Philadelphia, PA (January 10, 2002) - Traditionally taught in high schools after chemistry and biology, some students never take a course in physics - but that could be changing. Despite resistance, even among physics teachers, more schools are switching to a science curriculum that teaches physics before chemistry and biology. In the 2001-2002 school year two public school districts, in San Diego, California and Cambridge, Massachusetts, switched the order in which high school students learn science. Now all incoming 9th graders are taught conceptual physics (a less math focused, idea-based course), followed by chemistry in 10th grade, and biology in 11th. The national movement is called "Physics First," and high school physics teachers from around the country will be talking about their experiences with the program at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Meeting in Philadelphia January 19-23.

Elizabeth Chesick has been teaching 9th graders physics for eight years at Baldwin School, a private school for girls in the Philadelphia area. "The response of the students has been great," says Chesick, who will be speaking at the AAPT session about Physics First on Monday, January 21st. "They work hard, and they like it - they do not have a chance to develop a feeling that physics is too hard to take." Chesick says Baldwin started offering physics to 9th graders because many students wanted to have a general physics course before they took AP physics senior year. "After three years," says Chesick, "the students who did not get physics in grade 9 were asking if they might have physics too," so Baldwin began offering physics to all 9th graders.

Physics Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman supports teaching physics before chemistry and biology, and says the purpose of the national movement is to help create a science literate population. "We have to insist that all high school students have some idea of what science is, how it works, what it can do and what it can't do." Lederman estimates that there are currently around 150 schools that are formally involved with Physics First.

Some of the challenges of Physics First include convincing physics teachers, who are used to teaching highly motivates seniors, to teach a more conceptual physics class to younger students. There is also concern about adequately preparing teachers, who may be used to teaching biology and chemistry, for a new role teaching introductory physics. It may be an uphill battle, says Michael Neuschatz, who is conducting a study about high school physics for the American Institute of Physics. Neuschatz says that preliminary analysis from the study shows that more than half of the teachers asked disagreed with the statement "the sequence of high school sciences should be reversed, so that students take physics first, before chemistry or biology." However, Neuschatz also found that the small number of teachers who already teach 9th and 10th graders physics are very enthusiastic about teaching physics early. Therefore, he says it looks like "real experience with the idea converts people." Lederman says he's seen this as well. "The experience of the schools in our network is that the teachers learn to become enthusiastic."

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For more information contact:
Rory Richards, (301) 209-3088

Experts:
Elizabeth Chesick
Physics Teacher
Baldwin School
Bryn Mawr, PA
(610) 642-6381

Leon Lederman
1998 Nobel Prize in Physics
(630) 907-5911 (after Jan. 12)

Michael Neuschatz
Director, High School Physics Teacher Survey
American Institute of Physics
(301) 209-3077

Web:
American Association of Physics Teachers
Physics First Webpage