This 135-page physics workshop manual describes experiments and demonstrations for teaching magnetism at the secondary level using hands-on investigations.

The purpose of this resource is to describe a sequence of experiments that use safe, inexpensive, homemade materials to introduce magnetism to high school physics and physical science students.

The primary audience is physics workshop leaders; the secondary audience is the high school teachers who either participate in the workshops or use the resource directly.

This resource is one of several workshop manuals written by Physics Teacher Resource Agents (PTRA) and published by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).

The guide begins with a detailed bibliography and suggestions for workshop leaders. The initial experiments are qualitative. Simple devices assembled by the participants enable them to visualize the fields around permanent magnets and current carrying wires. The question-guided investigations use the constructed equipment to explicate phenomena and relate them to the theory. The experiments become increasingly quantitative and include open-ended questions that encourage further investigation, prompt deep thinking, and may be used to assess understanding. The manual concludes with sections on demonstrations, homework assignments, computer interfaced magnetic field sensors, sample test questions, and applications of magnetism, including particle accelerators, MRI, and magnetic fusion.

The guide is well written, and difficult ideas are clearly presented. Many black-and-white diagrams illustrate models and apparatus. The guide's content is fundamental, rigorous, and relates to common experiences. Ideas are carefully linked, and reasonable progressions of experience reinforce each advance in thinking. While some elementary mathematics is integrated in the manual, the emphasis is on observing magnetic effects using the equipment constructed by the learner.

This guide can be used both in preparing workshop leaders and in designing and implementing workshops for teachers. The guide would be an excellent resource for the professional development provider who has a deep understanding of the content.

This manual was written prior to publication of the National Science Education Standards.