Springer Upgrading Physics Education to Meet the Needs of Society

Nations around the globe consider physics education an important tool of economic and social development and currently advocate the use of innovative strategies to prepare students for knowledge and skills acquisition. Particularly in the last decade, a series of revisions were made to physics curricula in an attempt to cope with the changing needs and expectations of society. Educational transformation is a major challenge due to educational systems’ resistance to change. Updated curriculum content, pedagogical facilities (for example, computers in a school), new teaching and learning strategies and the prejudice against girls in physics classes are all issues that have to be addressed.  Educational research provides a way to build schemas and resources to promote changes in physics education. This volume presents physics teaching and learning research connected with the main educational scenarios. From the Back Cover Nations around the globe consider physics education an important tool of economic and social development and currently advocate the use of innovative strategies to prepare students for knowledge and skills acquisition. Particularly in the last decade, a series of revisions were made to physics curricula in an attempt to cope with the changing needs and expectations of society. Educational transformation is a major challenge due to educational systems’ resistance to change. Updated curriculum content, pedagogical facilities (for example, computers in a school), new teaching and learning strategies and the prejudice against girls in physics classes are all issues that have to be addressed. Educational research provides a way to build schemas and resources to promote changes in physics education. This volume presents physics teaching and learning research connected with the main educational scenarios. About the Author Maurício Pietrocola is a science educator and professor at The University of São Paulo in Brazil. He received his doctoral degree from The University of Paris 7 (Denis Diderot) in 1992 and has since authored numerous publications. His areas of work include curriculum development, pedagogical knowledge and innovative strategies for teaching and learning. His current focus is on connections between innovative education and risk taking, which contributes to our understanding of the failure of new educational innovations. In 2013–2014, Mauricio was a fellow at the Advanced Research Collaborative at the Graduate Center of CUNY.