Teacher Education in Physics

vii

Editors’ Preface

This book came about due to an increasing national recognition of a need for improved preparation of physics and physical-

science teachers. Although there is an extensive and growing body of research and research-based practice in physics teacher

education, there has been no single resource for scholarly work in this area. In response, the Physics Teacher Education Coalition

(PhysTEC), a project of the American Physical Society (APS) and American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), decided

in 2007 to publish a compendium of research articles on the preparation of physics and physical-science teachers. The PhysTEC

project management selected Editors and an Editorial Board for the book based on recommendations from the physics education

community. The editorial group worked to devise a set of guidelines regarding submission of manuscripts. This resulting book

includes new reports that refl ect cutting-edge research and practice, as well as reprints of previously published seminal papers.

Printed copies have been distributed to chairs of all physics departments in the United States. The book is also freely available

online at http://www.PhysTEC.org.

Overview of this book

The papers included in this book address physics and physical-science teacher preparation, with a focus on physics education

research and research-based instruction and curriculum development. The primary audience is physics department chairs and

faculty members at physics-degree-granting institutions in the United States. However, the book is also envisioned to be useful

for faculty in colleges of education who are engaged in physics teacher preparation.

The book has three primary objectives: (1) to provide a resource for physics departments and faculty members who wish to

develop and/or expand efforts in teacher preparation; (2) to encourage scholarly documentation of ongoing research and practice,

in a form accessible to a broad audience of physicists; and (3) to encourage recognition of teacher preparation as a scholarly

endeavor appropriate for faculty in physics departments. In keeping with these themes, it was specifi ed that prospective manu-

scripts should treat topics that are of general interest and applicability.

To help ensure the highest level of scientifi c quality and editorial review, all manuscripts that were considered for inclusion

in this book were required to be accepted for publication by either the American Journal of Physics (AJP) or Physical Review

Special Topics–Physics Education Research (PRST-PER). Five of the eleven papers were written in response to a call for papers

for this project. They are supplemented by reprints of six additional papers that are consistent with the book guidelines. Each of

the original and reprinted papers is accompanied by a brief Summary that serves as an introduction to and overview of the key

fi ndings of that paper; the Summaries are collected in a separate section.

A review paper introduces this volume. It provides a brief survey of research in physics teacher education with a specifi c focus

on research conducted in the United States. It is an attempt to place the other papers into perspective, and to indicate both their

individual signifi cance and the part they play in adding to the body of world literature in this fi eld.

Several years of research, writing, editing, and review were required to bring this book project to fruition. We are confi dent that

the fi nal product represents a signifi cant addition to the world literature on physics teacher education.

Development of this book

The development of this book has extended over more than four years. When the Editors and Editorial Board were selected in

2007, they quickly began working to establish a detailed set of editorial guidelines and procedures. These were published in

September of that year. Prior to submitting any manuscripts, prospective authors were required to submit an outline/prospectus

for preliminary review. Pre-submission discussion with the book editors was recommended. By March 2008, 33 initial submis-

sions had been received. The Editors carefully reviewed and made extensive comments on all of these submissions and recom-

mended either that a second, revised prospectus be submitted or suggested to the submitting authors that the intended paper

would be better suited for other publication venues.

In the second round of review, 18 revised prospectuses were submitted and again carefully reviewed by the Editors. Further

review of each prospectus was carried out by at least two members of the Editorial Board supplemented occasionally by inde-

pendent reviewers solicited by the Editors. A fi nal consensus review refl ecting the judgments and comments of the Editors and

Editorial Board was then provided to each submitting author, with suggestions as to whether the intended manuscript might be

suitable for the book and, if so, what further revisions and additions might be necessary before publication would be possible. It

was made clear that authors had the prerogative to submit their manuscripts for journal publication independent of and without

prejudice from any editorial consideration regarding publication in the book. This phase of the process was completed in July

2009. Authors were asked to submit their full manuscripts to one of the journals by November 2009.

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