| The purposes of this study were to investigate the status of physics teaching in Missouri's small (N ;Data for the statewide Survey Study were collected by use of a questionnaire completed by 103 volunteer physics teachers. Data for the Pilot Program study were collected from the physics teachers (N = 25) from small Missouri high schools who participated in the implementation inservice workshops. Data analysis procedures included the use of frequencies, percentages and means. The tests of statistical significance were done by Chi-square.;Findings with regard to the Survey Study included the following: (1) About 60% of the physics teachers had a mean of 8.8 years of physics teaching experience. (2) Over 90% of the physics teachers did not have a major in physics at the undergraduate level. (3) Nearly 65% of the physics teachers held a lifetime or professional certificate to teach physics. (4) More than 80% of the physics teachers taught only one course, the regular first-year physics course, on a yearly basis.;The findings of the Pilot Program study indicated that this inservice program was effective in terms of the participating teachers' evaluations of student interest and understanding, the technical considerations of background information, teacher directions and video quality, and its success in meeting the purposes of the exercises.;When the Pilot Program teachers were compared to the Survey Study physics teachers, no significant difference was found in teacher background to teach or in the amount of emphasis placed on teaching six topics in Classical Mechanics, in the types of certificates held to teach physics, or in the number of physics courses taught during the 1991-92 school year. |
