• Lead students step by step to think more deeply about physics concepts

• Get students to think for themselves, talk to each other, and develop ideas together

• Support instructors in using Socratic questioning to elicit student thinking

UW Tutorials are carefully crafted through research to address student thinking and rigorously tested to ensure that they are effective at supporting student learning.

This guide has some answers to common questions for new implementers to help get started using the materials quickly. More detailed guidance will be coming soon.

What are the UW Tutorials in Introductory Physics?
Which set of Tutorials should I use?
What do I need to start using the UW Tutorials?
How much time do the Tutorials take?
What does it mean that the materials are “research-based”?
Can I replace my curriculum with the UW Tutorials? Do they stand alone?
Do I need to give every assignment associated with a particular Tutorial (pretest, homework, exam questions, etc.) for the Tutorial to be effective?
Do I need to do every part of every UW Tutorial for them to be effective?
How do I assess the UW Tutorials?

What are the UW Tutorials in Introductory Physics?

The UW Tutorials help students develop key concepts and reasoning skills through research-based activities that are designed to supplement other content in a physics course.

Which set of Tutorials should I use?

There are two variants of tutorials – those for small group sections and those for large or small lectures. To decide which UW Tutorials might best fit your course, please refer to this diagram:

Tutorial worksheets for small sections of students designed for:

• classrooms of about 25-35 students with 1-3 instructors (can include TAs/LAs)
• could be a small course or a recitation or lab section of a large course
• students working in groups of 3-4 around a table
• one large whiteboard or poster-sized paper per group for students to draw and work collaboratively on
• instructors walking between groups and asking prompting questions
• aiming to minimize direct instruction and allow the students to work together to explore ideas
• each worksheet is designed to take about 50 minutes, but may take longer depending on your context and student population.

Interactive Tutorial Lectures (ITLs) for large lecture halls designed for:

• large-enrollment lecture-format courses with any number of students
• instructors using slides to guide the class through a series of questions, allowing time between questions for paired and whole-group discussion
• students working with those sitting near them in a lecture hall
• experiments being conducted as videos within the lecture slides
• instructors using clicker questions throughout to gain a sense of how the class is reasoning
• aiming to allow students to build knowledge collaboratively
• can be used with a single instructor, or multiple instructors (including TAs and LAs) walking between groups and asking prompting questions

What do I need to start using the UW Tutorials?

You can find all materials for both types of Tutorials under Browse Tutorials. Each Tutorial has available:

• Tutorial worksheets or Interactive Tutorial Lecture (ITL) slides (planned to be available soon)
• a Tutorial pretest to assess student reasoning and prime student thinking before the activity
• a recommended Tutorial homework assignment
• one or more example Tutorial exam questions that pertain to that Tutorial
• a link to videos to be used in place of the experiments for ITLs or if equipment is unavailable
• Specific to Tutorial worksheets:
  • a list of required materials for any experiments
  • pdfs of any student handouts
• Specific to ITLs:
  • a set of clicker questions that can be uploaded to a class management system
  • a set of student handouts (in powerpoint and pdf format)

How much time do the Tutorials take?

All of the Tutorials, including those designed for small-sections and the ITLs, are designed to be used in one (~50-minute) class period. Implementers from institutions outside the University of Washington have advised that, depending on your course and student population, more time may be necessary.

What does it mean that the Tutorials are “research-based”?

The Tutorials have been designed over several decades as part of the work by the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington. Each Tutorial is based on physics education research into student reasoning on a particular topic, and has been shown to be effective at helping students learn. This also means that the wording and sequence of each Tutorial has been carefully developed as a result of research into student thinking. The research underlying individual Tutorials can be found under Research, as well as on the materials page for each Tutorial.

Can I replace my curriculum with the UW Tutorials? Do they stand alone?

No; the UW Tutorials are supplementary. Many are intended to follow lecture and/or textbook instruction on the related ideas. The Tutorials do not cohesively form a full physics curriculum. Each Tutorial focuses on a small number of ideas that many students find challenging. If you are looking for a stand-alone physics curriculum in the style of the UW Tutorials, consider using Physics By Inquiry.

Do I need to use every assignment associated with a particular Tutorial (pretest, homework, exam questions, etc.) for the Tutorial to be effective?

Each Tutorial was designed to be used as a full pretest-tutorial-homework-exam set. Research on effectiveness typically applies to the complete sequence. Pretests promote student thinking before the tutorial and inform the instructor about the level of student understanding. Tutorial homework is intended to help solidify or extend what was learned in the Tutorial. Tutorial exam questions are also important not just for assessing student learning. They send the message to students that the conceptual understanding and reasoning emphasized in the tutorials is an important component of learning physics and that it is reflected in their course grade. 

Nonetheless, some instructors have used the Tutorials or parts of the Tutorials without pretests or homework and been pleased with the outcome. In addition, some Tutorials include a ‘Supplement’ that can be skipped or given only to students who desire additional extensions or challenges. 

Do I need to use all the UW Tutorials in a particular order for them to be effective?

There are more UW Tutorials than can fit into most physics courses, so instructors need to select those that fit with the sequence of topics in their course. Many Tutorials are designed to come after lecture instruction on the related topic, so should be used later in a given week or during the following week. Some Tutorials are standalone while others build on each other. Check the prerequisites on the page for each Tutorial for advice on using it.

How do I assess the UW Tutorials?

The Tutorial worksheets themselves are not designed to be graded, as that is contrary to establishing a learning environment in which students can feel comfortable making mistakes. For example, many Tutorials encourage students to make predictions even when they are likely to be incorrect, and then later prompt students to revisit these predictions. Instead of collecting and grading Tutorial worksheets, we encourage instructors to use homework assignments and exam questions to assess changes in student reasoning. One can also give students participation credit for completing each Tutorial.

Through in-depth studies of student understanding, the Physics Education Group seeks to identify and analyze common conceptual and reasoning difficulties that students encounter in studying physics. Although the primary emphasis is on basic concepts and formal representations used in introductory physics, the scope of the research ranges from the introductory to the graduate level. Among the topics included are thermal and statistical physics, special relativity, quantum mechanics and electronics. A major emphasis in the research is on the ability of students to do the reasoning necessary to apply the concepts and representations of physics to the interpretation of simple phenomena and to the solution of both qualitative and quantitative problems. The results from research are used to guide the design of curriculum to improve student learning. Ongoing assessment of student learning is an integral part of the process.

Results from research are disseminated through research articles, invited and contributed talks, and through workshops on Physics by Inquiry or Tutorials in Introductory Physics given at AAPT and other professional meetings and at various colleges and universities.

Overview Articles
Tutorials in Introductory Physics
Tutorials in Physics: Quantum Mechanics
Tutorials in Physics: Advanced Electricity and Magnetism
Physics by Inquiry

The Physics Education Group in the Physics Department at the University of Washington conducts a coordinated program of research, curriculum development, and instruction to improve student learning in physics (K-20). The work of the group is guided by ongoing discipline-based research. For more than 30 years, we have been deeply involved in the preparation of prospective and practicing teachers to teach physics and physical science by inquiry. In undergraduate physics, we have been engaged in a major effort to improve the effectiveness of instruction at the introductory level and in more advanced courses. These projects provide a context in which we work toward promoting the professional development of teaching assistants and new faculty.

by Lillian C. McDermott, Peter S. Shaffer and the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington

Tutorials in Introductory Physics is designed to supplement the lectures and textbooks through which physics is traditionally taught. The tutorials are suitable for both calculus-based and algebra-based courses in which there is an opportunity for students to work together in small groups. Carefully sequenced exercises and questions engage students in the type of active intellectual involvement that is necessary for developing a functional understanding of physics.

The tutorials are based on more than 20 years of research and curriculum development by the Physics Education Group. The research that underlies the development of the materials has been documented in many articles. All of the articles by the group are listed under in the Research tab.

Prentice Hall, Inc. published a Preliminary Edition (1998), a First Edition (2002), a Second Edition (2014), and an Instructor’s Guide in (2003). The Tutorials have also been translated into Spanish, German, Greek, and Korean.

Tutorials in Physics: Quantum Mechanics is designed to supplement the lectures and textbooks through which quantum mechanics is traditionally taught to upper-division undergraduates. The tutorials are most suitable for courses in which there is an opportunity for students to work together in small groups; however, they can also be adapted for use in large, lecture hall settings. Carefully sequenced exercises and questions engage students in the type of active intellectual involvement that is necessary for developing a functional understanding of physics.

Based on the instructional model of Tutorials in Introductory Physics and more than 10 years of research and curriculum development by the Physics Education Group, these tutorials provide students with an opportunity to consider and discuss the conceptual ideas underlying quantum mechanics. In particular, students who work through the tutorials build up an understanding of the relationship between classical and quantum mechanics, the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics, the time evolution of wave functions and probabilities, and the results and consequences of quantum measurements. They also consider in depth such topics as angular momentum and perturbation theory.

by Lillian C. McDermott and the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington (1996)

Physics by Inquiry is a self-contained curriculum primarily designed for the preparation of elementary, middle, and high school teachers but also suitable for liberal arts students and for students who aspire to science-related careers but who are underprepared in science and mathematics. The curriculum consists of a set of laboratory-based modules, all of which require active participation by the learner. Experiments and observations provide the basis on which students construct physical concepts and develop analytical reasoning skills. The topics have been chosen to provide teachers with the background needed for teaching K-12 science competently and confidently. Depth is stressed rather than breadth of coverage. Volumes I and II were published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (1996).

Physics by Inquiry has been developed on the basis of more than 40 years of experience in providing preparation for preservice and inservice teachers. Through in-depth study of simple physical systems and their interactions, students gain direct experience with the process of science. Starting from their own observations, students develop basic physical concepts, use and interpret different forms of scientific representations, and construct explanatory models with predictive capability. All the modules have been explicitly designed to develop scientific reasoning skills and to provide practice in relating scientific concepts, representations, and models to real world phenomena.

Physics by Inquiry is not meant to be passively read. The modules do not provide all the information and reasoning included in a conventional text. There are gaps that must be bridged by the student. The process of science cannot be learned by reading, listening, memorizing, or problem-solving. Effective learning requires active mental engagement.

Physics by Inquiry has been designed for courses in which the primary emphasis is on discovering rather than on memorizing and in which teaching is by questioning rather than by telling. Such a course allows time for open-ended investigations, dialogues between the instructor and individual students, and small group discussions. A major goal is to help students think of physics not as an established body of knowledge, but rather as an active process of inquiry in which they can participate.

Physics by Inquiry is particularly appropriate for preparing preservice and inservice K–12 teachers to teach science as a process of inquiry. The modules can also be used to help underprepared students succeed in the mainstream science courses that are the gateway to majors in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. For these student populations, as well as for those in the liberal arts, the curriculum helps establish a sound foundation for the building of scientific literacy.

See the Research tab for articles by group members that describe the format, structure, and goals of a course based on Physics by Inquiry.

Impact of Physics by Inquiry

Physics by Inquiry is a set of laboratory-based modules that provide a step-by-step introduction to physics and the physical sciences. Through in-depth study of simple physical systems and their interactions, students gain direct experience with the process of science. Starting from their own observations, students develop basic physical concepts, use and interpret different forms of scientific representations, and construct explanatory models with predictive capability. All the modules have been explicitly designed to develop scientific reasoning skills and to provide practice in relating scientific concepts, representations, and models to real world phenomena.

Physics by Inquiry is not meant to be passively read. The modules do not provide all the information and reasoning included in a conventional text. There are gaps that must be bridged by the student. The process of science cannot be learned by reading, listening, memorizing, or problem-solving. Effective learning requires active mental engagement.

Physics by Inquiry contains narrative, experiments and exercises, and supplementary problems. As the course progresses, student notebooks become an important resource.

Narrative: The narrative is double-spaced. It includes statements of fact, definitions, and examples of the kind of reasoning that is expected of students.

Experiments and exercises: Experiments and exercises are inset from the narrative. They should be done as they are encountered.

Supplementary problems: A collection of problems at the end of each module provides additional practice in applying physical concepts and scientific reasoning skills.

Student notebooks: Students maintain notebooks in which they record observations, do exercises and problems, and reflect on how their understanding is evolving. In this way, they create an indispensable reference that complements the text and serves as an individualized study guide.

Note to the instructor

Physics by Inquiry consists of two volumes. The first two are subtitled: An introduction to physics and the physical sciences. Volume I develops fundamental concepts and basic reasoning skills essential for the physical sciences. The material included in Volume II provides a foundation for the study of introductory physics. With the exception of Electromagnets and Astronomy by Sight, Volumes I and II can be used independently.

Physics by Inquiry has been designed for courses in which the primary emphasis is on discovering rather than on memorizing and in which teaching is by questioning rather than by telling. Such a course allows time for open-ended investigations, dialogues between the instructor and individual students, and small group discussions. A major goal is to help students think of physics not as an established body of knowledge, but rather as an active process of inquiry in which they can participate.

Physics by Inquiry is particularly appropriate for preparing preservice and inservice K–12 teachers to teach science as a process of inquiry. The modules can also be used to help underprepared students succeed in the mainstream science courses that are the gateway to majors in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. For these student populations, as well as for those in the liberal arts, the curriculum helps establish a sound foundation for the building of scientific literacy.

Physics by Inquiry has an accompanying Instructor’s Guide for college and university faculty. It has several purposes: to suggest how the materials can be most effectively used with different student populations, to help the instructor anticipate student difficulties, to provide information about the equipment, to describe the demonstrations referred to in the text, and to convey the purpose of unusual exercises and experiments.

Development of Physics by Inquiry

Physics by Inquiry is the product of an intensive, collaborative effort by the Physics Education Group in the Physics Department at the University of Washington. Directed by Lillian C. McDermott, the group includes faculty, research associates, and graduate students. Members of the group conduct in-depth investigations of student understanding through which they identify and analyze specific difficulties that students encounter in studying physics. This research has provided the foundation for the design of the instructional strategies that are incorporated in Physics by Inquiry.

Physics by Inquiry has been developed through an iterative, interactive process of research, curriculum development, and instruction. The participation of the Physics Education Group in the instructional program of the Physics Department has made it possible to design, test, and modify the curriculum in a continuous cycle on the basis of regular feedback from the classroom. In addition to monitoring the effectiveness with students at the University of Washington, the Physics Education Group has been able to draw on the experience of instructors at other institutions who have pilot-tested earlier editions of the modules. The extensive testing and subsequent revision that have been an integral part of the development process have helped ensure that Physics by Inquiry is well-matched to the students for whom it is intended.

Physics by Inquiry has evolved into its present form over a long period of time, during which the co-authors have shared intellectual leadership and editorial responsibility. In the early versions of the curriculum, Mark L. Rosenquist helped establish the instructional approach that underlies all of the modules. In all the later versions and in the additional modules that appear in this first published edition of Physics by Inquiry, Peter S. Shaffer has played a pivotal role.

Acknowledgments

Substantive contributions to the design, testing, and modification of the modules have been made by many members of the Physics Education Group, past and present:

Bradley Ambrose, Patricia Chastain, James Evans, Gregory Francis, Diane Grayson, Randal Harrington, Stephen Kanim, Christian Kautz, Pamela Kraus, Ronald Lawson, Michael Loverude, Martha Means, Tara O’Brien Pride, Graham Oberem, Brian Popp, Mark Somers, Richard Steinberg, David Trowbridge, Emily van Zee, Stamatis Vokos, Betty Windham, and Karen Wosilait.

Joan Valles deserves special recognition for her editorial assistance on all the modules. Helpful suggestions have been made by the peer instructors, preservice and inservice teachers, and undergraduate students in courses taught by the Physics Education Group.

Colleagues at other institutions who have contributed to the development of Physics by Inquiry include:

Davene T. Eyres (North Seattle Community College), T. Dean Gaily (University of Western Ontario), Fred M. Goldberg (San Diego State University), Eunsook Kim and Beth Thacker (The Ohio State University), Suzanne M. Lea (University of North Carolina at Greensboro), William Moore (University Preparatory Academy in Seattle), and Robert A. Morse (St. Albans School in Washington, D.C.).

Lillian C. McDermott August 1995

Support by the National Science Foundation and the Physics Department has enabled the Physics Education Group to conduct the coordinated program of research, curriculum development, and instruction that has produced Physics by Inquiry. The encouragement of Clifford W. Mills at John Wiley & Sons, Inc., has also been deeply appreciated.

The tutorials are listed in the order in which they are typically used at the University of Washington. In most cases, this is because the tutorials work together to build a cohesive framework for quantum mechanics. However, if, for example, your class has a different structure, order of topics, or textbook, this order may not be ideal. Detailed information about each individual tutorial may be found in the Instructor's Guide.

Modern Physics

Quantum Mechanics

Supplemental

Notes

Tutorials in Physics: Quantum Mechanics is a set of instructional materials intended to supplement the lectures and textbook of undergraduate courses in modern and quantum physics. The emphasis in the tutorials is not on solving the standard quantitative problems found in traditional textbooks, but on the development of important physical concepts and scientific reasoning skills.

Structure of tutorial sections

These tutorials are intended for use in small group sections, although they have also been implemented as interactive lecture-tutorials in large lecture-hall settings. During the tutorial sections, students work through the tutorial worksheets in groups of 3 or 4. Tutorial instructors move about the room responding to student questions with additional questions that help guide students to an understanding. An important goal is to help students recognize when they do and do not understand a concept and to help them learn how to ask themselves the kinds of questions that can lead to understanding.

The tutorial worksheets are structured so that the questions help lead students step-by-step through the reasoning necessary to develop and apply basic concepts. The gaps in reasoning that students are expected to fill have been carefully chosen so that they are not so small they are trivial for most students and not so large that most groups of students are unable to complete them on their own. In some cases, this step size is larger than it would be for introductory physics students, as upper-division students typically have a larger array of mathematical tools at their disposal and a more sophisticated means of applying them. In this way, instructors can work with individual groups assured that the other groups are working productively.

Integration of tutorials into the rest of the course

The tutorials help address difficulties that are known to persist despite standard instruction. We have found that the tutorials are most effective when used after the relevant topics have been introduced in lecture. In many cases, the tutorials build explicitly or implicitly on previous ones. The cases in which several tutorials form a set and should be done together or in which a tutorial requires prior instruction is indicated in the overviews for the individual tutorials.

Administration of pretest and post-tests

Pretesting and post-testing of the tutorials is crucial to successful implementation of the tutorials. Students must view the tutorials as an important part of their learning for them to take the tutorials seriously. It has been our experience that properly implemented, students rate the tutorials at the end of the course as one of the most valuable components in helping them learn.

Pretests: The pretests may be administered in paper format at the start or end of the lecture before the tutorial section. They can also be given online. Since they are administered prior to the tutorial section, the responses provide a resource for instructors and teaching assistants by revealing some of the difficulties that students have with the associated material. Since the pretests require 10-15 minutes to complete for most students, we do not recommend that they be given in the tutorial section unless the section meets for longer than 60 minutes.

Pretests should not be graded, per se, however participation on the pretests should count toward student grades. We have found that nominal points awarded to students for attempting the pretests is sufficient for most students to take the pretests seriously.

Students should not be given the pretests to take home, nor should pretests be returned to students or the answers posted. A large part of the value of the pretest is in eliciting student conceptions. If pretests or solutions are available from prior quarters, so that students can study them beforehand, the benefit to the students is lost. Students should be told that working through the tutorial provides the background needed to answer the pretest. If they have questions about the pretest, they should talk to a tutorial instructor. We have found a good way to help students recognize the value of the pretests is to post a copy in the tutorial classroom. After students have worked through the relevant portion of the tutorial, the tutorial instructors can refer the students to the appropriate part of the pretest and ask students to reflect on how their answers to the pretest have changed.

Exams: It is crucial that a significant portion of each examination be devoted to testing for the kind of conceptual understanding and reasoning ability emphasized in the tutorials. Examples of tutorial post-test questions are provided in this Instructor’s Guide.

Interactive tutorial lectures

Tutorials in Physics: Quantum Mechanics is best implemented in small group sections. However, in some cases small sections are not practical or an instructor may wish to do more tutorials than are possible in the available sections. In these cases, the tutorials can be adapted for interactive tutorial lectures.

During an interactive tutorial lecture, students work for 5-10 minutes through the tutorial worksheets with one or more neighbors in the lecture hall. During this time, the instructor and any available teaching assistants move around the room helping individual groups. The instructor then leads a class discussion in which students are guided to articulate important ideas. The sequence of group work and class discussion is repeated throughout the lecture period.

A given tutorial typically takes somewhat longer as an interactive lecture than when used in small group sections. One method for addressing this concern is to split existing tutorials into smaller portions, and use them over the course of 25-30 minutes, leaving the remainder of the period for lecturing. We have found from post-test results that the tutorials are somewhat less effective in improving student learning when used in this way. However, we are currently adapting and testing tutorials for this format. Contact us if you are interested in using tutorials developed specifically for interactive tutorial lectures.

Effectiveness of tutorial instruction

Results from ongoing pretesting and post-testing of students have guided the development of all of the tutorials. Systematic improvement in student performance on questions that probe qualitative understanding has been documented at the University of Washington, even when tutorials replace time that had been spent on problem solving. In some cases, students have requested that additional time be devoted to working through tutorial curriculum instead of spending time on problem solving.