A Resource Book for the Beginning Physics Teacher

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written by Jan Mader and Mary Winn

This handbook is designed to help the new teacher, or teachers new to physics, get started in their classes. Each chapter covers a specific physics or pedagogy topic with a short introduction and a selection of lessons, labs, activities, and demonstrations. All activities are selected for their effectiveness and ease of use.

This material is a pre-publication draft for use and comment by teachers. The first six chapters, covering topics through forces, are currently available.

download 21kb .pdf
Last Modified: August 15, 2006

7 supplemental documents are available

Teacher Background
Chapter 1 of the handbook provides background information on learning cycles, learning styles, and the goals for a physics course. There are also recommendations for grading rubrics for labs and non-standard student activities, including cooperative (group) learning.
download 184kb .pdf
Published: August 14, 2006
Rights: © Jan Mader and Mary Winn. This material can be used for non-commercial purposes with attribution.

Getting Started
Chapter 2 of the handbook provides four example activities that can be used on the first days of class to get students started taking an active role in their learning. These provide an introduction to a learning cycle approach to science.
download 71kb .pdf
Published: August 15, 2006
Rights: © Jan Mader and Mary Winn. Can be used for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution.

Analysis of Data
Chapter 3 of the handbook provides activities and resources to help students understand data. Topics covered include independent and dependent variables, estimation, graphing, and significant figures.
download 159kb .pdf
Published: August 15, 2006
Rights: © Jan Mader and Mary Winn. This material can be used for non-commercial purposes with attribution.

Kinematics - Motion in One Dimension
Chapter 4 of the handbook provides materials for the study of one dimensional kinematics. The activities in this chapter cover concepts of position, velocity, and acceleration. They are designed to build student understanding of the properties of moving objects through measurements and analysis.
download 291kb .pdf
Published: August 15, 2006
Rights: © Jan Mader and Mary Winn. This material can be used for non-commercial purposes with attribution.

Motion in Two Dimensions and Vectors
Chapter 5 of the handbook provides activities and demonstrations of motion in two dimensions. The topics covered include the description of position, displacement, and velocity as vectors, relative velocity, and free fall.
download 188kb .pdf
Published: August 22, 2006
Rights: © Jan Mader and Mary Winn. This material can be used for non-commercial purposes with attribution.

Dynamics
Chapter 6 of the handbook provides resources for covering forces and Newton's Laws. Activities are included that cover the topics of inertia and Newton's second and third laws. These activities and demonstrations illustrate the basic force concepts with which students struggle.
download 218kb .pdf
Published: August 22, 2006
Rights: © Jan Mader and Mary Winn. This material can be used for non-commercial purposes with attribution.

Electrostatics
Chapter 11 of the handbook provides resources for the study of electrostatics and charge. The demonstrations and activities include electroscopes, Van de Graaf generators as well as activities using common household items.
download 185kb .pdf
Published: January 5, 2007
Rights: © Jan Mader and Mary Winn. This material may be used for non-commercial purposes with attribution.

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Practices - Classroom Management - Pedagogy - Teacher Preparation General Physics - Curriculum	- High School	- Instructional Material = Best practice = Curriculum = Instructor Guide/Manual

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Educators	- application/pdf	Currently 3.0/5 Rated 3.0 stars by 2 people Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 2006 Jan Mader and Mary Winn
Keywords:: New Teacher Handbook, Teaching resources, best practices
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created August 15, 2006 by Bruce Mason
Record Updated:: November 23, 2008 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: July 20, 2006
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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<a href="https://psrc.aapt.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=4201">Mader, Jan, and Mary Winn. A Resource Book for the Beginning Physics Teacher. July 20, 2006.</a>

AIP Format

J. Mader and M. Winn, , Version Pre-publication (2006), WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=4201&DocID=146).

AJP/PRST-PER

J. Mader and M. Winn, A Resource Book for the Beginning Physics Teacher, Version Pre-publication (2006), <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=4201&DocID=146>.

APA Format

Mader, J., & Winn, M. (2006, July 20). A Resource Book for the Beginning Physics Teacher. Retrieved March 17, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=4201&DocID=146

Chicago Format

Mader, Jan, and Mary Winn. A Resource Book for the Beginning Physics Teacher. July 20, 2006. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=4201&DocID=146 (accessed 17 March 2025).

MLA Format

Mader, Jan, and Mary Winn. A Resource Book for the Beginning Physics Teacher. Vers. Pre-publication. 2006. 20 July 2006. 17 Mar. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=4201&DocID=146>.

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@misc{ Author = "Jan Mader and Mary Winn", Title = {A Resource Book for the Beginning Physics Teacher}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {17 March 2025}, Month = {July 20, 2006}, Year = {2006} }

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%A Jan Mader %A Mary Winn %T A Resource Book for the Beginning Physics Teacher %D July 20, 2006 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=4201&DocID=146 %O Pre-publication %O application/pdf

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%0 Electronic Source %A Mader, Jan %A Winn, Mary %D July 20, 2006 %T A Resource Book for the Beginning Physics Teacher %V 2025 %N 17 March 2025 %7 Pre-publication %8 July 20, 2006 %9 application/pdf %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=4201&DocID=146

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