On Physics and Astronomy Instruction

Among astronomers and astrophysicists it is well known phenomenon of airline travel that mentioning one's vocation as an astronomer to a passenger in a neighboring seat is a sure fire way to start a conversation. Conversely if it has been a long day and you're not up for social interaction, letting slip that you are a physicist is an equally effective means of getting a chatty neighbor to clam up. In the public imagination astronomy is easy to love; the planets, other galaxies, black holes, the vast emptiness of the universe itself. Astronomy captures peoples attention in a very real and visceral way. Physics is intimidating; abstract complicated equations, particle colliders, people in white coats who have crazy hair and walk around muttering indecipherable things to themselves. Physics can produce feelings of anxiety and inadequacy.

The concepts contained in a secondary or introductory university level physics class are not sufficiently complex to be beyond the grasp of most students. In fact I firmly believe physics can be every bit as captivating as the “sexy” topics of astronomy. The topics contained in these physics courses do, however, require a different way of thinking and observing the world that many students struggle with initially. I find that the difference between an engaged student who is comfortable and confident exploring the worlds of science and engineering, and the airline passenger who becomes suddenly silent at the mention of physics is how accessible their secondary courses were and the degree to which these courses fostered observational and analytic skills.

My own approach to physics and astronomy education is firmly rooted in Inquiry based pedagogy. To me Inquiry can be described most simply as the means of learning science by doing science. In an Inquiry based classroom students develop observational, experimental, and analytic skills while learning content knowledge. Sometimes Inquiry takes the form of carefully guided yet student centered exercises, be they laboratory activities or problem sets, and sometimes it is a more open ended task with students posing questions for investigation, developing a method for testing the question, and analyzing and synthesizing the results. At the end of an Inquiry based course the student leaves with not only with a body of content knowledge and a set of skills, but a comfort and familiarity with the processes of science. A student who successfully completes the course not only knows the science knowledge, but has the confidence to do science and find answers to previously unknown questions. Even scary ones about physics.