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Subject: A physics teacher begs for his subject back
Armchair Private    9/22/2007 11:23:16 AM
h*tp://www.civitas.org.uk/blog/2007/06/a_physics_teacher_begs_for_his.html Some of you may have seen this elsewhere, it's been around a bit. The teacher argues that physics has become a media studies class at GCSE with pupils taught to debate about issues of the day, based on their opinions. The actual science has been removed. You have to read it to get the full gist, so please do. If this is true it's horrific, with all the Government's talk of a knowledge economy, and the tractor-production-like incessant increase in education results too.
 
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Armchair Private    Example question from a current physics GCSE paper   9/22/2007 11:31:15 AM

"A newspaper article has the heading: ‘Are mobiles putting our children at risk?’ A recent report said that children under the age of nine should not use mobile phones…

The first question on the paper was:

Below which age is it recommended that children use a mobile phone in emergencies only?

This is the kind of reading comprehension question I would expect in a primary school English lesson, not a secondary school GCSE."

That from the above quoted article. This is aimed at 16 year olds remember. You need to get around 60% these days to get an A*, the highest possible grade.
 
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Nichevo       9/22/2007 12:27:08 PM

"A newspaper article has the heading: ‘Are mobiles putting our
children at risk?’ A recent report said that children under the age of
nine should not use mobile phones…


The first question on the paper was:


Below which age is it recommended that children use a mobile phone in emergencies only?


This is the kind of reading comprehension question I would expect in
a primary school English lesson, not a secondary school GCSE."

That from the above quoted article. This is aimed at 16 year olds remember. You need to get around 60% these days to get an A*, the highest possible grade.

OMG you lie!

Sorry...If not, England is so f**ked!
 
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Council34c       9/22/2007 12:43:23 PM
There has been a dumbing down, but I know for a fact that dangers of electromagnetic radiation is not on any GCSE Physics sylabus only Alpha Beta and Gamma radiation(EM radiation yes, but the other side of the visible spectra from mobile phone microwaves) are discussed. For those who were taught physics a while ago you must appreciate that the Physics sylabus has had to become much broader in light of more recent discoveries so some depth in areas may have been lost, mainly in the maths aspect. The problem is the stagnation in exam questions since the inception of the national curriculem the schools have had time to build up a significant knowledge of what is going to be asked enabling them to basically teach how to write physics scripts and nothing else rather than actually teach physics itself, this applies more or less across the board. Todays students are worked much harder than those of yesteryear an example being the traditional doss year in Lower Sixth now filled up with AS work.
 
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flamingknives       9/22/2007 12:52:21 PM
Certainly I wasn't taught atomic radiation until lower sixth (16-17), and that was ... ten years ago - errk.
 
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Armchair Private       9/22/2007 1:23:05 PM

There has been a dumbing down, but I know for a fact that dangers of electromagnetic radiation is not on any GCSE Physics sylabus only Alpha Beta and Gamma radiation(EM radiation yes, but the other side of the visible spectra from mobile phone microwaves) are discussed.

Don't think I understand your point here, are you arguing that this question isn't from a current exam paper? Or, are you arguing that a reading comprehension question is appropriate at this stage because students won't have fully tackled the EM spectrum?

The article is arguing that no physics is taught at all any more, in any sense of the word that I understand anyway. Instead, pupils are presented with opinions and asked to debate them, like in an English or History class.

If it's inappropriate to tackle understanding of potential harm caused  by microwave radiation then why is the question in the paper?

For those who were taught physics a while ago you must appreciate that the Physics sylabus has had to become much broader in light of more recent discoveries so some depth in areas may have been lost, mainly in the maths aspect.

This is understandable.

The problem is the stagnation in exam questions since the inception of the national curriculem the schools have had time to build up a significant knowledge of what is going to be asked enabling them to basically teach how to write physics scripts and nothing else rather than actually teach physics itself, this applies more or less across the board. Todays students are worked much harder than those of yesteryear an example being the traditional doss year in Lower Sixth now filled up with AS work.

Perhaps the greater problem is the design of the education system now? Teachers, Government, unions and exam boards all have perverse incentives to increase exam results, not to educate.

As I understand it the Exam boards are competing, the education authorities pick the exam boards, so are they gonna pick the exam boards who give their pupils the best results or not?

Even then, grade boundaries move around each year based on how many students get a particular percentage, but then the Government says that results have improved, when it's actually irrelevant how well or not students perfromed. In theory if one year no one gone more than 10% right then A* grade would be for those students who got more than 6% of answers correct, and the Government would tell us all the exam grades have improved by 0.5%.

As they decide that 0.5% more students get A* - C.

Bah, humbug. etc.

 
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Armchair Private       9/22/2007 1:36:06 PM




"A newspaper article has the heading: ‘Are mobiles putting our

children at risk?’ A recent report said that children under the age of

nine should not use mobile phones…




The first question on the paper was:




Below which age is it recommended that children use a mobile phone in emergencies only?



This is the kind of reading comprehension question I would expect in

a primary school English lesson, not a secondary school GCSE."

That from the above quoted article. This is aimed at 16 year olds remember. You need to get around 60% these days to get an A*, the highest possible grade.


OMG you lie!

Sorry...If not, England is so f**ked!
I worry about the Welsh personally.

It's a hobby.

 
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Asymmetric       9/22/2007 4:47:58 PM
 

Very worrying read but sadly it does not surprise me.

I should first say that I never sat GCSE physics since I went through the Scottish education system and sat standard grades/highers/advanced highers in physics however they are in similar sorry state.

Professors teaching 1st year university physics quite literally now have to “unlearn” everything you are taught about physics during secondary education and start a fresh, this can cause a fair few upsets to students since they may find themselves in a course quite unlike what they knew about it from school causing no small amount of distress.

While the content of 14-15 group should focus on classical Newtonian kinematics, optics, electromagnetic spectrum, properties of waves, basic premises of thermodynamics’ (i.e. energy cant be destroyed), ideal gas laws and atomic half life’s it also needs to focus the student to use this knowledge to problem solve. There is an increasing tendency for physics to go the way of biology and chemistry and simply rely upon the memorisation of notes not the implementation of the knowledge learnt. What I mean is the student should be asked a questions which using his knowledge of physics the answer can become apparent. Not only are the questions in this article barely relevant they only ask the student to regurgitate knowledge he has already written down. There is no need to understand the physics.
I think the 16-18 group should touch on Maxwells laws of electromagnetism, special relativity and further knowledge of the above subjects. There is no need for any general relativity or quantum mechanics other than for the students general interest.

 

 
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Herald1234    Great Thundering Scot.   9/22/2007 5:01:06 PM
I was taught to experimentally verify every one of the Newton's Laws in what in the US is the 7th grade.  That is how my science education began in earnest. I wasn't only expected to know. I was expected to show that crazy old Marine teacher of mine, how I knew.
 
Something is lost here. Proving something works is FUN.
 
The kids are being deprived.
 
Herald 
 
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Asymmetric    More suitable problems   9/22/2007 9:22:50 PM
I was trying to post this early but it looks like I'm going to have to resort to this crumy format to show a problem i would rather see in physics papers of that level.
 

Below is the sort of question that a certain professor loves asking when there is an influx of fresher’s at Edinburgh. This is the sort of question I would expect students to be able to answer with ease if they properly understand the Newtonian concepts. It’s surprising just now many first years that have attained A’s in A-levels and highers can’t answer this.

 

(a)

 Start                                                                                                                                                                      Finish

___________________________________________________________________________________________


(b)

 Start                                                                                                                                                                      Finish

___________________________                                                                                     ______________________
                                                      \                                                                                  /             
                                                        \                                                     
 
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Asymmetric    More suitable problems   9/22/2007 9:25:21 PM

I was trying to post this early but it looks like I'm going to have to resort to this crumy format to show a problem i would rather see in physics papers of that level.

 

Below is the sort of question that a certain professor loves asking when there is an influx of fresher’s at Edinburgh. This is the sort of question I would expect students to be able to answer with ease if they properly understand the Newtonian concepts. It’s surprising just now many first years that have attained A’s in A-levels and highers can’t answer this.


 


(a)


 Start                                                                                                                                                                      Finish



_________________________________________________________________________________




(b)

 Start                                                                                                                                                                        Finish


_______________________                                                                                      ______________________
                                                       \                                                                                 /             
                                                      &nb
 
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