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PHYSICS FIRST RHODE ISLAND - Teaching of Science Reverses Course in Pilot Program - Change Makes Sense to Science Teachers

Posted on: Friday, 2 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By CYNTHIA NEEDHAM Journal Staff Writer

WOONSOCKET - For physics teacher Suzanne Doucette, the state's new science curriculum validates what she's known for years: despite its bad rap, physics is pretty cool.

"People have always made fun of me because they think physics is weird. With this program, it's nice to see the outside world recognize how important physics is, because really, it's the basis of everything in life," Doucette said.

She's not the only Woonsocket High School science teacher who's excited about the new Physics First curriculum, which will reverse the traditional teaching sequence of biology, then chemistry, then physics, and instead feature physics for ninth graders. Beginning next fall, Woonsocket High School and four other high schools statewide will pilot the new program.

Science department chairwoman and chemistry teacher Janet Miele, who wrote the school's grant application for Physics First, said she's thrilled to see the state take the initiative when it comes to improving high school science.

"We had talked informally about the idea ourselves, sitting around the lunch table [at Woonsocket High School]," Miele said. "We know kids were having trouble with science the way they're doing it now and we thought, we can do it better. So when they put out the call for anyone interested in Physics First, we knew we wanted to pursue it."

The problem with the old lineup, according to veteran teachers such as Miele and Doucette, was that students were learning the more abstract sciences before they were exposed to the more concrete ones. "When you teach chemistry, for example, you have to take kids on imaginary rides, you have to help them take a step into the abstract; whereas, physics is very concrete and very hands-on: You tell students, this is a ball, it drops, and they see that. So it lends itself to concepts they can understand at that age," Doucette said.

At Woonsocket High School, ninth graders have traditionally taken physical science followed by biology, chemistry and physics in the upper grades. Honors students participate in an accelerated version of that sequence, taking biology in ninth grade and reserving their senior year for a science elective.

Starting next fall, all ninth graders, divided by academic ability, will take a physics course. Physical science will eventually be eliminated from the curriculum and general science teachers will be retrained as physics instructors.

Teaching physics to ninth graders, who have less advanced math skills, will necessitate more of a conceptual approach than a mathematical one, but teachers say they aren't worried.

"The way it works now, biology and chemistry teachers have students with no physics background, so they're constantly having to stop and teach them about light or speed or what not," Miele said.

In fact, Miele and Doucette say their only real concern about the new curriculum is whether the state will follow through on its plans to properly certify the high school's six general science faculty members as physics teachers.

At a breakfast Tuesday announcing the pilot program, officials promised that participating teachers will partake in various professional development opportunities, including certification courses. The National Governors' Association is contributing $125,000 for teacher training and Governor Carcieri has also agreed to seek an additional $450,000 for textbooks and equipment.

Woonsocket's interim Schools Supt. Maureen B. Macera said she's proud of the science faculty's hard work in securing this grant. "... This grant reflects a high level of rigor and quality at the high school," Macera said.

"I can't tell you how nice it is to hear all this physics talk around the state," Doucette said. "When we were at the announcement breakfast meeting on Tuesday I heard people making physics jokes and I thought, 'Oh, this is just so cool to hear,'" she said. "We really want to change the vision that people have of physics. We want kids to know, it's cool to get excited about this."

Source: Providence Journal

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