UW
Department of Physics
L.C. McDermott, Peter S. Shaffer, and the Physics Education Group
at the University of Washington
First
Edition
Prentice Hall,
Upper Saddle
River, NJ, 2002 
ISBN
0-13-065364-0
Instructor's
Guide
Prentice Hall,
Upper Saddle
River, NJ, 2003
ISBN 0-13-066244-5
Tutorials in Introductory Physics is a set of instructional materials intended to supplement the lectures and textbook of a standard introductory physics course. The emphasis in the tutorials is not on solving the standard quantitative problems found in traditional textbooks, but on the development of important physical concepts and scientific reasoning skills.
There is increasing evidence that after
instruction in a typical course, many students are unable to apply the
physics formalism that they have studied to situations that they have
not
expressly memorized. In order for meaningful learning to occur,
students
need more assistance than they can obtain through listening to
lectures,
reading the textbook, and solving standard quantitative problems.It can
be difficult for students who are studying physics for the first time
to
know what they do and do not understand and to learn to ask themselves
the type of questions necessary to come to a functional understanding
of
the material.
Tutorials in Introductory Physics provides a structure that promotes the active mental engagement of students in the process of learning physics.
Questions in the tutorials guide students through the reasoning necessary to construct concepts and to apply them in real-world situations. The tutorials also provide practice in interpreting various representations (e.g., formulas, graphs, diagrams, verbal descriptions) and in translating back and forth between them. For the most part, the tutorials are intended to be used after concepts have been introduced in the lectures and the laboratory, although most can serve to introduce the topic as well.
The tutorials comprise an integrated system of pretests, worksheets, and homework assignments. The tutorial sequence begins with a pretest. These are usually on material already presented in lecture but not yet covered in tutorial. The pretests help students identify what they do and not understand about the material and what they are expected to learn in the upcoming tutorial. They also inform the instructors about the level of student understanding. During a tutorial session, students work together on worksheets that provide the structure for these sessions. The worksheets consist of carefully sequenced tasks and questions. Students are expected to construct answers for themselves through discussions with their classmates and with tutorial instructors. The tutorial instructors do not lecture but ask questions designed to help students find their own answers. The tutorial homework reinforces and extends what is covered in the worksheets. For the tutorials to be most effective, it is important that course examinations include qualitative questions that emphasize the concepts and reasoning skills developed in the tutorials.
The first edition of Tutorials in Introductory Physics contains a sufficient number of tutorials for a one-year course. Subsequent editions will include material on additional topics. The goal is to have enough tutorials to allow for two tutorial sessions each week.
The tutorials are designed for a small class setting that enables students to work together in groups of 3-4. However, in many cases, the materials can be adapted for use as interactive tutorial lectures. The tutorials are equally appropriate for calculus- and algebra-based courses. Tutorials in Introductory Physics has been developed and tested at the University of Washington and pilot-tested at other colleges and universities.
Any
opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in
this
material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
views
of the National Science Foundation
Tutorials in Introductory Physics is available from:
Prentice
Hall
A Simon & Schuster Company
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
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