II the Crisescrisis in Physics Education 2

Contents

IIntroduction...... 1

II“The CrisesCrisis” in physics education...... 2

IIIHow go from “the crisis”?...... 2

IVLesson of physics...... 3

VHow do children “learn” physics in first level at primary school? ...... 3

VIExperiments...... 4

VIIExercises ...... 5

VIIIProblem´s lessons ...... 5

IXProjects ...... 6

XFyzWeb ...... 7

XIProgrammes for teachers...... 9

XIIPopularisation of physics...... 9

XIIIConclusion ...... 10

I Introduction

(U všech nadpisů udělat větší mezeru mezi číslem a nadpisem, stejně tabelátorem)

Is physics for children an interesting school subject, where most of the topics they learn anything are new and useful? Do students understand thanks to school teaching of physics, what happens in nature and what is are the principles of today’s technical devices? Are students aware of physics, except of the school subject, being except of the school subject a live science that is engaged pursued by marvellous groups of qualified and enthusiastic people all around the world? Do they know that this scientific physics is perhaps distant but attainable for them?

Can students see, except of faces of stars or politicians, faces of today’s Czech and world’s scientists? Are teachers of physics personalities having a respect according due to their human qualities and according due to theirs professional abilities? Is physics their hobby and students can clearly recognizesee it?

We apprehend that the answer of to most of these questions is NO, although we know exceptions. My doctoral thesis does not bring a solution of to this problem and it is not a scientific analysis BUT it brings opinions what and how to try to improve, it contains various materials, which can be useful for more active and more interesting teaching of physics.

The main aim of the thesis is to formulate our opinions on various aspects of the physics teaching mainly but not only on primary school, to try to propose at least some ways how to make the physics teaching make effective, of more quality and interesting, and to bring a lot of illustrations of our pronounced proposals. The thesis consists of several parts (from formulating problems connected with physics teaching, through aspects of interesting lesson of physics, experiments, solving problems, problems teaching, projects to programmes for teachers and popularising physics), that together give a picture about what we can do for improving teaching of physics.

My doctoral thesis is divided into 13 chapters. In all of them I describe my view onf the points atmentioned issues and their solutions based on my personal pedagogic experiences from my pedagogic practise.(although quite short) and on many discussions with other people.

II “The Crises” in physics education

In this chapter I try to describe some basic problems convicted withrelated to physics teaching (lack of active and skilled teachers, small interest in study of physics teaching, high age average of teachers of physics, lack of physics lessons at schools etc.).

These problems annoy teachers all around the world. Many teachers discussed these problems at the conference – Physics on Stage, that takes place every year since 2000 (I took part in itfirst of the sequence). Physics on Stage is a unique European-wide programme for physics teachers and those??? in fields related to physics to assess the current situation in physics education and to raise the public awareness of physics and related sciences. The project was initiated by the three major European research organisations: the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO), with support from the European Union. The objectives of Physics on Stage are:

• To draw attention to the low level of scientific (and particularly physics) literacy among European citizens.
• To propose innovative and practical solutions to this problem.
• To establish a network of experts on physics teaching and popularisation from all over Europe.

• To produce and distribute materials those??? highlight the opinions and recommendations of these experts.

III How escapego from “the crisis”?

In this chapter I write about conclusions that arise from teachers´ discussions at Physics on Stage. To general conclusions I added concrete possibilities, how to achieve innovation, to raise quality of physics teaching (experiments, exercises, projects,…) and what teachers can make for their students and for theirselves themselves etc.

• All children in the European Union should have access to science experiences from the earliest age, that is, at home and from kindergarten to the age of 12 and onwards.
• Make physics lessons more fun and less mathematical for the majority of students.
• All teachers of young children should have access to professional development in science education.
• Learning should be based on everyday life in contexts highlighting physics, past, present and future.
• Students´ learning should incorporate experimental, theoretical, mathematical and Information and Communication Technology skills.
• It should be recognised that physics is absolutely necessary to everybody, because it is a part of today’s culture.
• Physics teaching should be tuned to different school levels and different interest Universities, research centres, science industries and physics science organisations should bring physics to the people through the science centres and outreach programmes.
• Teachers´ conditions of service need to be improved (working hours, preparation time, technical help, support, training and professional development, promotion prospects).

No programme such the Physics on Stage can solve all the existing problems is no selfsame???. We can take the programme POS as an impulse for additional progress of many things that have already been happened in physics education (the popularisation of physics, work with children and people who are interested in physics). It is certainly good to find and try new things, new procedures and new forms of work with children and adults and exchange the experience.

IV Lesson of physics

In this chapter I try to describe some important properties (in my opinion) of an interesting lesson of physics. I write about an important role of motivation. It is very useful for every teacher who wants to attract attention of take up??? his students in physics lessons of physics.

The second part of this chapter is devoted to textbooks for primary schools. I write about the textbook written by M. Rojko an col., R. Kolářová and J. Bohuněk, M. Macháček, F. Jáchim and J. Tesař, Z. Lustigová, those I know very well, because I used them in the preparation of my lessons. In the appendix Y there is an interpretation of Archimedes´ law from these textbooks to compare themillustrate the different approaches. I choose this law, because it is very difficult for children to understand it and use it in a correct way (as I verified in my pedagogical practise).

In the end of this chapter I mentionwrite about a very interesting book of on physics for students and teachers - Halliday D., Resnik R., Walker J.: Physics. It is very important for teacher to refresh his understanding of some themes, where he can find other new relations to other topics and find inspiration for better explanation.

It depends on teacher, which textbook he chooses for the preparation of his lessons. We can not say, that the teacher is bad, because he teaches by this some textbook and the other is better, because he chose another one.

V How do children “learn” physics in first level at primary school?

In this chapter I try to describe, how much important is to start with physics well and early. It think it must may be interesting and needy useful for children. In this chapter I describe my experiences from one interesting lesson of natural science in the Jedlička institute in Prague (the school for chalenged children) and from the circle “Physics non-traditionally” for children from second and third class at the school where I taught..

In this circle I tried many very easy physics experiments. For example: “magic co???” with a candle (light up a candle at a distance), a candle swing (see first picture), what can magnets do – “drawing” magnetic field with iron filings (see second picture), a stretchability of matter (solid, liquid and fluent), invisible ink, “game” with lenses etc.

VI Experiments

This chapter is focused on experiments, because in my opinion it an xperiment is one of the most important thing ingredient for in every lesson of physics. It motivates children and makes lessons interesting. As one of the most important thing experience in my pedagogical practise I consider that I myself tried many physics experiments, I learned to show them and explained them to children. There is plenty of experiments that teacher can make in his lessons. So I divide them into categories according to some standpoints (I used categories by R. Kolářová and E. Svoboda [8]). I describe one or more experiments that I proved in my practise in the most of categories. Pictures or photos and my remarks are included too.

Categories of experiments

• We can divide experiments to demonstrative and pupil´s according to who makes the experiment.

• According to the production – real, model and intellectual
• According to the logic character – qualitative and quantitative.
• According to the didactic function in lessons – heuristic, verifical, illustral, motivational, applicable, historic, repeated and control.

The last parts of this chapter are tady použít původní francouzské slovo ?Debrou … Debrujar´s experiments. I converted description of these experiments from paper tomade www pages about these experiments and added my marks to every each of them:

VII Exercises

So we tried to thing up some nontrivial and for children hopefully interesting exercises. See the CD, where our collection of exercises can be found.

VIII Problem´s lessons??? je tohleto rozumný užívaný termín??? Co heuristic teaching?

Solving non-standard exercises is the crucial method in problem’s lessons. In the primary school Červený Vrch in Prague, where I taught physics two years, I met Heuréka, one method of problem’s lessons. In this chapter I describe my experiences with it. I add one example of heureka´s problem – flying of an aircraft – and I try to describe how teacher can make this theme with children.

First – what position does the wing need to be raised? (try it only with hand or book in various positions, move with them in the fast flowing air and feel, the force and its directionwhen the opposition of the air is bigger and when smaller).

Second – make an easy model of an aircraft (see the picture) and try to put its wings into various positions and then follow its flying.

Third – try to explain flying of paper dragon.

Fourth – teacher explains to children the take off and the landing of an aircraft etc. Anybody can object that the role of the wing profile is neglected. This is one important aspect of teaching, especially et the primary level – what to tell or discover now and what to postpone to further study.

Children can not think up every physics things in lessonsget oriented in every physics topic, typical example of such a theme is the structure of particles. About this problem (a molecule, an atom, a nucleon, quarks etc.), I write in the end of this chapter.

IX Projects

In this chapter I write about projects, because in my opinion they bring a new dimension contribute to enliven lessons of to physics teaching. Children learn to work in the different way then they are used to from other “normal” lessons. During my pedagogical practise I participated in two school projects. So in this chapter I describe my positive and negative experiences with them and I explain my opinions on project’s lessons.

My supervisor ordered his postgraduate’s students to prepare illustrative projects in the various themes. My topic was “Energy”. The result of my endeavour can be found on address:

There are two introductory essays on the theme energy – one for children at a primary school and one for students at a secondary school and the summary of the interesting www pages that are already on the internet.

Then I describe another type of projects – production of some physics stuffs – I write about two, that we made – a power station on handle (first picture) and a small steam engine turbine (second picture).

X FyzWeb

FyzWeb - web on physics for everyone () - is an interesting help for lessons of physics, where reader can find many interesting and new facts from world of science, instructions for easy experiments and where everybody can ask specialists from MFF UKour faaculty some any physics question. FyzWebIt has six sections - Objects of interest, FyzInfo, Library, Workshop, Ask the experts and WWW.

The „Ask the experts“ section is one vital part of FyzWeb. Any reader can ask any question and this question is earlier or later answered by volunteers from the staff of MFF UK. We hope that this possibility brings FyzWeb much closer to general public and that it stimulates the communication between the people at the Faculty (“experts living in an ivory tower”) with pupils, teachers and other people interested in physics. The "Ask the Experts" section of FyzWeb brings to educators and physicists popularising their science the very interesting feedback on their outreach activities and the great source of inspiration.

It is not the computer which replies, there are definite people signed under the answers. Not only FyzWeb readers benefit from this contact – university teachers obtain information, what are the readers interested in, what are their reactions to answers (how understandable the answers are), etc. Some of the questions are highly nontrivial and provide us with much inspiration. More basically, the questions remind us, that the nature of science is not to present prefabricated answers or phrases, but to get oriented in a new or an unusual situation, to find the information already existing and available in the literature or on the web, and to start the research when necessary. There is not much difference between the “serious scientific questions” and the rather naive questions – both may easily convert to nontrivial, interesting and fruitful discussion.

The spectrum of questions is very wide, in my thesis I discuss five groups of them. When speaking on „Ask the expert“ section I am using my experience from two year long management of it. Our sectionThis utility is not unique in the world, as example look at web pages [28-34].

I have been attending to „Ask the expert“ section for two years.

FyzWeb became to be the popular and valuable source of information and the place of communication not only for students and teachers but other people interested in physics too, what is visible both from the number of visits and from the positive e-mails. We consider this feedback as the nonnegligible argument for its effectivity. It shows big visiting and plenty of questions, those come in Ask the expert section. It has contribution for popularisation of physics.

XI Programmes for teachers

Teachers can take part in various conferences and meetings with colleagues, where they can “boast” about their ideas about improving physics teaching and also obtain new information (about using computers in lessons, new things in science,…), obtain find new contacts, discuss their problems with teaching etc. Thus in this chapter I show some interesting programmes existing for teachers.

I write for example about Fair of ideas??? inventions?? jaký má Leoš termín?? of teachers of physics, DidFyz, Poškole, ICTE (International Conference on Technology and Education) and weekend seminars of Heureka. In the end I mention the international programme for teachers High School Teachers programme at CERN.

Said activities we can mark??? The described activities we can interpret as lifelong education of teachers. The most of involved teachers agree on the usefulness of similar actions. We can only wish that the ministry clerks will realize it and will relate visible results in such programmes to The visible results should directed at salary promotion.

XII Popularisation of physics

In this chapter I describe one of interesting projects for popularisation of physics, that start to develop and maybe realise – Interactive centre of recognization (ICR)Science Centre in the National Technical Museum.

Physics should not be only the school subject, that students forget when they leave school. Also adults should have knowledge access toof physics view of the world. Traditionally physics is pushed into knowledge minds of people for example through to popular lectures, TV, internet or popular-scientific literature.

New idea in the Czech space, how to popularise physics and other natural sciences, is formed raised in Czech republic in cooperation of MFF UK, FZÚ, PřF UK, ČVUT,universities, Academy of Sciences and NTM... The aim is to create an interactive museum of science (or Science Centrum as this institution is called in western countries) –, interesting and attractive expositions of present sciences (biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics etc.). This wayHere the people can understand basic principles on thatof how is the world is built. Not least tThis museum should show to young people, that the study of natural and technical sciences has the a good sense and, lead to real understanding of many aspects of world and to a reasoble career. To older people it can demonstrates that the non-understandable modern technologies are not so non-understandable.