Héctor G. Riveros
Instituto de Física
UNAM
México, DF
riveros@fenix.ifisicacu.unam.mx
In all Mexico and in other countries of Latin America, the
introductory physics courses contain the same subjects that are
covered in the US and Canada. The most popular texts are
Halliday-Resnick, Alonso-Finn, the Berkeley Series, etc. Even though
the courses may vary according to specialization. A small number of
universities have implemented a physics department to teach its
courses. Generally, each of the schools has its own physics
department, with the responsibility of teaching courses at its own
school. On the other hand, to be able to teach at Mexican
universities one only needs a degree which bears some resemblance to
the subject in which the course is taught, even if one lacks the
background in didactics or pedagogy. Existing physicists are not
enough, and the ones that are teaching had to fight their way to the
position in universities of strong ``tradition''. Traditionally
physics is taught by engineers or chemists, which cannot be replaced
and should not be set aside.
The traditional teacher teaches as he was taught, preferring the use of chalk and chalkboard. In the universities there are usually courses for the education of teachers, providing them with strategies to improve their classes. Generally these courses are taught by experts in education, but with little knowledge in physics, which makes the use of relevant examples very difficult. For the university student physics is a tool that he has to learn to be able to apply it in his profession.
Even though there has been great advance in teaching-learning, there is still no universal method. The PSSC, Harvard, Nuffield and other projects have had only temporal success at higher education levels. While the teacher keeps his faith they will work. On the other hand, we are generating information at an unprecedented rate. What is important now is not memorizing large quantities of data, but learning to manage information. The computer changed the way we work and because of this we must use it in the classroom. But every teacher must adapt the new didactical knowledge and the new technologies in his own way. What is important is not what it is being taught but how it is being taught. Teaching physics lets one introduce others to the pleasures of rational thought -- thinking is an art.
Teachers and students have difficulty linking theory to real life. Teachers had courses of the different theories of the learning-teaching process or courses about physics, but they have a problem applying these ideas in their classes. Analogously students have many physics courses but they have trouble designing an experiment to resolve a problem. I have a short course for teachers where I try to solve this problem, showing with examples the different possibilities of relating theory with real life. I use the same methods with the professors that I use with the students. Learning occurs when the student changes his concepts, a truth discovered by Socrates and that now is known as ``constructionism''.
One starts by showing an operational way of teaching a constructionist course, finding out first the preconceptions of the students in a reasonable time frame. For example, one asks them to remember their preconceptions about teaching, what they know about pedagogy, didactics, psychology, education technology, etc., including the usage of instruments and data interpretation, with and without the use of a computer. One also asks them to remember the positive and negative characteristics of their best and worst teachers, so as to underline the fundamental role of some teachers in their life. As each professor teaches, he chooses a way he wants his students to remember him.
Knowing the teacher's preconceptions and necessities, one chooses the activities of the course, letting them feel that they are relevant for their class, from theoretical discussions to the design of demonstrations and experiments. The teachers know what they need to become better teachers; on the other side the students study to pass an exam, which underlines the importance of the examination. As a practical application one uses the preparation of the next course, from the time dedicated to each subject up to how to evaluate it and teach it. For each subject the teacher needs to find the use the student will give to it, evaluate if the student knows what he is supposed to know and the best procedure to teach it. To be able to do all this the teacher needs to integrate the use of his theoretical and applied resources, his possibilities of evaluation, preconceptions of the students and his own experience.
One presents each subject, taking into account that physical knowledge is an important tool. The history of physics helps with the examples and the applications in their profession or in their daily life which makes it relevant for the student. To define the examinations for each subject before teaching it helps choose the best procedure to teach it. Only when something interests us, do we make the necessary mental connections that allow us to keep it in our minds without an apparent effort, and that is what we call learning.
Out of the various courses taught in this manner, one concludes that the activity that most is the most satisfying to the teachers is the design of demonstrations and experiments, with the materials that are available in their laboratories, since they discover that it is possible to predict and optimize a demonstration, generally with simple models of the situation. To relate the theoretical conditions of the model with the experimental conditions promotes a more integral knowledge of physics. Teaching physics introduces one into the pleasures of reason and to the art of thinking. Teaching an art is also an art and thus a pleasure.