In a small physics department it can be difficult to develop and maintain an environment that engages students of all levels, and encourages and facilitates student growth in curricular and co-curricular experiences. This difficulty can be amplified when the number of physics majors is small, especially with fewer than 15-20 majors in the program.…

One of the greatest challenges in teaching physics is helping students achieve a conceptual understanding of Newton's laws. I find that students fresh from middle school can sometimes recite the laws verbatim ("An object in motion stays in motion..." and "For every action..."), but they rarely demonstrate a working knowledge of…

Despite reports to the contrary, the availability of physics as a course for high school students is not equitably distributed throughout the United States. While some schools provide physics for all who wish to take it, a more common scenario is limited availability, often open only to the few students who have completed the necessary…

Describes historical and present day aspects of the New York Regents Examination, its history, preparation, and presentation. (SL)

Discusses student errors occurring on the New York Regents Examinations given over the last ten years. (SL)

Reports results of a New York state survey of secondary physics teachers concerning trends in physics enrollment and teacher opinion concerning enrollment changes. Only 11 percent of the survey questionnaires were returned; however, the major positive factor related to enrollment was active recruitment of students and the major negative factor was…