eCosmology

How to make a Physics introductory class FUN?

i applied for a teaching position for High School Physics. this is my first job, and i will conduct my demo class soon for 20minutes. any suggestions for classroom activities like game, trivia or experiments? First day will be more about what is Physics. Thank you. Hehe it's a demo class to test my teaching ability for the first day of class. i get the job if the supervisor feels that i can handle the "students". normal class is for 40 minutes. i really need to get everyone's attention. so it's more on handling class than to actually start giving lessons. hehe

Public Comments

1. Haha. This is coming from a gr 12 student who suffered 1 year in a very boring a'ss class of physics. Make it more lively: talk sports, whatever those kids are into, to grab their attention. Don't just talk. That makes us sleep and throw stuff in class (and play games). Games and trivia don't work as in we don't know anything regarding physics (yet), and we're not interested. Scare the pants off us by telling us 1/5 of the class will drop out, 2/5 of the remaining class will probably do poorly, and if we get below 75, we will not get in a good university and fail at life (which is what my teacher used). Worked very well, but half of us students barely passed with 50's (i feel proud of my 82). Well, considering its a demo, games n trivia seem bland. Class usually consists of teaching concepts, examples, then self-working time. Oh, learn more than you need to for that day. Since your taking up 20 minutes, if you cover your material in 15 minutes, that's bad. For the last 5 minutes, move on to the next subject. Walk around so our eyes have to follow you. You could try "the tip of the day", "joke of the day", etc. Stupid, but it worked (on us).
2. Students always love in class demonstrations, so that's an easy suggestion. Just try your best to explain the concepts in the most clear and concise way possible. I know there is a lot of math in physics, and people will always struggle with the math, but it is considerably easier when you understand the principles guiding the math.
3. http://www.effectiveteaching.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=13 The above link goes to Harry Wong's newsletter you can download. This eight-page newspaper is published for practicing classroom teachers. It is filled with teaching tips that are easy to implement in the classroom. Many of the tips come directly from The First Days of School, The Effective Teacher, and Classroom Management with Harry and Rosemary Wong.
4. Talk about the abstract concepts of physics like quantum physics .Don't teach, just be confusing and deep. We'd ask tons of questions on things more deep than the material covered. Take physics to the extreme and write out all the equations and crap.Of course, don't test them on it, just put it out there. Show that physics doesn't stop in high school .
5. I would say a hands-on demonstration, something that the kids can participate in. It could be regarding sports, space flight, etc...heck, an oversized game of Mouse Trap would give you plenty of material! The point is to grab their attention and keep it - to make them WANT to learn. Don't dumb down the material or pretend to be one of them...be the teacher that everyone wants to have because you cause them to really "get it". Good luck!
6. fun is subjective. not being ignorant is fun. well, can be. some students will find physics intrinsically fun - maybe a minority. take them aside and encourage them - let them in on the joke. put the fear of god in the rest. they probably need it.
7. talk about applications of physics...THERE ARE SOOOO MANY....video games, Roller coasters....etc etc..