Teachers Using a Novel Curriculum on an Introduction to Newtonian Mechanics: The Effects of a Short-Term Professional Development Program

The project described here was aimed at developing and evaluating a novel curriculum with corresponding instructional materials for middle school students on an introduction to Newtonian mechanics, based on physics education research findings. A case study showed that teachers who attended a half-day workshop on the curriculum subsequently enacted these materials in their classrooms appropriately and saw improved student performance. Thus, the project suggests that with only a relatively short amount of training time teachers are able to utilize such materials and consequently to improve teaching and learning in physics classes. We therefore regard it as a promising approach for professional development programs.