Two Innovative Approaches to Connecting to Physics

Physics is often described as the science of the everyday world, yet for many it can feel distant, abstract, and inaccessible. This dissertation explores two unconventional pathways for making physics more inviting and meaningful for students: play and teaching. The first pathway is a study which follows the development and deployment of an interactive educational booklet that weaves physics into a high school English Language Arts class, creating space for curiosity, exploration, and discovery. The second examines student teachers, asking how their motivations for teaching shape their attitudes toward both physics and instruction, and how those attitudes develop through the act of teaching itself. Together, these studies suggest that students connect most deeply with physics not only through formal problem solving, but through experiences that make the discipline feel personal, creative, and alive. By broadening the ways students encounter physics, this dissertation offers a vision of physics education that invites more learners to see themselves in the field.