My Approach

Is your son or daughter under-achieving in their Physics class, as compared to their other classes and to their prior achievement levels? 

A regular routine of individual tutoring sessions with me can help bring their grade up to a level you are both comfortable with.  Most of my students see their grades rise one, or even two, letter grades after only a month or two of weekly sessions (see my testimonials page for actual comments from parents).

I will accomplish this by:

• Dispelling misconceptions about the Fundamental Concepts underlying basic physical phenomena  encountered in high school Physics class,

  • Simplifying and Clarifying those  Fundamental Concepts

  • Teaching your child to Identify Which Fundamental Concept underlies each Physics problem,

  • Teaching your child to Apply the Correct Problem Solving Strategies for the underlying fundamental concept identified

This will result in:

• • Increased speed and accuracy in problem solving, and lead directly to higher assessment scores in class.

  • Increased Confidence and Reduced frustration with homework and assessments

  • Improved understanding of Physics - the fundamental concepts and problem solving strategies

The Bottom Line is: your child will be learning Physics at a deeper level, which will result in higher achievement.

WHY does this approach work?   

(Regardless of class level)     

Let's start with: What might explain your child's under-achievement in Physics?

• Individual attention is often not available in the classroom because of the time constraints of a high school schedule.

• A personality mis-match between student and teacher.

• Teaching techniques employed by specific teachers that don't work for your child.

• Insufficient practice materials aligned with the assessments given. 

The answer could be any of the above reasons, and I have the resources and experience to address all of them, HOWEVER.....

In my experience as a teacher, I have found that:

The number one reason for students not achieving to their potential in Physics class is that their brains have developed a set of 

• incorrect ideas about the way the world works through life experience

• i.e. Fundamental Concepts underlying basic physical phenomena

These incorrect ideas form a foundation that prevent a student's brain from grasping and understanding the correct ideas about the way the world works.  This is supported by scientific research on the way the human brain learns.

Scientists call these  incorrect ideas a pre-existing "schema", which is like an intellectual map the brain has formed to explain things that it encounters regularly.

In Physics, this map tells a student's brain how things work in the world - how natural physical phenomena rule the way objects behave in our universe. 

Of course this type of incorrect schema can be developed in any subject area - once something is "learned" the wrong way, it is very hard to "un-learn" it and actually learn it the right way.

BUT, most subjects in school are NOT learned the wrong way first in real world experience (history, math, etc.), so student's don't usually have to un-learn and then re-learn things.

However, the problem ALWAYS arises in Physics class because, to survive in the world, all human being must "learn" how the world works long before entering Physics class.

So we are all Physics "students" from a very early age. We see objects behaving in certain ways, and our brain begins to "map" their behavior into a schema containing a system of behaviors, relationships, actions and reactions, etc.

This is a BIG problem because many natural physical phenomena are perceived incorrectly by the brain. Some reasons for this:

• the brain simplifies what it perceives for the sake of expediency,

• an incorrect assignment of the cause and effect of certain phenomena

• the brain actually misinterpreting our observations because it doesn't make sense within the brain's existing schema, or map, of what is possible in the natural world.

Scientific Research on human learning has shown that incorrect pre-existing ideas or concepts about a subject are one of the most difficult obstacles to a student's brain accepting, understanding, and acting upon the correct concepts - regardless of how well they are taught in the classroom.

There is a famous video of two high achieving high school students who have just completed a several week long classroom unit on light and perception. They are placed in a room with an apple on the table. The room has a single lamp, but no windows, and the door has no crack that would allow light into the room. It is pointed out to them that once the light is shut off, there will be absolutely no light in the room.  They are asked if, when the light is turned out, will they be able to see the apple. They both respond that they will not be able to see the apple at first, but after a few minutes their eyes will adapt, and then they will be able to see the apple.  

The  light is then turned off and, sure enough, the students can not see the apple. After a few minutes they are asked if they can now see the apple. They both respond that, no, they can not, BUT, in a few more minutes their eyes will adapt, and then they will be able to see the apple. This is repeated several more times after 5-7 minute intervals.  

After 45 minutes, they still can not see the apple. However, they continue to insist that in a few more minutes their eyes will adapt, and then they will be able to see the apple.

In spite of direct evidence that they can not see when light is not present, as well as an entire unit on light in their science class, their brains stuck to their pre-existing schema: You see, these kids had never been in total darkness before. Every time they had been in the dark before, there was actually some light present (from the moon or stars, from a crack under a door, from nearby houses or street lamps, or some other indirect source). So eventually, their eyes adapted well enough to at least see shapes, if not detail or color.  Their brains had developed a map of the world, a Schema, that told them, if you wait long enough in the dark, you will be able to see. This misconception, or incorrect schema,  overruled  DIRECT  EVIDENCE from their eyes, their common sense, and their intellect.

Before a student can learn how the brain actually sees light, the incorrect schema they bring to the classroom needs to be un-learned. 

The brain loves to learn, but it really doesn't like to un-learn things. 

Physics teachers study, practice, and perfect strategies and skills to help students un-learn the most disruptive misconceptions commonly held.

The Result of Student's incorrect Schemas

Unless a teacher can dispel the mistaken ideas and concepts that a student holds, students will use their incorrect schema to attempt to solve new problems - with disastrous consequences.

And that corresponds directly to test scores that are lower than a student expected, because they thought they "knew" the material.

• If a student practices a specific type of Physics problem over and over, they can learn to solve it the "right" way, by rote, even though they may not understand the fundamental concepts underlying the construction of the solution.

• When a student is asked a question on an assessment that has a even a slightly different form, many students will get the wrong answer and then complain that they weren't taught that kind of problem.

• IF a student has learned the correct underlying concepts, a new form of a Physics problem can usually be solved correctly starting with the basics - the fundamental concepts underlying the problem.

• BUT, if a student has not shed their pre-existing schema about the Physics concepts in question, they will start solving the new problem from the wrong basic "understanding" of the physical phenomenon involved.

• That will result in a wrong answer, and a frustrated and baffled student. 

• Sound familiar?

How do I help your Child overcome these problems?

As a teacher with over twenty years experience,  I can quickly 

• assess your child's existing schema, 

• employ strategies, skills, and hands on demonstration materials that will 

  • dispel incorrect schemas, and 

  • help your child establish correct schemas about a wide variety of Physics concepts.

This will enable your child to begin to solve problems from a fundamental understanding of Physics, as opposed to rote memorization of problem type.

They will begin to correctly solve problems which have not been encountered before.

This will result in your child

• Increasing their confidence, speed, and accuracy in problem solving, leading directly to higher assessment scores.

• Reducing the frustration they feel when working on homework and assessments.

• Improving their understanding of Physics - the fundamental concepts and problem solving strategies

  • By practicing the evaluation of fundamental concepts prior to every problem, they are actually improving their understanding and facility with those fundamental concepts - rather than relying on rote memorization of problem types

The Bottom Line is: they will be learning Physics at a deeper level, which will result in higher achievement.

Give me a call today, or send me an email, and I would be happy to discuss an initial, exploratory meeting with you and your child.