Goals - University of Hawaiʻi
1 Goals 4
1.1 Purpose 4
1.2 Goals 4
1.3 Introduction 4
2 Why Physics At All 4
2.1 Preaching to the choir - science is important. A citizen’s knowledge of science 4
2.1.1 Patterns and Predictions 4
2.1.2 Skepticism 4
2.1.3 Energy 4
2.1.4 Force 5
2.2 Thinking/ logic 5
2.3 Preparation for further study (see below) 5
2.4 To get a job! 5
3 Why Physics First 5
3.1 Physics and Manipulatives 5
3.2 Logic of physics first sequence 5
3.3 Inquiry 5
3.4 Physics and Math, or Why NOT physics first 6
4 Why Physics, Physiology, and Technology 7
4.1 Students - engagement 7
4.1.1 Physiology 7
4.1.2 Technology 7
4.2 Teachers – cross training 7
4.3 Recapitulation (again) 7
5 Scope 7
5.1 Future use 7
5.2 Physics 7
5.2.1 Included 7
5.2.2 Not included 8
5.3 Physiology 8
5.4 Technology (?) 8
5.5 Chemistry 8
5.6 Science 9
5.7 Math 9
5.8 General interest, fun, and knowledge 9
6 Sequence 10
6.1 For familiarity 10
6.2 For math 10
6.3 For science 10
6.4 For physics 10
6.5 Spiral 10
7 Pedagogy 10
7.1 Instruction 10
7.1.1 Hands-on 10
7.1.2 Exploration/ Inquiry/ Guided Discovery 11
7.1.3 Constructivism 11
7.1.4 Summation 11
7.1.5 As Needed 11
7.2 Multiple forms of presentation 11
7.2.1 Qualitative activities 11
7.2.2 Stations 12
7.2.3 Quantitative labs and hypotheses 12
7.2.4 Predictions 12
7.2.5 Discussion 12
7.2.6 Lecture 13
7.2.7 Reading 13
7.2.8 Exercises (homework) 13
7.3 Multiple forms of expression 13
7.3.1 Diagrams 13
7.3.2 Tables 13
7.3.3 Graphs 13
7.3.4 Formulas 14
7.3.5 Words 14
7.3.6 Physical 14
7.4 Science 14
7.4.1 Experimenting and data – “Try it!” 14
7.4.2 Thinking 15
7.4.3 Community 15
7.4.4 Knowledge 16
7.5 Physics 16
7.5.1 Familiar to new 16
7.5.2 Hands on 16
7.5.3 Post equations 16
7.6 Math 16
7.6.1 Equals, = 16
7.6.2 Basics 16
7.6.3 Qualitative 16
7.6.4 Quantitative 16
7.6.5 Direct/ inverse 16
7.6.6 Linear/ exponential 16
7.6.7 Algebraic manipulation 17
7.6.8 Too much 17
7.7 Structure of lessons/ concept presentation 17
7.7.1 Intro 17
7.7.2 Qualitative 17
7.7.3 Quantitative 17
7.7.4 Prediction 17
7.7.5 Reading 17
7.7.6 Applications 17
7.7.7 Exercises 18
7.7.8 Extension 18
7.7.9 Supporting material 18
7.7.9.1 Safety 18
7.7.9.2 Measurement 18
7.7.9.3 Stopwatches 18
7.7.9.4 Graphing 18
7.7.9.5 Ratios 18
7.7.9.6 Proportions 18
7.7.9.7 3 variables 18
7.7.9.8 Pattern finding 18
7.7.9.9 How to solve problems in physics 18
8 Materials 18
8.1 No black boxes 18
8.2 Low cost 18
8.3 Available 18
8.4 Adaptable/ multi-purpose 18
8.5 Hands on 18
8.6 Aimed at Pacific Islands – no materials 18
9 Assessment 18
9.1 Formative 19
9.1.1 Homework/ exercises/ practice 19
9.1.2 Qualitative Activities 19
9.1.3 Quantitative Labs 19
9.1.4 Predictions 19
9.1.5 POEs 19
9.1.6 Quizzes 19
9.1.7 Discussion 19
9.2 Summative (tests) 19
9.2.1 Question structure 19
9.2.1.1 Answer provided 19
9.2.1.2 Answer not provided 20
9.2.1.2.1 Short answer 20
9.2.1.2.2 Long answer 20
9.2.2 Question type 21
9.2.3 Question source 21
9.2.4 Answers and Grading 21
10 Standards 22
10.1 Hawaii 22
10.2 National 22
11 Appendix: Scope and Sequence Table 23
Goals
1 Purpose
This manual summarizes the philosophy and practice of PPT. It is to be used by teachers of PPT while they are learning about the program and as a reference while they are teaching it.
2 Goals
This manual should help teachers to
• understand their audience
• understand the content of PPT
• understand the equipment and materials used
• understand the pedagogy used
• understand various assessments of success
• believe in what they’re teaching.
3 Introduction
Physics, Physiology, and Technology is a high school science course. It is intended to provide the opportunity for all students to successfully complete a physics course. It is also intended as the first course in the high school science sequence of physics, chemistry, and biology.
Why Physics At All
1 Preaching to the choir - science is important. A citizen’s knowledge of science
1 Patterns and Predictions
Why has science had such a big effect on human life? Power. We can predict the future.
• There are patterns in nature.
• We can find them.
• Based on the patterns, we can predict what will happen.
That’s the power of science In physics especially, the patterns can be expressed mathematically.
2 Skepticism
The philosophy of science is to test things. If it can’t be tested, if there isn’t the possibility of it being proven wrong, it isn’t scientific.
Einstein – “No number of experiments can prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.”
Feynman – “The Value of Science.” The door to understanding is doubt.
3 Energy
Energy is fundamental to everything. Students (citizens) should have a good understanding that energy is involved in everything we do, that there’s a limited amount and flow of it on Earth, and that it flows downhill. In this course we look at work as the most common form of energy.
4 Force
Force is the most fundamental concept in mechanics. It is a good way of explaining why things change their motion. It is also a critical part of work (above). Students should understand the relationships between force, mass (inertia), and acceleration.
2 Thinking/ logic
Because physics is logical in its structure, with new concepts dependent on old ones, studying it is good practice in logic. Additionally, since some of the concepts in physics are counter-intuitive (“I’m pushing the wall! It’s not pushing me!”), students get practice at thinking in new ways.
3 Preparation for further study (see below)
Physics is fundamental to understanding chemistry and modern biology.
4 To get a job!
Just kidding. But physics is a good foundation for careers in science, medicine, and engineering.
Why Physics First
1 Physics and Manipulatives
Physics is accessible with everyday objects. Physics principles can be learned by directly handling bowling balls, balloons, ball bearings, tennis balls, tubs of water, blobs of clay, syringes, meter sticks, stopwatches, string, washers, tin cans, paper cups, tape, rubber bands, etc. This removes a lot of the mystique about it; physics can be learned in your kitchen. The materials lend themselves to hands-on learning and direct experience, which helps students of all abilities.
2 Logic of physics first sequence
The same physics principles apply at the atomic level in chemistry, but they are not directly observable. Biology at the organic level is directly observable, but at the fundamental cell level, it is not. If the physics principles have been learned first, it is far easier for students to picture what is going on at a level they can’t directly observe – they can create their own similes.
Historically, physics developed before chemistry, and chemistry before cellular and molecular biology, so the physics first sequence recapitulates the historical sequence. This may be a more natural flow of ideas. At least it helps the students to learn the history.
3 Inquiry
For the same reasons that physics works well with manipulatives, it works well for inquiry or exploration. The materials are easy to explore. The basic relationships for many concepts are easy to see. It is easy for students to work in relative quantities, e.g., more/ same/ less, faster/ same/ slower, hotter/ same/ colder. After finding relative relationships, they can proceed to find quantitative relationships.
4 Physics and Math, or Why NOT physics first
Physics has typically been put later in the sequence of high school science because of the math involved. There can be (is) a lot of math in physics. It is the most mathematical of the physical sciences, and some of the higher concepts can only be understood mathematically – they are beyond our capacity to envision. But understanding the math and having the ability to manipulate equations does not translate to understanding of the concepts and their application in the real world. (Some good references or examples are available here.) You don’t have to be able to manipulate refractive indices and sin( to understand that light changes speed in different materials and that’s what makes rainbows.
It’s not as if no math is required, but we’re looking for concepts, not calculations. The necessary math can be taught as part of this course, but an introduction to algebra would be very helpful.
More/ less
The most fundamental mathematical concept is more/ less. Most physics concepts can be understood at that level. If two cars travel for the same amount of time, but one travels more distance, which one is faster? If two balls are the same mass, but they are different sizes, which has a greater density? If two objects have the same net force applied to them, but one has a greater mass, which will accelerate faster?
Direct/ inverse
Direct/ inverse is a natural sequent to more/ less. If everything else stays the same and voltage increases, does current increase or decrease? If the distance between two objects increases, does the gravitational attraction between them increase or decrease? Sometimes the result increases, but sometimes it decreases. Why? Are they directly or inversely related?
Ratios and proportions
Once you apply some experimental numbers, both more/ less and direct/ inverse lead to ratios and proportions. Here we need some familiarity with division, fractions, and decimals.
3-variable
All of the above lead to the most useful mathematical concept in physics, the 3-variable equation. Students first need to know what a variable is, so they may have to be taught. How much does this stone weigh? This one? The weight of the stone is x. Once they understand one variable, they can proceed to two. Distance/time = ? Two numbers yield a third. Then to three. We can give that third number a name – speed in this case. Besides understanding variables, students should know or learn how to manipulate a 3-variable equation to solve for any of the three variables. It’s a formula family. Basic algebra – understanding variables and their manipulation is a huge help for physics.
The goal is to emphasize the relationships between the quantities, not the ability to manipulate numbers. Relations, not ‘rithmetic.
Graphing
Graphs are another very useful tool. They are pictorial. They show patterns, including more/ less and direct/ inverse quite simply. At a more abstract level, they show three variable relationships.
Why Physics, Physiology, and Technology
1 Students - engagement
1 Physiology
It’s about ME! How fascinating!
2 Technology
Possible titles
Physics for Every Body
Physics and Me
Living Physics
The Body of Physics
Physics, Me, and Cars
2 Teachers – cross training
Physics or biology training
3 Recapitulation (again)
Physics and physiology developed simultaneously
Scope
See the scope and sequence table for details.
1 Future use
Since this is envisioned as the first course in a physics, chemistry, biology sequence, we have tried to include concepts that are (in more or less this order)
• necessary to understand basic physics and fundamental to further study of physics
• applicable in chemistry
• applicable to human biology and personal health(?)
• essential to a citizen’s understanding of science
• interesting and fun.
2 Physics
Because inquiry takes more time than lecture, and because this course is aimed at students in early high school, some topics have been left out. We intend to cover fewer concepts in greater depth – post-holing.
1 Included
See the scope and sequence in the Appendix for details.
2 Not included
Here are some of the major topics not covered in the course.
• Statics - Statics, with stresses and strains is interesting, and can be applied to bone strength, but it is more of an application or engineering function than a basic concept. There are many activities to do with simple machines, but we limit those to levers and inclined planes. Statics is not very applicable in chemistry.
• Scaling – Scaling has many applications in life functions relating to size of animals, but it is not key to chemistry. There are some wonderful activities to do with scaling, including an introduction to exponential functions. It could be taught in biology.
• Pendulums – Pendulums are another great topic with a wonderful lab and a fascinating history, but the information doesn’t lead to other concepts, and it’s not needed for chemistry or biology.
• Rotational motion – Rotational motion is a difficult topic for early high school students. Although rotational motion consists of direct analogs to linear motion, it’s not easy. We cover rotational speed and torque, and we touch on other parts of rotational motion in the periodic motion section. Rotational motion is somewhat important in chemistry for conservation of energy, but the basic idea of conservation is covered elsewhere.
• Atomic structure – Atomic structure can be covered in chemistry. Here we touch on electrons to get static charge.
• Quanta – Quanta can be covered in chemistry.
• Relativity – This can be covered in a more advanced physics course.
• Astrophysics – We don’t cover astronomy except for gravitation.
3 Physiology
We have tried to use physiological examples of physics principles where applicable. Physiological applications are much easier in the latter part of the course after the fundamentals of mechanics are complete.
• Musculo-skeletal system – force, levers
• Circulatory system – hydraulics
• Respiratory system – pneumatics
• Nervous system – electric
• Hearing – waves and sound
• Vision – light
Additionally, we use the human body to exemplify mass. We discuss injuries relating to impulse and momentum, and the digestive system is part of energy.
4 Technology (?)
We really don’t have much here. Frank’s definition is that any application of physical principles to achieve some end is technology. This includes dance. There’s not time for a lot of technology in the course.
5 Chemistry
Here is a list of physics concepts for chemistry.
Covered in this course
• energy, potential and kinetic energy, conservation
• momentum and conservation
• temperature and heat
• pressure
• electric charge (opposites attract, likes repel)
• voltage, current, and energy
• waves, frequency, and wavelength
• electro-magnetic waves
• light and the electro-magnetic spectrum
• speed of electro-magnetic waves
Assumed to be covered in chemistry
• elements
• atomic structure
• quanta
6 Science
The science concepts emphasized are
• safety
• questioning, curiosity
• skepticism and honesty
• frame of reference
• units and measurement
• experiments and testing, data
• controls, independent and dependent variables
• sources of error
• qualitative and quantitative data
• data tables
• finding patterns in data
• prediction
7 Math
Math concepts include those necessary to understand the physics.
• ratios and proportions
• graphing
• 3-variable equations
• direct and inverse relationships
• linear and exponential relationships
• average
• ∑, net
• ∆, change in
• k, constant
• radius
8 General interest, fun, and knowledge
Physics explains many things in our daily life:
• why the sky is blue
• how rainbows are formed
• how your body works
• why things move (or don’t)
• how levers can make your work easier
• why water condenses on cold glasses
• what angle to throw a ball to make it go the farthest
Sequence
1 For familiarity
The course is sequenced to start with things that are more familiar to the students and progress toward more abstruse concepts. Early concepts include matter (stuff), space, distance, time, motion, speed, levers, etc. Later concepts include density, voltage, light, waves.
2 For math
The course is sequenced to start with simpler math concepts until the students understand 3-variable relationships, tables, linear graphs, and formulas. Only after a lot of practice do we proceed to squared relationships. All the concepts are presented in qualitative form before they are presented quantitatively.
3 For science
Science concepts are presented early and reiterated constantly. The primary idea the students should learn is that science is based on experiment. They also learn some of the methods of experiment, including independent and dependent variables, controls, etc.
4 For physics
Physics starts with the more familiar subjects at hand – mass, inertia, distance, time, speed, etc. Energy is used as a unifying theme, particularly in the form of work. Since distance and force are introduced early, and because force and distance show up in simple machines, it is relatively easy to introduce work early. After that students will know that almost any time something moves, there is work (energy) involved.
5 Spiral
We try to introduce concepts early in the course, then keep returning to them in increasing complexity. This should help the ideas to form and remain in the students’ minds.
Pedagogy
If the student doesn’t remember it, did you teach it?
1 Instruction
There are many forms of instruction. We favor the following.
1 Hands-on
Hands on instruction works well for almost all students, regardless of ability level. Kinesthetic memory is powerful, and will help students to retain what they have learned. Some students can barely learn any other way. Hands-on learning also allows students to look at the material to the depth that they are capable.
2 Exploration/ Inquiry/ Guided Discovery
Questioning is the core of science. I wonder…? If students can be allowed to explore with some freedom, they will be more interested in what they are doing. Their minds will be engaged with the subject and they are more likely to learn and remember the material.
Exploration, inquiry, and guided discovery are all flavors of the same thing. PPT is probably closest to guided discovery. The answers to the labs that the students are performing are well known, but not to the students. It is important for them to play with the material and work their way to understanding.
Inquiry and hands-on learning takes longer than lecture, so you can’t cover as much material. The hope is that the material covered will actually be remembered.
3 Constructivism
If students can be guided to create their own understanding of concepts, they are more likely to remember and be able to use them. We try to start with simple forms of concepts, then come back to them in increasing detail throughout the course. Throughout the process, increasing layers of understanding are added, and concepts are refined and reinforced. The net effect is that students should understand and remember the ideas.
4 Summation
There are many ways to solve problems – more than one way to skin a ‘cat. In allowing students to explore ideas and construct their own meaning, there is the danger that they will be wrong, and first impressions are hard to change. But with repetition and reinforcement, the ideas should clarify. In any case, there is a need at the end to summarize what the students have learned. It helps by lowering the number of pieces of information with which they have to deal, and by giving them a way that has proven over the years to be effective.
5 As Needed
Trying to teach sections on math, measurement, graphing, etc. before getting into the activities lack relevance for the students. Let them struggle a bit, and give them the knowledge when they need, can apply, and appreciate it.
2 Multiple forms of presentation
Not all students learn in the same way. Teachers need to account for the various learning styles by presenting material in different ways. In the same way, seeing material from a variety of points of view should give context to the concepts and make them easier to remember.
1 Qualitative activities
All the concepts should be introduced in a qualitative way. If I apply more force, does it move faster or slower or stay the same? As it goes downhill, does it go faster or slower or stay the same? This should allow students to get a basic feel for the concept being presented, without the confusion of numbers and symbols.
2 Stations
Stations allow for a broad sampling of qualitative examples of a concept. The students can rotate through the stations, make observations, and prepare for a discussion. The stations also serve as a good source of examples and questions.
3 Quantitative labs and hypotheses
Qualitative understanding of a concept is good, but to really understand something, we have to dig in a little deeper and get some numbers. The goal is to ferret out a numerical relationship between the quantities under investigation. In general, the students are quite capable of coming up with fundamental laws of physics with just a little bit of coaching.
We use hypotheses differently from many science courses. Our labs are exploratory. A question or problem is posed and the students are asked to explore it. Typically the question is how two quantities are related, and the students are asked to define the relationship mathematically. We don’t expect them to have a hypothesis ahead of time. As the year progresses, they may be asked at first to determine qualitatively if the quantities are directly or inversely related. Later they may be asked to hypothesize whether the relationship is linear or exponential. But at the beginning, they are just asked to explore the relationship, gather data, and define the relationship. At the end of the exploration, they should have an equation. The equation is their hypothesis. Then they can test the hypothesis.
4 Predictions
Predictions are where the rubber meets the road. If the students have come up with a formula that they think works, based on their experimentation, there is only one thing to do; try it. Predictions are what give science its power. Students should experience that power for themselves – it can be quite intoxicating. After the qualitative and quantitative investigations, students have essentially created a hypothesis to test under real-world conditions. This forces students to test their knowledge.
POEs are another form of prediction, but not as quantitative. POE stands for Predict, Observe, Explain. After exploring a concept, students are shown a setup and asked to predict what will happen. Most of the time the prediction is qualitative, usually of the which will finish first type. Then they observe what happens. Then they have to explain it. Explaining things forces students to think clearly.
5 Discussion
Discussion helps to solidify the concepts for the students, and it often brings out misunderstandings. Having students attempt to verbalize their understandings forces them to clarify their thinking. “Oh, you know what I mean.” It’s a valuable exercise. Sometimes one students will explain it in a way that works better for other students than how the teacher explains it. Some students learn when they talk!
Socratic dialogue
Think, pair, share
Check your neighbor
6 Lecture
Lecture is not all bad. It is a good way to pass a lot of information in a short period. It is also a good way to summarize material and clarify questions.
7 Reading
Reading is another good way to reinforce learning. Some students learn well by reading. Some are barely capable at all. It’s good practice for everyone. The static reference on paper can be a good place for studying.
8 Exercises (homework)
Practice helps. Discussion of the exercises helps. Homework is primarily for the students’ benefit. At the point homework is assigned, students should understand the concepts, and they just need practice in applying them. Sometimes the application is easier than other times, but the onus should be on the students to make good use of the opportunity.
Compare to piano practice and weight lifting.
3 Multiple forms of expression
Just as there are multiple learning styles, there are multiple forms of expression. Room should be made for all types. More forms of expression lead to more opportunities for learning.
1 Diagrams
Diagrams, or pictures, work very well for some students. The diagrams can be of the activity setup, which will help them to think through what they were actually doing, or they can be a representation of the relationship between variables in the activity. That’s a little trickier. Either way, diagrams can be very useful to some students who think pictorially.
2 Tables
Tables are a way to represent concepts and data. Some people think well using tables. Tables are a very good organizational tool for ideas. A well set up table can show a lot of data in a small amount of space. For example, fill in the following table with yes or no:
|Car is traveling |∆s? |∆v? |a=0? |
|25 mph, straight line | | | |
|25-30 mph, straight line | | | |
|25 mph, turning | | | |
|25-30 mph, turning | | | |
Tables are a good way to take and organize data, and some patterns can be seen in data tables very readily, like direct vs. indirect relationships, and constants.
3 Graphs
Graphs are another way of looking for patterns and looking at relationships. They are more pictorial than tables. First, graphs show whether the relationship between two variables is direct or inverse. Once the graph has been made direct (by inverting one of the variables if necessary), a graph shows whether the relationship is linear or exponential. The push is always to find a direct linear graph if possible, because then you know what you have – the rate of a curve is hard to tell just by looking, but a straight line is pretty easy to see.
4 Formulas
Formulas show relationships. Some students are comfortable with math, and some aren’t. Formulas can clarify relationships for those adept at math. For the students who aren’t as comfortable, formulas can still show relationships (direct/ inverse especially) by using up/ down arrows (see below). Students are expected to be able to manipulate formulas, and by the end of the course, they should be able to create formulas from their data.
5 Words
Read or heard, written or spoken, words can help to clarify ideas. Some students are better verbally, and need to be allowed the chance to use their ability. There must be some reading available to the students to help them clarify what they have learned. They also need the opportunity to talk and write about what they’ve learned to help cement it in their minds.
6 Physical
Students get plenty of opportunity in this course to manipulate objects. Some students thrive here while they struggle in almost every other form of expression. Other students are practically clueless when it comes to manipulation. Both kinds benefit from the experience. Although we don’t include physical setup as a summative assessment, the students who do well at it should be given credit for what they can do – their ability ought to show up in better lab results.
4 Science
1 Experimenting and data – “Try it!”
Science begins with wonder and proceeds to thought and testing. They’re all important. Wonder can lead to a little thought, then testing, or a lot of thought, then testing, and the testing can lead to more thought and wonder and further testing. They’re intertwined. At the end there should be understanding. We don’t push the concept of hypotheses. We’re more concerned with investigation. At the end of an investigation students may generate a hypothesis that they can test more carefully. At the beginning, the hypothesis will probably be unclear. It could be of the form, “I wonder if I can found out the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration?”
Science is only interested in ideas that can be tested. If you can’t test it, it’s not of interest to science. Further, if it can’t be proven wrong, it’s not a scientific statement. Science is based on skepticism – show me. Scientific theories are our best current explanation of natural phenomena, but they are always subject to improvement or change based on new data. The more evidence there is to support a theory, the stronger it becomes, but the theory may be disproved by a single experiment. Einstein said “No number of experiments can prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.” It is important that students understand this fundament of science, if only to help them when it comes to discussions of science and religion.
It is important to constantly reinforce the ideas of controls, independent and dependent variables, and sources of error. During activities, emphasize the need to control all the variables to eliminate sources of error. For a good experiment, one variable should be changed and only one should change as a result, otherwise the data gets complicated and hard to interpret. The same idea can be used when looking at 3-variable relationships. Keep one variable the same, change another, and see what happens to the third.
Messy data is OK. The equipment used in this course is simple and depends a lot on student measurement, so the data will not be perfect. Students often get confused, “But these two numbers are different.” We operate on the 10% rule. If you miss 10% of the questions on a test, you still have an A. Within 10% on data is close enough. This is an area where teaching accuracy of measurement and significant figures could be useful. We generally don’t because it just adds to the math overload. We tell the students to at least use a consistent number of digits for each variable, typically two or three. A stopwatch will have three (2.58 s), while a force scale may have two (7.5 N). The fact that their calculators give them 10 digits doesn’t mean they need to use them all.
2 Thinking
Once you “Try it,” what’s next? Science is the search for patterns in nature. How do you find them? Wonder, think, and get data. Then interpret the data. Students are often poor (they probably haven’t been taught how) at finding patterns in data. It is important that they be taught so they have mental tools to work with. We have a supplementary sheet that gives a process for finding whether two variables are directly or inversely related, and whether they are linearly or exponentially related. The vocabulary (being able to name something makes it more real) and the process are extremely helpful and should be emphasized. Throughout the course, students will be asked to find the general principle or concept through experimentation; that’s inductive reasoning, finding the pattern from the data. Then they’ll be asked to predict what will happen in a similar circumstance using the general rule they have found; that’s deductive reasoning.
3 Community
Students should work in groups some of the time. Group work achieves several goals. Students learn to work with other people, which they’ll have to do throughout their lives. Working in groups models real scientific work. Students can work together to solve problems – two heads are often better than one, and they can double-check each other’s work. Stronger and weaker students can be mixed so that all groups can be successful. For lab activities, multiple sets of hands are necessary.
Two is a good group size for many activities. Three is very workable – each student will likely have a job to do. Four gets to be too big, and one of the students usually does nothing. It’s a good idea for you to point out what the job breakdown in the group might be. For example, ball releaser, timer, and data recorder. Students seem to have trouble sharing tasks when it comes to calculations of data, and they may need encouragement to divide the tasks. Students can divide up the tasks of drawing diagrams of the setup, drawing graphs, drawing diagrams of the results, creating a summary data table, writing an analysis, etc.
Communication
Presenting data
Lab reports?
4 Knowledge
5 Physics
1 Familiar to new
2 Hands on
3 Post equations
6 Math
1 Equals, =
Balance, scale
Your friend
The stuff on either side is the same thing, just in different costumes.
2 Basics
arithmetic (+, -, x, ()
variables, 1
fractions and ratios
decimals and proportions
2 variables
3 variables, triangle, 6,
exponents
tables and graphing
graphs and slope
3 Qualitative
More/ less/ same
up/ down arrows
big/ small letters
teeter-totter calculator
4 Quantitative
Can’t do all qualitative because of linear/ exponential.
Can’t do all integers because of real-world measurements/ labs.
5 Direct/ inverse
3 variable
tables
graphs
6 Linear/ exponential
tables?
graphs
7 Algebraic manipulation
3 variable
Numbers
Quantities
Units
8 Too much
Significant figures
Scientific notation
7 Structure of lessons/ concept presentation
1 Intro
Try to relate to physiology
2 Qualitative
3 Quantitative
4 Prediction
5 Reading
6 Applications
Explain physiology
7 Exercises
8 Extension
9 Supporting material
1 Safety
2 Measurement
3 Stopwatches
4 Graphing
5 Ratios
6 Proportions
7 3 variables
8 Pattern finding
9 How to solve problems in physics
Materials
1 No black boxes
2 Low cost
3 Available
4 Adaptable/ multi-purpose
5 Hands on
6 Aimed at Pacific Islands – no materials
Assessment
Assessment is necessary. With no feedback, you can’t take corrective action. There are a couple of kinds of assessment, formative and summative.
Grading is not the goal of school. Grades motivate students (some might argue that the motivation is wrong). Grades also give feedback to students and teachers to let them know how they’re doing. Grades pass information to parents, teachers, colleges, and employers.
1 Formative
1 Homework/ exercises/ practice
2 Qualitative Activities
3 Quantitative Labs
4 Predictions
5 POEs
6 Quizzes
7 Discussion
2 Summative (tests)
1 Question structure
The structure of questions on tests affects what students need to know. We have included questions of many types in our test bank. The particular mix you choose is up to you, but a mix is good because students vary in their abilities to answer different types of questions. Here is an explanation of the types, when they are appropriate, and their advantages and disadvantages.
We put the three variable question first on every test until the whole class gets it right. The three variable question is: a = b/c. Solve for c. Of course we change the symbols for a, b, and c every time.
1 Answer provided
For multiple choice and true/ false questions, the answer is provided. All the student has to do is pick the right one. For true/ false, it’s particularly easy since the odds are 50:50. Writing good multiple choice and true/false questions is not easy. The question has to be written so that the right answer is not obvious, while not being devious. Another type of question along the same line is a three-choice qualitative question such as more/ same/ less, or faster/ same/ slower. At least one qualitative question should be included to test the students’ basic understanding of the concept.
The primary advantage to these types of questions is that they are easy to grade (by machine if you’re lucky), and that it is easy to compile statistics on them. They don’t, however, require the students to generate much information themselves, so unless the questions are well written, they don’t provide good feedback. Additionally, the students will get a percentage of answers right just by luck.
2 Answer not provided
1 Short answer
Short answer questions require the student to generate the answer, so they require more of the student than multiple choice questions. Short answer questions can be further divided depending on whether they require calculation.
Calculation questions are very common in physics because of the equations. It is easy and tempting to make up many calculation questions, but the temptation to fill the test with calculations should be resisted. We try to put in at least one calculation question that is essentially definitional. Take the primary equation for that concept and see if the student can use it. For example, give distance and time and see if they can compute speed. A couple of more questions can be generated from the formula family for speed.
Another form of calculation question is to fill in a table. It is just multiple calculations. For example: Given the acceleration due to gravity, fill in the table for how far an object travels in 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 seconds.
Non-calculation questions include a great variety. You can ask for
• definitions (What is velocity?),
• vocabulary (What is the property of mass that resists changes in motion?),
• short essay (Briefly state Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion.),
• units (What are the MKS units for torque?),
• graphing (Draw a graph of velocity vs. time for an object with constant acceleration.),
• explanations (Explain why a change in direction is considered acceleration.)
and many more. In these questions, the student must generate the answer.
Grading non-calculation questions takes more time than multiple-choice or calculation questions, and the quality of the answers is more ambiguous. However, they give you a good feel for what the students know.
2 Long answer
Long answer questions should give you the best feel for what the student knows. Recently, we have been including essay questions on our tests. They are the most difficult to grade, but given a good rubric, they aren’t too bad, and they allow students with good verbal but poor mathematical skills a better opportunity to show what they know. Our essay questions are based on a demonstration setup and require an explanation of the setup using both physics vocabulary and some non-verbal representation. This has been called authentic assessment. An example is to place a bowling ball on a table and ask the students to describe it in physics terms. We give them three terms they must use (mass, inertia, force), require them to use at least two more terms, require the use of a diagram, formula, table, or graph, and grade for thoroughness, clarity and concision. The goal is that students practice analyzing real-world phenomena using what they have learned in class.
These long answer questions are more difficult to grade, but with a rubric of 5 points for physics terms used correctly (1 point for each), 2 points for a non-verbal representation, and 3 points for clarity, it’s not too bad.
These authentic assessments make good assessment instruments on their own.
2 Question type
The type of question can vary. You should have a mix. There should be some questions that every student can answer – what is the most basic idea you have tried to convey in this section? Every student should be able to answer that, at least qualitatively. There should also be at least one difficult question to see who really knows what’s going on.
• Qualitative questions allow students to show that they understand the basic relation between concepts, even if they can’t do the math to answer quantitative questions.
• Mathematical questions will help some students, while verbal will help others.
• Single-step questions are easier conceptually than multi-step.
• Some students can memorize facts while others are better at explaining.
• Conceptual questions are a good test of understanding. They are basically non-mathematical questions about real-world applications of physics principles. An example is: Why does the stream of water from a faucet get narrower as it falls?
Try to include a good mix.
3 Question source
Where should questions come from? Most questions should be similar to something the students have seen. They can come from:
• formulas and formula families
• exercises
• reading
• class discussion
• activities (stations are a particularly good source)
• labs
• lecture
• demonstrations
New applications or real-life applications are fair, but shouldn’t be over-used.
4 Answers and Grading
The quality of answers varies. Even for multiple choice questions, the students can show their work, find the correct answer, and circle the wrong one. When quality varies or is hard to judge, you should use a grading method that allows you to give partial credit. The easiest is a 0-2 point scale. 2 for correct, 1 for partial credit, and 0 for wrong. Students should, of course, show their work. Since we’re more interested in them understanding the concepts, at least partial credit should be given for using the correct method in solving a problem, even if there is a calculation error. Additionally, partial credit should be given if they can give the correct units for an answer, regardless of whether they calculate the correct number. Numbers, by the way, should be integers when possible to allow easy calculation. Again, we’re looking for conceptual understanding, not computation.
It is entirely up to you whether you grade homework, require lab reports (we have a rubric to use), grade on behavior, etc.
Standards
Alignment of course material with standards is a requirement for almost everyone. Minimally, it is a good reference.
1 Hawaii
Alignment with State of Hawai`i standards is shown in brief form in the scope and sequence table.
2 National
We have not documented the course’s alignment with national standards yet.
Appendix: Scope and Sequence Table
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