Physics pathway: a digital library filled with synthetic interviews

Physics Pathway is a digital library available through an Adobe Flash portal whose contents are a series of interviews with four experts who answer questions about the pedagogy of teaching physics. The answers were collected over a broad time span, but are presented to the user as if he or she is conducting the personal interview, similar to naturally conversing with the expert. This "synthetic interview" style is discussed in this paper, with a mixed methods evaluation by 19 high school teachers who used Physics Pathway for a 14-week period at the end of 2010. The evaluation with teachers showed that the synthetic interviews validated or reinforced their ideas on their course materials and delivery. As these are teachers who are relatively new to physics instruction, confirmation that they are teaching well is important. Physics Pathway is linked with comPADRE, a member of the National Science Digital Library.