Info: http://RELATE.MIT.edu/physicscourse

Register: http://learn-physics.org

Registration is open for a free online MIT-level course in Introductory Newtonian Mechanics targeting people with good knowledge and skills in mechanics that’s being given this summer by MIT professor David Pritchard and his education research group, RELATE (http://RELATE.MIT.edu). The course will enable participants to improve both their conceptual overview and their problem-solving skills in mechanics.  The course features e-text, videos, simulations, problems, and weekly interactive office hours. The course runs through Aug 24, and the first quiz on June 29. More information at http://RELATE.MIT.edu/physicscourse.

The course is for those with prior knowledge of Mechanics who want to increase their appreciation of Mechanics, their problem-solving ability, and/or explore using our pedagogy and/or course materials in their classes.  Physics teachers and their accomplished students are our target audience.  It provides a unified overview of the standard mechanics topics that enables participants to become more expert at the art of approaching problems and determining which physics principles apply.  Our pedagogical approach, Modeling Applied to Problem Solving, has been shown to improve students’ expertise and performance, and to lead to better performance in their subsequent MIT physics course (See Improved Student Performance In Electricity And Magnetism Following Prior MAPS Instruction In Mechanics).

The course features hundreds of research-based and MIT-level problems, a short modularized  e-textbook, supplemental videos, and multimedia.  Most of these resources are followed by discussion forums, enabling participants to help each other learn.   In weekly online “office hours”, Pritchard will answer questions proposed and voted up/down by the participants.

This course will be run in the open source learning management system, LON-CAPA, in the Learning Environment created by RELATE. Individuals who complete the course will receive a letter of completion from Pritchard.  Instructors should note that all course materials (many research-based), together with ~100,000 resources that others have written, are freely available to existing and new instructors signed up to use the open source LON-CAPA software and network.  Continuing Education Units are available via the AAPT “CEU Transcript” which will be offered to successful participants (for a standard AAPT fee).  A social network for course alumni and instructors using LON-CAPA will be run by Prof. Gerd Kortemeyer, Director LON-CAPA.

This course is a research effort of Pritchard’s RELATE group to understand and improve student learning on a detailed level, and to improve and disseminate improved online educational resources. (RELATE stands for REsearch on Learni ng, Assessing, Tutoring, and Effectively).  Those who only want to browse are also welcome. This course is independent of MIT’s OCW and MITx.

You are encouraged to share this announcement with your colleagues and to suggest this course to accomplished students who would benefit from it.

Sample instructional materials: http://RELATE.MIT.edu/physicscourse

Questions: RelateMIT@gmail.com

or – Prof. David Pritchard dpritch@mit.edu   617 253 6812