Background

My first inclination toward a particle interaction important physics concepts.3 The verbal exchange be-tween students on these questions really adds to their e asteperspective on mechanics came from the Winter 2000 Concord Consortium newsletter.1 Bob Tinker’s open-ing article advocated an emphasis on improving students ’ understanding of particle interactions as a fundamental goal of physics education. He made the point that an emphasis on particle interactions is cru-cial to the success of the “physics first ” movement in high schools across the country. Only when physics truly lays the groundwork for chemistry and biology will we reap the maximum benefits from this change. Uri Wilensky followed up Tinker’s message in this same newsletter with practical applications of StarLogoT programming toward this end. Among other areas, he uses it to teach particle interactions in understanding and enjoyment of the class. I use this approach to fully engage the students in discussing the simulations