Thinking in Physics

A fundamental approach to teaching scientific reasoning skills

In Thinking in Physics, Vincent Coletta creates a new curriculum that helps instructors reach students who have the greatest difficulty learning physics. The book presents evidence that students' reasoning ability is strongly related to their learning and describes ways for students to improve their reasoning to achieve a better understanding of basic physics principles.

Vince Coletta earned his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Notre Dame, where his graduate research advisor was Gerald Jones, an academic descendent of Uhlenbeck and Boltzmann. For over 30 years he has been a Professor of Physics at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he teaches introductory physics and courses in electromagnetic fields, quantum mechanics, and statistical mechanics. In this book Professor Coletta describes his Thinking in Physics curriculumand provides evidence for its effectiveness indeveloping students’ scientific reasoning skills, understanding of physics concepts, and problem solving skills.

I     The Research Base for Thinking in Physics 1

         1    The Development of Thinking in Physics 2

         2    Evidence for the Effectiveness of Thinking in Physics 11

         3    Gender Effects 17

II   The TIP Curriculum 25                             

         4    Student Population, Institutional Constraints, and the TIP Classroom26

         5    Introducing Students to Thinking in Physics 29                               

         6    TIP Course Structure 37

         7    TIP at Chicago State University by Mel Sabella  47

III   TIP Materials 51                                                             

         8    Connecting the Dots 52

         9    Reading Tests 56

       10    Clicker Questions 71

       11    Problem Solving Worksheets 118

       12    Labs and Lab Concept Quizzes 122

        13                                                                Quizzes and Tests 185              

Appendix 1: Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning Ability 195

Appendix 2: A Guide to Learning Physics 203

Appendix 3:  PowerPoint Slides for the First Week 211

Appendix 4:  Syllabus and Schedule 217

Appendix 5:  Seating Chart   221                                                           

References 222

Credits 223

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