Lessons from a Summer PET Course for In-service K-12 Teachers

In summer 2012, fifteen K-12 teachers from struggling, low-income schools in an urban school district attended a two-week, credit-bearing course at SUNY Buffalo State College using the Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET) curriculum by Goldberg et al. The course featured whiteboard driven discourse and significant use of hands-on activities linked to probeware and simulations, all of which were unfamiliar to the participants. We reported on pre and post PET diagnostic data and student learning journals. Additional course characterization from video and instructors' comments were included. Findings and lessons learned was presented for this and similar courses. This activity was sponsored by the Integrated Science and Engineering Partnership (ISEP), NSF-MSP project DUE-1102998. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations presented are only those of the presenter grantee/researcher, author, or agency employee; and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.