had they been alive today, (2) A brief description of the characteristics of the project, and (3) some lessons for future projects in the area of development of a physics curriculum. [Preview Abstract] |
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:06PM - 3:42PM |
L7.00002: Jerrold Zacharias and PSSC Invited Speaker: In 1956 with NSF support Jerrold Zacharias, a notable professor of physics at MIT, called into existence the Physical Sciences Study Committee and launched the largest effort ever to change and improve the teaching of physics in American high schools. Zacharias had a talent for eliciting bold ideas from the best physicists of his day and then inspiring them to put their ideas into action. PSSC was just one of many instances when he did this. He was a member of that cohort of physicists whose accomplishments in World War II empowered them with confidence and authority that they applied with great effect in the early years of the Cold War.\footnote{Charles H. Holbrow, Scientists, Security, and Lessons from the Cold War, \textit{Physics Today } \textbf{59}(7), 39-44 (2006).} More than passive agents of the government, they influenced it to respond to various crises with broader vision and higher idealism than were associated with conventional views of defense. PSSC exemplifies their ability to spin the straw of Cold War tension and fear into the gold of major educational reform. I will describe some memorable aspects of the man and his times, and how he and Francis Friedman shaped the early efforts of PSSC.\footnote{\textit {PSSC Remembered} -- An AAPT Online Publication at http://www.aapt-doorway.org.} [Preview Abstract] |
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:42PM - 4:18PM |
L7.00003: Twenty Eight Years with PSSC and Still Counting Invited Speaker: When this instructor arrived at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, Tennessee twenty eight years ago, PSSC Physics had already been in use from 1962. Now with the Seventh Edition it is still being used to teach some ninety students per year. A brief history, some reminiscences, and a description of the current program are provided, illustrated with samples of current student work. [Preview Abstract] |
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 4:18PM - 4:54PM |
L7.00004: Beginnings of PSSC, Film Experiences, Later Thoughts Invited Speaker: As an MIT student and faculty member I worked with Jerrold Zacharias and Francis Friedman, and was in on the genesis, planning and early evolution of what became the PSSC program. Zach's experiences with high school students and the views on education of Edwin Land (inventor of polaroid and founder of the Polaroid Co.) were important in forming the program. I was involved in the PSSC movies and had roles in about a dozen films as principal or advisor or builder of apparatus. I will tell about this aided by excerpts from memos, speeches and films. I will also describe how this has led to my view of what needs to be done in education now. [Preview Abstract] |
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