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WEEK of October 23, 2006 |
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Freshman Physics? What a Concept by Jeffrey Stanley He’s grounded in logic and rationality but he has big dreams for his own little piece of the world. “Although it seems idealistic, I honestly hope that teaching Conceptual Physics in the ninth grade will provide these young students of mine with the understanding that the natural world behaves according to rules, and that understanding these rules is worth their while.” Fledgling Upper School science teacher Joe Kremer was talking about his new role in the Upper School. “I designed and taught the lab classes for the eleventh grade for three years and taught the Advanced Physics quantitative supplement for one year, but this will be the first time I’m in charge of my own class.” Conceptual Physics, a new part of the Upper School curriculum, teaches physics without higher level mathematics getting in the way. Traditionally, high school students don’t tackle physics until after they’ve conquered algebra and geometry. Under this new approach, which is gaining momentum around the country, students are introduced to physics in the ninth grade. “This approach focuses on a student’s ability to understand why things work the way they do in the natural world rather than their ability to solve math problems,” explained Joe. Go into physics lab at 55 Willoughby and you’ll see hand-written posters of some of the questions students are asked to think about, such as “Why do you bounce backwards after the subway stops?” and “Why aren’t clouds pulled down by gravity like everything else?” The Conceptual Physics class represents a significant change in the BFS science curriculum and Joe is happy to be spearheading it. Schools that have recently adopted this approach typically save Qualitative Physics, that’s the advanced version with all the number crunching, for the senior year after students have been exposed to Conceptual Physics, algebra, chemistry and biology courses during their ninth, tenth and eleventh grade years. At BFS the gap between ninth and twelfth grade physics will be filled by the new standard level physics class, part of the school’s pending International Baccalaureate curriculum. The hope is that by twelfth grade students are ready to dive into the more complex scientific concepts on which our world hinges. “Teaching physics before the other sciences will assure that students understand fundamental concepts like force and energy before they apply these concepts in chemistry and biology,” said Joe. “Presenting the topics in this order will also give the students a better understanding of how these sciences are connected to each other.” A graduate of Oberlin College with a double major in Physics and Russian, Joe found part-time employment at BFS in Hyacinth Foster’s ninth grade biology class several years ago. As a lab assistant, he learned the school and its students well. At the urging of other science faculty members, he decided to try his hand at teaching this new course. “Joe really gets involved in lab experiments with the students and it shows,” said science and math teacher Gil Zalman. “He agreed with our concern that students should learn the laws underlying the concepts and not just memorize formulae. He relates well with the students and is able to get them to understand these concepts.” Gill was one of the key faculty who strongly urged Joe not only to teach this new course but to pursue a full time profession teaching science. “I hope that teaching physics without complicated mathematics will not turn so many students away from the ideas simply because they have trouble with the homework,” said Joe. On a serious note he stressed that he wants students to understand science because it relates directly to their responsibilities as citizens, to an awareness of their impact on the fate of the planet. “It’s becoming more and more pressing as time passes.” |
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