Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools Report of the Content Panel for Physics (2002) / Chapter Skim
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2. Recommended Practices for Advanced Physics Instruction
2. Recommended Practices for Advanced Physics Instruction
Pages 3-19
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From page 3... ...
PREREQUISITES FOR AN ADVANCED HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM The panel recognizes that the level of preparation of students entering advanced physics programs varies widely from high school to high school. Nevertheless, we believe that there are two fundamental prerequisites most entering students should meet: · Prior to enrolling in an advanced physics course in high school, students should have studied the physics that is suggested as a requirement for high school graduation in the NSES (NRC, 19961.
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. THE MOST IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES There was strong consensus within the panel that the most important objectives for advanced study in high school physics are not tied to particular topics in physics.
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Mechanics provides an ideal framework for achieving the objectives cited above. At the same time, familiarity with mechanics is universally expected of students entering college who have completed an advanced high school physics program.
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The primary goal of the study of Newtonian mechanics is to develop conceptual understanding, rather than the ability to perform complex mathematical manipulations. For example, it is not necessary for advanced high school students to learn how to calculate the moment of inertia of a cylinder about some given axis, but it is important for them to understand rotational kinetic energy and angular momentum.
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From page 7... ...
Students who today would study AP Physics B would find the new mechanics unit to be a more comprehensive and in-depth treatment of the subject than that found in current Physics B courses, primarily because of the inclusion of rotational dynamics. Therefore, the primary effect for AP Physics students of the creation of a common mechanics unit as recommended by the panel would be to raise the standards in mechanics for Physics B to the level of Physics C
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From page 8... ...
In describing these options, we assume that students have already completed the new common mechanics unit discussed above. Our goal is not to specify these curricula completely; that is a task for other organizations, such as the College Board and the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO)
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The panel recommends decreased emphasis on the technical mathematical details and more emphasis on conceptual understanding. However, there is nothing to prevent this curriculum from being used as a second-semester option in its present form.
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Indeed, a relativity option is likely to generate excitement and motivation for further study in physics—a key goal of advanced physics study cited earlier. Fields at the Forefront of Clement Physics Research as Optional Topics One of the frustrating aspects of conventional physics instruction for new students is that they must spend years studying classical physics before they learn about fields at the forefront of current physics research.
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available. · Teachers with sufficient expertise to teach the courses might not be In addition to the above difficulties, no mechanism currently exists to validate that these course offerings provide the appropriate depth of understanding for advanced high school physics programs.
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The important point is that science requires both components, and science instruction should reflect that interplay. At the advanced high school physics level, students should already have had considerable experience with these activities in earlier physics and physical science courses5 in the form of laboratory exercises, demonstrations, and perhaps even independent investigations.
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From page 13... ...
The panel believes that the issue should be looked at from this point of view: What evidence is there that cookbook labs are of sufficient value to justify the enormous amount of time spent on them in physics programs across the nation? As far as we know, no evidence comes anywhere close to justifying this huge investment of effort.
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New York: Wiley. · CASTLE curriculum materials and experiments (capacitors, light bulbs, and batteries)
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The panel also recommends that teachers of advanced courses be familiar with the AAPT's position papers on Lee Role of LaboratoryActivities in High School Physics and 17' e Goals of the Introductory Physics Laboratory, which describe aspects of the goals of experimental work in more detail.9 The way the experience is designed is more important than the specific topic. For example, a lab dealing with pendulum motion could be constructed as a rote exercise in data gathering to verify the dependence of the period of the pendulum's oscillatory motion on the length of the pendulum, but it would be better to design the experience as scientific inquiry.
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In particular, we draw the reader's attention to the internal assessment component of the IB physics program discussed in Chapter 3. Designing Gooct Written Examinations A good written examination in an advanced physics program should: · Emphasize conceptual questions, rather than mathematical techniques.
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Scoring Techniques .~ The scoring of written examinations must emphasize the evaluation of student understanding. A rigid scoring rubric in which points are awarded for highly specific correct responses to small parts of each question is not appropriate because it reduces the reader's ability to respond to student thinking (both correct and incorrect)
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The panel notes that IB students can obtain top marks on their examinations by earning 57 percent of the points for a 6 and 70 percent of the points for a 7.~2 Additional evidence that standards for success on AP physics examinations should be higher can be found in an abstract by Howard Wainer of the Educational Testing Service that appeared recently (March 2001) on the College Board Web site.
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From page 19... ...
PHYSICS as well as students without AP experience in their second college physics course. This is particularly troubling in view of the fact that students with AP experience usually are among the most successful academically and normally outperform non-AP students.
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