Re: The Good Effects of Physics First - Even For Mathematics Education (was The Good Effects of Physics First. . . "

[Bill Reitz <wreitz@NEO.RR.COM>]

Michael Edmiston,

Perhaps your corner of Ohio has been unique.  My school in this corner of
Ohio has taught Earth Science to freshman for at least the last 20 years -
but that will be changing here and elsewhere in Ohio. The Ohio Science
Standards for freshman list mostly physics outcomes  plus a few earth
science ones. Nearly every school in Ohio will be teaching physical science
in 9th grade, as we gear up for the next higher level of high stakes
testing - the Ohio Graduation Test. Students will be required to take three
years of science with one being life science, and one of physical science
(of course, the OGT test will be given in their sophomore year, after only
two years of science) The state has set standards and created a test ( not
by the same people) but has not yet created a model curriculum - that will
be finished after the first round of testing. Schools are scrambling to get
students ready but can only guess what the level of questions will be - no
"practice" questions have been published yet.
We'll all be teaching a version of physics first in Ohio. ( The 9th grade
standards read a bit more rigorous than what a standard physical science
text might ) The standards for 10th grade are mostly life science, 11th is
environmental science & 12th could be interpreted as physics, if I remember
correctly. The standard chemistry course doesn't seem to fit in, but parts
are in the 9th grade outcomes.

At my school we are trying CPO (Cambridge Physics Outlet) Physical Science
at 9th grade this year. CPO is activity driven, inquiry based. Our "retread"
Earth Science teachers are doing remarkably well so far, thanks to some good
in-service this summer & thorough teacher materials from CPO. I could use
CPO as is for my regular level 11th & 12th grade physics students. It has
some bugs and rough places for the average ninth grader but the students
like it. We looked at  Hewitt's Conceptual Physics and Eisencraft's Active
Physics but chose CPO for its combination of inquiry and what traditional
physics teachers ( whoever they are) might call "real" physics. It is also
unique in that when you buy a classroom set of books you get a set of CPO's
lab equipment.

p.s. I don't get anything from CPO - I've  taught Conceptual Physics for 15
years and have been a trainer for Active Physics. Each has its place, as
does the AP-C and AP-B I've taught.

Bill Reitz
Hoover HS
North Canton, OH


----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Edmiston" <edmiston@BLUFFTON.EDU>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 10:35 PM
Subject: Re: The Good Effects of Physics First - Even For Mathematics
Education (was The Good Effects of Physics First. . . "


> There seems to be something I am missing here.  Others have asked the
> same question I am about to ask, and I don't believe the physics-first
> advocates have answered this question.
>
> The question... Haven't we been doing "physics first" forever, and
> aren't we still doing "physics first?"
>
> For as long as I can remember, essentially all schools around here have
> been teaching a "physical science" course in the 9th grade.  Although
> physical science textbooks cover a bit more than just "general physics,"
> it is still pretty much a conceptual physics course.  The "extra
> content" is some combination of astronomy, meteorology, geology (all of
> which are physics to some degree), and a bit of chemistry (e.g. what is
> an element, what is the structure of an atom, etc.) and this is really
> atomic physics.  Thus, a 9th-grade physical science course is "physics
> first" even though it has more than the traditional mechanics, heat,
> sound, electricity, magnetism, light topics found in the physics course
> usually taught in the senior year.
>
> Thus, if a school is teaching physical science in the 9th grade, and
> then traditional physics in the senior year, what is all the hullabaloo
> about physics first?  Is my region of Ohio the only place were physical
> science has been a 9-grade course for more than 50 years?
>
> Assuming physical science for everyone is offered in 9th grade, and a
> traditional physics course is an elective for college-bound seniors,
> what's wrong with that?  Are the physics-first advocates asking for
> something more than this?
>
>
> Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
> Professor of Physics and Chemistry
> Bluffton College
> Bluffton, OH 45817
> (419)-358-3270
> edmiston@bluffton.edu