Apologies for the cross posting to both Chemed-L(1) and Phys-L(2).
In her 9/8/00 Chemed-L post "curriculum questions" Andrea Prybylski writes:
"The Science Department at The Westminster Schools, an independent,
college preparatory school that attracts very capable and motivated
students, is reviewing our curriculum in grades pre-first through
twelve. Currently in grades 9 through 12 we teach 'Physics First'
followed by chemistry and then biology with an option for
environmental science senior year. Please take a few moments to read
and respond to the questions below. . . . . . . .
3. Which is more important and why: content or process/inquiry skills.
4. How important/helpful is it for students to have taken AP science courses?
. . . . . . . . . . . ."
Regarding question #3, in my opinion, if critical thinking is
regarded as part of "process/inquiry skills" then these are far more
important than content as preparation for college and life and for
the development of science literacy.(3) And the early grades(4,5)
are probably the most important in developing critical thinking.
In ref. 4, Sanjoy Mahajan and I ask:
"Should teachers concentrate on critical thinking, estimation,
measurement, and graphing rather than college-clone algorithmic
physics in K-12? Thus far physics-education research offers little
substantive guidance. Mathematics education research addressed the
mathematics analogue of this question in the 1930's.(6,7)
Students in Manchester, New Hampshire were not subjected to
arithmetic algorithms until grade 6. In earlier grades they read,
invented, and discussed stories and problems; estimated lengths,
heights, and areas; and enjoyed finding and interpreting numbers
relevant to their lives. In grade 6, with 4 months of formal
training, they caught up to the regular students in algorithmic
ability, and were far ahead in general numeracy and in the verbal,
semantic, and problem-solving skills they had practiced for the five
years before."
In his response to Andrea, Michael Edmiston in his Chemed-L post of
9/8/00 writes:
"Students who do not have HS physics, or have a math-light physics
first, are at an extreme disadvantage in college physics. The skills
they are most lacking are vector skills, thinking about kinematics
three dimensionally, solving 'story problems.' By 'story problems' I
mean reading about a situation in words, perhaps with a fair amount
of data, and being able to set the information up as algebraic
equations. Typically students without senior level physics have had
very little experience in this... and it kills them."
But I would argue, bringing in Andrea's Question #4 on AP physics,
that the average high-school physics course (including AP (8-10),
physics first(11,12), and physics last courses) do little to improve
either content knowledge(12) critical thinking, or performance in
college physics courses.(14) Unfortunately, most of the "story
problems" considered in high-school (and college) physics courses are
taken from standard texts, and are of the algorithmic plug-and-chug
type, rather than the more-challenging "context-rich", real-world
type.(15) Research indicates that students can often solve typical
physics "story problems" and yet have little understanding of the
underlying concepts.(16-18)
Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<rrhake@earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
REFERENCES
1. Chemed-L provides a forum for discussion of matters of interest to
chemical educators at all levels. There are about 1200 participants
from around the world. To sign on to Chemed-L, send a message to
<LISTPROC@ATLANTIS.UWF.EDU>. On the first line of the message, state
SUBSCRIBE CHEMED-L <your name>. There is a Chemed-L threaded archive
at <http://www.optc.com/chemed-l-thread> with a search link at http://www.optc.com/chemed-l-thread/search.html. The archive is
searchable by subject; easy to use; and has about 3,000 threads,
going back to 1995.
2. Phys-L provides a forum for discussion of matters of interest to
physics educators at all levels. There are about 650 participants
from around the world. To sign on to Phys-L, send a message to
<listserv@lists.nau.edu>. On the first line of the message, write
SUBSCRIBE Phys-L <your name>. The archive is at
<http://mailgate.nau.edu/archives/phys-l.html> and the homepage is at
<http://purcell.phy.nau.edu/phys-l/>
3. R.R. Hake, "The General Population's Ignorance of Science Related
Societal Issues: A Challenge for the University," AAPT Announcer
30(2), 105 (2000); on the web at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/>.
4. S. Mahajan & R.R. Hake, "Is It Finally Time for a Physics
Counterpart of the Benezet/Berman Math Experiment of the 1930's?"
Physics Education Research Conference 2000: Teacher Education, Univ.
of Guelph, August 2-2, 2000; abstract available at
<http://www.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/~rstein/perc2000.htm>. See also the
"Benezet Centre" at <http://wol.ra.phy.cam.ac.uk/sanjoy/benezet/>.
5. J. Epstein, "Cognitive Development in an Integrated Mathematics
and Science Program,"J. of College Science Teaching, 12/97 & 1/98,
pp. 194-201: "While it is now well known that large numbers of
students arrive at college with large educational and cognitive
deficits many faculty and administrative colleagues are not aware
that MANY STUDENTS LOST ALL SENSE OF MEANING OR UNDERSTANDING IN
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL In large numbers our students [at Bloomfield
College (NJ) and Lehman (CUNY)] ..cannot order a set of fractions and
decimals and cannot place them on a number line. Many do not
comprehend division by a fraction and have no concrete comprehension
of the process of division itself. Reading rulers where there are
other than 10 subdivisions, basic operational meaning of area and
volume, are pervasive difficulties. Most cannot deal with
proportional reasoning nor any sort of problem that has to be
translated from English. OUR DIAGNOSTIC TEST, WHICH HAS BEEN GIVEN
NOW AT MORE THAN A DOZEN INSTITUTIONS SHOWS THAT THERE ARE SUCH
STUDENTS EVERYWHERE ..(EVEN WELLESLEY! - see J. Epstein, "What is the
Real Level of Our Students," 1999, unpublished). (My CAPS.)
6. L.P. Benezet, "The Teaching of Arithmetic I, II, III: The Story of
an Experiment, Humanistic Mathematics Newsletter #6,May 1991,pp. 2-14
(reprinted from The Journal of the National Education Association,
Nov.1935, Dec.1935, Jan.1936); on the web at
<http://wol.ra.phy.cam.ac.uk/sanjoy/benezet>.
7. Etta Berman, "The result of deferring systematic teaching of
arithmetic to grade six as disclosed by the deferred formal
arithmetic plan at Manchester, New Hampshire," Masters Thesis, Boston
University, 1935.
8. D.M. Robbins, "Physics Education Reform - The Role of AP Physics,"
Am. J. Phys. 68(9), 786 (2000).
9. S. Tobias, "From innovation to change: Forging a a physics
education reform agenda for the 21st century," Am. J. Phys. 68(2),
103-104 (2000).
"Many high schools offer an AP or other math-based course as a FIRST
high-school course in physics. This is a mistake, especially for future
scientists and engineers. These students should first take, in 10th or
11th grade, a year-long conceptual course, and perhaps go on to an AP
course in 12th grade. By 'conceptual physics,' I mean a course with
very little or, preferably, no algebra -- the kind of course that can
be taken equally well and in fact enthusiastically by students who
are not
college-bound. My main reasons:
1. Many studies show that science students are not learning the
concepts from their introductory math-based courses. They can work the
problems, but they still don't understand Newton's laws! The
concepts need to be taught first, then the technicalities.
2. Following a good conceptual course, future scientists and
engineers can go on to an AP course and really get something useful and
lasting out of it. And if they don't go on to the AP course, very
little is lost because this kind of course is offered on every
college campus.
3. Poor high school physics enrollments, and a generally
declining physics profession, can be invigorated by a broad,
conceptual, introductory course that is appealing and relevant to ALL
students--not just that very small fraction of high school students
who will go on to be scientists or engineers. Future scientists need
to be included in that course. I'll bet that, if offered at the 10th
or 11th grade level, 12-grade AP enrollments would increase because
of the increased number of students who would be enthusiastic and
knowledgeable about physics.
4. I feel certain that enrollments of physics majors on college
campuses would go up. I can testify that this kind of course
awakens, in many students, lots of enthusiasm about the dreaded topic
"physics." From my conceptual course on this campus, several
non-science majors (business, music, etc.) have switched to a physics
major. This effect would be much more pronounced if conceptual
courses were national, and at the high school instead of college
level.
5. Most importantly of all, the world needs general,
conceptual, physics knowledge! Physics-related social topics such as
global warming and energy resources, along with
philosophical/cultural topics such as 'how do we know' (scientific
methodology), the origin and evolution of the universe, are we alone
in the universe, and the confrontation between quantum theory and the
mechanical universe, are crucial to our success, and even our
survival, as a species."
11. Marjorie G. Bardeen and Leon M. Lederman, "Coherence in Science
Education," Science 1998, July 10; 281, 178-179 (1998). See also
John A. Moore, Glenn T. Seaborg, Leon M. Lederman, and Marjorie G.
Bardeen, Science 1998, October 9; 282, 239e.
12. O. Livanis, "Physics for Everyone," AAPT Announcer 30(2), 128
(2000); see also her physics-first web page at
<http://members.aol.com/physicsfirst/>.
13. R.R. Hake, "The Need For Improved Physics Education of Teachers:
FCI Pretest Scores for Graduates of High-School Physics Courses - Is
it Finally Time To Implement Curriculum S?" Physics Education
Research Conference 2000: Teacher Education, Univ. of Guelph, August
2-3, 2000;
on the web at <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/>.
14. P.M. Sadler & R.H. Tai, "The Role of High-School Physics in
Preparing Students for College Physics" Phys. Teach. 35(5), 282-285
(1997).
15. P. Heller, R. Keith, S. Anderson, "Teaching problem solving
through cooperative grouping, Part 1: Group vs individual problem
solving," Am. J. Phys. 60, 627-636 (1992); P. Heller and M.
Hollabaugh "Teaching problem solving through cooperative grouping,
Part 2: Designing problems and structuring groups,"ibid., p. 637-644.
16. R.R. Hake, "Interactive-engagement vs traditional methods: A
six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory
physics courses," Am. J. Phys. 66, 64-74 (1998); on the Web at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/>.
17. E. Mazur, "Peer Instruction: A User's Manual" (Prentice Hall, 1997).