New Mexico State University currently has 39 secondary education majors intending to teach science. A physics course is required for these students. There are 42 secondary education majors intending to teach mathematics. These students must choose 3 different laboratory sciences from the following four: Physics, Astronomy, Chemistry, and Biology. An investigation of course records for the past 2 years revealed that only 4 secondary education majors received a passing grade for the second semester of the required 2-semester physics sequence. This suggested that many secondary education majors have been avoiding physics, and that a large fraction of those who enrolled were withdrawing from the course or were not passing. Furthermore, the structure and course content of the physics course that these students were expected to take is not optimal for students who are preparing to teach. This course is intended to introduce students to many different concepts in physics and emphasizes the use of mathematics in the solution of standard physics problems. Investigations into student learning suggest that many students leave such standard lecture-based introductory physics courses without a coherent conceptual understanding of the material.

We have introduced a physics course intended specifically for future teachers. The course, Physics 208, is based on the Physics by Inquiry curriculum developed by the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington with the support of the National Science Foundation. Students meet three times per week for two hours, and work in small groups through guided inquiry exercises. Exercises stress model-building and scientific reasoning based on concrete experience. The primary goal of the course is to help teachers develop an understanding of the nature of science and of scientific reasoning in the context of physics. Important components of this overall goal are: to establish a solid grasp of selected topics in physics, to develop an understanding of the evidence and the chain of reasoning underlying what is about these topics, to develop qualitative reasoning skills and to understand the extensions of these skills to more mathematical treatment of material, and physics and to develop a positive attitude about science. In achieving these goals, we would also like to model teaching practices that are more effective than "teaching by telling" for most students.

Fourteen students are enrolled in the course this first semester. Included in this presentation will be a description of the course, a discussion of midterm assessment of these students and of our overall plans for assessment.