Following a revolutionary Physics First program championed by Dr Lederman, a Nobel laureate, one US school has found a way to turn kids on to science studies. Portsmouth High School is setting kids on fire for science studies by reversing the sequence in which science is taught. Since it started offering “Physics First” first before other traditional science subjects, it has got more kids interested in science and more of its kids are passing science and taking AP-level science courses.
The Physics First program was first pitched in 2006 at the EBC by Nobel laureate Dr. Leon Lederman. The program makesover the science curriculum by resequencing the order of high school science courses.
While traditional academia has always put biology first, and put physics last so that only the top students take physics because it is assumed that physics is too difficult. Physics First orders the sciences in their evolutionary sequence: physics, chemistry and then biology. From the atom to the molecule to the cell, kids build their understanding of science with the sequence in which nature built our world.
Dr Lederman’s premise for the resequencing of subjects under the program is that biology is by far the most complex of all sciences and he avers that not only does the traditional sequence “get the story all wrong, but it undercuts all the drama and appeal of science. According to Dr Lederman“Stories are important. You have to tell how science works. How do you make a discovery? It’s the messiest process in the world. Who are scientists? What happened to them? Physics First is the harbinger of a real revolution in science that gets right, finally, the storytelling of the three years of high school science. So you start with Newton’s law and from there build the cognitive structure. … Physics First is very hands-on, so they get excited about the subject. They dont want to be lectured to, which still happens, but less. The classes are more about ‘Let’s see what happens when the variables change. Let’s see what happens when we graph the data. Let’s see what happens.’ They construct their own knowledge instead of us telling them, which builds a fondness for science classes.”
Under Physics First, once students have basic physics already under their belts, the seniors can go on to take all sorts of advanced science, including oceanography, anatomy, urban ecology, as well as AP biology and chemistry. Many are doubling up on science courses. This is great.
Since the success of Portsmouth High School, other schools on Rhode Island are also now offering Physics First program.
Other schools like Woonsocket High, that have adopted the Physics First program have reported that teachers are enjoying the teaching more, and the students are enjoying learning more.”There are those however who have expressed some doubt as to whether students under the Physics First program will do as well in standardized tests.
Read about the Physics First program and its success at Julia Steiny: Suddenly, kids find physics a magnetic field to study
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