How to teach physics effectively: 5 tips for teachers

Physics is one of the science divisions which is taught to secondary and senior secondary students as a compulsory academic subject. It is full of theories, concepts, numerical and applications. Therefore students find understanding physics quite challenging. But with the right teaching patterns, physics lessons can be made interesting and more understandable to the learners. Let us discuss some effective tips and techniques which teachers can use to make physics easy, more meaningful, and understandable to the students. 

Teach physics effectively: tips for teachers 

1. Give homework 

Along with classroom teaching, self-learning is also very important for students. Teachers can ensure the self-learning of students by giving homework regularly. Many students have a habit of not doing self-studies. They only learn when exams are near. And for subjects like physics, last moment preparations are not enough. Regular practice of theory as well as applications is very necessary. Homework can ensure that students are engaged with physics learning every day. What teachers can do is 

• Give homework regularly. Try to avoid giving lengthy home assignments. Shorter tasks ensure that students complete them without any procrastination. 
• Using a learning management system, ask for timely homework submissions. This will make sure that all students are doing the given work timely. 

2. Use technical tools 

Sometimes textbooks and guides are not enough to teach students physics lessons. With the help of technology and visualization, teachers can make students understand better. The physics lessons such as Newton’s laws, mass and acceleration, uniform and non-uniform motion, kinetic energy, atoms, hydraulic, and much more can be comprehended better by seeing the audiovisuals created on these. By visualising the concepts our brain understands the topics better. Therefore teachers should also teach by using audio-visual tools. 

• Use educational videos, modules, picture cards, and presentations to teach students. 
• To make assessments revisions interesting, teachers can also use online quizzes, riddles, puzzles, and multiple-choice question worksheets. 

 

3. Provide practical knowledge

Physics is not all about theories. It has many applications, derivations, and concepts that can be understood better with the help of practical knowledge. The best way to do this is by taking students to physics labs. In the physics laboratory, students can perform experiments and can see several tools, machines, and equipment that they read in their textbooks. 

By solving and experimenting, students can draw conclusions that help them to relate to the topics better. When they relate to the information, understanding and memorizing become much easier and quicker. So all the physics teachers should take students to the labs at least once or twice a week. 

• Teach students how to tackle the machines and materials of the physics lab. 
• You can also ask them to write the experiments and conclusions made in the proper physics files. 

 

4. Give notes 

Physics is quite a challenging subject for the students. And therefore providing them with a variety of physics study material and notes can be beneficial. What teachers can do is, while teaching the lessons in the classroom, write down the important formulas, and terms on the blackboard and ask students to note them down in their physics notebooks. Also, you can dictate the big definitions and theorems to the learners. 

• You can also provide them with different physics worksheets, sample papers, lesson-wise notes, and questions to practice more. 
• Keep an eye on the students and check whether all are attentively listening and making notes or not. 

 

5. Revise the basics from time to time 

Physics concepts are interlinked with one another. With an incomplete understanding of one, the further topics will also be not clear to the students. Also, some basic topics and formulas are repetitively involved. Therefore command of basic physics concepts is very important for the students.

 Formulas such as mass, energy, force, momentum, acceleration, Newton’s law, conservation of energy, motion, acceleration, and height are involved in all the lessons. Teachers should ensure that students have a proper basic understanding before moving to the complex ones. 

• Before starting any new lesson, revise the basic concepts with the learners. 
• Keep on asking these basic formulas and units, again and again, to make students thorough with them. 

 

Conclusion 

Physics, which is often considered a challenging and rigid subject to understand, can be taught effectively to the students by following the above-mentioned tips. Teachers can use these tips and techniques to make students understand the physics lessons better. Along with this, encourage students to keep trying and overcome their physics fears. By continuous practice, slowly and gradually they will get it.

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