The overarching aim of the Physics Curriculum is to provide physics-related learning experiences for students to develop scientific literacy, so that they can participate actively in our rapidly changing knowledge-based society, prepare for further studies or careers in fields related to physics, and become lifelong learners in science and technology.

The broad aims of the curriculum are to enable students to:

• develop interest in the physical world and maintain a sense of wonder and curiosity about it;
• construct and apply knowledge of physics, and appreciate the relationship between physical science and other disciplines;
• appreciate and understand the nature of science in physics-related contexts;
• develop skills for making scientific inquiries;
• develop the ability to think scientifically, critically and creatively, and to solve problems individually or collaboratively in physics-related contexts;
• understand the language of science and communicate ideas and views on physics-related issues;
• make informed decisions and judgments on physics-related issues; and
• be aware of the social, ethical, economic, environmental and technological implications of physics, and develop an attitude of responsible citizenship.

• Approaches to Learning and Teaching
  Broadly speaking, there are three different common and intertwined approaches to learning and teaching Physics.
  • "Teaching as direct instruction"
    "Teaching as direct instruction" is perhaps the best known approach. It involves teachers transmitting knowledge directly to their students. This kind of learning and teaching approach is common in Hong Kong classrooms, where students in general like to get considerable guidance from their teachers. Direct instruction, if appropriately used in an interactive manner, is a powerful tool to help learning. Well organised content, contextualised examples and a vivid interactive presentation with clear focuses are important features of successful direct instruction. It can be used in many situations in physics lessons, e.g. introducing symbols of physical quantities, exposition of abstract physics theories and sophisticated debriefings of difficult topics at the end of a lesson.
  • "Teaching as inquiry"
    "Teaching as inquiry" is advocated by many educators who believe that knowledge is best constructed through individual learners’ effort and activity. This is a more student-centred approach. It advocates the use of learning activities such as simple problem-solving tasks which require various cognitive abilities, and inquiry-based experiments which involve hypothesis testing, designing working procedures, gathering data, performing calculations and drawing conclusions. The "Investigative Study in Physics" discussed in Chapter 2 is an example on how “teaching as inquiry” can be implemented in classrooms.
  • "Teaching as co-construction"
    "Teaching as co-construction" is an approach which sees learning as a social interactive process in which teachers may also act as learners. This view stresses the value of students sharing their knowledge and generating new knowledge through group work, with the teacher as a learner partner providing support. Students work together to perform tasks such as examining quantitative relations between physical quantities in a science article, and communicating experimental findings through written reports, posters or oral presentations. Teachers provide opportunities for students to work collaboratively with them to build up knowledge and skills.

  These three learning and teaching approaches can be represented as a continuum along which the roles of teachers and students vary. For instance, as illustrated in Figure 4.1, a teacher is more of a resource person than a transmitter of knowledge in a learning co-construction process.

  • Direct instruction Interactive teaching
  • Individualisation Inquiry Co-construction
    • Demonstration
    • Explanation
    • Video show
    • Questioning
    • Visits
    • Using IT and multimedia packages
    • Whole-class discussion
    • Constructing concept maps
    • Information searching
    • Reading
    • Writing learning journals/note-taking
    • Practical work
    • Problemsolving
    • Scientific investigations
    • Simulation and modelling
    • Debates
    • Discussion forums
    • Group discussion
    • Project work
    • Role-play

  Figure 4.1 Learning and Teaching Activities in Physics

  A wide variety of approaches and strategies should be adopted to meet the specific learning objectives of individual lessons and the needs and learning styles of students. Teachers should note that a learning target may be attained by using more than one type of strategy and multiple learning targets can be achieved during the same learning process.

   

• Variety and Flexibility in Learning and Teaching Activities
  This curriculum has an in-built flexibility to cater for the interests, abilities and needs of students. This flexibility in the design of the expected learning targets serves as a way for teachers to strike a balance between the quality and quantity of learning. Teachers should provide ample opportunities for students to engage in a variety of learning activities to attain different learning targets. Learning and teaching activities such as questioning, reading, discussions, model-making, demonstrations, practical work, field studies, investigations, oral reporting, assignments, debates, information search and role-play are commonly used. For some learning targets, the activities can be selected to suit students' different learning styles. The learning and teaching activities employed should aim to promote learning for understanding, not the surface learning of unconnected facts. Effective learning is more likely to be achieved when students are active rather than passive, when ideas are discussed and negotiated with others rather than learned alone, and when the content is learned as an integrated whole rather than in small separate pieces. In short, activities that encourage meaningful learning should be used as far as possible.