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Learning about teaching and learning while learning physics: An analysis of 15 years of responsive curriculum development

Danielle B. Harlow*

Valerie K. Otero

Anne E. Leak

Steve Robinson

Edward Price

Fred Goldberg

  • Department of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-9490, USA

  • School of Education, University of Colorado Boulder, 249 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0249, USA

  • Stout School of Education, High Point University, High Point, North Carolina 97268, USA

  • Department of Physics, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tennessee 38505, USA

  • Department of Physics, California State University San Marcos, San Marcos, California 92096, USA

  • Department of Physics, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA

  • *Danielle.Harlow@ucsb.edu
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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 020155 – Published 4 December, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.16.020155

Abstract

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Curriculum Development: Theory into Design.] Fifteen years ago, following recommendations from research on science education for prospective teachers and for students more broadly, Physics and Everyday Thinking introduced activities within an inquiry-based undergraduate physics course that explicitly focus on the nature of science and nature of learning. This component of the curriculum is referred to as learning about learning. Since then, this same team developed a series of other curricula. These later curricula, Physics and Everyday Thinking (2nd ed.), Physical Science and Everyday Thinking, Learning Physics, Learning Physical Science, and Next Generation Physical Science and Everyday Thinking all retain a focus on learning about learning as a priority. While similar theoretical grounding guided development across all these curricula, this particular component evolved considerably. These changes were motivated by practical considerations, developments in research, changes to the K-12 expectations, and changes in physics departments, as well as changes to the team. We introduce the term responsive curriculum development to describe the changes made to this aspect of the curricula. With responsive curriculum development, the development process is responsive to contextual, social, and policy factors so that the materials remain relevant and adaptable in diverse contexts and time periods.

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Curriculum Development: Theory into Design

A special collection on theory and design of curriculum.

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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 020155– Published 4 December, 2020
  • Received 8 July 2019
  • Accepted 17 December 2019
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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