Students may have been introduced to Physics by Newton’s First Law or by some of online Youtube videos showing some fanciful Physics experiments.
However, when it comes to the actual study of Physics, it may make many students shudder with uncertainty. This is understandable as these Physics theories are hard to relate to real life applications in a straightforward fashion. However, we cannot deny that it serves a strong basis for many inventions and innovations that we see and will continue to see more manifest in the future.
As technology is moving so fast nowadays, there is a lot of potential for research and development in the field of Physics. With this in mind, our Ministry of Education has continually revised the Physics syllabus as well as introduced many avenues for students to be exposed to Physics like competitions and science conventions. We have also seen Singapore achieve international recognition from the awards won by our students in the global stage.
Mastery of a Physics Topic
Our robust Physics syllabus is designed to have students learn about the subject progressively. The whole idea is not to plunge students into the deep end of the pool where they struggle with complicated concepts at the start. From primary school education, Physics has been slowly incorporated with topics that are easy to understand, such as energy and forces. This is to slowly build a good foundation and interest in these key concepts that will reappear in greater details and depth when they decide to take up Physics at O levels. This step by step approach is to allow students to capitalise on previously taught topics so that the topics taught each year is kept to a reasonable number. Students are also taught to understand, rather than rely on pure memorising to learn Physics and mastery of the topics will be tested in exams subsequently.
Many overseas educational institutions and individuals have applauded Singapore for its problem solving analogies and methodologies when it comes to teaching Physics. Though Physics is an abstract subject, but we have managed to incorporate visual diagrams and problem solving tools to aid students in learning and mastering Physics.
The Visualisation Approach Towards Physics
One interesting approach towards learning Physics in Singapore schools is its ability to tap on visualisation. Rather than use the standard textbook studying approach to teach our students in Singapore, our school teachers use everyday objects like paper clips or rulers to demonstrate simple Physics concepts. They also use certain modelling and simulation computer programmes for students to explore and see how the different parameters interact with each other to produce certain visual effects. In addition, students will also be exposed to a pictorial approach such as the illustration of how forces interact with each other on paper to help us solve problems.
A New Approach Towards Physics
With the advent of technology, we have also managed to utilise technological devices to showcase some of the concepts through videos and interactive apps. Projectors and a laptop are now essential teaching tools used in everyday teaching. Furthermore, schools have further branched out to home based learning where students can even learn from the comfort of their own homes on certain days to help students save time on travelling to and from school.
At The Physics Lab, our Physics tutors have also incorporated elements of fun and out-of-the-box ideas into our teaching methodologies to help students develop a genuine interest in Physics. Together with our comprehensive lesson planning and rapport building with students, we strive to not only have students master Physics but also perform well in exams.
