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-----Original Message-----
From: Edmiston, Mike [mailto:edmiston@BLUFFTON.EDU]
Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2002 1:58 PM
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Subject: Re: Why Physics First?
(1) If "physical science" is often dumbed down, maybe that's where we
need to start. Why not keep physics as a senior course, keep physical
science as a freshman course, but make sure physical science is taught
as a good course. Indeed, if physical science is taught at
roughly the
same level as we would teach physics if we had a
"physics-first" system,
then as was stated earlier, we get physics first and last. The only
difference I see would be that physical science (which
certainly can be
taught as a good course) wouldn't follow the same subjects/ordering as
we might choose if we had a true physics first. Physical science
probably would have some chemistry in it as well as astronomy,
earth-science/atmospheric science. Ain't nothin wrong with that.
In a small school where there might be one senior physics section, one
junior chemistry section, and three physical science sections, these
could conceivably all be taught by the staff chemist or staff
physicist
(whichever the school has). In a bigger school their could
be separate
chemistry and physics teachers, and maybe even more than one of each.
This team would divide-up the physical science sections.
The problem with physical science being taught poorly is when it is
taught by a coach, etc. Also, some biology teachers have very poor
chemistry/physics preparation and they make lousy physical science
teachers. I am pleased to report that the biology teachers coming out
of Bluffton College have quite good preparation in physics
and chemistry
and ought to be able to teach a very appropriate physical
science class.
(2) If we would go to a physics-first curriculum where physics occurs
only in the freshman year, I am afraid we could see several problems
with staffing.
(2a) Why would a school try to hire a physicist for this? Physicists
are too hard to find. And besides, this is "just a freshmen science."
(That's the way administrators will view it.) On other
words, the same
types of forces that dumb-down physical science will dumb-down physics
first.
(2b) Why would a good scientist choose to major in physics in
college in
order to pursue teaching freshmen science in high school? I could see
them doing this if there is also the opportunity to teach the standard
physics (and perhaps chemistry) in the junior/senior years.
But I don't
see any market for BS physicists in high-school teaching if they teach
only at the freshman level.
(2c) In many states (Ohio is one of them) grade nine courses can be
taught by teachers holding middle school licenses. In Ohio,
middle-school licensure is grades 4-9. Middle-school science teachers
are not science majors in college, they are education majors. In Ohio
and states like Ohio, physical science or physics first
(either one) is
likely to be taught by a person without a science degree if
it is easier
to find those teachers than it is to find teachers licensed for
high-school subjects. Why would an administrator hire a
high-school-science-licensed teacher to teach either physical
science or
physics-first in the freshman year, if those teachers are hard to find
and can teach fewer things, when they can hire a middle-school teacher
to teach these freshman science courses, and the middle school teacher
can also teach other things in the middle school?
The point here is that we are going to have to work hard to make sure
that freshman science, whatever the subject is, is taught by teachers
with good science preparation. High-school science faculty might have
to work hard on administrators and school boards to make sure this
happens. Otherwise these courses might be taught by a
teacher who went
through college thinking he was going to be teaching 4th or 5th grade.
I am still amazed that Ohio lumps grades 4 through 9 in one license...
but Ohio is not alone.
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Bluffton College
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu
This posting is the position of the writer, not that of
SUNY-BSC, NAU or the AAPT.