Pedagogical design

• Guided discovery
• Done before topic discussed in "lecture"
• Use a workbook format that leads students through activities and reasoning about them
• Focus on conceptual understanding
• Use prediction-observation-resolution cycle
• Target common misconceptions using cognitive conflict
• Use bridging approaches to help students appropriately apply knowledge to a slightly different area
• Use graphs heavily to describe behavior without using math
• Many questions for discussion and reflection
• Follow up with some numerical calculations and analysis
• Followed up by homework closely tied to laboratory activities
• Students work in groups of three
• Discuss questions, reasoning
• Share work
• Instructor circulates while students work
• Assist with technical difficulties
• Monitor student progress
• Ask questions to check understanding
• Help students struggling to understand a concept

Implementation

• Students pick up or are given equipment at beginning of class, returning at the end
• Students set-up and take down the equipment themselves
• Kits containing equipment for one set-up facilitate equipment distribution and collection
• Laboratories based on RealTime Physics

Example materials

• Computerized example, force and acceleration (guide*) (DataStudio File)
• Non-computer example, force and acceleration (guide*)
• Non-computer example, normal force (guide*)
• Follow-up homework