Physics – Physics Education
Scientific paper
May 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001phyed..36..177.&link_type=abstract
Physics Education, Volume 36, Issue 3, pp. 177 (2001).
Physics
Physics Education
Scientific paper
Constant change is here to stay
Curriculum change was a major theme in the workshops of Physics On Stage - the Europe-wide meeting of physics teachers hosted at CERN in November. And, human nature being what it is, we all want to manage this change. There are many issues of ownership, consultation and management to consider when undertaking change, but there are a few basic laws we can follow:
You can't please everybody all the time. Trying to do so is a recipe for displeasing everybody. If you really want to see the effect of a change you can only change one thing at a time; So if you change too many things at once you can't possibly predict the outcome.
But education is so full of so many changes that making a prediction as to how well a curriculum change will work makes weather-forecasting look easy.
There are few countries where some kind of educational reform is not taking place. The UK education system is currently coping with over 100 different initiatives. The reform of the post-16 pre-university curriculum into one-year courses (including AS and A2 exams which replace A-levels) is just one of many changes.
A recent request for a reference had me dusting off some of the earliest copies of Physics Education from the late sixties and early seventies. It was fascinating to note that curriculum change was probably just as much an issue then as now. Mixed-ability, comprehensive and Nuffield-style education were happening. And we were beginning to ask the question `Computers - will we be using them in Physics classes?' It left me wondering: in thirty years, have we made any real progress in the teaching of physics? Is it better than it was? In this issue of Physics Education we take stock of the changes for 16-18 year-olds in UK schools.
Whilst many may question the progress made in physics education over the last thirty years, few can doubt the massive leaps of knowledge made through astronomy and planetary science. 2001 may not have turned out as the 1960s commentators and Stanley Kubrick predicted, but we understand the cosmos and our humble place in it much better. This issue of Physics Education sees contributions on a variety of space themes - Monica Grady, Curator of Meteorites at London's Natural History Museum and world expert on martian meteorites, has contributed a fascinating article, and we consider Time, artificial gravity and the use of computer-controlled telescopes.
Few would dispute that the greatest changes to our teaching methods have almost all been due to the rise in available computing power. Computers control telescopes so that with active optics, telescopes in arrays, and with image enhancement techniques we can see far beyond the limits of simple optical apparatus. The internet allows us to control experiments and telescopes on opposite sides of the globe, and allows teachers to get rapid feedback on their students' progress. Interactive whiteboards, electronic conferencing ... the list goes on. We have unprecedented access to information and powerful means of communicating with each other.
For good or for bad, the information age brings us too much information, and devalues it. Our students are not awed by our knowledge - they are more critical, harder to impress and more easily bored. A good teacher is one who knows this, who listens to their students and cares. The inspirational teacher is as important as ever.
Time, whatever that is (see John Taylor's article), moves on, and change is an inevitable consequence. No living, dynamic system is immune to the effects of time, and our education systems should be living and dynamic. We are not striving for the perfect system, so that we can fix it in tablets of stone; we are working out the best ways to teach our students, today. I hope that this issue of Physics Education helps you to do just that.
Editor: Kerry Parker
No affiliations
No associations
LandOfFree
Comment does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Comment, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Comment will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-946966