Introductory physics: an attempt to change attitudes

Summary form only given. We discuss attempts to change the attitude of students towards an electricity and magnetism class taken by engineering majors in the required Introductory Physics sequence. Class size is large (150 to 200 students) leading to little personal interaction. Testing has, in the past, been based on multiple choice problems which may be graded efficiently. We have demonstrated that students do not solve these from the physics but rather develop strategies for selection of answers based on memorized rules and formulae. The two popular texts at this level encourage memorization by listing formulae to be remembered and by supplying training questions which are easily related to the formula lists rather than to the text. The overall student attitude is that they should approach the course by memorizing operational formulae. Performance is poor with up to 30% failing to attain a satisfactory grade. We have been attempting to change the student attitude towards the course and to improve performance