NSF Award
9625866
96625866 Horwitz We seek to replicate, document, and study an informal educational experiment, performed last year, that successfully taught Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity to largely minority students at an inner-city high school. Although the students had very little knowledge of mathematics and physics, the approach adopted was similar in all respects to that pioneered with second- year physics students at an excellent suburban school during a previous NSF-supported project. The results, too, were similar-a striking finding given the disparity in preparation of the two student populations. This indicates that the use of advanced educational technology, coupled with research-based pedagogy, may have an even more dramatic effect in inner-city schools than in the suburban ones in which it has traditionally been applied. The aim of the proposed project is to acquire and communicate hard evidence bearing on this conclusion. ***
