Phys 3071W.001

This course is intended to provide an experience based introduction to a selection of fundamental physics concepts especially chosen to be useful for potential elementary school teachers. These fundamental concepts include the interaction between objects and the description of that interaction by energy, forces, and fields. These ideas will be applied to electricity and magnetism as well as optics and heat. The course is activity-based and collaboration-oriented with four major goals: (1) to help you construct a set of physics ideas that you can apply to explain phenomena that are intrinsically interesting at a level appropriate to an elementary school science curriculum; (2) to help you understand the process of doing science; (3) to give you practice and confidence in doing science, and (4) to link the development of the course material to your own learning. The teaching and learning strategies used in this course will be valuable and appropriate for use in your teaching career. No specific background in science or mathematics is assumed in this course.