During the spring of 2009, we invited all known Iowa high school physics teachers to respond to a series of survey questions designed to probe the current state of high school physics instruction in our state. Among other questions, the survey asked respondents to indicate the degree with which they agreed with ten statements regarding effective physics instruction, and to rate the relative importance of ten skills students might acquire in their physics courses. By dividing the respondents

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... two groups, traditional instructors and nontraditional instructors, we observed statistically significant differences between the views of both groups. Teachers who use inquiry-based approaches to teaching physics are more likely to have a positive view of physics first, are less likely to value a textbook's role in class, place less value on having students solve numerical problems, more strongly agree that small group work in class is essential, place more value on graphical representations, and are less likely to believe that giving directions to students is necessary prior to laboratory work.