How to Physics Class

Let me give you a real example. Once my class was working on the principle of momentum, which provides a relationship between the pure force of an object and the change in momentum of that object. (Momentum is a product of mass and velocity.) It is a very useful principle and is used in many different ways.

A student came to my office to ask a question about the change in pushing a one-kilogram bounce ball on the wall. They wanted to know this: if the ball travels horizontally at a speed of 5 meters per second and bounces at the same speed in the opposite direction, what is the change in momentum? Is it zero? No. It is not zero because momentum is a vector and direction is important for vectors. (If you are curious, in this case the change in torque is 10 kg * m / s in the direction of the final speed.)

In this one-on-one conversation with the student, I saw that the problem I was seeing was not with the principle of momentum. The problem was grasping the idea of ​​vectors. Knowing that, I would go back to class and introduce quick questions about vectors to see where the rest of the students were in that idea and refresh if someone else needed help. He completed the learning feedback loop.

But wait! There is an additional bonus for asking questions. If your teacher explains something to you, then they will give you the advantage of hesitation when it comes to grading tests and assignments. The teacher knows that if you struggled with the material and made a good faith effort to learn, you might feel a little responsible for the mistakes you make and you may not grade them so hard. Yes, I know I said notes aren’t the most important thing, which is why it’s just a “bonus”.

Work with other students

One of the difficulties in learning during a pandemic has been that online courses make it difficult for students to work together. This matters because working with others is part of the learning process. It can be very difficult to guess things yourself.

Working with other students makes you realize that you are not alone and that you are not special. It’s easy to be in the classroom and think about yourself. “Aupa. I really don’t understand anything. Everyone else has it together, but I don’t. I’m not from here.“

Guess what? They will all be lost just like you. Everyone believes that the rest of the members have complete control over the material. But once you know that they are all on the same boat, you can start to feel better about your position and start making real learning gains.

So if possible, start meeting other students and working with them outside of class. If you can, try to meet in the real world, but if you can’t, online discussions are better than zero discussions. In any case, do not form a study group that will share notes and answers to homework questions. Build a real learning community. Share ideas. Do the work together. Explain things and let others explain it to you. (Here’s a secret: you learn the most when you’re teaching. So get out and teach.)

Finally, you can also make some friends. That’s not such a bad thing, is it?

Use the Textbook

All courses have enough textbooks, maybe even two. These books can be very expensive, but they can also be very useful. Unfortunately, I see quite a few students who misuse the textbook. They start taking notes in class. When it comes to homework, the first thing to do is open the book and look for an equation that would solve a particular problem. Homework is like a lock and a textbook as if they were a key box. Sometimes this strategy can provide an answer to a particular problem, but it does not always help to understand the underlying material.

Instead, I like to think of the textbook as a “pre-lecture”. Read the relevant chapter sometime before class. You don’t have to fully understand all the ideas, but it really helps to have things face to face before you discuss them. While you are reading, take notes. Write things that make sense and things that are not clear. This will prepare you to ask questions in class and help you explain important ideas (although not yet fully understood).