Why Bother Teaching Physics
at
High School?
John Atherton
Toronto District School Board
University of Toronto
Physics Department Colloquium
January 2008
Introduction
• Caution!
• Why bother?
• Skills required after a formal education
– Thinking
– Problem solving
– Working in groups
• Dedication to Boot!
Overview
• Physics education - Local and Global
• Physics Education Research TM, past,
present and future
• Specific strategies for teaching physics
• Physics at High School
• High School to University
• Let’s talk about the future
Physics Education Research™ is a trademark of The American Physical Society
Physics Education
Local and global
• Canada
– Canadian education in general
– High school physics
– University sciences
– University physics
• UK
• USA
• Japan
• China
• India
Canadian Education in general
(population over 15 years old)
Year
Total population over 15
No degree, certificate or
diploma
High school graduation
certificate
Trades certificate or
diploma
1986
19,634,100
1991
21,304,740
1996
22,628,925
2001
23,901,360
Change
+ 22%
-15
9,384,100
8,639,900
8,331,615
7,935,075
+38
3,985,820
4,967,330
5,217,205
5,499,885
+32
1,969,650
2,342,105
2,372,000
2,598,925
College certificate or
diploma
+76
2,034,465
2,494,460
3,181,845
3,578,400
Bachelor's degree
1,254,250
1,585,775
1,979,465
2,411,475
+ 92
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population.
http://www40.statscan.ca/l01/cst01/educ42.html
Ontario (and Toronto)
High School Physics Education
• In 1998-9 - 150,000 Ontario Grade 9
students
– 40,000 took Grade 11 Physics: 27%(equivalent)
– 26,000 took Grade 12 Physics: 17%
• In 2004-5 - 20,000 TDSB Grade 9 students
– 5,900 took Grade 11 physics: 29%
– 3,700 took Grade 12 physics: 18%
Source: “Data Doug” Hayhoe, Program Co-ordinator of science and technology, TDSB
Canadian University Enrolment, - 1994-2004
Physical and life sciences and technologies
80000
70000
60000
# of students
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Year
Source: Statistics Canada, Enhanced Student Information System. 06 May 2007
2003
2004
However, last year in the United Kingdom
“Reading University confirms physics department closure”
November 2006
“Reading physics closure 'part of wider decline”
InTheNews.CO.UK Tuesday, 21 Nov 2006
“The decision to close Reading’s physics department comes
the same day as a worrying UCU report reveals that
10 per cent of UK science and maths courses
have been axed in the last decade.”
“University and College Union (UCU): Report reveals that
latest physics closure is part of decline in UK science”
Politics.co.uk “..although biology provision had risen by 9%”.
Meanwhile…south of the border
“High school physics enrollment hits record high.”
Eurekalert News http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-01/aiop-hsp011007.php
“Increased bachelor's degrees, high Ph.D. rates featured
at physics education symposium”
Reporting from AAPT Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the American Astronomical Society in Seattle January 2007.
Public release date: 10-Jan-2007 American Institute of Physics http://www.aip.org/statistics
Other parts
• Europe - EUPEN and STEPS
• Japan - Hosted International Conference
on Physics Education 2006
• China - Doubled spending on research
• India
- Exporting e-education!
India’s latest export Physics Education
• On line tutoring
• Prices range from $4 - $20/ hour
• Currently 6% of the $2.5 billion/annum US
tutoring industry and growing
www.dallasnews.com/
http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/22/magazines/fortune/indiatutor.fortune/
www.educomp.com
Physics Education ResearchTM
Past, Present and future
• Physics Education ResearchTM (PER)
–
–
–
–
What is it?
History
PER now
What next?
• What we know and use now
Physics Education Research™ is a trademark of The American Physical Society
What is Physics Education Research?
“The study of physics teaching and
learning devoted to improving
the physics education experience
of all students”
Laura McCullough @ http://physics.uwstout.edu/staff/mccullough/PER-UWEC%209-21-01.ppt
History of PER
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
First PhD 1970’s
Mazur at Harvard 1980’s
Force and Motion Conceptual (FMCE) 1980’s
Force Concept Inventory (FCI) 1990’s
Hake - 1990’s
Preconceptions = misconceptions
Misconceptions start in the stroller
My own ‘Mazur Moment’
US, Canada and The World
(NEXT)
Sample FCI/FMCE questions
The following diagrams show different tests you can do with carts on
ramps. You want to test this idea: the higher a cart starts, the greater
its speed at the bottom of the ramp. Which three tests would you use?
Sample FCI/FCME questions
A girl throws a ball up into the air, as shown in the diagram below. The position of the ball is shown at
different times after it has left the girl’s hand. Ignore the effects of air friction.
2
1
3
Which statement best describes the total force acting on the ball at position 1?
–
–
–
–
–
the force is up and constant
the force is up and decreasing
the force is zero
the force is down and constant
the force is down and increasing
History of PER
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
First PhD 1970’s
Mazur at Harvard 1980’s
Force and Motion Conceptual (FMCE) 1980’s
Force Concept Inventory (FCI) 1990’s →
Hake - 1990’s
Preconceptions = misconceptions
Misconceptions start in the stroller
My own ‘Mazur Moment’
US, Canada and The World
PER Now
• Many departments in the US focus on Physics
Educational Research
• Canada is following
–
–
–
–
UBC
Ryerson
Queens
McGill and many more
• Even an undergraduate paper from the U of T
What do we know now?
Preconceptions (= misconceptions)
Elicit - Confront - Resolve
Cognitive embarrassment
Teaching - Assessing - Learning - Evaluation
Assess, Assess, Assess
Specific Strategies
• Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILD’s)
• Cooperative Group Problem Solving
(CGPS)
• Clickers, ILE’s, Group Investigation
Problems (GRIP’s)
• Context rich environment
Interactive Lecture Demonstrations
(ILD’s)
Thornton and Sokoloff
• Why use this technique?
“Passive observation of demonstrations does not
significantly improve student understanding of the
associated concepts. Indeed, many students alter
their memory of demonstrations to match their
ideas about the underlying physics!”
Eric Mazur, Harvard
Interactive Lecture Demonstrations
(ILD’s)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Best increase in conceptual understanding
Deals explicitly with misconceptions
Cognitive embarrassment (low risk)
Don’t teach – let them learn by experience
Developed for large classes in university
Applicable to smaller classes for high school
• Need some research to convince you?
Research shows:
University of Oregon – 1990’s 400 students
.. well I promised research..
Colorado School of Mines - 550 students
The Hake Factor:
and more..
Hake’s own analysis on 3,000 students
Surely enough?
Summary work – now over 100,000 student data on ILD’s
The process
•
•
Interactive Lecture Demonstration
8 steps of learning
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Dummy run
Individual prediction
Small group discussion
Final prediction
Teacher elicits class prediction
Demonstration
Teacher elicits students assessment of results
Teacher gives ‘real world’ connection
• Advantages
– Great Learning (maximum Hake factor)
– Need only one computer, a projector and one set
of Vernier equipment (including a fan cart)
– Prepared programs on Vernier Logger Pro 2 & 3
– Can use technique for any demonstration
• Disadvantages
Time consuming
Learning curve
Cooperative
Group Problem Solving
(CGPS)
Pat Heller and Ken Heller
(University of Minnesota)
How and why do we get it
working for us?
• Why?
"Accumulating research on problem solving in
physics clearly indicates that traditional end-ofchapter numerical exercises in physics texts are
not useful, and may be counterproductive, for
helping students learn important physics
concepts."
AAPT 2007
Solve this physics problem..
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A = BC
D = E+CF
C = (D2 + E2)/2G
A = 11
E=4
D=6
G = 9.8
Find B, C and F
Why use it and what is it?
• The plug-and-chug strategy not effective
• Teaching problem solving for physics using
context rich problems
• Use conceptual knowledge of physics to
qualitatively analyse the problem situation
• Systematically plan a solution before they begin
numerical and algebraic manipulations of
equations.
Problem solving in groups
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Why in groups?
Novice strategy (chug and plug etc.)
Too easy – use novice strategy
Too difficult – use novice
Groups work –Practice
Physics language skills
Confront and resolve misconceptions
Teaching logical problem solving
•
The general strategy can be summarized in
terms of five steps:





Comprehend the problem.
Represent the problem in formal terms.
Plan a solution.
Execute the plan.
Interpret and evaluate the solution.
Problem solving for physics
•
•
•
•
•
Focus the Problem:
Describe the Physics:
Plan the Solution:
Execute the Plan:
Evaluate the Answer:
What kind of problems?
• Context rich
• 21 characteristics missing
- Variables missing or hidden (implicit)
- Unfamiliar context
- Abstract of an abstract (potential)
• Difficult to construct
-(2-5 of the above characteristics)
• Time: 30-70 minutes per question
Example
Gravitational: Because the movie industry is trying to make the technical details of movies as
correct as possible, you have been made a member of a panel reviewing the details of a new
science fiction script. Although neither astronomy nor navigation is your field, you are disturbed
by one scene in which a space ship which is low on fuel is attempting to land on the Earth. As
the ship approaches, it is heading straight for the center of the Earth. The commander cuts off the
ship's engines so that it will be pulled in by the Earth's gravitational force. As the commander
looks in the viewer, she sees the Earth straight ahead and the Moon off to the left at an angle of
30o. The line between the centers of the Moon and Earth is at right angles to the initial path of
the space ship. Under these conditions you don't think the ship will continue heading toward the
Earth, so you calculate the component of its acceleration which is perpendicular to the initial
path of the ship. First you look up the distance between the Earth and the Moon (3.8 x 105 km),
the mass of the Earth (6.0 x 1024 kg), the mass of the Moon (7.3 x 1022 kg), the radius of the
Earth (6.4 x 103 km), the radius of the Moon (1.7 x 103 km), and the universal gravitational
constant (6.7 x 10-11 N m2/kg2). As a first approximation, you decide to neglect the effect of the
Sun and the other planets in the solar system. You guess that a space ship such as described in
the script might have a mass of about 100,000 kg.
Examples
•
•
•
•
One-dimensional, Constant Velocity (8)
One Dimensional, Constant Acc. (5)
Combination (8)
Two Dimensional, Constant Acceleration
(Projectile Motion) (17)
• Two Dimensional, Constant Velocity and
Constant Acceleration (3)
• Plus more for force …
Resources
Pat Heller and Ken Heller
(University of Minnesota)
• Download their book from the website
• http://groups.physics.umn.edu/physed/Rese
arch/CGPS/GreenBook.html
What do we use now?
• Interactive lecture demonstrations
– Thornton and Sokoloff
• Problem solving (group and individual)
– Pat and Ken Heller
• Peer Instruction
• Clickers
• Lab based learning
• Software linked to learning Phet animations at:
http://phet.colorado.edu/new/index.php
What next?
• Cognitive psychology
– fMRI
– event-related potentials (ERP)
– eyetracking
– Redish, Mestre, Dunbar, Fuselgang etc
• Animations- Video/Flash/Java
• Canadian perspective
http://www.slicer.org/intro/images/clip-fmri-all.jpg
www.ncsu.edu/news/press_releases/04_06/201.htm
http://stephenslighthouse.sirsi.com/archives/thermal.png
The High School Years
•
•
•
•
Who do we teach?
How are we instructed to teach?
What can we do?
What do we do? – A survey of Toronto teachers
Who do we teach at high school?
• General Science compulsory at grade 9 and 10 and
less than 3% go on to study science at higher
education
• Physics Grade 11 - 80+% University, < 10% physics
• Toronto - Multiculturalism and the hockey puck
• Uniquely poised for good learning experiences
How are we instructed to teach?
• Existing Curriculum
Course
SPH 3U
Strand 1
Motion and
Forces
SPH 4U
Dynamics
Strand 2
Energy,
Work and
Power
Energy and
Momentum
Strand 3
Waves and Sound
Strand 4
Light and
Geometric Optics
Strand 5
Electricity and
Magnetism
Electric, Magnetic
and Gravitational
Fields
The Wave Nature
of Light
Matter-Energy
Interface
• Revised Curriculum (Draft - September 2009)
Course
SPH 3U
Strand 1
Motion and
Forces
Strand 2
Waves and
Sound
Strand 3
Electricity and
Magnetism
Strand 4
Energy, Work and
Power
SPH 4U
Dynamics
Modern
Physics
Energy and
Momentum
Electric, Magnetic
and Gravitational
Fields
Strand 5
Energy
Transformations
within a Nuclear
Reactor
The Wave Nature of
Light
How are we instructed to teach?
• Overall expectations: (for evaluation)
–
* analyse the motion of objects in horizontal, vertical, and inclined planes, and predict and
explain the motion with reference to the forces acting on the objects;
• Specific Expectations: (for teaching)
–
* analyse and predict, in quantitative terms, and explain the motion of a projectile with respect
to the horizontal and vertical components of its motion;
• Achievement Chart Categories
•
Knowledge/ Understanding (20-40%)
Inquiry
•
Communication
Making Connections (20-40%)
(20-40%)
• Evaluation: Term
Culminating Activities
(20-40%)
70%
30%
What can we do?
• Small classes (max 33)
• Laboratory based education
• Assess and Evaluate in multiple ways
–
–
–
–
–
Traffic lights / clickers/ whiteboards
Quizzes/tests/labs
ILD’s/CGPS/Interactive physics software
Java/Flash animations
Website support for homework/tests
A high school classroom
Application based tasks
Internal Memo
Date: Thursday April 12th, 2007
To;
, Forensic Science, Automotive,
Toronto Police Service
From: Jake “Chalkdust” Atherton, Detective, Road Safety
Tottenham Division, OPP
Re: Automotive crash on Monday 9th April, 2007 on 7th Line and Concession Road No. 6
just North of Highway 9 at or about 1.15pm.
Please analyse the diagram below and report to me by next Friday (court is set for the
afternoon) giving your opinion of the speeds of the vehicles at the moment of impact. This
intersection is a 4 - way stop and I would appreciate if you could give an opinion whether
or not one or both of the vehicles stopped at the stop signs prior to proceeding through the
junction. As there were no other witnesses to the accident other than the two drivers, I
hope that you are able to provide an independent opinion, especially in view of the drivers’
conflicting reports. Hope this finds you well and not too busy with work. We are having
terrible weather all this week with showers everyday. Let’s hope the summer comes soon.
Thank you for you assistance in this matter
Yours Truly
Det. J Atherton
Width of
both roads
=6m
Mass of
car A =
1100 kg
Vehicles found
fused together
here in Sam’s
empty car park
Distance =
Angle =
Sam’s Ice cream
shop – closed for
the season
VA =?
Mass of
Truck B=
2200 kg
Point of impact (from debris on road)
VB =?
Diagram of Accident Scene
Trips ..
Wonderland
Flying
Final Evaluation (= 30%)
•
•
•
•
Physics bridge building
Tennis ball/marble launcher
Trebuchet
Roller Coaster
– Design and build
– Video Analysis
Survey says…
(TDSB physics teachers- 2007)
1. Interactive Lecture Demonstrations
Never 0%
Rarely 11% Sometimes 34% Often 48% Always 7%
2. Cooperative Group Problem solving
Never 7%
Rarely
19% Sometimes 52%
Often 22% Always 0%
3. Physics Simulations (IPSIM II, IP 3/5/2000, or Physics Fx, etc.)
Never 41% Rarely 30% Sometimes
26%
Often 3%
Always 0%
4. Real time online data acquisition with probes (Vernier/Pasco/other)
Never 13% Rarely 30% Sometimes 37% Often 18% Always 2%
Survey says…
5. Motion video analysis
Never 56% Rarely 24% Sometimes 17% Often 3%
Always
0%
6. Do you use pre- and post-instruction testing to track the progress of your
students and/or to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructions?
Never
21%
Rarely 21% Sometimes 35% Often 18% Always 5%
7. Java Applets or Flash simulations (web or CD based)
Never 30% Rarely 20% Sometimes 30% Often 18% Always 2%
Please list your most often used Java Applets/Flash sources (web / CD/etc)
Falstad
PhET
http://www.falstad.com/
http://phet-web.colorado.edu/web-pages/index.html
8. Please estimate what percentage of class time your students spend
doing each of the following over the length of the course:Student activity
Average %
Range of %
Listening to and interacting with the teacher
43
15 to 75
Doing numerical problems
13
2 to 30
Conducting labs
12
4 to 40
Doing tests/quizzes
9
0 to 17
Doing qualitative conceptual questions
8
1 to 40
Discussing problems with each other
7
0 to 20
Presenting to class
3
0 to 10
Application of science
3
0 to 20
Exploring careers
1
0 to 5
Writing essays
1
0 to 10
Other (Please specify)
0
0 to 6
TOTAL
100%
Final evaluation
70% of total marks will come from the term work will include,
essays, presentations, quizzes, tests, labs, etc..
9. Your culminating activities (the 30%)usually include:
Exam/Research project/Performance task /Essay/Lab/Other
Exam only 33%
2 activities 41%
3 activities 18%
4+ activities 8%
How up-to-date are the teachers?
10. Are you familiar with the Physics Education Research movement?
Not 55
%
Heard
14%
Somewhat 18% Moderately 10
%
Very3%
11. Are you familiar with the Action Research tools (such as FCI, FMCE, etc.
and/or attitude surveys)?
Not 52% Heard 13% Somewhat 20%
Moderately 10% Very5%
12. Are you familiar with “teaching physics by inquiry” or “modeling in
physics”?
Not 25% Heard 25% Somewhat 22%
Moderately 21% Very7%
How up-to-date are the teachers?
13. What resources do you need that would help you to teach physics more
effectively?
Time and equipment
14. I estimate I have a cumulative total of ______ hours of professional
development in the last ____ years
Average 6 hours per year
High School to University
“Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.”
Dorothy, Wizard of Oz
The world according to physics educators
Copied from: Conceptual Physics, Paul G. Hewitt, Instructor's Manual
The world according to physics students
John Atherton
Why the gap?
• What is the same?
Curriculum (extends)
•What has changed?
Culture (Student Success v. Academic Darwinism)
Assessment pattern
Evaluation techniques
Problem Solving (contextual to math)
Math
What can high School Teachers do?
• Prepare High School Students for problem
solving using CGPS - Increased conceptual
understanding without loss of problem solving
ability
• Interactive Lecture Demonstrations
• Coordinate with Universities over Curriculum
changes.
• ?
What can Universities do?
• Teach explicit problem solving skills (CGPS)
• Interactive Lecture Demonstrations
• Assess more and evaluate in line with
assessment
• Set Achievement Categories on a well thought
out “filter system”
• Coordinate with High Schools
Let’s talk about the future
Co-operation vs. Competition
Curriculum
Integration
Effective Use of Outreach
OAPT and CAP
Recommended reading
Thank you
john.atherton@tel.tdsb.on.ca
Questions?