State of Physics Teaching in the

World and in the Philippines

SHAIRA MARIE S. VALDEZ
MAEd Physics
vldzshaira@gmail.com
State of Physics Teaching in the World and in the
Philippines
Teaching Physics involves It involves helping
more than writing formulas students to see the world
on a chalkboard/digital in a new way. 
white board.
It involves crafting a learning
It involves building student
environment where students
confidence in their ability to
are able to explore and
solve challenging
understand how the physical
problems, and empowering
world works, and to connect
them to build a better future
complex scientific concepts to
for themselves and others.
their daily lives.
The Present Conditions of Secondary School Physics
Education in the World

USA
 USA
Government and industry leaders know that Physics is the
gateway to careers in science, technology, engineering and
medicine that are critical to the future prosperity and
economic competitiveness of the country. 

President Barack Obama, joined by members

of Congress and other guests, signed the Every
Student Succeeds Act into law on 10 December
2015. (Photo by Amanda Lucidon.)
 Physics is taught in high schools, college and graduate
schools. In the US, it has traditionally not been introduced until
junior or senior year (i.e. 12th grade), and then only as an
elective or optional science course, which the majority of
American high school students have not taken. Recently in the
past years, many students have been taking it their
sophomore year.
The United States has a 
severe shortage of qualified high school Physics t
eachers
. This shortage is limiting the opportunities of youth,
and handicapping economy in an increasingly
technological age.
In 2012, the preparation of qualified Physics teachers has failed to keep
pace with a dramatic increase in the number of high school students
taking Physics. Consequently, more students than ever before are
taking Physics from teachers who are inadequately prepared.
The ranks of US high
school Physics teachers trained
have grown over the past several
decades, but fewer than half have
the minimum 24 credit hours
of Physics preparation
recommended by the Commission
on College Physics. 
National Science Education Standards

“Students cannot achieve high levels of performance

without access to skilled professional teachers, adequate
classroom time, a rich array of learning materials,
accommodating work spaces, and the resources of the
communities surrounding their schools." 
Physics Education Research (PER) Scholars
• They have done graduate-level research in Physics.
• They have chosen to apply scientific standards of evidence to
investigations of how people learn and teach Physics.
• They study students’ understanding of Physics ideas, students’
reasoning processes and problem-solving approaches, the
participation and achievement of students from underrepresented
groups, the preparation of Physics teachers, and methods and tools for
assessing Physics comprehension.
• They often work to design research-based Physics curricula, which
they then subject to thorough and repeated testing.
• They regularly publish their work in scholarly journals such as Physical
Review Physics Education Research and the American Journal
of Physics.
American Association of Physics Teacher
(AAPT)

MISSION
• AAPT's mission is to enhance the understanding and
appreciation of physics through teaching.

VISION
• AAPT aspires to be the leading voice and driving force in
physics education.
• https://www.aapt.org/aboutaapt/index.cfm
Video Presentation

• INTEGRATED APPROACHES FOR PHYSICS

EDUCATION

https://youtu.be/MjRZN5MGaNw
Video Presentation

• ALL CITY SCIENCE FAIR 2020

https://youtu.be/ftuU2NYX_ZM
The Present Conditions of Secondary School Physics
Education in the World

CHINA
CHINA
Motivated by the dream of using science and technology to
develop China, learning science and mathematics became a
national trend. A very popular slang is “Well done in Math,
Physics, and Chemistry. Well off everywhere under the
sky!” It is still a prime time belief today.
• Gradually, a Soviet-style format was adopted. All schools in
China taught the same curriculum with the same textbooks.
All middle schools, which begin at the seventh grade, offered
physics as a mandatory course.
• To become eligible for high school and college, students need
to pass the nationally administered exams.
• Physics is a core component (and one of the most valued) of
the national exam. Consequently, physics teachers often
enjoy highly motivated students in their classrooms.
• All students take the national college
entrance exam, and only the top 10 percent
are selected by reputable universities.
• Not surprisingly, with the focus on high exam
scores, Physics education at the high school
level involved highly specialized training in
solving increasingly difficult Physics
problems.
• As a result, students became very skilled
problem-solvers, but many also lost interest
in Physics. The role of Physics as an ideal
playground for training students to develop
scientific thinking and strategies was lost.
 Formative assessment and
student self-evaluation are
highly valued

The goal is to encourage

PHYSICS EDUCATION students to be active learners

Crucial and widely area of

study

Play a significant role as a

fundamental element in China’s
new education reform that
strives to build China into a
modern nation.
The Present Conditions of Secondary School Physics
Education in the World

RUSSIA
RUSSIA
• The Russian Physics curriculum consists of two phases.
During the first phase (i.e., grades seven and eight) students
have two class periods per week.
• The course starts with the molecular nature of matter and
density followed by kinematics of constant speed motion,
qualitative Newtonian dynamics, fluid static and dynamics,
and geometrical optics.
• Although the teacher ultimately determines the style of
teaching, many schools encourage interactive engagement.
 TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTION
• usually spend the first 15 to 20
minutes doing an oral assessment of
the lesson
• Several students are invited to the
board to present the material from a
prior lesson or the textbook
• teacher then asks students questions
related to the presentation
• the teacher explains the new
material, shows demonstrations, and
answers students’ questions
• Homework consists of reading the
text and solving a few problems.
REFORMED INSTRUCTION
• Student-teacher interaction, group
work, explorations, learning games,
student projects, and presentations.
• The new material is usually presented
in the form of whole class discussion
or small group investigations.
• Many teachers use the Socratic
method as a way to engage students.
• Consequently, students are often
graded on class participation.
Assessment consists of quizzes, oral
presentation grades, lab reports, and
test scores. Rarely are tests multiple
choice.
• The seventh grade physics course has about 15 prescribed
labs that students perform usually at the end of the unit.
• Each classroom is equipped with a standard set of
demonstration and lab equipment, and there are numerous
books with lesson plans and suggestions on how to use the
equipment productively.
• The eighth grade curriculum starts with basic
thermodynamics and ends by introducing vibrations and
waves.
• The material in both seventh and eighth grades involves
simple algebra, and all problems require only one or two
steps.
TODAY
• Not every student takes the “General Physics sequence”
described.
• Schools that offer specialized classes might reduce the
number of hours of Physics at the 9-10 grade level to 2 to 3
hours per week for those students in the humanities tracks
and increase the number of periods (up to six hours per
week) for students in the Math and Physics tracks.
• To enroll in a specialized track, students
pass an entrance exam, and they usually
have to work much harder than students
taking the regular curriculum. The
specialized track in Physics includes a
calculus-based curriculum starting at the
9th and 10th grade levels—similar to the
curriculum introduced at the
undergraduate level in the United States.
The Present Conditions of Secondary School Physics
Education in the World

SLOVAKIA
International Standard Classification of Education

ISCED 0 Pre-primary education

ISCED 1 Primary education - first stage of basic education

Natural science

ISCED 2 Lower secondary education – second stage of basic education

Physics, Biology, Chemistry = thematic field: Human and nature

ISCED 3A Upper secondary education (Gymnasium)

Physics, Biology, Chemistry = thematic field: Human and nature
 National Physics Curriculum
(upper secondary level)

Subject (Physics) characteristics

• searching and identification of relationships between the
observed properties of objects around us
• the conceptual understanding of phenomena
• developing positive attitude towards science
• the scientific knowledge is interpreted as a part of a human
culture
• active cognition and systematic inquiry
• In education, the dominant attention should be paid to students
independent work – so called activities, i.e. assignments that
lead to new knowledge construction.

• The stress is put on such forms like discussion, brainstorming,

construction of logical patterns, and concept maps and working
with information.

• Student, through Physics education, gains knowledge to

understand scientific ideas and procedures needed for
personal decisions and to participate in civil and cultural
matters.
Main objectives
(upper secondary level)

1.World around us
2.Communication
3.Science knowledge and ideas
4.Scientific inquiry
5.Data processing
6.Experimentation
     
The Present Conditions of Secondary School Physics
Education in the World

INDIA
INDIA
• In the recent years there has been a sharp decline in the
number of students opting for higher education in Physics.
• Physics is a fundamental subject required for any new
technological application. It generates fundamental
knowledge needed for the future technological advances that
will continue to drive the economic engines of the world.
• Due to various reasons, this prime subject is losing its
popularity. Poor middle school preparation leads to poor
performance at higher secondary or pre-university level.
While the number of students studying Chemistry and Biology
is on the rise, Physics is falling foul of student apathy in Indian
schools. An interaction with the students at school and Degree
College revealed that many students, who studied Physics at
Junior college or +2 levels, did not opt for Physics at University
level and lost interest in learning the subject due to various
reasons.
1. Weak understanding of basic physics concepts.
2. Non-availability of well qualified, dedicated teachers.
3. Finding difficult to establish a correlation between Physics
and their day-to-day activities.
4. Not being able to apply what they knew to new situations.
5. Believing that Physics is just a collection of mathematical
formulae and equations.
6. Minimum or no use of any audio-visual aid while teaching
complicated concepts.
7. Inadequate examination system which gives more importance
to scoring marks in theory papers than hands on experience
in the applications of the concepts.
8. Minimum or no use of any audio-visual aid while teaching complicated concepts.
9. Inadequate examination system which gives more importance to scoring marks in
theory papers than hands on experience in the applications of the concepts.
10. Poor infra-structure and ill-equipped laboratories.
11. Inability to see the concepts of Physics as the basis for the technological
advances.
12. No upgradation of syllabi with the fast technological development.
13. Lack of coordination between industrial requirements and academia.
14. Limited number of seats available for further education and research in Physics in
premiere research Institutes
15. High fee structure in well equipped private colleges.
16. Fewer job opportunities.
17. Peer pressure to join courses having ample job opportunities.
18. Lack of encouragement from parents and teachers.
How is Physics taught in India in both higher secondary school
and colleges?
It is really encouraging that Education Policy makers in India
have taken a serious note of students turning away from learning
basic sciences. Indian government, Department of Science and
Technology, premiere Institute and many more such
organizations in India are in the process of updating curriculum,
implementing new programs, designing new courses in Physics
and other science subjects, promoting more research and
development programs and trying to attract students towards
pure sciences and we can expect a large number of students
taking up Physics courses and research work.
The Present Conditions of Secondary School Physics
Education in the World

AUSTRALIA
Physics learning and teaching in Australian Universities
• At the time of the study, 34 institutions had an identifiable Physics department,
consisting of at least two full time permanent academics teaching Physics.
• Within these 34 Physics departments, there is great diversity, in terms of size,
resources and focus.
• Departments range in size from only a couple of academics that have a
service teaching and/or applied Physics focus (with few or no research
options) to large schools that teach a broad range of traditional Physics
subjects and have extensive research 2 programs.
• Most Physics departments, regardless of their makeup, are significantly
involved in multidisciplinary degrees and service teaching.
They have categorized the findings under three
headings: Departments, Physics Major and
Learning Physics.
Departments
Figure 3. How Australian Physics departments have responded
to the challenges affecting learning and teaching, and
the number of departments citing each
Physics Major
Figure 6. Subject area as a
percentage of the mainstream
Physics degree program,
averaged over all departments
 Learning Physics
• Almost a third of tertiary science students currently work more
than 10 hours per week, in addition to being full time students
(Vickers, Lamb and Hinkley 2003).
• Many academics express concern over students’ ability to meet
their course requirements at the same time as maintaining
employment, and working up to 20 hours a week does appear to
increase the chance of dropping out (Vickers, Lamb and Hinkley
2003).
New modes of teaching and learning introduced in
Australian Physics departments
• E-learning (e.g. WebCT, Blackboard)
• Undergraduate research projects
• Field trips
• Online testing and assessment
• Online tutorials
• Online/computer labs
The Present Conditions of Secondary School Physics
Education in the PHILIPPINES
The Condition of Secondary School Physics Education in the
Philippines: Recent Developments and Remaining
Challenges for Substantive Improvements

By Antriman V. Orleans

This study is aimed at assessing the state of Philippine secondary

school Physics education using data from a nationwide survey of
464 schools and 767 Physics teachers and at identifying challenges
for substantive improvements.
• The results of the Second International Science Study
(SISS) and Third International Mathematics and Science
Study (TIMSS) placed the Philippines in disadvantaged
positions among participating nations (Philippine
Department of Education, Culture, and Sports et al. 2000).

• In the SISS, the Philippines ranked almost at the bottom of

the list of seventeen (17) nations which took part in this
large-scale evaluation of educational achievement. Similar
outcomes were revealed in the 1995, 1999 and 2003
TIMSS.
In an attempt to capture the
condition of Philippine secondary
school Physics education, this
research did a national survey of
767 Physics teachers in 464
schools, from the 1,000 target
schools was conducted.

The sample schools comprised of public

(83%) and private (17%) schools
supervised by the Philippine Department
of Education (DepEd). Of these school
samples 44% are situated in urban areas
and 56% in rural districts.
School-Related Factors
• number of Physics classes in schools;
• class size;
• teacher access to professional help, libraries, and the
internet;
• availability of instructional materials; and
• educational technologies that aid the teaching of Physics.
• This learning environment in the Philippines is probably similar to that of most
developing nations. Unlike developed countries, students are provided with
adequate, if not very sufficient and varied, instructional devices for classroom
use to accommodate students with diverse learning styles.

• On books alone, the 2003 TIMSS report (IEA 2004) reveals that 31% of
students in Australia, 17% in Japan, and 24% in USA, have more than 200
books at home in contrast with only 3% in the Philippines.

• Eighty-three percent (83%) of students in Australia, 55% in Japan, and 79%

in USA also use computers at home and in school to reinforce classroom
instruction, as against 11% in the Philippines which is below the international
average of 39%.
• To illustrate, the 1998 UNICEF data indicate that Philippine
teachers receive only an annual income of $2,066, while
their counterparts in Japan, $28,770, and in the US,
$24,780. Partialing-out consideration of the standard of
living in these countries, the average teacher’s salary in the
Philippines can hardly compare with that of leadership in
developed nations.
Teacher-Related Factors
• Age
• Teaching Assignment
• Teacher Quality
• Academic Preparations
• Licensure Status
• Teaching Experience
• Involvement in Professional Development Activities
• The survey conducted by the Philippine Department of
Science and Technology (DOST) illustrates that the lowest
percentage of qualified secondary school science teachers
is in Physics (27%) followed by Chemistry (34%), General
Science (42%), and Biology (44%).

• Likewise, the 2003 TIMSS report revealed that only 7% of

students in the Philippines were taught by teachers who
were Physics majors, unlike Japan, 33% (IEA 2004).
• Teachers were given limited opportunities to collaborate
with seasoned Physics educators and experts and acquire
valuable insights for professional improvement. On the
contrary, these poor indices are partly compensated for by
the substantial Physics teaching experience of teachers
which probably lead to their considerable confidence in
teaching Physics.
• Global data, however, suggests that these teachers have
less teaching experience when compared to their
counterparts in other countries. For example, the average
teaching experience of physics teachers in Australia,
Japan, and USA is 15, 16, and 14 years, respectively. On
confidence, 51% of teachers in the Philippines reported
capability to teach physics, as compared with those in
Australia, 98 %, Japan 92%, and USA, 90% (IEA 2004).
Recommendations
• Challenges to advance teacher quality and upgrade classroom educational
infrastructure must be addressed to strengthen Physics teaching in the country.
• Training should focus more on content and less on methodologies, because
licensure examination results imply that teachers have mastery of education
principles and practices.
• Enjoin non-major teachers to avail themselves of undergraduate programs in
Physics.
• Digitizing of training materials can also improve the quality of physics teaching in
the country.
• State-of-the-art physics classrooms remain an elusive dream for Philippine
schools due to the limited financial resources of the country. Equipping these
schools with simple, but useful instructional devices is much more attainable,
however.
• Improved salaries will increase morale and directly address poor personal and
professional advancement.