Who has already taught with Inspire Physics by Zitzewitz?

[LuisFelipe]

My school is using the last Holt Edition which is from 2011. The book has been fairly good (from surveys at AAPT) and in fact I used a previous edition in High School. By doing all the problems I started to get good at Physics.

However, it bothers me that the book hasn't released a newer edition. During this decade there has been significant research in Physics education, and another thing I notice is that the book doesn't make itself interesting to read for the students today.

AAPT does a survey of textbooks which included Glencoe, Giancoli, and the Holt. The survey is 2014 so not really up-to-date and back then the best book was Holt, followed by Giancoli. Holt is possibly getting too old. I tried Giancoli but the publisher only sold University books here. Last, the Glencoe was the one I was thinking about but it had already been out for 3 years. Luckily, since I was inquiring about books with publishers, I was given the newest Glencoe by McGraw-Hill which was now Inspire Physics. I read the book, presented it to my peers and the administration. We decided to change to that book.

When I read through the introduction, it's like it's telling me a story and then shows me how to derive the equation that describes the situation. It's not the most technical book, but it's laid out in a proper way for someone who's introduced to Physics for the first time. Also the problems are spread out throughout each section, instead of say 30 problems from least difficult to most difficult at the end of the section. Same amount of problems, just that they are distributed.

Also, I prefer how the topics are arranged, at least for Mechanics. 2D Vectors are not introduced until after Newton's Laws. The advantage of this, in my case, is that I no longer have to teach trigonometry alongside the Math class. I've had the problem where I reach vectors and they haven't seen trigonometric functions in math or they're seeing it at the same time so this gives more time.

I prepare my own presentations and usually get the content from the book and online, but I do ask the students to solve the problems from the book. The problem with this, is that students get the solutions from Holt online. This time that shouldn't happen. I also want them to read the book, so hopefully this one is interesting for them.

I saw that some schools were already using this book starting 2019. Any teacher or student who's used this book, has any recommendations or tips of what not to do?

 

[mpresic3]

I never taught out of it, but it sounds like you like the book and you have put a great deal of thought out of it. I infer from your post, that you are enthusiastic about teaching physics out of this book. In the end, this enthusiasm and your long consideration and resonance with the text will come out, and will be most remembered and valued by the students.

 

[martane]

As a fellow physics teacher, I completely understand your frustration with outdated textbooks. It's important for students to have access to the most up-to-date information and teaching methods. I'm glad you were able to switch to the newer edition of Glencoe and that it's been successful so far.

I haven't used Inspire Physics myself, but from what you've described, it sounds like a great resource for teaching introductory physics. I especially like how the topics are arranged and the inclusion of 2D vectors after Newton's Laws. It's always a struggle to balance teaching the necessary math skills with the physics concepts, so having that separation can be really helpful.

In terms of recommendations or tips, I suggest utilizing the online resources that come with the book, such as interactive simulations or practice problems. Also, encourage your students to read the book and make connections between the concepts and real-world applications. This can help make the material more engaging and relevant to them.

In terms of what not to do, I would say don't rely solely on the textbook for teaching. It's important to supplement with your own materials and activities to keep the students engaged and to reinforce the concepts in different ways. Also, make sure to constantly check for understanding and adjust your teaching accordingly. Every class is different and what works for one group of students may not work for another.

Overall, it sounds like you made a great decision in switching to Inspire Physics and I wish you and your students the best in your physics journey!