David Kagan

Students in Dr. Kagan's General Physics 202A course are no longer required to purchase the 9th edition of Young's College Physics*textbook, which cost nearly two hundred dollars new. Students now may purchase the book as an option, or they may choose to read the high quality College Physics textbook from OpenStax(opens in new window) which is  a free and "open" textbook.

Dropping the requirement for the overpriced textbook was not the only change he made to his course. Dr. Kagan completely reconstructed the course into what he calls, "a variation" of a flipped classroom. In Kagan's Physics 202A course, students are required to watch one or two "Pre-Lecture" videos before they attend each face-to-face class session. The required videos are free and Kagan has selected them from the Khan Academy(opens in new window) or from YouTube. This he explains, is why he calls his course a "variation" of the flipped classroom."People usually do videos of themselves for a flipped classroom." In addition, Kagan has two other requirements for students before they attend class. They must also watch another video, or read chapters from a choice of textbooks (the options are theirs) And finally, they must also send Kagan at least one question or comment before each class, via email, that they have about the required or optional pre-class materials.

Visit Kagan's course website http://phys.csuchico.edu/kagan/202A/(opens in new window), and in the "Class Schedule" under "Pre-Lecture" you will see links to the required Khan Academy or YouTube videos mentioned above, as well as "Pre-Read" links for  the Young and OpenStax College Physics textbooks. Under the "Pre-Watch Hippo" are free physics videos produced by the University of California Regents in 2003 and are now available in Hippocampus. http://www.hippocampus.org/HippoCampus/Physics(opens in new window) (Hippocampus is part of the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education's NROC project).

In the construction of the revised General Physics 202A course that he taught in the Spring of 2013, Dr. Kagan took the time to find, evaluate, and select a huge number of videos from the web for his course. This included: 28 Khan videos, 30 You Tube Videos, 1 PBS video, 1 KQED video, and 1 Simpson’s video. Clearly this had to be a huge amount of work and might not be for everybody. In addition, Kagan chose to construct his course using HTML instead of using BlackBoard, because he could then "control the formatting this way." However, Kagan also said that he doesn’t recommend learning HTML and SHTML just for the point of being able to do this yourself. 

 *Young, H.D, Sears, & Zemanksy. (2011) College Physics. 9th edition
$191.98 on Amazon (includes shipping)

David Kagan's Project Summary

Initial proposal idea for replacing current textbook or lowering textbook cost.
I chose to move in the direction of the “flipped classroom.”  My students are assigned on-line lectures and text readings before class. Relieved of the need for lectures, the class then becomes an opportunity for active engagement methodologies.

Savings, if you can estimate, to students overall.
According to Textbooks.com, the cost for one semester of the one textbook currently required is $120 new, $78 used, and $35 rental plus any shipping or handling charges and tax. So, presumably an average student will save about $100 (48x$100=$4800 savings/semester).

How you are complying with copyright law if using copyright protected materials?
I am not using any copyrighted material.

How you are addressing accessibility of course materials?
I respond to students on an as needed basis with the help of ARC.

Resource Links to share.
PHYS 202A  http://phys.csuchico.edu/kagan/202A/(opens in new window)

Name of co-helper(s), Librarians and/or ITCs
The staff of the TAP project.