Moving Physics Education Research from the Laboratory to the Classroom

Twenty-five years of physics education research have produced truly remarkable insights into how students learn physics as well as the very nature of the learning process. But this new knowledge must be transformed into new teaching methods and new curricular materials if it is to have widespread and lasting benefit. This talk will provide a from-the-trenches view of both the challenges and the opportunities for moving physics education research from the "laboratory" to the classroom

Randy Knight is Professor of Physics and Director of the Minor in Environmental Studies at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). Ph.D. (1979) from the University of California, Berkeley. Postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Faculty positions at Ohio State University and California Polytechnic State University. Author of more than 25 research papers in atomic physics and laser spectroscopy. More recently, author of Five Easy Lessons: Strategies for Successful Physics Teaching; Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach, and (with Brian Jones and Stuart Field) College Physics: A Strategic Approach (all Pearson).