Physics First

1. Physics First Kenneth O’Rourke

2. Overview • What is the Physics First curriculum? • What is the logic behind Physics First? • How is it implemented? • Where can you find out more information?

3. What is Physics First? One of the key components of the framework is a reversal of the sequence in which the three primary disciplines in high school education—Biology, chemistry and physics—have been taught since the late nineteenth century. physics becomes the focus of the first year of high school science study, chemistry remains the second, and biology becomes the third

4. What is Physics First? Most of the science requirement today is fulfilled by courses constructed as if they are discrete, disconnected disciplines. These courses are collections of facts and principles to be memorized. This science curriculum is structurally flawed. The Physics First curriculum presents the disciplines as integral parts that are self supporting to build broad coherent knowledge steeped in the scientific method.

5. Reasoning behind Physics First Too many schools/districts are stuck in disconnected, fact-loaded, assembly-line modeled curricula and pedagogy that bear no resemblance to the excitement of true scientific inquiry and discovery. In order for our students to grasp the big ideas and the total picture of the universe we as educators need to realize that the current system is not preparing the next generation in these 5 areas:

6. Reasoning behind Physics First • Science and mathematics literacy for all students • Citizens able to understand issues based in science and technology • Citizens able to discriminate between scientific understanding and personal belief • A capable work force for a modern technological society • People with a joy and pleasure in understanding a complex universe and the individual’s role in it.

7. Reasoning behind Physics First • The sequence of high school study in science—biology, chemistry and physics—was set out in 1894 on the basis of a prestigious national commission (The Committee of Ten). Today’s high school science courses, largely textbook-driven, are treated as independent and unrelated. The sequence is inappropriate and does not respect developments in the disciplines over the past century.

8. Reasoning behind Physics First • How do you explain heat or energy effectively? • How can DNA or any cellular activity be really understood without a firm basis in chemistry? • Gas laws are just memorized formulas, unless the physics of the kinetic energy and pressure are understood. • The movement of energy through the food chain is abstract and almost magical until the law of conservation of energy is understood.

9. Implementation • Physics in Year One The curriculum approaches physics as a foundation of building blocks that both serve to facilitate the three years of science study and honor the subject as a standalone discipline. It begins with visible and familiar physical objects, then progresses to abstract levels. A fundamental goal is to elicit student fascination and a desire to discover why something happens and what a given experience means.

10. Implementation • Physics year 1 (alphabetical order) • Atomic Theory, Structure of Atoms, Molecule Formation, Atomic and Molecular Models • Conservation of Energy • Conservation of Mass • Electricity/Charge • Energy as a Universal Currency • Gases • Gravity • Kinetic Theory of Gases • Light and Photosynthesis • Light as a Wave and Particle • Matter, Properties of Matter • Momentum • Pressure ARISE: AMERICAN RENAISSANCE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION 27

11. Implementation • Chemistry year 2 • Much of Year Two is punctuated by extended laboratory experiences and project based units that build upon Year One experiences. Again, the curriculum should allow considerable time to elicit student fascination and discovery, combined with insights for relating their chemistry experiences to their physics knowledge. • During this chemistry-based year, the curriculum is a building block for the following year’s focus on biology. Atoms and molecules particularly important to biology, such as phosphorus and water, are in the forefront in examining chemical reactivity and the affinity of different substances. Students should also explore chemistry’s relationships to such new topics as materials science, and to immunology and cloning in biology.

12. Implementation • CHEMISTRY TOPICS (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) • Acids and Bases • Atoms • Bond Geometry, Bond Tension ARISE: AMERICAN RENAISSANCE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION 28 • Chemical Reactivity and Relationship to Structure • Equilibrium • Fundamental Reactions • Kinetics • Model Building Models: Visual, Mathematical, Computer • Organic Chemistry • Oxidation-Reduction • Periodicity • Radioactivity, Atomic Stability • Simple Chemical Bonding • Solubility • Structure and Function, Property Level and Geometric Level • Thermodynamics • Three-Dimensional Visualization, Molecular Geometry

13. Implementation • Biology in Year Three • In the spirit of the previous years, the biology curriculum should emphasize content-based experiences in field, classroom and laboratory. Students should be capable of processing their experiences with considerable efficiency during this year, given the skills and conceptual frameworks mastered during Years One and Two. • A simple but meaningful departure occurs this third year where, in a general reversal of Years One and Two, studies begin at the microscopic level—cell structure and function—and move toward larger, more systems-based topics. A fundamental goal for this year should be an appreciation for the unity and diversity of life, and the varying quests of science to understand, manipulate or control it. The curriculum should also expand to embrace global, temporal, and societal topics, ethical questions, lifestyles and the future of science.

14. Implementation • BIOLOGY TOPICS (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) • Atoms (Phosphorus, Carbon, etc.) • Behavior of Organisms • Biological Diversity: Genetic, Species and Ecosystem • Cell Structure and Function, Malfunction • Energy, Flow of Matter and Energy in Living Systems • Evolution • Heredity, The Molecular Basis of Heredity • Interdependence between Living and Non-Living Entities • Interdependence among Organisms • Levels of Biological Organization: Cells, Tissue, Organs, Organisms • Levels of Ecological Organization: Species, Populations, Communities, Ecosystems • Molecules of Importance (Water, DNA, Carbon-Based Molecules, Proteins, etc.) • Photosynthesis • Rate, Scale and Magnitude of Change • Relationships between Human Population Growth, Industrialization and Regional/Global Ecology • Reproduction • Structure and Function • Surface-to-Volume Ratios of Life forms • Trends and Cycles • Water: Chemistry of Water, Density, Concentrations

15. Resources • ARISE (American Renaissance in American Education) See the "Bibliography," "Why Change?", and the suggested "Course Sequence." Click on "Workshop Whitepaper" to access L.M. Lederman's 72-page pdf document on ARISE.  See also the Lederman Science Center • AAPT  Physical Science Resource Center. under "Curriculum"/"High School Physical Science"/"Comprehensive Curricula." • Goldberg, F. , Heller, P.  and Bendall, S. Constructing Physics Understanding,  San Diego State. • Hickman, Paul. (1990). Freshman Physics? The Science Teacher, March, 45-47. • Lewin, Tamar. A Push to Reorder Sciences Puts Physics First. New York Times. January 24, 1999. http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/012499educ-physics.1.jpg.html • NSTA: Scope, Sequence & Coordination Project