Physics Education: Getting Out of Our Comfort Zone

Zambia, the Real Africa (as they say), land of the legendary African walking safari, earth's biggest waterfall,~the wild Zambezi River, breath-taking lakes and wetlands, a profusion of birds, abundant wildlife,~and raw, pulsating wilderness, ...all in one friendly country. School attendance has increased substantially since Zambia's independence in 1964. In 2000 some 1.6 million pupils were enrolled in primary schools, representing 78 percent of school-aged children. Only 24 percent of secondary school-aged children were enrolled. Through Hampton University's Center for the Study of Origin and Matter (COSM), a team of high school teachers and two college students held workshops with a theme ``Classical Mechanics'' where high school physics and mathematics teachers attended. The goal of the workshops was to motivate and help the teachers come up with teaching strategies to promote interest in physics and math in the students.