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participants’ physics PCK was assessed through a series of 
interviews.
20
Similar themes in preservice physics teacher 
education programs can be found in earlier reports by 
Nachtigall (Germany)
21
and Thomaz and Gilbert (Portugal);
22
both of these programs stress study of physics-specifi c teach-
ing methods as well as early student-teaching activities that 
also are physics specifi c. They involve hands-on laboratory 
activities, and require substantial refl ection on and review of 
the teaching experiences that are guided by physics education 
specialists.
A recent discussion of a German in-service program focus-
ing on physics PCK is given by Mikelskis-Seifert and Bell.
23
An unusually careful study of a different physics education 
program for in-service teachers in Germany, this one focusing 
on development and evaluation of teachers’ beliefs and behav-
iors, has also recently been published.
24
A report by Zavala, 
Alarcón, and Benegas describes a short (3-day) course on 
mechanics in Mexico that, although focused on physics con-
tent, was intended to provide direct experience with research-
based, guided-inquiry curricula and instructional methods for 
in-service physics teachers.
25
III. RESEARCH ON INDIVIDUAL COURSES FOR 
PHYSICS TEACHERS
Almost all research reports related to individual courses 
specifi cally designed for preservice high school physics teach-
ers originate from outside the United States. A small sampling 
of such reports will be cited here, along with references to 
analogous work in the United States. Preservice and in-serv-
ice programs in the U.S. that may include several such courses 
are discussed in Sections IV and V, and discussions of courses 
developed for those programs will be found in those sections.