New Physics Curriculum

I was tasked this year with redesigning the physics curriculum at my school. Our state (MA) just upgraded their framework, so we needed to re-align. For the last decade, the state's framework was nothing more than a shopping cart of physics topics. There wasn't even an attempt to distinguish topics from concepts. The state assessment required students to have key vocabulary memorized, and to know how to pick out the right equation and apply it correctly to word problems. And that was about it.

My physics team has only three members. For good or for ill, we are all well-versed in the old state framework and assessment. The new framework is mostly based on the Next Generation Science Standards, so it’s quite different. I was excited about the change, because I think the NGSS is a worthy approach. But it’s very different from the old approach, and I wanted the team to have the time and opportunity to adapt. The new curriculum I wrote is organized in a way that looks similar to the old curriculum, but introduces and adapts the new framework language. The team already has a strong bias toward hands-on, project-based, team-oriented classwork. I wanted the physics team to continue moving in that direction, but to shift their conception of this project-based classwork from demonstration-of-topic to phenomenon-model-interaction.

To help our team, perhaps other science teams, and even our supervisors, to better understand the NGSS framework, I created a concept diagram. The diagram is not based directly on the NGSS framework, but is instead a representation of the new curriculum I wrote. I think of the new curriculum as a particular instance of the NGSS framework.

The old curriculum thinking was topic first, application second. The new curriculum flips that around to phenomenon first, model second. The basic interaction is that the phenomenon informs the model, and the model makes predictions about the phenomenon. We choose an anchor phenomenon that is sufficiently complex, has relevance to the lives of the students, and is interesting or engaging. As an aid in exploring this phenomenon, simpler and perhaps more accessible related phenomena are introduced.

The model is related to other models, largely through shared concepts such as force and energy. Through these core concepts, students can develop a picture of physics as a consistent viewpoint and approach to understanding the world, rather than merely a collection of topics. The model is represented and expressed in many ways. These multiple representations give students multiple pathways for exploring the relationship between model and phenomenon.

Finally, in keeping with the idea that learning comes from doing, I include a summary of what students could do as they explore the phenomenon-model relationship. This list is broadly in line with the goals stated in the standards of the new state framework.

Cross-posted to Teaching Is . . .