Physics--Study and teaching (Secondary)

This thesis covers a brief description of current
problems and the present status of physics courses at the
secondary level; a review of standardized programs presently
being used; and the necessity for change.
The paper will show that a separate program for teaching
physics should be instituted below the high school level. It
will discuss a means for accomplishing this and propose how
this can be done through the use of middle schools or through
a change in the continuum.

The steady decline in the enrollment of students in the physics
program at the secondary school level demands a reevaluation of the
objectives of the present program. The real problems which are present
in the school today are discussed, and the present objectives and
courses are analyzed and rejected because they do not solve these
problems. A new set of objectives is suggested and a course which
meets these goals is discussed. A sample three week unit from the
course is designed and shows that the course is practical and can be
incorporated on a national level.