MI

NISTRYOFEDUCATI
ONSCI
ENCEANDTECHNOLOGY
MOROGOROTEACHERS’
COLLEGE
DEPARTMENTOFPHYSI
CS
PHYSI
CSPEDAGOGY
TOPI
C:FUNDAMENTALSOFTEACHI
NGANDLEARNI
NGPHYSI
CS
SUBTOPI
CS:

 Pr
inci
plesofTeachi
ngandLear
ningPhy
sics

 I
mpor
tanceofLear
ningPhy
sics
I
NTRODUCTI
ON
Physicsi
sthebasicphysicalsciencewhichdeal swit
htheproperti
esofmat t
erin
rel
ati
ontoenergyanditsapplication.Phy
sicsconsistsofconcepts,laws,pri
ncipl
es,
theor
em andknowledge.Thepr ocessoft eachingandlearni
ngphy si
csr equi
resthe
appli
cati
onsofthepri
ncipleswhi chcanbuildinter
esttothestudents.
Act
ivi
ty1
Di
scusswhymanystudent
sdr
op/donotoptt
ost
udyphy
sicssubj
ecti
ndi
ff
erentl
evel
s
i
nsecondar
yschool
?
Responses
(
i) Fewnumberofphy
sicst
eacher
(
ii
) Lackoft
/lmat
eri
al
(
ii
i) Lackofi
nter
est
(
iv) Theor
eti
cal
teachi
ng
(
v) I
nadequacycompet
encephy
sicst
eacher
s
(
vi) Lackofphy
sicst
eacher
s
(
vii
) Poort
eachi
ng
(
vii
i
) Lackofconduci
veenv
ironment
(
ix) I
deol
ogi
cal
ideas
(
x) Nat
ureoft
hesubj
ectneedsmor
eat
tent
ionandPer
sonal
int
erest

1
PRI
NCI
PLESOFTEACHI
NGANDLEARNI
NG
OBJECTI
VES
Byt
heendofthisl
essonast udentteachershoul dbeableto:
 Descr
ibethepri
ncipl
esoft eachingandl earningofphy
sics
 Expl
ainthesi
gnif
icanceoft heprinci
plesoft eachi
ngandlear
ningofphy
sics

Amongot herr
easons;methodol
ogi
esfort
eachi
ngandlear
ningphy
sicsarethemaj
or
reasons.Thef
oll
owingareninef
undament
alpri
nci
plesoft
eachi
ngandlearni
ngphy
sics
Emphasi zi
ngGoodPr acticeandExper i
ment ationi nPhy sics:St udent slearnbestonl y
whatt heypr act i
ce/doi ng.I nteachingandl ear ning,aphy si
cst eachershoul dobser ve
activit
ieswhi chenabl esl ear ning.Studentsenj oymor ewhent heyar eact ivel
yi nvol
v ed,
rathert hanpassi velist ener s.Phy si
csconcept sar eeffectivelyf acili
tatedorl earned
throughpr actical,exper i
ment alveri
ficat
ionori nv esti
gations.I mpr oviseandmakeuse
oft eachingandl earningai ds.Thet eachingandl earningai dsshoul dbeusedi nthe
processofobser vation, drawi ng, measuring, recor di
ngandi nterpr et
at i
onoft he
outcomeusi ngy ourr espect i
vesensor yor gansandper f
or mingexper iments/ pract
ical.
Becauseal ear nerisengagedi neachoft hest agesi nthedet ermi nationoft her equired
value,thelear nerconst ruct sone’ sownunder st andingandknowl edge, concept sorlaws
i
nphy sicsthroughexper ienci ngthingsandr eflect i
ngont hoseexper iences.
Useexisti
ngideas/ experiencesofst udent
s:Useconst ructi
vism paradigm inst
eadof
tr
ansmission.I
nt hi
stheor y,encour agelear
nerstouset heirexist
ingideast obuil
dthe
newideas/experiences.Pr e-exist
ingknowledgeinfluencesconcept ualchange.When
l
earnersencounterssomet hi ngnew, onehast oreconcil
ei twithone’sideasand
experi
encestherebychangi ngonesor igi
nalbel
iefs,knowledgeorconcept ions.Therol
e
oftheteacheristoensur ethel earnerunderst
andt heconcept sthroughgui de/f
aci
li
tat
e
acti
vi
ti
esper f
ormedbyt hel earner.
Starttoteachfr
om si mpletocomplex:Thegoodphy si
cst eacherisonewhot eaches
fordeepunderstanding,usi
ngstudent
s’ideasaboutsciencefactstoguidel
esson,
providi
ngexperi
encest otestandchal
lengethoseideastohelpst udent
sarr
iveatmor e
sophisti
catedunderstandi
ngbasedont hefoll
owingconcepts
(
i)Simpl
etocomplex;
Star
tfr
om si
mpl
eoreasyphy
sicsconcept
sandknowl
edge
tocompl
exorhardone
(
ii
)Realtoimaginar
y :Star
trecal
li
ngtheexperi
encesofthelearnerbefor
ebuildi
ngor
constr
ucti
ngnewknowl edge.Whenthelearnerconst
ructnewnot i
ons,onehasto
star
tfrom v
isual
izingrealt
hingsorconcret
emodel stofi
cti
ons/imaginar
y.
(
ii
i)
Whol
etopar
t:St
artwi
tht
hegener
alconcept
sthencul
minat
ewi
thf
ocused

2
 t
eachi
ngandl
ear
ningi
deas
Ensur esaf et
yenv i
ronmentinthet eachingandl earningphysics:Thel earning
environmentshoul dbesuppor t
ive,productiv
eandsaf e.Alearnershoul dbegi ven
enoughr oom toint
eractwit
hmat eri
alswhichpr omot ecreat
ivet hi
nking.Takesaf ety
precaut i
onsinthelearni
ngandt eachingenv ir
onmentbecausewhenst udent si
nteract
witht hetoolswhichmayhur tthebody .Aphysicsteacherisrequi r
edt oobser v
et he
availabil
ityofl
earningmateri
alssuchasr eadingtextualmaterialsandai ds.These
mat erial
swi l
lprovi
dereadi
ngandr eferencemat eri
als.Themat eri
alsshouldbe
availableforconduciveenvi
ronment .
Aphy sicsteachershouldpromotecreat
ivethi
nking,respectf
orcultur
al v
alues,
students'confidenceandwill
i
ngnesstotakeri
sksdur inglear
ning.Courageisrequi
red
whent akingriskssuchasstudyi
ngmat eri
alswhichhav eneverbeenaskedi n
examination.Societycul
tur
alval
uesshouldber espected
Alsoateachershoul
densuresafetyenvi
ronmentduringpreparati
on,
improv
isationand
theuseofequipment.Safeusageofchemical
s,apparatus/equipment,
heat
,electri
cit
y.
Whenmaki ngteachi
ngandl ear
ningai
ds,saf
ehandlingoft ool
ssuchassaws, razor
blades,
kniv
esandmachi nes
Explorether elati
onshipbetweenphy si
csandot hersubj ect
s/fi
elds:Learni
ngphy si
cs
subjectmustbui l
dpositi
ver el
ationshipwi t
hei thersubjectstaughtinsecondary
schools.Ther elati
onshipwillbedev elopedonl ywhenst udentsareenabledt o
parti
cipatefullyinthesubject,developself-conf i
denceandi nter
estsoflearningthe
subject.Thet eachershouldensur et hatl
ear ningphysicswi l
lbemor emeani ngfuli
fthe
studentswillbeabl etoassociatewhatt heyl earninthesubjectandot herdisci
pli
ne
Explainappl
icati
onofphysicsconcept ,knowledgeandski ll
sineverydayl i
fe:Forthe
l
ear ni
ngtobecomemeani ngf ul
,itisimport
antthatstudentsshouldrelatewhatt hey
l
ear ntothei
rdail
yli
fe.St
udent sshouldbegiventheoppor tuni
tytoexpr esstheirown
experi
encesaboutwhatisbei ngt aughti
ntheclassroom.Forev er
ynewi deaintroduced
i
nt heclassr
oom, i
tshoul
dbeaccompani edbyrelevantexamples.Ef
f ectiv
euseof
teachingandlear
ningmaterialsshouldbeobser v
e
Promotephy si
csi nquirymindandi nvesti
gation:Itisthebasicskil
lsinteachingand
l
earni
ngofphy sics.Teacher saresupposedt ouset heseski l
l
sef f
ectiv
elysoast o
enabl
estudentst odev eloptheabil
ityt
oexami ne,i
nquiry,i
nvesti
gate,thi
nkdeepl yand
plant
heirthoughtslogicall
y.Iti
simpor t
anttoi nvolv
est udentsindoingdiff
erent
exper
iment sbyobser v
ingpr ocedur
esofsci entifi
cmet hod.Helpstudentstoimpr ove
communi cati
onski l
l
swhent heypresenttheirfindi
ngs.Thispr i
nci
plecontri
butest othe
devel
opmentofcr eativit
yandconf i
denceamongst udents,enhancingtheappl i
cati
onof
thegai
nedknowl edgeandski ll
sinthei
rdail
yl i
fe.
Assessmentpract
icesshoul
dbeanint
egralpar
tofteachingandlear
ning:Li
nking
assessmentt
oinstruct
iont
hati
sembeddi
ngitintheprocessoft
eaching.Teacher
s

3
shouldintegrateassessmenti nt eachingandl ear ningprocesssoast oenhanceact ive
parti
cipat
ionoft hel earners.Assessmentshoul dbedoneatev erystepoft heteaching
andlearni
ngpr ocess.Theassessmenti sexpect edt oinvol
ve;Shar i
nglearninggoals
withstudents, Helpingstudentsknowandr ecogni zethestudentst oaimf or,Prov
idi
ng
feedbackt hathelpst hestudent stoi denti
fyhowt oi mprove,Botht heteacherand
studentsreviewingandr eflect
inginst udents’per formanceandpr ogress,Students
l
earningpeerandsel f
-assessmentt echniquet odi scoverareastheyneedt oimprove
andRecogni zingt hatbothmot iv
ationandsel f
-esteem canbei ncreasedbyef fect
ive
assessmentt echnique
Ensure/emphasi zecooperati
oni nl
earni
ngphy si
cs:Encour agecooperationamong
l
earnersinthepr ocessofteachingandlear
ningConstructiv
istphysi
cst eacher
s
promotegroupl earni
ng.Wher etwoorthreestudentsdiscussapproachest oagiven
probl
em withlit
tleornointerf
erencefr
om theteacher.Whathappenst oandwi t
hsuch
smallgroupsofst udent
scanbeusedasawhol eclassar r
ivesatconsensusoft he
vari
oussmal lgroupanalysi
s.
Phy sicscanbel ea+rnedbyseei ng,hearing,r
eadi ng,writi
ngandt alking.Ot hermet hod
ofst udy i
ngphy sicsist owor katprobl em.Thet eachi ngandlear ningofphy si
cs
becomesmeani ngfulifandonl yifthepr i
nci
plesoft eachi
ngandl ear ningofphy si
csare
effectivelyempl oyed.St udentsarer equir
edtopr act i
ce,usetheirpr ior-exper i
ence,use
definedsequenceofl ear ni
ng,needsconduci veenv i
ronment ,assesst heirlearni
ngand
execut i
ngcooper ati
vel earni
ng.Foref fecti
veteachi ngandl earningy ouar eadv i
sedt o
prepar ey ourlessonalongwi ththeappl i
cati
onsoft hosepr i
nciples.Teachi ngand
l
ear ningmat eri
alsshoul dbedesi gnedanddev elopedbyi nvolvingl earners.

QUESTI
ONS
1.Br
ief
lyexpl
ainf
ive(
5)pr
inci
plesoft
eachi
ngandl
ear
ningphy
sics
2.I
sitpossi
bletoappl
ymor ethanonepr
inci
plei
nteachi
ng/
lear
ningagi
vent
opi
c
ofphysi
cs?Expl
ainyouranswer
3.Howisitpossi
blet
oappl
ymor
ethanonepr
inci
plei
nteachi
ngandl
ear
ninga
gi
ventopi
c?
4.Descr
ibeandexpl
aint
hesi
gni
fi
canceofanyf
our
(4)pr
inci
plesoft
eachi
ngand
l
earni
ngphysi
cs

4
I
MPORTANCEOFLEARNI
NGPHYSI
CS
OBJECTI
VES
Byt
heendoft hissub-t
opic.Astudentt eachershoul
dbeablet
o:
 Outli
net heimportanceofteachingphy si
cs
 Explaint heimportanceoflearningphy si
csindai
l
yli
fe
 Encour agel ear
nerstostudyphy sics
 Relatephy si
cswithothersubjects

Physi
csist
hesci
encesubj
ectthatdescr
ibeshowt
hephy
sical
wor
ldwor
ks.The
fol
l
owingar
eimport
anceofteachi
ngphysics,
(
i)Throughphy sics,wewillbeabl
etounderst
andwhatl
iesbehindev er
yday
phenomenal i
keblueskies,r
edsunsets,
rai
nbowsandthunderstorm aswel
las
thewor kingprinci
pleofbasi
cappl
iancessuchast
herefri
gerator,
microwave
oven,televi
si
onandcomput er.
(
ii
)Phy si
cspromotesknowl edgeandunderstandingoftheworl
daroundusand
maki ngi
tamor einterest
ingplace.Phy
sicsplaysagreatpar
tinsuppl
yi
nguswi
th
thebasicneedsoflife.Ourbasicneedsincl
udef ood,communi
cati
onand
transpor
tati
on,
clothingandshel t
er.
(
ii
i)
Phy
sicscreat
esanawarenessoft
heenv
ironment
ali
mpl
i
cat
ionsandhel
pst
o
makerat
ionalj
udgment
s.
(
iv)
Physi
csencour agesappli
cati
onandappreci
ati
onoftechnology
.Technol
ogy
requi
resknowledgeofphy si
csinthemanufact
uri
ngdiff
erentmater
ial
s.Phy
sics
alsoi
sapar tofscienceandthatsci
enceandtechnol
ogydependoneachot her
(
v)Study i
ngphysi
cswillpr
ovi
deyouwit
hasoundfoundationt
opursuecareer
sin
di
v ersefi
eldsf
rom basi
cphysi
csr
esear
chtoengineer
ing,medi
cineand
philosophy.
I
mpor
tanceofLear
ningPhy
sicsi
nDai
lyLi
fe
(
i)Thest udyofphy si
csiscapableofansweringmanyofourquestionsabout
physicalpropert
iesofmatter.I
nphysics,
ev er
ythi
ngismadeupofsomesor tof
mat eri
alandquest i
onsli
ke;whysomemat eri
alsareat
tr
actedbymagnetwhil
e
othersarenot ,
whyt heskyisblueandotherexcit
ingquest
ionsareanswer
ed.
(
ii
)Thestudyofphysicsenabl
esdi
fferentpeopl
etoacqui
reskil
l
sthatarer
equi
redi
n
di
ff
erentprof
essionssuchasengineeri
ngteachi
ngandarchi
tect
ure
(
ii
i)
Thestudyofphysi
csimpartsknowl
edgethatisr
equi
redi
ndesignand
manufactur
ingdi
ff
erentit
emswhichareusefuli
nourdai
l
yli
fe.Theitemsi
ncl
ude,
drycel
ls,
simplemachinessuchaspul
ley
sandcompl i
cat
edoneslikemobi
le

5
 phoneswor
ksusi
ngpr
inci
plesofphy
sics.
(
iv)
Thestudyofphy sicscomeswit
hpleasuretothepersonst
udyingit
.“Physi
csis
fun”Mostexperimentsinphysi
csarefull
ofinter
est
ingphenomenaonce
discov
ered.Physicsstudent
sareal
way sexci
tedaboutphysi
cspracti
caland
alwayslookfor
war dtosuchsessi
ons
Appl
icat
ionsofPhy
sicsi
nRealLi
fe
Discover
iesi
nphysicshaveledtovar
iousinvent
ionsthatinf
luenceourl
ives.Phy
sici
sts
havebeenglori
fi
edforthei
runti
ri
ngdesiretogiv
et hefr
uitsofthei
racquir
edknowledge
andskill
sbacktothei
rsociet
y.I
nrealli
fesit
uati
ons,thefoll
owingareareaswhere
physicsi
sappli
ed
(
i)Athome
(
ii
)Medi
cal
fiel
d
(
ii
i)
Sour
cesofener
gy
(
iv)Tr
anspor
t
(
v)Communi
cat
ion
(
vi)
Ent
ert
ainment
(
vii
) I
ndust
ry
(
vii
i
) I
nschool
s.

QUESTI
ONS
1.Exploretheimportanceoflearningphy sicsindail
yli
fe
2.Narratestheappli
cationsofphy sicsatt heschool.
3.Identi
fytheappl i
cati
onsofot hersubj ectsinphysicsandl
i
star
easi
nphy
sics
conceptsappliedinothersubjects.
4.Discussfour(4)areaswher ephy sicsi
sappl ied.