PHILOSOPHY AND OBJECTIVES

PRISMS, which stands for Physics Resources and Instructional Strategies for Motivating Students, began in 1982 as a collection of high-interest activities related to real-life experiences of high school physics students. PRISMS PLUS was developed with an enhanced learning cycle pedagogy — one in which students engage in explorations prior to introduction of abstract concepts. After the concepts have been introduced within the context of these explorations, students then are provided with additional activities that are opportunities to apply what they have learned to real-life experiences.

PRISMS PLUS includes activities and exercises that are designed to:

• develop conceptual understanding of the major physics ideas being introduced,

• engage students in scientific inquiry, and

• cultivate scientific reasoning and problem-solving skills.