Two-Year Colleges Have a Role in Teacher Preparation

The student population at North Harris College includes elementary education majors, most of whom intend to complete their degrees at Sam Houston State University. Required in the degree plan is a one-semester physics course for non-science majors. Our Elementary Physics 1410 transfers for credit. The instructional approach is student-centered and involves ``active learning.'' The curriculum adopted for the course is Physics and Everyday Thinking (Goldberg, Robinson, \& Otero), formerly Physics for Elementary Teachers (PET). In addition to the content focus on fundamental physics principles, this curriculum ``has specific goals for helping non-science majors explicitly reflect on the nature of science and the nature of science learning.'' Resources available to facilitate the implementation of PET include a web-based teacher guide and workshops.