Stories play a huge role in learning. Our brains suck them up. We should use stories in physics lessons. In…
How to Teach Problems…
Physics is all about the problems. In my last post, I picked apart the knowledge I needed to solve this…
The Role of Problems in Physics
Recently, I have written about the importance of frequent problem solving for physics students. Thomas Kuhn, the philosopher of science, wrote…
Teaching Energy
The more abstract a concept is, the less useful learners find definitions or explanations. There is no lightbulb moment. Rather, our…
How We Learn Concepts in Science
In my last flurry of blogs (here, here and here), I wrote about the limits of definitions for learning .…
Current – An Argument for Many Models
Current is a nice simple word; it means the rate of flow of charge. So you need to explain rate…
Electricity’s Colourful Past
Yesterday I wrote about electric charge and its confusing meanings (here). I had intended to write about voltage and current…
Electric Charge – why it is difficult to understand and how to help.
My heart has never been in definitions. It was set against them in Africa 20 years ago, when I was…
Using Comparative Judgement to Rank the Importance of Concepts
If you haven’t heard of comparative judgement (CJ), it is the latest fashionable way for judging the quality of student…
Science: A Great Source of Metaphor…
Have you got time to read two very short science texts? Both of them are surprising and wonderful. First text: a…
Reading for Learning 