Physics Education Resources on the Internet

Abstract

The intention of this thesis was to provide the faculty of Oklahoma State University's Physics Department with resources of the internet related to introductory physics instmction. Originally, the focus of this study was to research the varied misconceptions (preconceptions) about Newtonian Mechanics students bring with them Lo the classroom. In light of the extensive research already undertaken on this topic, the scope of this project shifted to producing a survey of the available literaLure germane to introductory physics education. The project then grew to be an on-line resource for those involved in physics education available to users of the internet The resulting web page has been designed to be a dynamic resource so that it may continue to grow and remain current in the years to come Inspiration for the Physics Education Resource Site web page is partly due to the Oklahoma chapter of CETP (Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation). Through work done in organizing the physics course for the CETP program, motivation for devdoping an internet based cornerstone as a tool for science teacher preparation arose."