The Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment ͑BEMA͒, developed by Chabay and Sherwood, was designed to assess student understanding of basic electricity and magnetism concepts covered in college-level calculus-based introductory physics courses. To evaluate the reliability and discriminatory power of this assessment tool, we performed statistical tests focusing both on item analyses ͑item difficulty index, item discrimination index, and item point biserial coefficient͒ and on the entire test ͑test reliability and Ferguson's delta͒. The results indicate that BEMA is a reliable assessment tool.

The integration of computation into the introductory calculus-based physics course can potentially provide significant support for the development of conceptual understanding. Computation can support three-dimensional visualizations of abstract quantities, offer opportunities to construct symbolic rather than numeric solutions to problems, and provide experience with the use of vectors as coordinate-free entities. Computation can also allow students to explore models in a way not possible using the analytical tools available to first-year students. We describe how we have incorporated computer programming into an introductory calculus-based course taken by science and engineering students.

In the electricity and magnetism (E&M) segment of the traditional introductory calculus-based physics course, many new and increasingly abstract concepts, embodied in complex formal relations, are introduced at a rapid pace. As a result, many students find E&M significantly more difficult than classical mechanics. We describe a different intellectual structure for the E&M course that stresses conceptual coherence, connects the abstract field concept to concrete microscopic models of matter, and follows a clear story line, culminating in the classical model of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation and matter. This sequence has proven to be effective in teaching the basic concepts of E&M.

Microcomputers offer unique opportunities for systematic variations in the presentation of educational materials and for research concernlng the social, motivational, and academic consequences of these different variations. This paper explores one set of theoretical controversies and policy debates that has been stimulated by this new technology for instruction. It is argued that conflicting views concerning the role of intrinsic motivational processes in instruction underlie differences of opinion concerning the relative costs and benefits of instructional games and discoverylearning environments, the expected impact of different styles of teaching, and the merits of alternative strategies for the design of detailed tutorial interactions.

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