🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi Folks,

I would appreciate any information or advice you might be willing to share
concerning current curricula for a high school physics course.  We currently
use the very outdated edition 4 PSSC as a basic text with Barron's "Physics
Made Easy" as a supplementary problem solving book.  The course is targeted at
our college bound population and about 20% of the senior class takes the
course.  We do not offer AP physics and we feel the Conceptual Physics
materials are inadequate.

Important outcomes for the students include the ability to use technology in
science and in communications, the ability to work together with other students
in structured groups, and the ability to successfully understand some basic
concepts in physics and engineering and apply those concepts to solving
problems.  The content areas include the usual: kinematics, dynamics, waves
(light and sound), electricity and circuits, simple E&M, and an introduction to
"modern" physics.  It is important that the curricula incorporate technology
(data acquisition, word processing, Internet, CD-ROM & laser disk) in as many
ways as possible.

I have examined two curricula:
  Prentice-Hall: PHYSICS, ITS METHODS AND MEANINGS by Taffel
  Merrill: PHYSICS PRINCIPLES AND PROBLEMS by Zitzewitz & Neff
I like the Merrill but not the Prentice-Hall and my students agree thus far.

I need to make a final decision by February 11 or so.  Thanks for the help!
The local county office of education no longer stocks high school curricular
materials so help from this list will be quite valuable to me.

Please send me email and I will post a summary to the list.

-Bob Shayler-
 bshayle@ctp.org