Harvard Project Physics, also called Project Physics, was a national
curriculum development project to create a
secondary school physics education
Physics education refers to the methods currently used to teach physics. Physics Education Research refers to an area of pedagogical research that seeks to improve those methods. Historically, physics has been taught at the high school and colle ...
program in the United States during the
Cold War era.
History
The project was active from 1962 to 1972, and produced the ''Project Physics'' series of texts, which were used in physics classrooms in the 1970s and 1980s. The project was centered at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, but drew from schools and educators from across the country. The directors of this project were:
F. James Rutherford, project coordinator (and after completion of the project, professor of
science education
Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), som ...
at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
);
Gerald Holton
Gerald James Holton (born May 23, 1922) is an American physicist, historian of science, and educator, whose professional interests also include philosophy of science and the fostering of careers of young men and women. He is Mallinckrodt Profes ...
, professor of physics and of the
history of science at Harvard University; and
Fletcher G. Watson, professor of science education at the
Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Course materials
Project Physics course work was broken into six main subject areas, organized into separate books each called a "Project Physics Text and Handbook" or "Student Guide":
[Project Physics Collection at Archive.org](_blank)
/ref>
#Concepts of Motion
#Motion in the Heavens
#The Triumph of Mechanics
#Light and Electromagnetism
#Models of the Atom
#The Nucleus
The books presented the material from a historical perspective, with aspects of human interest wrapped into the text. The intent was to build a sophisticated conceptual understanding of physics, while not over-simplifying the curriculum. Frequent references to historical works where concepts were first discovered and debated highlighted the drive to make physics a fundamental search for understanding of the universe.
See also
* Physical Science Study Committee – a preceding alternative approach to teaching physics at the high school level
References
{{reflist
The Project Physics Course, Then and Now
by Gerald Holton, from the journal ''Science & Education'' (2003)
Harvard Project Physics: a report on its aims and current status
by Gerald Holton, from the journal ''Physics Education'', Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 19–25 (1969)
Harvard project physics - A cogent approach
by Arnold J. Moore, from ''Science Education'' (1968)
A small pocket slide rule developed for the project
External links
Project Physics texts at the Internet Archive
Archival collections
Harvard Project Physics publications and reports, 1962-1982, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
Curricula
History of education in the United States
Education reform
Educational projects
Physics textbooks
Harvard University
Science education in the United States