The SPS (Society of Physics Students) Outreach Catalyst Kit (SOCK) is literally a denim sock filled with materials to aid in teaching physics to school aged children. The program began last year with SOCKs being given exclusively to colleges. However, this year it will include high school teachers as well. Since the kit could not hope to touch on all areas of physics, the focus was on "Dimensions in Physics," the geometrical aspects of physics.

Included in the kit were many wooden and foam shapes, everything from pyramids to polyhedrons. A total of 60 kits were made, with 30 designated for use by high school teachers. So there was plenty of sawing and sanding to be done.

One of the particularly nice things about the kit is that it comes with a user's guide to help you through each demonstration. Of course, more experienced teachers may just want to go ahead and modify the lesson plans, but the option to do either makes the SOCK a terrific asset for people with any level of experience.

The main goal of this project is to provide teachers with the means to teach their students more effectively. There are many ways to teach physics, but oftentimes it is difficult to find a method that allows students to comprehend the subject. The SOCK uses lessons specifically crafted using tested pedagogy to provide insight into successful practices for teaching a difficult subject.

Many of these lessons have already been put into practice. Others are still in their early phases, but they have been created with a similar structure. The ability of students to understand physics topics that are not yet intuitive depends largely upon the method used to teach them.