TEACHING OF PHYSICS

B. Ed 2nd Semester (New B. Ed 1.5)

By

SHAKIL AHMAD

Prepared by
Shakil Ahmad

KHYBER COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

AFFILIATED WITH ABDUL WALI KHAN UNIVERSITY

MARDAN PAKISTAN

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UNIT 1

PART 1: METHODOLOGY TOTAL MARKS: 40

Unit 01: Introduction
1.1 Nature of Physics
1.2 Educational value of Physics
1.3 Use of Physics in every day life
1.4 Correlation of Physics with other subjects
Unit 02: A.V. Aids in Teaching of Physics:
2.1 Structural/ Non Structural Material
2.2 Practical use of Teaching Material

Unit 03: Lesson Planning in Physics:

Unit 04: Teaching Methods:

4.1 Demonstration Method
4.2 Lecture Method
4.3 Discussion Method.
4.4 Project Method

Unit 05: Teaching Approaches and Strategies,

5.1 Teaching approaches
a) Problem solving
b) Enquiry Technique'
c) Creative Technique
5.2 Teaching strategies
a) Activities in Physics teaching
b) Planning or Practical activity
Unit 06: Laboratory use and Management:
6.1 Importance of Laboratory in teaching of Physics
6.2 Laboratory Management and safety.
Unit 07: Measuring achievements of Physics
7.1 Preparation of different types of test
7.2 Using tests and interpreting the result
7.3 Assessment through practical examination

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PART 1: METHODOLOGY TOTAL MARKS: 40
Unit 01: Introduction

1.1 Nature of Physics

Physics contributes to the technological infrastructure and provides trained personnel needed to
take advantage of scientific advances and discoveries. Physics is an important element in the
education of chemists, engineers and computer scientists, as well as practitioners of the other
physical and biomedical sciences.
Everything around us uses energy in one way or another. Our automobiles, planes, and trains
burn fuel, our computers require electrical sources and Wi-Fi connections, and our
telecommunication devices operate on cellular signals.
Essentially, with our expanded capabilities has come an increased need for new forms of energy;
and this from may be nuclear power or alternative energy sources such as fossil fuels or hybrid
power.

Physics Definition

When learning about and discussing physics, we focus heavily on energy, the core element of the
science. To better understand this connection, it helps to refer to a solid working definition of
physics.

Physics. The science in which matter and energy are studied both separately and in combination
with one another.

And a more detailed working definition of physics may be: The science of nature, or that which
pertains to natural objects, which deals with the laws and properties of matter and the forces
which act upon them. Quite often, physics concentrates upon the forces having an impact upon
matter, that is, gravitation, heat, light, magnetism, electricity, and others.

1.2 Educational value of Physics

The Scope of Physics
Take another look at the thumbnail image. The Whirlpool Galaxy contains billions of individual
stars as well as huge clouds of gas and dust. Its companion galaxy is also visible to the right.
This pair of galaxies lies a staggering billion trillion miles (1.4 x 1021 mi) from our own galaxy
(which is called the Milky Way). The stars and planets that make up the Whirlpool Galaxy might
seem to be the furthest thing from most people’s everyday lives, but the Whirlpool is a great

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starting point to think about the forces that hold the universe together. The forces that cause the
Whirlpool Galaxy to act as it does are thought to be the same forces we contend with here on
Earth, whether we are planning to send a rocket into space or simply planning to raise the walls
for a new home. The gravity that causes the stars of the Whirlpool Galaxy to rotate and revolve
is thought to be the same as what causes water to flow over hydroelectric dams here on Earth.
When you look up at the stars, realize the forces out there are the same as the ones here on Earth.
Through a study of physics, you may gain a greater understanding of the interconnectedness of
everything we can see and know in this universe.
Think, now, about all the technological devices you use on a regular basis. Computers,
smartphones, global positioning systems (GPSs), MP3 players, and satellite radio might come to
mind. Then, think about the most exciting modern technologies you have heard about in the
news, such as trains that levitate above tracks, “invisibility cloaks” that bend light around them,
and microscopic robots that fight cancer cells in our bodies. All these groundbreaking advances,
commonplace or unbelievable, rely on the principles of physics. Aside from playing a significant
role in technology, professionals such as engineers, pilots, physicians, physical therapists,
electricians, and computer programmers apply physics concepts in their daily work. For
example, a pilot must understand how wind forces affect a flight path; a physical therapist must
understand how the muscles in the body experience forces as they move and bend. As you will
learn in this text, the principles of physics are propelling new, exciting technologies, and these
principles are applied in a wide range of careers.
The underlying order of nature makes science in general, and physics in particular, interesting
and enjoyable to study. For example, what do a bag of chips and a car battery have in common?
Both contain energy that can be converted to other forms. The law of conservation of energy
(which says that energy can change form but is never lost) ties together such topics as food
calories, batteries, heat, light, and watch springs. Understanding this law makes it easier to learn
about the various forms energy takes and how they relate to one another. Apparently unrelated
topics are connected through broadly applicable physical laws, permitting an understanding
beyond just the memorization of lists of facts.

Science consists of theories and laws that are the general truths of nature, as well as the body of
knowledge they encompass. Scientists are continuously trying to expand this body of knowledge

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and to perfect the expression of the laws that describe it. Physics, which comes from the Greek
phúsis, meaning “nature,” is concerned with describing the interactions of energy, matter, space,
and time to uncover the fundamental mechanisms that underlie every phenomenon. This concern
for describing the basic phenomena in nature essentially defines the scope of physics.

Physics aims to understand the world around us at the most basic level. It emphasizes the use of
a small number of quantitative laws to do this, which can be useful to other fields pushing the
performance boundaries of existing technologies. Consider a smartphone (Figure 1.2.1 ).
Physics describes how electricity interacts with the various circuits inside the device. This
knowledge helps engineers select the appropriate materials and circuit layout when building a
smartphone. Knowledge of the physics underlying these devices is required to shrink their size or
increase their processing speed. Or, think about a GPS. Physics describes the relationship
between the speed of an object, the distance over which it travels, and the time it takes to travel
that distance. When you use a GPS in a vehicle, it relies on physics equations to determine the
travel time from one location to another.

1.3 Use of Physics in everyday life

Role of physics in our daily life

We are living in the century of science and technology and introduction of science in our daily
has transformed our lives. When people had no idea about science, even then their lives were
governed by principles of different branches of science. When we light a fire, it is a chemical
process; when we eat and digest food, it is biological process; when we walk on Erath, it is
governed by laws of physics; when an Earthquake occurs, it’s a seismic activity; when we talk
about different terrains and gems of Earth surface, it is related to Geology. There is no single
activity of our lives, which define our one or other field of science. Similarly, physics governs
our everyday lives and is involved in a number of activities we perform and things we use in our
daily life. Here we will discuss how physics is playing its part in running our everyday tasks and
assists us to do our errands, chores and duties smoothly and effectively.

BODY

Physics is considered natural science because it deals with the things like matter, force, energy
and motion. As these all are related to task related to everyday life, so, we can say that physics
studies how the universe works, how Earth Moves around the sun, how lightening strikes, how
our refrigerator works and many more. In short, physics define how everything works around us.
When cannot separate anything from science and, our world cannot disconnect itself from the
wonders of Physics. When we look around us, we can see a number of things that work on the

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principles of Physics. We can explain our several activities by making use of the knowledge of
Physics. Here, we will discuss some of the example, which will help us to learn how physics is
playing its part in our lives each day.

Walking

A number of principles of physics are involved in simple act of walking. It involves concepts of
weight, Newton’s three laws of inertia, friction, gravitational law and potential and kinetic
energy. When we walk, we actually act like an inverted pendulum. When we put the foot on
ground, it becomes our axis and our mass is centered in our abdomen, describing the shape of an
arc. When we set foot on ground, we actually put weight i.e w=mg and apply backward force on
ground, as the response to our weight, ground responds by an opposing force which is vertical in
nature, on leg which slows us down and this slowing process continues unless our leg comes
nearest to our tummy. When leg is moving, kinetic energy is at maximum and potential energy is
zero, but, when leg reaches nearest to belly or arc, potential energy reaches to its maximum.
When another step is taken, the stored potential energy is converted to kinetic energy and this
process continues. We act as an imperfect pendulum, because all potential energy is not
converted into kinetic energy. Only 65 percent of energy is provided by stored potential energy
to take next step, remaining 35 percent is provided by bio chemical processes. (Kunzig, 2001)

When we walk we actually do some work in physical terms, as W=F*S, when we exert some
force and as a result of it we cover some distance we actually do work. During walking,
Newton’s three laws of motion are applied. First law of motion states that, a body remains in
state of rest unless a force is applied on it. When we are at rest, inertia is at maximum. Body
needs largest amount of force to get out of state of inertia, i.e when we start walking. When we
talk first step the energy is transferred from foot to upper body parts and we start moving, during
the process of walking inertia keeps on changing increases when we set foot on ground and
decreases when we move the foot up. Second law of motion states that a=F/m i.e acceleration is
directly proportional to the force we use or exert while walking, therefore, when we will apply
more force, our acceleration will increase. Third law of motion is about action and reaction,
when we set foot on ground we exert force on it and as a result to it ground exerts reactionary
vertical force on body. (Patricia Ann Kramer, 2011)

Cooking

Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, temperature and work done due to
it. Heat is a form of energy that can be transferred from one medium to another i.e heat transfer.
For heat transfer, heat travels from hotter surface to cooler. When we put pan, with water or
something else in it, on burning stove the energy in flame of stove touches cold pan, it starts
transferring heat to the pan thus making it hooter. This phenomenon is called conduction.
Convection is a process of movement of molecules in liquid and gases. When we heat the pan,
the water molecules on the base of pan start heating up, a time comes when they get enough
energy and become hotter than the molecules around them, then they start moving to the surface
of water. The water molecules on the surface are cooler and heavier from hot water, due to less
heat energy, thus start moving down, this process continues until all water comes at same
temperature. (ouchmath, 2011)

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The cooking process is an open system, because in this both matter and energy is lost. According
to zeroth law of thermodynamics energy should be conserved, in our case the energy lost by
flame is used by pot to heat water and thus the total energy remains conserved. If we use
pressure cooker it uses het energy to bring spontaneous changes into food by using kinetic
energy of molecules to bring chemical changes in food; thus satisfying law of thermodynamics
that spontaneous works are done due to work energy. (Lathbridge, 2013)

Cutting fruits and vegetables

When we cut fruit and vegetable, we never realize that physics could be involved in this simple
task, but, surely it is. In order to cut anything, we have to exert pressure on knife. When we
increase the pressure we can cut an object easily. Pressure is dependent on force and area i.e
directly dependent on force and inversely dependent on area. In simple terms we can say that
when we exert more force we can cut an object easily, but, if same force is applied with a knife
with thicker edges, we cannot it. From experiences we learn that the knives which have edges
with smaller surface area can help to cut an object easily. Similarly, we can cut easily with a
sharper knife than blunt. The blunt knife offers more friction, due to its rough edges; thus making
it difficult to cut an object.

Seeing

Our eyes are an incredible gift by God. We see wonders of the world, by this small organ. When
we talk about parts of body and their function, it is the general concept that we are talking about
biology. But, we neglect the fact that functions of our body parts are also working under the laws
of physics and chemistry. If we talk about the sense of seeing, we come to know that our eyes
work as a camera to see things around us. The lens in our eyes is convex i.e it converges or
focuses light. When light enters our eye, cornea and lens focus the light. Iris controls the amount
of light entering the eye and iris creates an image on retina, which is real and inverted i.e like in
camera. The image of light is converted into electrical signal, by photoreceptors, and sent to
vision centre of brain by optic nerve. The vision center analyses the electric signal and arranges
it into its original form i.e to be seen by eye. The image we can see is due to the amount of light
reflected from that object. This is the reason why we cannot see in dark. (Edmondson, 2005)

Eye can perceive different shapes and colors of the objects. Light consists of seven colors, when
it falls on an object say, book of color red, it absorbs all the colors and reflect red color. This
helps us to interpret that the cover of this book is red. When light falls a white object then it
reflects all the colors and that’s why it seems white (we also regard light as white light).
Similarly, when light falls on black object it absorbs all the light and reflects nothing that’s why
that object looks black. (Pappas, 2010)

Opening and closing doors

Physics is also involved in opening and closing of hinged doors. The phenomenon involved in
opening and closing of door is torque. Torque is the force required to twirl an object about an
axis or fulcrum. When we open a door by using the handle, at farthest place from hinge, we can

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easily open the door by producing torque, Æ®=F*l sin ÆŸ, where l is the distance of hinge from
door knob or handle. (Lesson 27a: Torque (AP Only) , 2013)

If the knob is located near the hinge, we have to exert more torque, thus producing less angular
acceleration. When we apply force perpendicular to the door, larger angular acceleration is
produced. When we apply force on the door knob, compel the door to rotate on its axis thus
acting on the principle of torque. Torque is positive when we open the door clockwise and
negative if we open it anticlockwise. (Broholom, 1997)

CONCLUSION

Here, we have seen a limited example of physics, but over life is governed by this branch of
science. Physics governs a lot of natural phenomenon and also define a number of man made
things like cars, refrigerators, microwave and escalators. Hence, we can say that our world is
ruled by physics.

1.4 Correlation of Physics with other subjects

Correaltion of physical science with other subjects
CORRELATION OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE WITHIN THE SUBJECT  All the branches of
science are inter-dependent on each other and there are a number of facts and principles which
are common to various science subjects. As a result of this, new subjects like, Physical
chemistry, Quantum chemistry, Nuclear chemistry , Spectroscopy etc. are introduced.  Physics
provides instruments for the study of almost all other science subjects, thus correlating many
principles of physics with other science subjects. For Example :  Light : light and health, light
and germs, light and vitamins. Eye as camera, use of spectacles.  Heat : temperature of body,
heat as energy, heating of rooms, humidity.  Electricity : X-ray, electric shock and its
treatments.
Chemistry finds its application in various subjects like physics(theory of electrochemical cells),
biology etc. For Example :  The chemistry of foods, digestive system, vitamins etc.
CORRELATION OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE WITH OTHER SUBJECTS
(A) INCIDENTAL CORRELATION  It is the natural correlation, which the teacher secures
by coordinating each topic with allied materials from other subjects. Here the teacher plays a
prominent role. It is not a planned or pre decided one.  The success of incidental correlation
depends on the wide knowledge and reading of the teacher. For instance, A chemistry teacher
while teaching about Oxygen says about hemoglobin i.e. carrier of oxygen, and mountaineers use
oxygen carriers.
(B) SYSTEMATIC CORRELATION  Systematic correlation with other subjects is achieved
by a careful organization of the curriculum in different subjects avoiding unnecessary duplication
of the subject matter and at the same time developing related topics from different subjects. 
Here the teacher makes deliberate attempt to teach a particular topic in such a way that he may
go on explaining other things as well along with it. For instance, while teaching about
adsorption, teacher says about the purpose of using charcoal as a purifier in wells.
CORRELATION OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE WITH OTHER SUBJECTS  Correlation With
Mathematics.  Correlation With Geography.  Correlation With History.  Correlation With
Art .  Correlation With Craft .  Correlation With Music.  Correlation With Language.

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CORRELATION WITH MATHEMATICS  Mathematics is considered to be sole language of
science because of which real understanding of science is considered to be impossible. Some of
the useful mathematical tools which are generally used in the physical science teaching are
Algebraic equations, Geometrical formulas, Graphs etc.
CORRELATION WITH GEOGRAPHY  The teaching of science can be easily correlated with
geography. A number of topics are common to both science and geography. For example , the
study of rock & soil, study of plant and animal life etc.  Physical geography requires an
elementary knowledge of science for its education.  In science, various concepts relating to the
atmosphere and earth in which living and non-living beings exist are made. For this reason,
temperature, wind directions and measurement of rainfall are conducted in the subject of science
by making use of various apparatus.
CORRELATION WITH HISTORY  It sounds quite amazing that some kind of correlation can
exist in between the science and history as earlier subject is practical in nature while nature of
later subject is purely theoretical. However, it is possible to co-relate these subjects with each
other.  While mentioning about the various scientific discoveries taken place in the earlier
periods, teacher can relate with the major events of the world history. For Instance ~ A chemistry
teacher while teaching about iron and steel correlates incidentally with history by telling about
the famous Delhi Pillar and the metallurgical skill of the people of Ayurvedic period.
CORRELATION WITH ART  An artist should know the principles of light and shade, objects
and background for drawing or keeping the colour contrast in attractive condition.  Thus, it can
be said that some common features are found in the subjects of science and art, because of which
they can be co-related with each other effectively.
CORRELATION WITH CRAFT  Science involves making of models for different purposes.
The craft making courses can develop the skills those are essential for science students.  During
craft periods, students can be provided with the task of designing various pieces of scientific
apparatuses and equipments. Through such step, scientific interest can be developed in the
students, which will help in arousing the interest of students in various scientific incidences.
CORRELATION WITH MUSIC  In our nation, music has its own importance as different
kinds of songs are found in different parts of the nation.  Various types of instruments are
based on different principles of science.  In the study of music, its technicalities like tones,
pitch etc can be easily understood if the student has a basic knowledge of science.
CORRELATION WITH LANGUAGE  Although science is a practical subject, it is very
important for it's learners to express their views and ideas in clear and attractive form.  For this
purpose, it is necessary that they should have good knowledge of language which they use. 
Student who does not have good control over the language, cannot express his views and various
scientific laws and principles in front of others.
CORRELATION OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE WITH DAILY LIFE One of the main objective
of teaching physical science as a part of education is to provide background knowledge of
various broad scientific principles to the students. Therefore, it becomes the duty of science
teacher to bring home to his students these broad scientific principles and their many applications
in daily life.
CORRELATION OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE WITH DAILY LIFE For Example :  Imagine
yourself getting ready for work. There is a cup full of ‘hot’ tea on your dinner table and you are
running late. In order to cool down the tea faster what would you do?  A simple answer will be
to blow on the tea to cool it down. An even better answer is to pour it on a dish and then blow

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over it.  Both the answers above are solution to your problem. The second one is better because
science says that greater the surface area exposed to the hot substance
IMPORTANCE OF CORRELATION  No subject can be taught in isolation and so in the case
with teaching of physical science.  For an effective learning full advantage must be taken of
various correlations and applications of physics, chemistry and other school subjects with daily
life.
BENEFITS OF CORRELATION MIND PERCEIVES KNOWLEDGE AS A WHOLE
RETENTION OF EARLIER KNOWLEDGE TO MAKE THE KNOWLEDGE USEFUL
FOR ALL ROUND DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL VALUE
CONCLUSION All the subjects are taught to fit children into life and help them understand and
appreciate it. Correlation helps students to achieve unity of knowledge and develops worthy
interest and attitude for acquiring knowledge. It develops mental abilities such as imagination
power, logical thinking, and analytical power of students. It makes learning permanent and
makes lessons easy and clear.

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 Unit 02: A.V. Aids in Teaching of Physics

2.1 Structural/ Non Structural Material

Structured Teaching resources such as visual schedules and work systems have been found to
enhance the capacity of these students to stay on task and transition between tasks. The majority
of previous studies have, however, focused on the use of these strategies within special education
or autism specific contexts. Structured Teaching is creating a highly visually
based structured environment that promotes an understanding of schedules, activities and
expectations. This allows students with ASD to: understand and act appropiatley within their
environment. learn new skills.
This is a collection of teaching resources for those who teach structural geology. There are
several different types of collections of teaching materials, as seen in the list below.

Activities and Assignments for use in the classroom, lab, and field, as well as out-of-class
activities and projects. There is also a table of contents listing of all activities that presents an
alternative way to browse activities.

Visualizations to help teach structural Physics concepts to students.

Articles that are accessible to undergraduate structural Physics students.

Physics Charts useful for teaching structural Physics. This collection includes maps that are
available in print form, as well as those available in digital form.

Applications of Structural Physics to Other Disciplines that illustrate the relevance of G/Science
to Physical problem-solving in other disciplines.

Computer Applications useful for teaching structural Physics or that provide support for teaching
structural Science.

Analog Materials that can be useful for helping students understand the behavior of materials and
the development of structures. The collection includes brief comments about how each item can
be used.

Internet Resources useful for teaching structural Physics. These links may relate specifically to
teaching structural Physics or may provide support for teaching structural Physics.

Instructional Materials, also known as Teaching/Learning Materials (TLM), are any

collection of materials including animate and inanimate objects and human and non-human
resources that a teacher may use in teaching and learning situations to help achieve desired

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learning objectives. Instructional materials may aid a student in concretizing a learning
experience so as to make learning more exciting, interesting and interactive. They are tools used
in instructional activities, which include active learning and assessment. [2] The term encompasses
all the materials and physical means an instructor might use to implement instruction and
facilitate students achievement of instructional objectives.
Physics as a science subject is a foundation upon which the scientific and technological
advancement of any nation rests. Physics instruction at secondary education is activity and
practical-oriented and needs activity base method for teaching the subject. The paper discussed
the use of Model-lead-Test (MLT) instructional strategy in enhancing physics delivery in
secondary education. MLT is an activity and practical oriented method of teaching physics for
efficient access to needed information in Physics. It is a transmission –style instruction that is
student centered. The MLT strategy comprises three stage processes for teaching. The strategy
involves the teacher modeling the problem for the students, leading the students through the
problem and then testing the students on what they have learned. The MLT strategy encourages
learning independently, emphasizes rapid feedback and guide students to express and reflect on
their own. This paper examined the status of Physics instruction delivery in Nigeria,
implementation considerations of the MLT strategy as well as principles of operation of the MLT
Keywords: Instruction, Physics, Model-Lead-Test, Strategy, Science, Secondary education,
Science and Technology are viewed as the critical instrument for the upliftment of any nation’s
economy ( Ogunleye & Babajide, 2011). This assumption is collaborated by Adepitan (2003)
and Olagunju, Adesoji, Iroegbu and Ige, (2003) who stated that the economic and political
strength of any nation depend on her scientific and technological achievement. Furthermore,
Onasanya and Omosewo (2011) stressed that science is regarded as the foundation upon which
the bulk of present day technological breakthrough is built. The impact of science is felt in every
sphere of human life so much that it is intricately linked with a nation’s development (Okwelle,
2.2 Practical use of Teaching Material
Learning materials are important because they can significantly increase student achievement
by supporting student learning. ... This process aids in the learning process by allowing the
student to explore the knowledge independently as well as providing repetition.
"Teaching materials" is a generic term used to describe the resources teachers use to deliver
instruction. Teaching materials can support student learning and increase student success.
Ideally, the teaching materials will be tailored to the content in which they're being used, to the

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students in whose class they are being used, and the teacher. Teaching materials come in many
shapes and sizes, but they all have in common the ability to support student learning.
Examples
Teaching materials can refer to a number of teacher resources; however, the term usually refers
to concrete examples, such as worksheets or manipulatives (learning tools or games that students
can handle to help them gain and practice facility with new knowledge -- e.g. counting blocks).
Teaching materials are different from teaching "resources," the latter including more theoretical
and intangible elements, such as essays or support from other educators, or places to find
teaching materials.
Student Learning Support
Learning materials are important because they can significantly increase student achievement by
supporting student learning. For example, a worksheet may provide a student with important
opportunities to practice a new skill gained in class. This process aids in the learning process by
allowing the student to explore the knowledge independently as well as providing repetition.
Learning materials, regardless of what kind, all have some function in student learning.
Lesson Structure
Learning materials can also add important structure to lesson planning and the delivery of
instruction. Particularly in lower grades, learning materials act as a guide for both the teacher and
student. They can provide a valuable routine. For instance, if you are a language arts teacher and
you teach new vocabulary words every Tuesday, knowing that you have a vocabulary game to
provide the students with practice regarding the new words will both take pressure off of you and
provide important practice (and fun) for your students.
Differentiation of Instruction
In addition to supporting learning more generally, learning materials can assist teachers in an
important professional duty: the differentiation of instruction. Differentiation of instruction is the
tailoring of lessons and instruction to the different learning styles and capacities within your
classroom. Learning materials such as worksheets, group activity instructions, games, or
homework assignments all allow you to modify assignments to best activate each individual
student's learning style.
Acquiring Teaching Materials
Getting your hands on valuable teaching materials is not nearly as difficult as it can seem at first.
The Internet has many resources for teachers, most of them free, that can significantly increase
the contents of your teaching toolbox. You can also make your own materials. Every learning
material you develop will be an asset to you when you next teach a similar unit. An investment
of time or money in good teaching materials is an investment in good teaching.

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 Unit 03: Lesson Planning in Physics:
A lesson plan is a teacher's daily guide for what students need to learn, how it will be taught, and
how learning will be measured. Lesson plans help teachers be more effective in the classroom
by providing a detailed outline to follow each class period.
Physics is the study of the relationship of objects, forces, and energy. Physics explains gravity,
and the way things move, according to Newton's Laws of Motion. It also helps us understand
behavior and movement of energy such as heat, light and electricity.
Planning for lessons are a process that involves 3 stages: Pre-planning (before writing
the plan): At this stage, you think about what to include in the lesson; selecting resources while
considering the lesson objectives and students' needs.
The detailed lesson plan has five parts:
 Objectives.
 Subject Matter (topic, references, materials)
 Procedure (motivation, activity, routines, lesson proper)
 Evaluation.
 Assignment.
Lesson planning is integral in the teaching-learning process
It encourages research  teachers have foresight to think deeply about the lesson  maximize
learning opportunities
LP’s don’t always have to be detailed
Planning can be an internal process
A GOOD LESSON PLAN IS –
 Apparent
 Serves as a Guide
 Flexible
 Clear & Understandable
 Well-documented
It becomes a historic document of the class which can aid in performance evaluation,
student assessment and curriculum development.
Physics Lesson Plan
Grade Level: 7-8
Time Period: Approximately 90 minutes, can be completed in two sessions.
Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Science and Technology
1. PA 3.4.7C: Identify and explain the principles of force and motion.
 Describe the motion of an object based on its position, direction and speed.
 Explain various motions using models.
2. PA 3.1.7E: Identify change as a variable in describing natural and physical systems.

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  Describe fundamental science and technology concepts that could solve practical
problems.
3. PA 3.2.7B: Apply process knowledge to make and interpret observations.
 Design controlled experiments, recognize variables, and manipulate variables.
 Interpret data, formulate models, design models, and produce solutions.
4. PA 3.2.7C: Identify and use the elements of scientific inquiry to solve problems.
 Design an investigation with limited variables to investigate a question.
 Communicate appropriate conclusions from the experiment.
5. PA 3.2.10D: Know and use technological design process to solve problems
 Explain the results, present improvements, identify and infer the impacts of the
solution.
Lesson Title: Connecting Distance and Velocity
Lesson Objective: Instructional Model: Inquiry1
Students will:
 Design an experimental model that will allow for the measurement of distance and time
and the calculation of velocity.
 Conduct a controlled experiment that allows the collection of distance/time data.
 Organize and graph data and use a mathematical equation to calculate slope in order to
make connections between distance, time, and velocity.
 Describe the motion of an object along a path.
 Communicate experimental data and make real world connection with the facts.

Misconceptions2:
1. For basic understanding of motion students are need only a fundamental understand of
mathematical equations. Providing students with numerous opportunities to conduct
experiment with motion and to describe motion will help increase measurement and
mathematical skills.
2. Students may be limited in their ability to describe motion because they think of motion
as movement or no movement. Helping students divide motion into three categories:
constant speed, increasing speeding, and decreasing speed may give students an initial
framework for discussing motion.
3. Relative motion of an object along a path and vibration in materials, such as, wave�s
motion or the movement of falling dominoes is not the same.
Lesson Materials:
1. Stop watches
2. Meter sticks, measuring tapes
3. Toy car, toy trucks
4. Cardboard
5. Set of dominoes
6. Thin wooden boar or ramp
7. Television/VCR
8. Video camera
9. Clear plastic wrap
10. Markers
11. Graph paper
12. Masking tape

15
 Unit 04: Teaching Methods:

4.1 Demonstration Method

A method demonstration is a teaching method used to communicate an idea with the aid of
visuals such as flip charts, posters, power point, etc. A demonstration is the process of teaching
someone how to make or do something in a step-by-step process. As you show how, you “tell”
what you are doing.
The word demonstration means to give demos or to perform the particular activity or concept. In
demonstration method, the teaching-learning process is carried in a systematic way.
Demonstration often occurs when students have a hard time connecting theories to actual
practice or when students are unable to understand applications of theories. In order to make a
success of demonstration method, three things are necessary.

(a) The object being displayed during demonstration should not be so small.
(b) During the demonstration, the clear language should be used so that pupils may understand
concept easily.
(c) The pupils should be able to question teachers in order to remove their difficulties.
Characteristic of demonstration method
(1) The demonstration should be done in a simple way.
(2) In this strategy, attention is paid to all students.
(3) Goals and objections of demonstration are very clear.
(4) It is a well-planned strategy.
(5) Time is given for rehearsal before the demonstration.
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Steps of Demonstration method
There are six steps of demonstration process.
(1) Planning and preparation
proper planning is required for good demonstration. For this following points should be kept in
mind.
Through the preparation of subject matter.
lesson planning
collection of material related to the demonstration.
rehearsal of demonstration.
In order to ensure the success of demonstration, the teacher should prepare lesson minutely and
very seriously.
(2) Introducing the lesson
The teacher should motivate students and prepare them mentally for the demonstration.
The teacher should introduce the lesson to students keeping in mind the following things.
individual differences
Environment
Experiences

16
The lesson can also be started with some simple and interesting experiments. Very common
event or some internal story.
The experiment should be able to hold the attention of students.
(3) Presentation of subject matter
– In demonstration presentation of subject matter is very important.
– The principle of reflecting thinking should be kept in mind.
– The teacher should teach the student in such a way that their previous knowledge can be
attached to their new knowledge.

(4) Demonstration
-The performance in the demonstration table should be ideal for the student.
-The demonstration should be neat and clean.
(5) Teaching Aids
-The teacher can use various teaching aids like models, blackboard, graphs etc.during
demonstration.
(6) Evaluation
-In this last step, evaluation of the whole demonstration should be done, so that it can be made
more effective.
Merits of demonstration method
(1) It helps a student in having a deeper understanding of the topic.
(2) It helps students remain active in teaching -learning process.
(3) It leads to permanent learning.
(4) It accounts for the principles of reflective thinking.
(5) It helps to create interest for topics among students.
(6) It helps in arousing the spirit of discovery among students.
(7) It imparts maximum learning to students.

Demerits
(1) Students can not benefit with direct and personal experiences as teacher carry out the
demonstration.
(2) It can be costly as it requires costly materials.
(3) It can be a time-consuming method.
(4) It is not based on learning by doing.
(5) This method does not provide training for the scientific method.
(6) There is a lack of experienced teachers to carry out the demonstration.
Conclusion
It is the most suitable method for teaching the secondary classes. If a teacher feels that the
demonstration is taking much time than he would have to take the help of students. Similarly, a
small group of students can be invited to the demonstration table. Students can also demonstrate
the experiment. This might help in removing objection regarding non-availability of learning by
doing approach.

17
4.2 Lecture Method

Lecture method is the most commonly used method of teaching science. It is a teacher-
controlled & information centered approach in which the teacher works as a sole-resource in
classroom instruction. 4. In lecture method only the teacher talks & students are passive
listeners.
Lecture method is the oldest method of teaching. ... The teacher clarifies the content matter to
the students by using gestures, simple devices, by changing voice, change in position and facial
expressions. Teachers are more active and students are passive but the teacher also asks
questions to keep the students attentive.

The following are the basic advantages of the lecture method: It provides an economical and
efficient method for delivering substantial amounts of information to large numbers of student. It
affords a necessary framework or overview for subsequent learning, e.g., reading assignments,
small group activities, discussion.

Lecture method as teaching strategy

Lecture method is most convenient and inexpensive method of teaching any subject. It hardly
requires the use of scientific apparatus, experiment, and aids materials except for the black
board. Lecture method is teacher controlled and information centered approach in which teacher
works as a role resource in classroom instruction. In this method, the only teacher does the
talking and the student is passive listens. This creates dullness in the classrooms as the
interaction between the pupil and teacher ceases to occur.
In the field of education, lecture method is used very frequently. This method is used in order to
acquire knowledge and concept. Lecture method mainly focuses on cognitive objectives. The
main emphasis of this strategy is the presentation of the content. In this method teachers plans
and controls the whole teaching – learning process. To make the lecture interesting, the teacher
can take the help of audio -visual aids.
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Principles of lecture method
(1) A student can learn better through listening.
(2) Through lecture method, the teacher makes an attempt to impart perfect and complete
knowledge of the subject or the topic students.
(3) Subject matter can be correlated with other subjects.
(4) New knowledge is given related to previous knowledge.
When to use lecture method
(1) It is used to give an overview of a large unit.
(2) This method is an effective way for motivating pupils and developing their interest in the
subject.
(3) It is used for supplementing the pupils reading and for clarifying main concepts.
(4) This method helps to save the time of students by providing important information in short
time period.
(5) This method is used to provide background.

Steps of the lecture method

(1) Preparation for the lecture:-
This includes silent points like

18
 (a) appropriate language and manner of presentation according to the nature of students.
(b) selection of audio-visual aids and instructional materials.
(c) planning the motivational technique
(d) anticipating certain difficulties and problem during the lecture.
(e) finding suitable solution and alternatives to these barriers to a successful lecture.
(2) Introduction to the lecture:-
It should be done briefly and if it is executed poorly, it can initially kill off the enthusiasm of the
student.

(3) Giving the body of the lecture:-

The teacher should have a given cognitive framework upon which he relies to achieve a more
logical presentation.
(4) Conclusion of the lecture:-
Following technique can be used to wrap up the lecture.
(a) summarizing the major points presented.
(b) forming generalization
(c) giving implications.
Advantage of lecture method
(1) It is economical with regard to time.
(2) It helps in developing the habit of concentration among the students.
(3) It helps in achieving even high order cognitive objectives ( i.e ) application, analysis,
synthesis.
(4) Lecture method presents the subject matter in a systematic way.
(5) It develops good audience habits.
(6) Through this method, new subject matter can easily be introduced.
(7) It enables linkage between previous knowledge with a new one.
Disadvantages of lecture method
(1) Since this is a teacher-centered method so it provides very little scope for student activity.
(2) Student plays a passive role in this method.
(3) Individual differences are not taken into consideration.
(4) It can not be used for achieving psycho motor objectives.

4.3 Discussion Method.

Discussion methods are a variety of forums for open-ended, collaborative exchange of ideas among
a teacher and students or among students for the purpose of furthering students thinking, learning,
problem solving, understanding, or literary appreciation.

What are the Advantages of Discussion Method of teaching?

 Emphasis on Learning instead of Teaching, ...
 Participation by Everybody. ...
 Development of Democratic way of Thinking. ...
 Training in Reflective Thinking. ...
 Training in Self-expression. ...
 Spirit of Tolerance is inculcated. ...

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 Learning is made Interesting.
Discussion Strategies
Instructor-Designed Questions.
Student-Designed Questions.
5-Minute Informal Writing in Response to a Question.
“Stand Where I Stand” Debate.
Informal Collaborative-Learning Groups.
Think, Pair, Share.
Think-Aloud Pair (Triad) Problem Solving (TAPPS)
Group Dialogues (appropriate for classes up to ~25 students)

Why is discussion important in the classroom?

Discussion is important to learning in all disciplines because it helps students process
information rather than simply receive it. Leading a discussion requires skills different from
lecturing. The goal of a discussion is to get students to practice thinking about the course
material.

 discussion method is not appropriate for all the topics.

 it can be used only to students who have some basic knowledge in the topic.
 some of the students may feel shy or reluctant to take part while others may try to domonate.
 teacher may lose control over the students and they may end up in quarelling.

4.4 Project Method

The project method is a teacher-facilitated collaborative approach in which students acquire
and apply knowledge and skills to define and solve realistic problems using a process of
extended inquiry. Projects are student-centered, following standards, parameters, and milestones
clearly identified by the instructor.
Major steps of the Project Method.
1. Creating the situation (providing a situation) ...
2. Choosing the project (Selection of the Project) ...
3. Planning. ...
4. Carrying out the project (Executing) ...
5. Evaluating. ...
6. Recording (Project Report)
What is the role of teacher in Project method?

The Teacher's Role in the Project Approach. ... Project work provides a context in which the
teacher can encourage learners to apply their growing academic skills in purposeful ways. The
teacher has an important part to play in the initiation, implementation, and culmination of
projects.

20
 Why Project method is important?
The project method would provide students with social goals and allow them to engage in
activities that would require them to think and solve problems. He stated that the project would
need to meet the tests of social significance, intellectual activity, and a variety of other values.
projects promotes students learning and gives them a better understanding of the subject.it also
improves the creativity of the students by making them think of different ways to make the
project look creative.
Project method has the following steps:
1. Creating Situation. In the first step teacher creates the proper situation to the students in the
class. ...
2. Selection of the problem. Then the teacher helps the students to select the problem and guide
them. ...
3. Planning. ...
4. Execution. ...
5. Evaluation. ...
6. Reporting and Recording.

21
 Unit 05: Teaching Approaches and Strategies,
5.1 Teaching approaches

Different Types of Teaching Approaches

Different Types of Teaching Approaches

 Enhancing Professional Practice.
 Engaging Learning Environments.
 Teaching Strategies.
 Assessing Students.
 Creating Learning Materials.
 Applying Technology.
 Curriculum Design.
1. DIFFERENT APPROACHES AND METHODS “A thousand teachers, a thousand methods.”
-Chinese Proverb
2. INTRODUCTION TEACHING APPROACH It is a set of principles, beliefs, or ideas about
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the nature of learning which is translated into the classroom. TEACHING STRATEGY It is a
long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal.
3. TEACHING METHOD It is a systematic way of doing something. It implies an orderly
logical arrangement of steps. It is more procedural. TEACHING TECHNIQUE It is a well-
defined procedure used to accomplish a specific activity or task.
4. EXAMPLES OF TEACHING APPROACHES TEACHER-CENTERED LEARNER-
CENTERED SUBJECT-MATTERED CENTER LEARNER-CENTERED TEAHER
DOMINATED INTERACTIVE “BANKING” APPROACH CONSTRUCTIVIST
DISCIPLINAL INTEGRATED INDIVIDUALISTIC COLLABORATIVE INDIRECT,
GUIDED DIRECT
5. • TEACHER-CENTERED APPROACH The teacher is perceived to be the only reliable
source of information in contrast to the learner-centered approach. • LEARNER-CENTERED
APPROACH In which it is premised on the belief that the learner is also an important resource
because he/she too knows something and is therefore capable of sharing something.
6. • SUBJECT MATTER-CENTERED APPROACH Subject matter gains primacy over that of
the learner. • TEACHER DOMINATED APPROACH In this approach, only the teacher’s voice
is heard. He/she is the sole dispenser of information.
7. • INTERACTIVE APPROACH In this approach, an interactive classroom will have more
student talk and less teacher talk. Students are given the opportunity to interact with teacher and
with other students. • CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH The students are expected to construct
knowledge and meaning out for what they are taught by connecting them to prior experience.
8. • BANKING APPROACH The teacher deposits knowledge into the “empty” minds of
students for students to commit to memory. • INTEGRATED APPROACH It makes the teacher
connects what he/she teaches to other lessons of the same subject (intradisciplinary) or connects
his/her lessons with other subjects thus making his/her approach interdisciplinary and
multidisciplinary.
9. • DISCIPLINAL APPROACH It limits the teacher to discussing his/her lessons within the
boundary of his/her subject. • COLLABORATIVE APPROACH It will welcome group work,
teamwork, partnerships, and group discussion.
10. • INDIVIDUALISTIC APPROACH It wants the individual students to work by themselves.
• DIRECT TEACHING APPROACH The teacher directly tells or shows or demonstrates what is

23
to be taught.
11. • INDIRECT,GUIDED APPROACH The teacher guides the learner to discover things for
himself/herself. The teacher facilitates the learning process by allowing the learner to be engaged
in the learning process with his/her guidance.
12. Other teaching approaches cited in education literature are: • RESEARCH-BASED
APPROACH As the name implies, teaching and learning are anchored on research findings. •
WHOLE CHILD APPROACH The learning process itself takes into account not only the
academic needs of the learners, but also their emotional, creative, psychological, spiritual, and
developmental needs.

Problem solving
There are four basic steps in solving a problem:
Defining the problem
Generating alternatives
Evaluating and selecting alternatives.
Implementing solutions
Steps 2 to 4 of this process are covered in depth in other areas of Mind Tools. For these, see our
sections on Creativity for step 2 (generating alternatives); Decision Making for step 3 (evaluating
and selecting alternatives); and Project Management for step 4 (implementing solutions).
The articles in this section of Mind Tools therefore focus on helping you make a success of the
first of these steps – defining the problem. A very significant part of this involves making sense
of the complex situation in which the problem occurs, so that you can pinpoint exactly what the
problem is. Many of the tools in this section help you do just that. We look at these, and then
review some useful, well-established problem-solving frameworks.
Problem-Solving Processes
The four-step approach to solving problems that we mentioned at the beginning of this article
will serve you well in many situations. However, for a more comprehensive process, you can use
Simplex, Appreciative Inquiry or Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). These provide detailed
steps that you can use to solve a problem effectively.
Simplex involves an eight-stage process: problem finding, fact finding, defining the problem,
idea finding, selecting and evaluating, planning, selling the idea, and acting. These steps build
upon the basic process described earlier, and they create a cycle of problem finding and solving
that will continually improve your organization.
Appreciative Inquiry takes a uniquely positive approach by helping you solve problems by
examining what's working well in the areas surrounding them.
Soft Systems Methodology is designed to help you understand complex problems so that you
can start the process of solving them. It uses four stages to help you uncover more details about
what's creating the problem, and then define actions that will improve the situation.

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Enquiry Technique'
Inquiry-based learning (also enquiry-based learning in British English) is a form of active
learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios. It contrasts with traditional
education, which generally relies on the teacher presenting facts and his or her knowledge about
the subject. Inquiry-based learning is often assisted by a facilitator rather than a lecturer.
Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop knowledge or solutions.
Inquiry-based learning includes problem-based learning, and is generally used in small scale
investigations and projects, as well as research. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very
closely related to the development and practice of thinking and problem solving skills.

Inquiry-based learning is primarily a pedagogical method, developed during the discovery

learning movement of the 1960s as a response to traditional forms of instruction—where people
were required to memorize information from instructional materials, such as direct
instruction and rote learning. The philosophy of inquiry based learning finds its antecedents
in constructivist learning theories, such as the work of Piaget, Dewey, Vygotsky,
and Freire among others, and can be considered a constructivist philosophy. Generating
information and making meaning of it based on personal or societal experience is referred to as
constructivism. Dewey's experiential learning pedagogy (that is, learning through experiences)
comprises the learner actively participating in personal or authentic experiences to make
meaning from it.[9][10] Inquiry can be conducted through experiential learning because inquiry
values the same concepts, which include engaging with the content/material in questioning, as
well as investigating and collaborating to make meaning. Vygotsky approached constructivism
as learning from an experience that is influenced by society and the facilitator. The meaning
constructed from an experience can be concluded as an individual or within a group.
In the 1960s Joseph Schwab called for inquiry to be divided into three distinct levels. [11] This was
later formalized by Marshall Herron in 1971, who developed the Herron Scale to evaluate the
amount of inquiry within a particular lab exercise. Since then, there have been a number of
revisions proposed and inquiry can take various forms. There is a spectrum of inquiry-based
teaching methods available.

Creative Technique

Characteristics
Specific learning processes that people engage in during inquiry-learning include:

 Creating questions of their own

 Obtaining supporting evidence to answer the question(s)
 Explaining the evidence collected
 Connecting the explanation to the knowledge obtained from the investigative process

25
 Creating an argument and justification for the explanation
Inquiry learning involves developing questions, making observations, doing research to find out
what information is already recorded, developing methods for experiments, developing
instruments for data collection, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data, outlining possible
explanations and creating predictions for future study.

5.2 Teaching strategies

Teaching strategies, also known as instructional strategies, are methods that teachers use to
deliver course material in ways that keep students engaged and practicing different skill sets. ...
Specific strategies can also be employed to teach particular skills, like strategies for problem
solving.
Teaching strategies refer to methods used to help students learn the desired course contents and
be able to develop achievable goals in the future. Teaching strategies identify the different
available learning methods to enable them to develop the right strategy to deal with the target
group identified. Assessment of the learning capabilities of students provides a key pillar in
development of a successful teaching strategy.

After analysing the target learners, teachers can choose from the following teaching strategies to
ensure maximum output is achieved with their class:

Strategy #1

Similarities and difference identification is a strategy used that enables learners to compare and
contrast the different elements. This strategy helps in classification, enabling the learners to
distinguish between various ideas.

Strategy #2

Note taking and summarising is a teaching strategy that enables the students to keep information
for a long time while being able to use it for analysis and presentation purposes. This method of
teaching encourages participation through questions and other forms of clarification.

Strategy #3

Provision of recognition and effort reinforcement is a strategy that enables students to understand
the link between effort and the recognition they expect. Recognition provides the students with
the motivation to continue adding efforts, ensuring that they are able to achieve their goals.

26
Strategy #4

Homework and practice is a teaching strategy that enables students to practice skills acquired
from the previous lectures. This strategy enables the student and teacher to form a
communication policy that underlines the time framework and the methods for carrying out the
prescribed assignment.

Strategy #5

Nonlinguistic representation as a teaching strategy includes using the following methods to pass
a message to the learners: mental images, physical models, pictorial representations, graphical
organisers and flow charts.

Strategy #6

Objective setting and feedback provision is a strategy used when learners are expected to
develop, personalise and communicate individual objectives. This method also stresses on the
student performing a self-assessment to measure success achieved from the lecture.

Strategy #7

Generation and test hypotheses is a strategy that enables teachers to analyse systems while also
solving identified problems. This strategy involves the following methods: problem solving,
system analysis, decision-making, historical investigation, experimental inquiry and invention.
This strategy helps in explaining the importance of coursework by describing the importance of
each element. The analysis of this system helps the students in goal development and tackling of
any barriers that they may face achievement of the stated goals. This strategy also involves
testing the accuracy of the hypotheses and testing other elements to determine whether different
solutions will be arrived at.

Strategy #8

Use of cues, organiser and questions is a teaching strategy that is used to ensure focus is
maintained on the relevant important data while ensuring students are able to maintain deadlines
by having advanced organisers. This strategy helps students compare different scenarios. It is
really helpful in topic identification, addressing of available questions, generation of mental
pictures by the student, prediction of the next occurrences and answering the asked questions. A
summary is then developed for the information learned and the use of this information stated.

27
Strategy #9

Concept attainment process is a strategy that enables the teacher to develop examples for use in
demonstration of available new concepts. Through use of examples and non –examples, the
students are able to relate to the intended concept.

Strategy #10

Mental rehearsal is a strategy that focuses on variations and internalization enabling students to
obtain ideas on ways of altering skills and procedures with response to different elements.

Activities in Physics teaching

High School Physics Activities

Using simple machines, physics, high school activities, and experiments, you
can make any physics concept come to life. In order to win a science fair,
that's exactly what you want: a project that you can build that demonstrates a
concept and makes it easy to understand. Particularly with physics, your goal
should be to make what seems impossible to understand, easily understood in
layman's terms. Here are a few projects that will help.
Simple Machines, Physics, High School Activities and Experiments that Will Win the
Science Fair

The goal of a science project is to take a complicated scientific topic and do a project that
clearly demonstrates the concept to make it easily understood. This is especially easy to
do with physics because physics concepts are often deemed incredibly difficult, but in
actuality physics is simply a way to describe the relationship between force and motion.

Bottle Rockets
Bottle rockets are a great way to demonstrate the relationship between force and motion
because you're actually able to measure the force with your launching pad and you should
be able to measure the height that your rocket goes as well. Here are a few resources to
help you make a bottle rocket:

 Big Foot Water Rocket Playground offers launching systems that will put
pressurized air into the rocket. (Unless you're incredibly handy--it's much easier and
safer to buy a launching kit.)
 The clearest instructions for actually making a bottle rocket are on Instructables. The
instructions have very clear diagrams which make it hard to mess up!

28
With your bottle rocket, you'll be able to measure the force in PSIs (pound per square
inches) and you should be able to measure or estimate the height. If you're not sure how
to estimate the height, try measuring a nearby tree in meters and then estimate the height
of the rocket based on how high up the tree it goes.

You've heard the phrase, "What Goes Up, Must Come Down?" Well in Newtonian
language that's translated as: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Pendulums
Remember that the study of physics is all about how forces affect moving objects. One
force that affects the movement of an object is friction. A good demonstration that you
can use to show that F=ma is a well built pendulum. (For a good example of a pendulum,
click here.) When you conduct your experiments, note the height from where you first
drop the pendulum, and the height that it reaches on the other side. You should note that
this creates an arc. When you introduce a rod or something to interrupt the pendulum and
thus decrease the arc, you'll note that the ball bearing (the end of the pendulum) still goes
to the same height--although the radius of the arc is much smaller. Since it still goes to
the same height, it is still the same mathematical formula.

A Mousetrap Powered Vehicle

A mousetrap is actually a good example of a torsion balance. In plain terms, this basically
means that something is wound up tightly and when it is released it exerts a certain
amount of force (called torque). The torque released is proportional to how tightly the
object is wound. In this case, the torque exerted results in propulsion forward. For a video
demonstration click here.

K'nex Roller Coaster Physics

K'nex actually offers a variety of kits that you can use to demonstrate various principles
in physics, however, the roller coaster is a good place to start because the relationships
are more obvious. If you are willing to spend the money to buy the amusement park
combo pack, consider what these simple machines can help you demonstrate:

 Use the swing ride to demonstrate centripetal force. Consider what's the difference
between centripetal and centrifugal force. Can you build a machine that demonstrates
centrifugal force?
 How does a roller coaster use Newton's first law of motion? What is the relationship
between the force of gravity and the acceleration of the roller coaster cars? Can you
design your own roller coaster using these principles?
 How do the gears work together to allow the ferris wheel to move?

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Simple Machines and Physics
Using simple and easy to build projects can help anyone understand and explain concepts
in physics. Understanding simple machines, physics, high school activities and
experiments is child's play if you build the right demonstration projects!

Planning or Practical activity

Why planning and preparing are important

Good lessons have to be planned. Planning helps to make your lessons clear and well-timed,
meaning that students can be active and interested. Effective planning also includes some in-built
flexibility so that teachers can respond to what they find out about their students’ learning as they
teach. Working on a plan for a series of lessons involves knowing the students and their prior
learning, what it means to progress through the curriculum, and finding the best resources and
activities to help students learn.

Planning is a continual process to help you prepare both individual lessons as well as series of
lessons, each one building on the last. The stages of lesson planning are:

 being clear about what your students need in order to make progress
 deciding how you are going to teach in a way that students will understand and how to
maintain flexibility to respond to what you find
 looking back on how well the lesson went and what your students have learnt in order to
plan for the future.

Planning a series of lessons

When you are following a curriculum, the first part of planning is working out how best to break
up subjects and topics in the curriculum into sections or chunks. You need to consider the time
available as well as ways for students to make progress and build up skills and knowledge
gradually. Your experience or discussions with colleagues may tell you that one topic will take
up four lessons, but another topic will only take two. You may be aware that you will want to
return to that learning in different ways and at different times in future lessons, when other topics
are covered or the subject is extended.

In all lesson plans you will need to be clear about:

 what you want the students to learn

 how you will introduce that learning
 what students will have to do and why.

30
You will want to make learning active and interesting so that students feel comfortable and
curious. Consider what the students will be asked to do across the series of lessons so that you
build in variety and interest, but also flexibility. Plan how you can check your students’
understanding as they progress through the series of lessons. Be prepared to be flexible if some
areas take longer or are grasped quickly.

Preparing individual lessons

After you have planned the series of lessons, each individual lesson will have to be
planned based on the progress that students have made up to that point. You know what the
students should have learnt or should be able to do at the end of the series of lessons, but you
may have needed to re-cap something unexpected or move on more quickly. Therefore each
individual lesson must be planned so that all your students make progress and feel successful and
included.

Within the lesson plan you should make sure that there is enough time for each of the activities
and that any resources are ready, such as those for practical work or active groupwork. As part of
planning materials for large classes you may need to plan different questions and activities for
different groups.

When you are teaching new topics, you may need to make time to practise and talk through the
ideas with other teachers so that you are confident.

Think of preparing your lessons in three parts. These parts are discussed below.

1 The introduction
At the start of a lesson, explain to the students what they will learn and do, so that everyone
knows what is expected of them. Get the students interested in what they are about to learn by
allowing them to share what they know already.

2 The main part of the lesson

Outline the content based on what students already know. You may decide to use local resources,
new information or active methods including groupwork or problem solving. Identify the
resources to use and the way that you will make use of your classroom space. Using a variety of
activities, resources, and timings is an important part of lesson planning. If you use various
methods and activities, you will reach more students, because they will learn in different ways.

3 The end of the lesson to check on learning

Always allow time (either during or at the end of the lesson) to find out how much progress has
been made. Checking does not always mean a test. Usually it will be quick and on the spot –
such as planned questions or observing students presenting what they have learnt – but you must
plan to be flexible and to make changes according to what you find out from the students’
responses.

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A good way to end the lesson can be to return to the goals at the start and allowing time for the
students to tell each other and you about their progress with that learning. Listening to the
students will make sure you know what to plan for the next lesson.

Reviewing lessons

Look back over each lesson and keep a record of what you did, what your students learnt, what
resources were used and how well it went so that you can make improvements or adjustments to
your plans for subsequent lessons. For example, you may decide to:

 change or vary the activities

 prepare a range of open and closed questions
 have a follow-up session with students who need extra support.
Think about what you could have planned or done even better to help students learn.

Your lesson plans will inevitably change as you go through each lesson, because you cannot
predict everything that will happen. Good planning will mean that you know what learning you
want to happen and therefore you will be ready to respond flexibly to what you find out about
your students’ actual learning.

Resource 3: Planning issues for group practical activities

As with any effective lesson, effective practical work is all about good planning before the lesson
and good management during it. Group practical activities present a number of challenges or
issues for teachers and students. This resource considers some strategies for improving the
effectiveness of group practical work.

Issue 1: Effective groups

In effective group work, everyone in the group knows what to do, understands the purpose of
what they are doing and makes a positive contribution to the group’s work.

This means that everyone:

 has a significant role and knows how to carry out the role effectively
 contributes to the discussions and decision making (nobody is ‘sitting it out’ or simply
copying what someone else says).
You can facilitate groups to function more effectively by:

 choosing a suitable group size for the activity, so everyone can be involved in group
discussions and decisions
 identifying who will belong to each group

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  identifying clearly what needs to be done (e.g. setting up equipment, taking measurements,
recording measurements) so that group members can share out these responsibilities – some
jobs may need several people doing them in the same group
 (if necessary) either assigning roles to each group member yourself or making someone in
each group responsible for doing that
 checking how well each group works during the activity and praising examples of effective
group work.
Bear in mind that in mixed groups, boys can often tend to seize control of the equipment and get
the girls to do the recording and tidying up!

Issue 2: Safety

Carrying out a risk assessment is an essential part of planning for any practical activity. Where
group work is involved, the planning has to take account not only of the intrinsic hazards
associated with using particular chemicals, equipment or procedures, but also the effect of large
numbers of students doing the activity. Aspects of planning for safe group practical work include
the following:

 Identify all the likely hazards before the lesson. Make sure you have a plan for dealing with
any accidents that do happen.
 Keep unnecessary movement around the room to a minimum. This reduces the risks of
collision between people and equipment, and makes it easier for you to see what is going
on.
 You can also reduce the risk of accidents by:
o establishing routines for working safely
o limiting the number of different activities going on simultaneously
o keeping the number of different chemicals needed to a minimum
o providing appropriate, small quantities of chemicals rather than giving students access
to stock bottles.
 Make sure that your students know the correct, safe way to carry out a procedure before
you let them use the procedure as part of an investigation. Include any likely hazards and
how to deal with them.
 Make sure your students know what to do if during a practical activity they burn/scald/cut
themselves, spill any chemicals or damage any equipment.
Use the starter to:

 ensure that students are aware of any specific safety aspects related to the activity
 demonstrate any procedure that students do not already use regularly.

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Issue 3: Establishing routines for practical activities

Establishing some basic routines for practical activities reduces the amount of explanation you
have to give, so students can concentrate on the practical activity itself. Types of routines might
include the following:

 Getting ready for a practical activity: what to put away, what to take with you and where to
go.
 Moving around safely.
 Setting up the practical activity: checking what is needed, collecting basic equipment,
collecting specific items.
 Basic techniques: using a pipette, using a measuring cylinder, folding a filter paper or
heating something in a beaker or test tube.
 Dealing with hot objects, spilt liquids or broken glass.
 Clearing away.
 ‘Attention, everybody!’ There are times when you will need to interrupt a practical activity.
Whatever the reason, it is important that students know what is expected when you call for
their attention.

Issue 4: Making best use of limited time and resources

Whatever type of group practical activity you have decided to use, don’t forget to allow time for
a starter and plenary!

Students will be impatient to get on with the practical, but it is vital to take a few minutes to
ensure that everyone knows what they are meant to be doing and why. It is also important to take
time at the end of the session – when everything is cleared away – to spend a few minutes on a
plenary session. Lots of different things will have been happening during the practical, and it is
therefore especially important to help students to ‘pull it all together’ and refocus on the learning
outcomes before they leave the room. The way you organise a practical activity can make a big
difference to the resources you need to use. Two approaches that can reduce the amount
resources needed are ‘circus practicals’ and ‘shared investigations’.

Approach 1: ‘Circuses’ or ‘rotating practicals’

‘Circuses’, or ‘rotating practicals’, offer a way of providing group practical activities without
using many sets of equipment. In this type of practical there are several short activities. Each
activity takes place at a different ‘station’, in a different part of the room. Each group visits each
station, carries out the activity and moves on to another station. The simplest way is to have
stations round the edge of the room and groups moving from one station clockwise round the
room to get to the next one.

For this type of activity to work well, there are several things to consider in planning:

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  Keep it focused: Use the circus to support a small number of key ideas effectively.
 Limit the number of stations: The more stations to visit, the longer the whole practical
session will need, because moving around will take up more time.
 Smaller groups make it easier for students to feel involved: The number of groups needs
to be the same as the number of practical stations you can provide. If you can run two
complete, identical circuses, then you can halve the group size.
 Activities should prompt students to observe and think (and discuss!), not just
manipulate equipment: Some stations in a circus could just be an object or image that
serves as support for a question.
 Everyone needs to be clear about how the circus practical works: How long do they
have at each station? How will you signal that it is time to stop and move on to the next
station? Each group needs to know the order or sequence in which to visit stations: if it is
not simply a question of (for example) moving clockwise to the next station, then you will
need to identify each station with a number or letter and give each group a sequence list.
 Keep each activity simple, short and clear: When students arrive at a station, it must be
clear what they have to do and what they need to find out. Do they need to record anything?
How should they leave things for the next group?
 What should they do while they are waiting? Ideally, each station should take the same
amount of time. In practice, some groups will complete an activity more quickly than
others. Perhaps you could set the whole class a problem to think about and come up with
suggestions at the end of the lesson.
Approach 2: Shared investigations

Where there are several factors to be investigated, it can save on time and resources if different
groups take responsibility for investigating one particular aspect. Each group reports back to the
whole class so that everyone can benefit from all the results.

Issue 5: ‘Hands on’ and ‘minds on’

The phrase ‘Hands on, minds on’ has often been used in relation to the design of interactive
exhibits in museums, but it can also be applied to classroom-based activities. It refers to the
importance of ensuring that students are not just ‘busy doing’ but also actively learning from the
experience. For this to happen, students need to know the purpose of an activity as well as what
they need to do.

Use the starter to:

 identify a maximum of four learning outcomes

 direct attention to key questions to ask or things to look out for during the practical activity
 help student relate what they are about to do to what they have already learnt about.
During the practical activity:
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  check that students understand why they are doing something in relation to the
underpinning science, not just procedurally
 ask students to make predictions (and explain them)
 ask students to comment on what they have observed or are observing – is it what they
expected?
During the plenary:

 ask each group of students to summarise what they found out – whether it what they
expected, or if they found anything odd or surprising.

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Unit 06: Laboratory use and Management:
6.1 Importance of Laboratory in teaching of Physics

A Physics lab aids a student in establishing the relevance of the theory. It brings clarity in the
mind of the students regarding the basic concept of the subject. Students understand the
difference between theory and application. Physics laboratory helps a student in improvising
their approach towards the subject.
Physics laboratory is a place where experiments of Physics are carried out. As we know physics is
that branch of science where experimentation is an integral part of the core subject. Almost in
every educational institution these physics laboratories are found. Nonetheless the sophistication
of the educational laboratory varies from institute to institute.
With myriad physics lab equipments manufacturers available around the globe equipping a
laboratory is no more a Herculean task. Most of the colleges buy physics apparatus with respect to
the curriculum. As per Oxford Advance Learners dictionary definition Physics is “the scientific
study of matter and energy and the relationships between them, including the study of forces,
heat, light, sound, electricity and the structure of atoms”.
One can see that Physics is a vast subject engulfing various disciplines in it and at school level a
student is taught fundamentals of all these disciplines. In each of it there is multitude of
experiments to be performed at school level.
There is a wide range of physics laboratory equipments from the common ones like magnets,
pulleys, pendulums, inclined planes, heat lamps, beakers, lenses, glasses, tuning forks, item scales
etc to sophisticated ones like spectroscopes, microscopes, electromagnets, voltammeter,
potentiometer, etc.
Purpose or the importance of Physics Laboratory
A Physics lab aids a student in establishing the relevance of the theory. It brings clarity in the
mind of the students regarding the basic concept of the subject.
Students understand the difference between theory and application. Physics laboratory helps a
student in improvising their approach towards the subject.
Experiments carried out in Physics laboratories helps students in learning how to be patient and
careful while taking observation and hitherto calculating inference.
Research is everything in science without research science would get stagnated and it is here in
Physics lab that a student learns what it is to be a researcher. What are the attributes of a
researcher which they need to inculcate? These questions hovering over students mind gets
answered in a Physics educational lab.
There are different procedures of different experiments in Physics and then there are some basic
behavioral rules in a laboratory. A student of Physics needs to be aware of all this. And working
in a school physics laboratory actually puts a fundamental slab for them.

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Function of a Physics laboratory
Broadly the functions of Physics Laboratory are determined according to the needs of the science
industry.
If the laboratory is for schools then the function is crystal clear. The laboratory is aimed in enabling
students to learn physics theories in a more elaborative manner with the involvement of its application.
The experiments carried out are mostly the ones in coherence with the curriculum.
If the institute is for higher studies whether governmental or non- governmental, there the objective is
to carry out researches and studies relevant to the contemporary industry of science. While carrying out
the research the researcher needs to apprehend to the commercial perspective of the study for making
it viable.

6.2 Laboratory Management and safety

General Lab Safety Rules and Guidelines
The very first point of action for new staff or students is to go through a general orientation,
usually by the lab manager or a graduate student. This encompasses the standard operating
procedures, safety rules, and emergency response guidelines. It is imperative to take this training
seriously, jot down notes if need be, request for copies of these guidelines for in-depth study and
ask questions when things are not clear.
Regardless of the type of lab you are in, there are general rules on safety that you need to observe
as discussed below:

1. Learn about emergency responses

You need to be familiar with what to do in case of an accident and whom to report to or contact.
It is imperative to know where items like fire extinguishers, emergency showers, eyewash
faucets, first aid kits, and fire blankets are stored and how to operate or use them. Ensure all
accidents, however minor is reported to your supervisor.

2. Train before experimentation

Do not operate any equipment or conduct experiments without prior training.
If you are still unsure of a certain procedure, get help from your supervisor or any other trained
staff. Write down protocols or make copies of the SOPs to refer to when in doubt.

3. Plan your work during normal working hours

This ensures that you are not alone for prolonged periods because working alone leaves you
more vulnerable in case of accidents or injuries. Having other members around you also ensures
you have extra pairs of eyes to point out potential risks that you might miss while performing
your experiments.

4. Treat all chemicals in the lab as if they were toxic

This means that there should be no direct sniffing, touching or tasting of chemicals or reaction
mixes. In addition:

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 Mouth pipetting is dangerous, so, use rubber bulbs or electronic pipette pumps to suck
liquids,
 When using volatile or toxic chemicals, ensure to open and use them within a fume
chamber.
 At the end of your experiments, thoroughly wash your hands with soap and clean water.

5. Adhere to electrical safety guidelines

Malfunction of sockets or equipment can lead to injury from electric shocks and damage of lab
from fires, therefore:
 Avoid the use of electrical extension cords and plugs with exposed or frayed wires.
 In case a machine causes electric shock, immediately shut down the power source and report
this to the supervisor or technician in charge.
 Ensure that power sources are not overloaded because a lot of equipment can cause
overheating of the socket which can lead to a fire.

6. Laser use safety guidelines

Safety guidelines depend on the classification of the laser, with high powered laser requiring
more safety measures. Generally, consider the following:
 Protective eyewear is required when working with lasers of class IIIa, IIIb and IV to avoid
injury to the lenses.
 Ensure reflective objects like mirrors and jewelry are removed because they can redirect the
laser trajectory and bounce it off to skin or a flammable object.
 Always switch on the laser warning light to warn other lab members against entering the
room without the appropriate PPE.
 Do not put the laser beam at eye level even when you think the laser is shut off.

Each member of the lab must learn and adhere to the rules and guidelines set, to minimize the
chances of harm befalling them within the work environment. These encompass dress code, use
of personal protection equipment and general behavior in the lab.

1. Laboratory dress code

It is important to put into consideration what you wear to the lab because certain clothes and
accessories could increase the probability of injury or give little protection in case of an accident.
For example:
 Avoid wearing shorts and short clothes to the lab because this leaves your legs vulnerable to
chemical or biological spills.
 Closed and well-fitting flat shoes are recommended to protect your toes and for comfort
when you have to spend long periods of time on your feet.
 Hair beyond chin length should be tied back or pinned up because this can be a source of
contamination for your experiments or injury if it accidentally swings towards an open
flame.
 Dangling jewelry on your hands, neck and hair should be removed once you enter the lab
space

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2. Use of PPE during experiments
Always use the recommended PPE and safety equipment for each particular experiment,
remember:
 Use gloves when handling any chemicals, sometimes, specific kind of gloves will be
required, for example, cryogenic gloves when handling items at very low temperatures.
 Eye goggles should be routinely used in the lab and especially when handling caustic
chemicals, reagents under pressure, or when working near UV light.
 Depending on the kind of chemicals you are handling, more protection might be required,
for example, the use of a blast shield in cases of a highly energetic chemical, the use of
earplugs when using sonicators or lead shields when using some types of radioactive
isotopes.

3. Emergency response after injury/exposure

In case of chemical contact with your skin or general exposure to infectious material like blood,
you need to:
 Immediately wash your hands with soap and water.
 If the areas exposed include face, chest and arm, use the emergency shower to clean off the
contaminants.
 In case your eyes are affected, immediately use the eyewash. Having another person direct
the water stream for at least 20 minutes to your eye while you hold it open is recommended.

4. General code of behavior in the lab

Whilst in the lab, observe the following:
 Eating and drinking is prohibited in the laboratory. The probability of contaminating your
food with chemicals or pathogens is high within the lab and these activities also distract you
from ongoing experiments which could lead to loss of data or failed experiments.
 Personal grooming habits like applying make-up, combing hair or handling of contact lenses
also increase chances of personal injury or contamination/infection.
 Maintaining a quiet and serene environment is important for a focussed and efficient
workspace. Loud chattering and laughter, screams, sudden movements or running in the lab
will cause distractions and can lead to accidents.

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 Unit 07: Measuring achievements of Physics

Types of Tests
STANDARDIZED TESTS
Standardized tests are by far the most common type of test. They are called “standardized” because
every student must answer the same questions. This allows teachers to establish the progress of each
student compared to the rest. The great advantage of this kind of tests is that it can be adapted to any
subject or theme (math, science, arts, etc).

Standardized tests are usually multiple choice, often with an essay questions and sometimes with a
few open-ended questions.

Each problem has a one answer and any other is incorrect, and each correct answer has an exact
credit. This allows for rapid marking and most standardized test have now migrated o computer
assisted tests.

How to answer multiple choice How to Answer Essay Questions Listening

Comprehension Analogy and Logic Fill in the Blank

READING COMPREHENSION TESTS

Reading comprehension is generally a component of standardized tests in High School, College
Entrance and English as a Second Language (ESL) tests. Reading comprehension appears on a huge
variety of standardized tests because it is an ability that’s important for all the areas of knowledge.
This is the capacity to analyze the content of a text, understand its main idea, infer the meaning of
words, draw conclusions and other skills common in everyday life.

Reading comprehension tests generally present the student with a passage, and multiple choice
questions based on the passage.

“SELF” TESTS, PRACTICE TESTS, SELF-ASSESSMENTS

Self-testing, practice tests, or self-assessment are one of the best ways to get ready for a test.
Practice tests assess your strengths and weaknesses ahead of a test and are essential for making a
study plan. How to make a study plan. Most Study Guides have a self-assessment section, as well
as commercially available sets of practice tests, old tests, or DIY tests.

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COMMON MISTAKES ON A TEST

MISTAKES THAT COST YOU MARKS ON A TEST

We all know that tests are not much fun and when we take a test and make a stupid mistake we can
be really upset – especially when it is something that could have been easily avoided. So what are
some of the common mistakes that are made on tests that we should try to avoid whenever possible?

– Failing to put your name on a test – How could you possibly forget to put your name on a test?
You would be amazed at how often that happens and usually those are thrown out immediately by a
teacher so the person gets a failing grade on the exam.
– Circling the wrong multiple choice answer – This happens more often than you think and many
times the person knows the right answer and was looking at it and then circled the answer right next
to it or above or below it.
– Answering a question twice – This usually happens in a multiple choice question where two
answers are circled – making it a wrong answer.
– Leaving an answer blank – This often happens when you skip a question because you want to
come back to it – but you forget to do so. Anything left blank is always a wrong answer.
– Transferring the answer incorrectly from scratch paper – This can happen easily if you are
trying to hurry and write down 1/2 when you meant 1/4 – thereby giving an incorrect answer.
– Ignoring the clock – In a timed examination many students lose track of the time and don’t have
enough time to complete the test. See our post on Working with Time Limits.
– Thinking too much – Self doubts often occur especially when you are not really sure about the
subject matter but you should usually stick with your first answer.
– Unpreparedness – Running out of ink and not having an extra pen or pencil is not an excuse that
is usually tolerated – it’s up to you to be prepared. See our post, The Ultimate Guide to Test
Preparation Strategy
– Not following directions – That are a number of words used in directions that have very specific
meanings and if misunderstood or not read correctly, it can cause you points on that answer and
worst case – it can make you fail the exam.

TEST INSTRUCTIONS – KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED!

HERE ARE SOME COMMON TYPES OF WORDS USED IN INSTRUCTIONS THAT

TELL YOU WHAT YOU SHOULD DO FOR THAT PARTICULAR SECTION OF THE

TEST:
– Analyze – This type of question usually means it is an essay so you should explain it thoroughly.
– Comment – This usually means that you should provide your explanation of the relevance of
the statement that has been made.
– Compare – Simply explain the similarities and differences between two items.
– Contrast – Explain the differences only between two items.
– Define – This is usually a short essay or definition of a particular item.
– Demonstrate – This requires proof so you need to provide an example to answer the question.

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– Diagram – Drawing a picture or chart to answer the question.
– Discuss – Frame the answer like a conversation providing pros and cons of the two issues.
– Enumerate – This is a list that is normally in a particular order like 1,2,3.
– Examine – This is your opinion on a particular subject which requires your reasoning as to why
you reached your opinion.
– Explain – This needs your overview of an issue and your reasoning for your conclusion.
– Illustrate – This requires an example.
– Interpret – This requires your reasoning for your conclusion.
– Justify – This also requires your reasoning and examples to support your conclusion.
– List – This is a series of answers of a particular subject.
– Outline – This requires an explanation that usually has headings and subheadings.
– Order – This is usually a chronological listing such as dates.
– Prove – This requires your reasoning for your solution.
– Review – This is usually a recollection of important parts of a subject.
– Trace – This is to recollect something step by step – as an event.

7.1 Preparation of different types of test

Test preparation requires strategy. And it requires a dedication to get the job done. It is the
perfect training for anyone planning a business career or any professional or life endeavor. Besides
strategy you must have a goal and know what you are trying to accomplish. These tried and true
concepts have worked well and will make your test preparation easier.

7.2 Using tests and interpreting the result

Presenting Results

Results are a summary of statistical and analytical data that was collected to determine how well
students achieved a particular learning outcome. Results summarize how successful students are
in achieving goals and outcomes that are set by instructors, programs, colleges, and/or the
university. Since results are a succinct explanation of data, individual scores or raw data should
be reported in appendices, rather than in the results section, unless used as an illustration. All
relevant results should be discussed in the results section. When reporting results, it’s important
to discuss findings in detail in order to justify conclusions. When presenting results in
assessment reports, choose the medium to display results that presents the results the most
clearly to a variety of audiences.

Scoring Guides

An important consideration in planning an assessment project is determining how you will

measure students’ achievement of the learning outcome you are measuring. Scoring guides
provide a shared structure for and definition of how student work will be judged. It is critical that
a scoring guide is tied directly to the student learning outcome it is measuring.

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Examples of Common Scoring Guides

1. Rubrics
2. Structured Observation Guides

Structured observation guides are a more qualitative type of scoring guide.

Advantages

 They allow for richer descriptions of student performances or work.

 They may be useful for the assessment of qualities that are difficult to
operationally define, like attitudes or values

Disadvantages

 This is a more subjective approach to scoring.

 It is more difficult to analyze results than quantitative methods of scoring.

Example of a structured observation guide for student presentations

Effectiveness of presenter Notes

Communicating purpose of presentation
Organizing the presentation
Demonstrating knowledge of topic(s)
Speaking with clarity
Responding appropriately to participants’ questions
Adhering to time constraints
Accomplishing the stated objective

7.3 Assessment through practical examination

Generally, practical assessments are used to assess skills and behaviours, and work best where
the task is “live” and as close to the real world as possible. ... With an observation-

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based assessment, the tasks are more defined – a practical assessment is still controlled, but the
outcomes are usually more flexible.
The former, DAPS, refers to any form of assessment that requires students, through the physical
manipulation of real objects, to directly demonstrate a specific or generic skill in a manner that
can be used to determine their level of competency in that skill.

Practical tests
In courses where laboratory or studio work, use of equipment, or the development of
manipulative or other psychomotor skills plays an important part in the curriculum, it is
obviously necessary to assess this work through practical tests of some sort. Such tests are
particularly important in the case of competence-based courses, where they can constitute the
most important part of the overall assessment programme in some cases. Such practical tests
generally have high validity, in that they actually test the students' mastery of the particular skill
(or group of skills) being assessed. They may, however, present practicability problems,
particularly with large numbers of students, and may also have low reliability in some cases.
Let us now examine some of the most important types of practical test.
Ongoing assessment of practical or studio work. In courses that have a high laboratory or studio
work content, the best way to assess such work may well be to carry out continuous assessment,
based on routine marking of lab. reports, examination of work produced, etc. This has the
advantage of providing an ongoing and stepped overall picture of a student's performance and
ability, but can also be very time consuming for staff, particularly if detailed feedback is given
on all work submitted.
Formal practical or studio examinations. An alternative approach is to administer a one-off
examination of laboratory or studio work at the end of a course or section thereof. This has the
disadvantage that it may be unfair to students who have an 'off day', and also to students who
react badly to examination pressure but have otherwise performed well during the course. From
the assessor's point of view, it can also be extremely difficult to monitor the progress of even a
small number of students during such an examination. When multiple assessors are used, level
and criteria must be standardised.
Skill tests. Tests of the ability to carry out specific manipulative tasks may be important in some
courses, eg dismantling and reassembling a car engine, cutting hair in a particular way, or
repairing a piece of technical equipment. For each of these, a suitable skill test can generally be
devised, depending on the circumstances. Such tests were, until the late 1980's, more common in
'training' courses than in general educational courses,but they are now widely used in the
assessment of competence-based courses and vocational qualifications.

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