New trends in physics teaching, v.4; The ... - unesdoc - Unesco

Editor's Note
The previous volume in this series of books on world-wide trends in physics education was based
on the proceedings of an international conference. On this occasion, it was felt right to make the
attempt to identify a small number of important trends and then to invite men and women
known to be active in developing those trends to write about their experi es. With the active
help and encouragement of the International Commission on Physics Ed on and Unesco, it
was agreed that the dominant trend was towards a reconsideration of teaching about energy in
secondary school and that this was linked with the introduction of new courses in which the
links between science, technology and society were explored.
But there were others. At international conferences on physics education at Oxford in 1978
and at Trieste in 1980 it became clear that there was a re-birth of interest in the teaching of
optics - largely as a result of the great interest which was being shown by industry, commerce
and the universities in the formation of images.
At this time, it proved quite impossible to ignore the very great interest in the application of
the microprocessor to the physics laboratory. Perhaps a whole volume should have been devoted
to this, but it was felt that the time was not ripe for such an ambitious venture.
Two continuing themes in any volume on trends are the education of physics teachers and the
design of new and simple experiments for the children to do.
A great debt is owed to the authors of the papers which together make
most fortunate in having been allowed the privilege of working with them.
respond willingly, constructively and promptly to my inquiries; I am indeed g
My indebtedness to the staff of Unesco and to the members of the International Commis *
on Physics Education for their help, advice and encouragement must also be expressed. And
finally I wish to record my special thanks to the then Chairman of the Commission, Professor
A. P. French, to its Secretary, Dr. P. Kennedy, and to Rosemary Dupuy, my secretary, and Mary
Owers, the artist, for their help, their advice and their encouragement.
E. J. Wenham, M.B.E.,
Fellow and Former Head of the Science Department,
Worcester College of Higher Education,
Worcester,
United Kingdom.