The following is an assignment submission for Theory of Teaching to the University of Sunderland, England, United Kingdom.

Course Code: EDE 208 11/12 ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION
Course Title: Theory of Teaching 1
Student Name: Mr. Brian Gallagher
Student Number: bg17ge
Word Count: 3919

What are the key strategies in promoting effective learning in your subject? Q14

The key strategies in promoting learning in my subject area are based around the learning outcomes that are the fundamentals of my courses and are a precursor to the 1IBDP. Students must be able to explain, compare, contrast, analyze, draw, sketch, discuss, communicate and more. Our school scientific standards clearly define the expectations of students and are aligned with the IB learner profile. As such, many of the strategies are quite procedural in their design and can teach some very declarative knowledge.

The strategies used in the teaching of this course are not systematic and pre-designed, rather, they are created by the teacher in advance of each scheme of work and are used post-lesson, upon reflection, to build the course at our international school with the aim of recording a developed curriculum into “Rubicon atlas2” to create a repository of materials and lesson contents.

Differentiated lessons require openness and engagement to be successful and will vary across the age and ability range of my students. International schools are highly cross-cultural and as such they require each lesson to be highly explicit. Nixon (1997) describes that the innovator must “explain to the class why they are doing what they are doing and to discuss with them their own feelings about the task”.

Common focused communication strategies are warmer or interim exercises where students speak for a minute about the current topic with a partner, who then repeats and adds information before letting the first speaker add final information to the focused topic. Vocalizing ideas, paraphrasing and explaining concepts is built on research based practice known by Browne (1987) as retelling which leads to a greater variety of sentence forms and structures, increased confidence in speaking while allowing scaffolding of ideas as students move through an “increasingly sophisticated thinking processes”

Silver(2007) argues that direct instruction more specifically, effective modelling and directed practice (algebraic formulae manipulation and worked solutions) teaches mostly procedural knowledge as well as declarative, guided practice and independent practice which leads to mastery and deeper understanding of content.

Interpersonal Strategies are also used including Reciprocal Learning which “increases the power of practice and learning by establishing partnerships in which students coach their peers through the learning process” , Although “Decision making is a highly personal form of comparison in which students use their own criteria and values to evaluate and make decisions” in key stage 4 novice learners have not yet built up their interpersonal strategies to a level where they are comfortable in doing this, but simpler versions of this strategy are employed.
In summary “Teachers need to possess both a good understanding of the subjects they teach and of the best ways to teach these subjects – what has been called ‘pedagogical content knowledge’”
(Word count 463)


Assignment question 1b
Discuss how Questioning can be used in the classroom as an effective method for enhancing learning. Q25c

Low and High order questioning can be used in the classroom as an effective method for enhancing learning and synthesizing the content learned. Questioning the relevance of taught materials brings home to students the content of the lesson and allows higher order thinking to take place. By applying new content to either enforce or to dismiss previous knowledge or misconceptions students and take more ownership over their learning by buying into the materials and investing in their usefulness.

IBDP students are encouraged to be risk takers and challenge norms throughout their learning in each and every subject. In the IB Biology lessons that I observed the teacher used questioning throughout his lessons in his attempts to elicit common-sense answers from students in each part of the curriculum. For non-intuitive sections or concepts he explains why the expectations are wrong and his didactic teaching style therefore directly explains the content where needed as students cannot reach similar conclusions without guidance.

Regular plenary sessions throughout a lesson builds confidence in students that they are learning and can demonstrate that learning straight away and accept praise for it (Cohen , 2004). Looking to the learning outcomes given at the beginning of each lesson and by checking off the learned topics students can be confident that progress is being made. What a student learns is very influenced by their existing ideas and often misconceptions. This is very apparent in the international teaching environment as students are from many nationalities and backgrounds.

Cognitive connections need to be made synaptically to truly and deeply facilitate students explorations as they begin to become more independent from the teacher as the prime source of information and reasoning. Time must be given to students to develop these connections and cannot always be measured by a teacher test or quiz as the teacher has no idea of how each student is making those connections. However, student-student discussions can be monitored by the teacher to establish what understanding has happened how concepts re being expanded upon by continuation of the topic beyond a fixed point. The “quality of communication between teachers and pupils is crucial for the quality of education”.

Students willingness to communicate (MacIntyre et al, 1998) is a key factor in planning for lessons to go smoothly. A trust between students and the teacher and between students themselves must be build up over time (although should be done as quickly as possible) and a good rapport should allow students to comfortably attempt questions. Although WTC is a term coined from second language learners its appropriate to mention here because of my international teaching environment.

(word count 436)



COMPARE AND CONTRAST LESSON OBSERVATIONS IN MY OWN AND OTHER SUBJECT AREAS

After observation of lessons in Science and in English I can see very different types of learning and teaching styles. The English teacher began with a 15 minute journal writing session to calm students and was obviously a trained exercise as students began very promptly. This very severe teacher had no hesitation in instruction and was very structured in time management. The students responded to this well and classroom participation was excellent. The science teacher on the other hand began with an explanation of the learning outcomes for the day and then a practical demonstration. This led into the lesson proper after some short time to discuss what was going on in the demonstration. The next section was a lecture in 15 minutes or so with students taking notes as the explanations were given with highlights of the key areas for learning.

The English teacher began his second phase of the lesson by didactically lecturing for 15 minutes to explain a lengthy piece of reading with no materials other than the textbook he was reading from. An overpowering voice and volume that was intense made sure that no students interrupted the teacher as he explain in detail his understanding of the piece of work.

The science teacher involved students in sections to confirm understanding and as a type of mini plenary before progressing to the next section. The English teacher on the other hand went at a high speed and expected students to keep up. Some students drifted off in the English lesson whereas the science students were more active in their learning.

In science the teacher worked in small “chunks” and tried to piece them together with explanations and the mini plenaries. The English teacher tried to keep flow going by keeping the pace high and imparting his energy and interest in the topic onto the students. The latter lesson had a writing section as a plenary at the end where student could write a reflection on their understanding of what was going on in the text, whereas the science students employed a more systematic approach. The overall structure and 'pace' of both lessons were good and although very different in styles of both teaching and of personal character the effectiveness of the lessons seemed to complement each other as they were so different in style but did match the type of topic being taught. There seemed to be few planned learning opportunities for different abilities as the lesson structures were quite rigid and only the science lesson had the small plenaries in stages which gave both the students and teacher formative feedback in understanding. The lack of scientific development after conceptual learning was very different from the creative writing that was going on in the English lesson.

Different options in the science lesson were very clear as the teacher offered 3 choices for the work to be done in each section as some questions were “must”, “should” and “could” dos. This let each student push themselves as much as they wanted in each section.

My two subject areas are science and mathematics, both of which are highly procedural and require build up of skills for success. Rutherford (1989) explains “Teaching should be consistent with the nature of Scientific enquiry” and as such they need to “start with questions about nature”, “engage students actively, insist on clear expression” but still “welcome curiosity” and “reward creativity”. Often languages are seen as the creative and science as more mechanical. In most cases this is true but with blending skills learned in other subjects the modern IB learner tries to tie these things together to build on their separate strengths.As we are an IB school we are not evaluated using the Japanese national curriculum, rather, students are independently tested 3 4 5 6 for English and Mathematical literacy.

My school promotes itself as a true IB school and all high school documentation tries to meet similar standards and benchmarks. The lessons that I observed were both IB level and reflect the learner profile in their planing of each. As a school teachers use a combination of assessment as, of and for learning throughout the courses as it is heavily impressed upon all teachers at the school to incorporate or blend these together as intricately as possible forward plan in order for this to be well done. This goal has not yet come to fruition as in my courses we do not have any set curricula to follow, very little time to plan, and I am the only teacher teaching my topic at my level in the school. A frustration that materialises itself in both students and myself .

(Word count 786)

http://www.ibo.org/programmes/profile/documents/Learnerprofileguide.pdf (accessed October 11th, 2011)

http://www.nagoyais.jp/nis/academics/welcome/academics/welcome/articulating-dreams (accessed October 11th, 2011)



Assignment question 3

STRANDS OF PROGRESSION IN A SCHEME OF WORK/ LEARNING APPROACHES (400 WORDS)
Q3b, Q15, Q22

Currently I have been teaching a scheme of work on “Energy” (See Appendix 1) and its conservation in different forms (heat/light/chemical/electrical) and most specifically, kinetic and Gravitational Potential Energy. Beginning with an open discussion on the different forms of energy that students are familiar with we developed a mind-map of different forms of energy and laid focus to stored energy (chemical and GPE) and moving energy (kinetic). The first lesson establishes knowledge and understanding of basic ideas and tries to lay aside misconceptions over what is stored and what is not. The development of kinetic energy being that which is moving looks to explain the types of energy that the mind-map had recorded in non-specific categories at that time.

This medium term plan looks to explain energy as a manageable entity that can be measured, manipulated and calculated in different forms. While sharing the unit of Joules (J) at its core we can investigate mathematically using algebraic formula to show that energy is in fact accurately measured and can with some simple laboratory investigation be seen to follow the law of the conservation of energy. Understanding the concepts of frictional forces from the previous section lets us understand why the usual loss of energy in most situations is in the form of heat lets students look back on why mention was made of it in the speed/acceleration section that was the precursor to this one. Letting students make the links between braking and the transfer of energy as sound and heat bridges the gap between sections.

Practical work is limited by lack of facilities and equipment at our school and could be vastly improved. Journals are not specifically used by students but regular reflections and note-taking in notebooks is required throughout the course.

Extended small group student led discussion is used as a revision tool and replaces time-consuming student presentations. This new program has been unchanged as it is now a complete successful package that reflects our small school limitations and leads well into the IBDP.

(Word count 338)


Assignment question 4CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT


Analyse behaviour management strategies that support effective learning in the classroom making reference to relevant literature and your own schools observations. Q10

The effectiveness of science lessons depends on five key factors: the teacher’s understanding of the nature of science; conceptions of the teacher’s role (provider of knowledge or facilitator of learning); the use of discourse (closed/authoritative or open/dialogic); conceptions of learning goals (knowledge only or also including reasoning skills); and nature of classroom activities (contrived or authentic) (Millar et al 2009). Meta-cognitive learning and structured activities that promote Learning to Learn (L2L) empower students with content and techniques that allow them to tackle any situation (ownership) and new knowledge.

Pollock(2007) proposes “The Big Four” approach to providing a way for “individual teachers to improve the learning of every student”. She describes them as:
  • Using precise terminology to describe what students will learn
  • Undertaking purposeful instructional planing and delivery
  • employing purposeful assessment
  • applying deliberate assessment and feedback strategies

The basis for these strategies is to plan for success and not to hope for it by using a well articulated curriculum, plan for delivery, vary assessment and give criterion based feedback. Teacher authority, topic knowledge, confidence and diplomacy skills together with awareness of individual student needs must also be considered.

Haydn (2007). outlines a 10-point scale to describe the working atmosphere in the classroom with level 10 being the most relaxed and 1 the most anarchic. My level is somewhere between a 6 and 7, in that “I can undertake any sort of lesson activity, but the class may well be rather bubbly and rowdy”. I try not to be too strict in my lessons so as to allow students the opportunity to speak out and maintain their energy without stifling them. This is a very tricky balance that I understand to be a weakness or rather a softness on my part. Managing pupil behaviour depends on the student-teacher rapport and on the personality of themselves.

As the teacher is the adult in each situation he/she should be a role model for good behaviour, respect, mediation and forgiveness. When the teacher is calm, kind, polite, friendly, forgiving, sensible, positive, caring and in possession of a good set of morals (Smith 2011).
Giving students choices, explanations of and time to complete tasks, is most effective in channelling student energy towards your prescribed outcomes with no option to “opt-out” of any activity. Accommodating the students learning styles and needs reduces off-task behaviour and larger management issues. When students are busy/engaged there is less time to misbehave.

Successful classroom management is achieved by having a complete package of strategies in place combined with a controlled environment. Each lesson should take place in an environment that is welcoming to students, where they feel at ease to ask questions, risk failure, make progress and leave that arena feeling that they have achieved something each lesson. Of course, this means each lesson should be well structured and planned out, attainable for each student, be differentiated to accommodate all and be considerate of students learning styles and individual needs.

One of my main strategies used to differentiate lessons is “MUST, SHOULD, COULD” where all students will be set tasks that they must complete before they leave [exit strategy] or at some other directed interval like mini-plenary or end of lesson plenary. “Should” activities are for the majority of students, to maintain class flow. For the advance students who want either more questions to practice, or higher order questions to push themselves farther there is a section/option that they “could” attempt.

Feedback should always be positive, even in the most difficult circumstances to promote student confidence and build students up in their skill sets as well as cognitive processing.

Performance is dependent on students drive and “helps to explain the relationship between learning and arousal, and performance and arousal” (Cox, 1985) . The product of arousal and skill level (Performance = Arousal x Skill Level) explains only increasing arousal but Hanin (1986) describes a better model as the “Zone of Optimal Functioning” (ZOF). The obvious problems with the former theory in a classroom environment is that over arousal in students leads to lack of focus, off -task activity and obvious classroom management issues. Therefore, students should be in an optimum state for learning, and not over-arousal. This is echoed by Mercer (1995) in describing “the quality of communication between teachers and pupils is crucial for the quality of education”. Vygotsky (1978) described a “flow channel” of optimal engagement and learning when students are between anxiety and boredom, in which challenge and skill levels consecutively increase and real learning occurs.

Teacher-student communication must not be on a peer level but a respectful level so that pupils learn themselves the reasonable expectations and limitations of the classroom and acceptable behaviour while interacting with their peers and seniors. Once expectations are made clear and a tone is set students become more at ease in class. At times in the class the teacher is a facilitator helping students to perform group or individual work and at other times simply being the teacher at the front and giving information in simple didactic form. Most commonly this appears in the form of prescriptive explanations of how to solve problems so as to model the techniques that should be employed. This is extremely effective when students cannot see how to attempt a problem and also when the solution or concept is not an intuitive one as occurs many times in science teaching.

Having clearly explained and visible class rules help students to know exactly the expectations you have of them. Reference to these rules and reading aloud from the posters around the room allows teacher to show students where to look to remind themselves. School-wide regulations and agreed norms of behaviour must be in place for continuity and to reduce confusion for students. This being said, teachers must always consider that children are learning good behaviour, learning styles, course content, social interaction and more while attending school everyday. They must be given some opportunities to learn from their mistakes and to constantly improve in a safe, low risk environment. Without this, and without constant praise students will feel isolated and lacking confidence about their learning experience.

It should also be noted that in the private international school environment that students and parents make demands of teachers that must be adhered to as “they pay” staff wages indirectly and action is taken more directly against teachers than those in a national curriculum. This adds to regular teacher difficulties as the attitude of some parents undermines teachers and has a knock-on effect to students attitudes towards learning and staff facilitating this learning.

Word Count (1107)




Evaluation , Assessment and Recording

Reflecting upon assessment strategies you have observed being used in your subject or age phase. (or have read about) which do you consider to be the most effective in progressing student's achievements? Why? Q11, Q12, Q13, Q26a

The most effective strategies in progressing students achievements are those which attract the attention of the student and involve their active participation as opposed to passive involvement. Teachers use a range of strategies to engage learners and to vary their teaching styles. Specifically at my IB school there is positive use of the strategies of Paul Ginnis (2003) “The Teacher Tool-kit” in which teachers structure a range of activities that will require student participation and collaboration. Meta-cognition and L2L become a daily part of the lesson structure and students are summatively and formatively assessed on these skills as well as course content. Upon reflection of the lessons I observed, I can be confident to say that the activities are structured in a way that is echoed by the works of both Chappuis (2009) and Marzano (2001) as they describe research based strategies for learning.
Structuring of activities is key to maintaining student participation and repeated opportunities for students to verbalize their new knowledge ensures that there is greater retention of the new knowledge. Time in the plenary for students to not only verbalize new content but to analyze each others mistakes, misinterpretations and to allow progressively higher order thinking to take place as they develop their own ideas under the careful eye of the teacher.

My new school mission is “to inspire and empower” students “to articulate their dreams and creatively engage in activities toward achieving them”. Although we have no measurement for this we can evaluate if this is really the case by engaging in conversations with students and through their subsequent CAS (Community Action Service) projects that are the core of the IBDP. As an IB school our high school documentation meets IB standards and benchmarks and bridges the gap of having no MYP.7

Having 2 semester (low stake) examinations, limited by the board of directors to 20% of the semester grade, the remainder, involves a range of coursework tasks including: laboratory work, reports, essays/articles, presentations (poster/video/oral etc.), topic tests, problem solving reports and projects that require ICT and consolidation of skills both topic specific and transdisciplinary. These transdisciplinary skills which are the bonding links between subjects are highlighted in my teaching style, are integral to the IBDP and are echoed by Leask(1999) who proposes that “subject teachers require subject knowledge, professional judgement and professional knowledge”.

As there are no NC applications to our international school they are useless to compare, but, for me would be equivalent to Science KeyStage-4 assessment principles based on the English National Curriculum that state “The learner is at the heart of the assessment (identify ways for learners to progress, based around pupils needs by encouraging students to take a central role in their own assessment.
Assessment:
  • needs to provide and view of the whole learner
  • is integral to teaching and learning
  • includes reliable judgements about how learners are doing related, where appropriate, to national standards for consistency within and across schools, for tracking progress and for evaluating impact.”
Although “National standards8 are an entitlement for all pupils” in the UK, my international school has no set standards9 but is in the process of evaluating which standards may be chosen and look likely to be IB Middle Years Programme Curriculum but this decision has yet to be made by the administration. The IBMYP is based on a continuous assessment over the course of the (5 year) programme where “Teachers are responsible for structuring varied and valid assessment tasks (including tests and examinations) that will allow students to demonstrate achievement according to the objectives for each subject group. These include:
  • Open ended, problem-solving activities
  • Investigations
  • Organized debates
  • hands-on experimentation
  • analysis and reflection.”
Over-analysis and over-assessment can be barriers to learning and an anxiety builder. Formative checking of understanding is always welcomed by students and is what I consider to be, the most effective in progressing students achievements. However, the need for summative semester grades (to calculate GPA10) and mid-semester report cards at my school is somewhat counter productive. In fact, external tests are completed during scheduled class times congesting an already busy schedule. These, combined with sports trips, school events, half-day Wednesdays, assemblies etc., reduce teaching time and is a serious concern among teaching staff. A combination of assessment as, of and for learning is heavily impressed upon all teachers and incorporating or blending these together is intricate and needs forward planning to be successful. By blending together this range of assessments types to encompass learning styles (DeBono, 1985) and multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1999) students can progress most successfully in their own learning regardless of the conditions of each school and curriculum.

(Word Count 789)


References (Harvard)

  1. Brown, H. & Cambourne, D. (1987). Read and retell. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
  2. Cox, R.H. (1985) “Sports Psychology – Concepts and Applications” 3rd Edition, Brown & Benchmark Publishing pp126
  3. (Bennet & Dunne) Chapter 22 p177.[Moon and Meyes] “Teaching and learning in the secondary school” Routledge
  4. Chappuis, J. (2009). “Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning” Boston: Allyn & Bacon
  5. Cohen, L. Mannion, L. and Morrison, K. (2004) A guide to Teaching Practice (5th Edition), Routledge
  6. De Bono (1985) “Six Thinking Hats” MICA Management Resources, Inc.
  7. Gardner, H. (1999). Inteligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st century. New York:Basic Books.
  8. Ginnis, P. (2003) “The Teacher's Toolkit: Raise Classroom Achievement with Strategies for Every Learner”, Camarthen: Crown House, Birmingham, England.
  9. Hanin, Y.L (1986) State Trait Anxiety research on sports in the USSR. In C.D. Spielberger & R. Dias-Guerrero (Eds.), Cross Cultural anxiety (pp45-64). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
  10. Haydn, T. (2007) “Managing Pupil Behaviour – Key issues in teaching and learning” pp3-4 Routledge, Milton Park, England.
  11. James, M. & Pollard, A.(2006) Improving teaching and learning in schools, A Commentary by the Teaching and Learning Research programme. TLRP, ESRC.
  12. Leask, M. (1999) What do teachers do?, in S. Chapel, M Leask and T. Turner (eds)Learning to Teach in the Secondary School (2nd Edition). London: Routledge, pp. 85-88
  13. MacIntyre, P.D. Et al (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82 (4), 545-562.
  14. Marzano, R. (2001) Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
  15. Mercer, N. (1995) “Classrooms, language and communication” in Moon, B. & Mayes, S. (1995) 'Teaching and Learning in the Secondary School' Chapter 23, pp177. The Open University, Routledge
  16. Millar et al (2011) “Towards Evidence-based Practice in Science Education” (EPSE) http://www.tlrp.org/dspace/retrieve/2012/RobinMillarposter.pdf (accessed October 11th, 2011)
  17. Nixon, Chapter 19 in Teaching and Learning in the Secondary School, Moon and Mayes (1997) Open university Press, Routledge, London.
  18. Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2004) Cite them right; referencing made easy Northumbria University Trinity Building, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
  19. Pollock, J. E. (2007) “Improving Student Learning One Teacher at a Time” Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
  20. Rutherford, F & Ahlgren, A (1989) Science for all Americans. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [available online]http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/chap13.htm (accessed October 16th, 2011) Rutherford, F. & Ahlgren, A. (Science for All Americans ONLINE, American Association for the Advancement of Science.]
  21. Silver, H.F. et al (2007) “The strategic teacher: selecting the right research-based strategy for every lesson” Chapter 2, Chapter 7. Thoughtful Education Press, ASCD.
  22. Smith, D. (2011) “Brilliant Trainee Teacher – What you need to know to be a truly outstanding teacher”, Chapter 13, Behaviour Management, pp176- Prentice Hall, Pearson.
  23. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). “Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes.” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press in Ginnis, P & Ginnis S. (2010) “A Process for Re-thinking a Series of Lessons or Scheme of Work – prompted by the proposed new British Primary Curriculum”, Nishimachi International School, Tokyo, Japan
  24. http://www.nagoyais.jp/nis/academics/welcome/academics/welcome/articulating-dreams (accessed October 11th, 2011)
  25. http://www.ibo.org/programmes/profile/documents/Learnerprofileguide.pdf (accessed October 11th, 2011)
EDE 208 11/12 Theory of Teaching ASSIGNMENT ONE

Appendix 1 - Scheme of Work for Assessment Question 3

“Scheme of Work” as used for the Pre-IB Integrated Sciences, Year 9 course, for Nagoya International School. The following document is a combination of study guides, notes, learning outcomes, and homework sheets for students to use as they go through the first quarter of the course. Special reference is given to the later sections 5.5 & 5.6 which were used to complete assignment question 3

The topic of ENERGY

Learning Outcomes
Included in the document below and were broken down into individual lessons. Differentiated in 2 levels (General and Credit)

Methods of Delivery (student and teacher activity)
Varied – teacher explanations, teacher led discussions, prescriptive mathematical calculations, demonstrations and Q&A sessions.
Student activities - laboratory practicals, discussion groups, note-taking, problem
Assessment strategies
Formative
traffic light plenaries, individual student whiteboards, class set work exercises exit strategies (group work problem-solving, monitored discussions)

Summative
Topic Tests – On the Move, Forces at Work, Movement means Energy.
All topic tests include assessments AS/OF/FOR Learning.

Resources
“Boardworks” – Standard Grade Physics Power-point files, IGCS Physics textbook, library resources, mac-book computers, computers, ticker tape tickers and timers, photoelectric time-gates, stopwatches, “hot wheels” race track, inclined benches, metres sticks, Fishing weights and line, trolleys, card, stopwatches, graph paper, various You Tube videos for all content and various web-links, not here listed.

Other Remarks
These section were well done by most students and all students made good progression through the topics. “Energy” section was the most successful and contained no experiments.


NOTE TO TUTOR - FORMAT ISSUES OCCURED WHEN TRANSFERRING FROM MICROSOFT WORD
courtesy Strathaven Academy
http://www.fife-education.org.uk/scienceweb/Physics_goodPrac/Physics_PupilPacks_SG.htm

To The Pupil

Each day you have physics at school, you should set aside time for work at home. By this stage you should be accepting more responsibility for your own learning and should undertake the following tasks on a regular basis:

  • Tackle the supplied homework sheets as each section of work is completed in class.

  • Check your own progress in the homework sheets by referring to the homework answer files available in class. Discuss any difficulties that arise with your class teacher.

  • Complete any formal homework tasks that your teacher may issue from time to time and hand them in on the due date for marking.

  • Revise the work you have covered in class activities by referring to your classwork jotters.

  • Complete the supplied summary notes as the coursework allows you to, then use the summary notes to help you in your revision of the course content.

  • Make your own short notes to cover each learning outcome in the supplied study guides.


To The Parent

Your co-operation would be appreciated in ensuring that pupils are encouraged to complete homework. It would be helpful if you could talk over the work given for homework and sign the homework record sheet on this page after they have completed each exercise.

The physics department hopes that this record of your child's achievement will be of interest to you, and we would welcome any comments on this or other areas related to the work of the department.


Please sign here to confirm that you have seen the homework record sheet:

Homework Record Sheet

Homework
Section of Work
Mark
Check
Parental signature
5.1
On the Move 1



5.2
On the Move 2



5.3
Forces at Work 1



5.4
Forces at Work 2



5.5
Movement Means Energy 1



5.6
Movement Means Energy 2




Some questions in the pack are marked with symbols to give you specific information. Here is the key:

Credit Level question. This relates directly to the Credit Level learning outcomes.

Problem Solving question. This puts the knowledge you have gained into new contexts.

Section 1 - On the Move

People today travel further and faster than they ever did before. The economic growth of our country depends on efficient and safe forms of transport.
In this section you will measure both steady and changing speeds and find out how to display speed and time on a graph.

At General level, by the end of this section you should be able to:

1. Describe an experimental method for measuring an average speed.
2. Carry out calculations using the relationship between time, distance and average speed.
3. Describe an experimental method for measuring an instantaneous speed.
4. Explain what is meant by speed.
5. Explain what is meant by acceleration.
6. Use the change in speed per unit time to calculate acceleration.
7. Draw speed-time graphs for (a) steady speed
(b) speeding up
(c) slowing down.
8. Describe the motion represented by a speed-time graph.
9. Use information from a speed-time graph to calculate acceleration when there is a single constant acceleration involved.

Additionally, at Credit level you should also be able to:

10. Give examples where average speed is different from instantaneous speed.
11. Explain why the method of timing can affect the values obtained experimentally for instantaneous speeds.
12. Use information from a speed-time graph to calculate distance travelled.
13. In addition to 9 above, use information from a speed-time graph to calculate acceleration when there is more than one constant acceleration involved.
14. Carry out calculations using the relationship between initial speed (u), final speed (v), time (t) and uniform acceleration (a).



Section 2 - Forces at Work

The laws that govern movement have fascinated humans for centuries. People like Aristotle, Galileo and Newton have become famous for their work on motion, friction and gravity. Even today, our knowledge of motion and factors that affect it are being continually investigated, as we strive to go more quickly, more safely and more economically on this planet and also into space.
In this section, you will learn how to measure force, and to study the pull of gravity on objects. You will investigate friction and how it affects movement. You will then learn about Newton’s First Law and how it applies to seat belts.

At General level, by the end of this section you should be able to:

1. Describe the effects of forces.
2. Describe the use of a Newton Balance to measure a force.
3. State that weight is a force, and that it is the Earth's pull on an object.
4. State the value of g used to calculate weight on Earth.
5. State that the force of friction acts in the opposite direction to the direction of travel.
6. Describe and explain situations where we try to increase the force of friction.
7. Describe and explain situations where we try to decrease the force of friction.
8. Explain the term 'balanced forces', and state what balanced forces are equivalent to.
9. State what happens to the speed of a vehicle if balanced forces or no forces act on it.
10. Explain why seat belts are required in cars by talking about the forces involved.
11. Describe what happens to the acceleration of a vehicle when the force on it is changed.
12. Describe what happens to the acceleration of a vehicle when its mass is changed.
13. Carry out calculations involving the relationship between force (F), mass (m) and acceleration (a).

Additionally, at Credit level you should also be able to:

14. Distinguish between mass and weight.
15. State that the weight per unit mass is called the gravitational field strength.
16. Carry out calculations involving the relationship between weight (W), mass (m) and gravitational field strength (g).
17. State Newton's First Law.
18. Explain the movement of objects by using Newton's first law
19. Carry out calculations involving the relationship between force (F), mass (m) and acceleration (a) in situations where more than one force is involved.



Section 3 - Movement Means Energy

Transport cannot move without a supply of energy. Energy is used in many different ways in all kinds of transport. During a journey energy will be transformed in a number of ways, and, if the vehicle is involved in a crash, energy has to be absorbed in a way which will not harm the passengers.
In this section, you will look at energy transformations in a car, look at how to measure work done, power and energy, and consider what happens to energy in a car crash.

At General level, by the end of this section you should be able to:

1. Describe the main energy changes when a vehicle (a) accelerates
(b) moves at a constant speed
(c) brakes
(d) goes up a slope
(e) goes down a slope.
2. State that work done is a measure of energy transferred.
3. Carry out calculations involving the relationship between work done (W), force (F) and distance (d).
4. Carry out calculations involving the relationship between power (P), work done (W) and time (t).
5. State that the gain in gravitational potential energy is the work done against gravity.
6. Carry out calculations involving the relationship between potential energy (Ep), mass (m), gravitational field strength (g) and height (h).
7. State how an increase in mass affects a moving object's kinetic energy.
8. State how an increase in speed affects a moving object's kinetic energy.

Additionally, at Credit level you should also be able to:

9. Carry out calculations involving the relationship between kinetic energy (Ek), mass (m) and speed (v).
10. Carry out calculations involving kinetic energy (Ek), potential energy (Ep), work done (W), power (P) and using the principle of conservation of energy.

Homework 5.1 – On the Move I


1. A top class sprinter covers the 100m in a time of 10 seconds. Calculate the sprinter's average speed. (1)


2. How long will it take a Formula 1 car to travel one lap around a 5 km long circuit if it is travelling at an average speed of 180 km/h? (1)


3. A physics pupil tries to calculate his friend’s instantaneous speed when running by timing how long it takes her to cross a line. He uses a stopclock to measure the time.

(a) Explain why this method will give poor results for the instantaneous speed. (1)
(b) Suggest the equipment needed to make the experiment more accurate. (1)


4. Calculate a car’s acceleration if its speed increases by 12 m/s in a time of 3 s. (1)


5. A physics pupil running away from a wasp accelerates from rest to 5 m/s in a time of 1.25 s. Calculate the pupil’s acceleration. (2)


6. Read this passage on Thinking and Braking and then answer the questions that follow it.

You are travelling at 30 mph in a car in good road conditions when you suddenly see children crossing the road. By the time you react and apply the brakes, the car has travelled a total distance of 23 m. If the car had been travelling at 60 mph the stopping distance would have been 73 m.

The stopping distance consists of two parts: the thinking distance and the braking distance. The thinking distance is the distance travelled in the time between seeing a hazard on the road and pressing the brake pedal. This time is called the reaction time.

thinking distance = speed x reaction time

Reaction times vary from person to person. An average driver has a reaction time of about 0.8 seconds. A professional racing driver has a reaction time of about 0.2 seconds. Your reaction time is likely to be much longer if you have taken drugs or alcohol. Even a small amount of alcohol can greatly increase your reaction time.

(a) What is meant by the term ' thinking distance'? (1)
(b) What will happen to the thinking distance if the car is going faster? (1)
(c) If a car is going faster will the reaction time alter? Explain your answer. (1)


Total 10 marks



Homework 5.2 - On the Move II


1. A car's speed is recorded over a period and the results are show in the table below:

Time (s)
Speed (m/s)
0
0
2
6
4
12
6
18
8
24
10
30

(a) Plot a graph of the car's motion over this 10-second period. (2)
(b) From the graph, find the car's speed 5 seconds into its journey. (1)
(c) Describe the car’s motion over the 10 seconds. (1)


2. Look at the graph. This shows the speed of a car over a short journey. Use the graph to answer these questions.

(a) Describe the car’s motion between: (1½)

A and B;
B and C;
C and D.

(b) Estimate the car’s speed after 10 seconds. (½)





3. A hot air balloon is released and it accelerates upwards. During the ascent, some sandbags are released and the acceleration increases. The graph shows its vertical motion during the first 50 seconds of its flight.













(a) Calculate the acceleration after the sandbags are released. (2)
(b) How high had the balloon risen after the 50 seconds had passed? (2)


Total 10 marks



Homework 5.3 – Forces at Work I


1. (a) A force is defined by the three main effects it may have on an object. Name any two of these. (1)
(b) A tennis player applies a force on the ball with his racquet. Give one effect on the ball that proves a force has been applied. (1)


2. What value of gravitational field strength is used to calculate weight on Earth?
Remember the unit! (1)


3. The table below gives the gravitational field strength for the other planets in our solar system. Using information in this table, answer the questions.

Planet
G (N/kg)
Mercury
3.7
Venus
8.8
Mars
3.8
Jupiter
26.4
Saturn
11.5
Uranus
11.7
Neptune
11.8
Pluto
4.2

(a) Find the weight of a 60 kg man on Mercury. (1)
(b) Find the weight of a 40 kg girl on Saturn. (1)
(c) Find the mass of a woman who weighs 1188 N on Jupiter. (1)
(d) Find the mass of a cat that weighs 6.3 N on Pluto. (1)


4. (a) How does the direction of the force of friction relate to the direction of a vehicle’s motion? (½)
(b) What type of energy is produced whenever a moving object meets friction? (½)
(c) State an example of where friction is helpful and we try to increase it. (1)
(d) Give an example where we try to reduce friction as much as possible. (1)


Total 10 marks



Homework 5.4 - Forces at Work II


1. (a) A boy of mass 45 kg slides down a chute at a leisure centre.
His acceleration is initially 2 m/s2. Find the force acting on him. (2)
(b) A car's engine applies a force of 3000 N, and this accelerates it at 4 m/s2.
Calculate the mass of the car. (1)


2. Explain, using the theory of forces, how a seat belt can prevent injury in a car crash. (1)


3. (a) Explain the term balanced forces. (½)
(b) What are balanced forces equivalent to? (½)
(c) State Newton’s First Law. (1)


4. The diagram below illustrates the forces acting on a motorbike.
The combined mass of the bike and rider is 125 kg.





(a) Calculate the resultant force acting on the bike. (1)
(b) Calculate the acceleration of the bike. (2)


5. Look at the pairs of forces acting on the objects below. In each case, state the resultant force and the direction in which it is acting. (1)

(a) (b)





Total 10 marks



Homework 5.5 – Movement Means Energy I


1. In each of the cases below, state the main energy change involved for the vehicle.

(a) A rollercoaster carriage rolling up a slope to a high point. (1)
(b) A skier skiing down a slope. (1)
(c) A bus driving along a level road at a constant speed. (1)


2. (a) What is work done? Your answer should not be an equation! (1)
(b) Calculate the work done by a horse when it uses a force of 800 N to pull a sled
a distance of 150 m. (2)








3. Copy and complete the table below. You must show full calculations for each problem. (4)

Power(W)
Work Done(J)
Time(s)

400
4

1000
0.5
30

10
100

60


Total 10 marks



Homework 5.6 - Movement Means Energy II


1. A roller coaster carriage has a mass of 300 kg when it is carrying a full load.








(a) Calculate the potential energy of the carriage when it is at the top of a drop, 30 m above the ground. (2)
(b) At the bottom of the drop it is at a height of 2 m above the ground. Calculate its potential energy now. (1)
(c) Calculate how much kinetic energy the carriage will have at this point. (1)


2. Name two quantities that affect a vehicle’s kinetic energy. (1)

3. A winch pulls a crate up to a height of 4 m in a time of 20 s. If the crate has a mass of 100 kg, find the power of the motor. (3)
















4. Find the kinetic energy of a car of mass 800 kg travelling at 30 m/s. (2)


Total 10 marks



Appendix 2

The following is a post from the discussion forums explaining the AS/OF/FOR Learning assessment process I employ.

Brian Gallagher, bg17ge@student.sunderland.ac.uk October 18th, 2011

“In my HS Science and Maths classes I can assess students understanding in 3 ways around testing time to really see where they are and use a very few strategies to really truly understand what students know, feel and can articulate and calculate.

I usually pre-test students with a quiz at the end of my final lesson in a section using small whiteboards and markers to check they can write out answers instead of traffic lights to see what they perceive to understand. This lets me see what students can and cannot do accurately and quickly as we shoot through anywhere between 6 to 10 questions that may or may not require some reasoning or calculation (show your working).

If they are ready for the test we can go ahead with it in the next lesson, leaving enough time in the test session and space on the front-page of the topic test to allow students to make comments after the testing time is over. 10 minutes of reflecting on their good and bad points, struggles and triumphs as well as a section for them to comment on the actual test and if there were any irregularities or peculiarities with the test itself or the content.

Once the tests are brought in, the students can get the test papers back after the marking has been done and the teacher adds comments in the section below the students feedback again on the front-page.

Discussion in the post-test session allows confirmation of how students were thinking, working, planing and calculating as they were performing the test. This seems like a lot of work but students and teacher get to really discuss their work and if possible students can add further comments to the comments to record a dialogue of comments that can be later shared with the students themselves before they begin revision for semester exams/finals etc. or for parent night when they want to see what has been going on with their child and why their score is the way it is.

It allows us to review what was happening in stages of the year and can be used to show a progression in learning even if scores themselves do not change the student can show a progression or maturity in their learning and showing of their working and reflections.

It also lets me keep track of what students are "saying" about the tests and the content of the course as well as their other ideas that I perhaps could not have even considered was going on with their lives with the dynamic learning environment that changes as teachers from other subjects demand efforts for different things.

This is very key for me as it lets me have more detailed info and lets me analyze students, their work, their thoughts, their issues and is a release of tension for all involved.

It can also be used as a simple tool to converse with students asynchronously and does not require any electronic communication. It serves as a very acceptable way of note-passing between teacher and students as everyone is involved because it is required of them and allows them a private route that would normally be very visual if they were to openly converse with the teacher.”

Gallagher, A. B. (2011) 'Pre-Test, Test and post-Test' Discusion Topic Week 5, Of the strategies you have observed, which do you consider to be the most useful in terms of pupil learning?”: [Online] Available at: http://sunspace.sunderland.ac.uk/webct/urw/lc1806308626001.tp1806308647001/newMessageThread.dowebct?discussionaction=viewMessage&messageid=1893879017001&topicid=1806308738001&refreshPage=false&sourcePage= (accessed October 18th 2011)


1IBDP – International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme The IB has seen tremendous planned growth in the past five years, delivering successful performance through a strong focus on quality, access and infrastructure. http://www.ibo.org/mission/index.cfm (accessed October 11th, 2011)
2Rubicon Atlas mapping [available online] http://www.rubicon.com/AtlasCurriculumMapping.php?page=Benefits (accessed October 22nd 2011)
3PSAT/NMSQT – Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test
4SAT – Scholastic Assessment Test
5ACT – American College Testing Program Assessment (optional)
6ISA – International Schools' Assessment (grades3-10) – Reading and Mathematical Literacy
7MYP – Middle Years Programme -
8Assessment key principles. Available at: http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/assessment/Assessment-key-principles/index.aspx (accessed October 15th, 2011)
9Non alignment at this time does not mean that we have no standards, rather, it means that we have a mixture of standards that is being refined. They currently include standards and benchmarks from California and New Zealand.
10GPA - Grade Point Average

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