To me, the point about Physics education is not just dishing out the facts and expecting the students to do well. I always emphasize to my students, that it is an intriguing subject, because it forces you to learn how to learn, and it forces you to think at different perspectives. Physics is a subject that trains its learner to be logical. Many a times, the exact problem is not even formulated into an equation for your to solve yet. You need to read, interpret, make reasonable assumptions and model the situation to something solvable. Beyond that, you need to have a good grasp of mathematics to be able to tackle the problems. Getting the answer is uninteresting. You must be able to interpret the answer to your calculations, give conceptual understanding to it and then explain in a coherent manner to your peers your interpretation (so some mastery of language is needed). Furthermore, you must try to internalize what you have learnt to put into new context. Isn't this what real world problem solving is about?
As teachers, I feel that we must therefore be aware of training skills beyond just the academic knowledge, many of our students will not in fact take on physics, JC is the time they are exposed to the rigour of various subjects and through them they learn more about themselves and will go on to further pursue their interests. Learning how to learn in new situations, from various information, is a more important lifelong skill they can apply for the rest of life.
This is also why I find that putting students in teams that they have not worked with is important. The world has globalised. Even as a teacher, I find that the soft skills of negotiation, teamwork, conflict management, socialising etc. are important. With the complexity of many real-life tasks, you need not only be competent in knowledge at workplace, but possess the necessary skills to both lead and work as a team player.
Preparing students sufficiently for their future....isn't this what teaching is about?
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