{"id":748,"date":"2016-06-21T09:37:58","date_gmt":"2016-06-21T13:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/?p=748"},"modified":"2016-06-21T09:54:41","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T13:54:41","slug":"ap-physics-1-essentials-the-mystery-third-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/aplusphysics\/ap-physics-1-essentials-the-mystery-third-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"AP Physics 1 Essentials — The Mystery Third Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few years ago I put together a review\/guide book<\/a> for the AP Physics 1 course the College Board recently released. \u00a0\"APThe project was started around 2009, but took several years to complete as the scope and direction of the College Board\u2019s AP Physics 1 course continued to evolve, as more and more information about the course was released, modified, re-released, etc. \u00a0It has done fairly well, and after the release of the first exam, a second edition was released, which included minor edits, modifications, and rephrasings in the main text, but also incorporated a significant number of more challenging questions in the appendix, though many of them remain numerically focused.<\/p>\n

The Goal<\/h2>\n

The goal of this book was never to be a \u201csole source to success in AP Physics 1<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0The AP Physics 1 course is a VERY challenging introductory physics course, which requires a strong foundation in fundamental physics principles, logical problem solving, and transfer of basic concepts to new and unique situations. \u00a0In my humble opinion, building skills of this sort requires more than a review book. \u00a0It requires more than videos. \u00a0It requires extensive hands-on work with applications utilizing the concepts, individual and group problem solving, debate, discussion, and research. \u00a0It\u2019s a very high level of expectation for what has been largely touted as an introductory physics course. \u00a0For many, AP Physics 1 will be the only physics course they take. \u00a0I am concerned that the course offers only a subset of what I would like to see in a general survey course of physics. \u00a0Though it covers basic circuits, it is light on electrostatics. \u00a0Though it covers mechanical waves, it doesn\u2019t touch electromagnetic waves, optics, or modern physics. \u00a0If these were the only topics my students were introduced to in their only physics course, I feel I would be doing them a disservice, and not providing them an opportunity to see more of the breadth and beauty of the field I so love and enjoy.<\/p>\n

The AP1 Essentials book, as written, was designed as the book I\u2019d want to use with my students. \u00a0The book which I\u2019d ask them to read outside of class (coupled with video mini-lessons) so that when they arrived in class, they\u2019d have some level of exposure to the basic material allowing us to use our class time more efficiently for those deeper explorations into the topics under study.<\/p>\n

Public Response<\/h2>\n

Public response to the book has been strongly bimodal. \u00a0Overall reviews are very positive (4.5\/5 stars on Amazon.com), with the primary criticisms and 1-star reviews<\/a> focusing on the book utilizing too much numerical problem solving, and focusing on basic problems that are \u201ctoo easy\u201d compared to the actual AP 1 test questions. \u00a0These are VERY valid criticisms, and I agree with them. \u00a0However, in the context in which the book is intended to be used, these criticisms are inconsistent with the book\u2019s purpose.<\/p>\n

AP Physics 1 Concerns<\/h2>\n

A grader of this year\u2019s AP Physics 1 exam recently stated that he was surprised to learn that \u201cnot including the date, birth date and school code, a student could have made a perfect score on the whole exam without writing down a single number.\u201d \u00a0\"calculator\"I find this extremely troubling. \u00a0I am in favor of questions that test understanding, but I also believe that many physics students who go on to successful careers in STEM fields learn by first mastering the calculations, mathematics, and numeracy of problems, and over time build deeper conceptual understandings as they recognize patterns in their answers. \u00a0There is a place for these conceptual and symbolic problem solving exercises in AP Physics 1 and on the AP Physics 1 exam, but there is also a significant place for what I\u2019ll call physics numeracy for lack of a better term \u2014 traditional problem solving that involves recognizing appropriate relationships, manipulation equations, finding a numerical answer, and verifying that numerical answer makes some sort of physical sense.<\/p>\n

Further, I strongly believe that the College Board\u2019s vision for the AP program should focus on providing opportunities for high school students to earn college credit consistent with the courses offered by most colleges. \u00a0More simply, the AP courses should strive to mimic what colleges are offering and testing in their corresponding courses. \u00a0In the case of AP Physics 1, the College Board is attempting to lead the way in physics education reform. \u00a0Regardless of personal opinions on the direction of the AP Physics 1 curriculum and exam, which may very well be valid, a change of this sort shouldn\u2019t be led by the AP program, but rather mirrored by the AP program as it becomes the norm at colleges and universities.<\/p>\n

The Third Edition<\/h2>\n

Back in December, I started work on a third edition of the AP Physics 1 Essentials book, with the goal of\u00a0migrating the book closer to style of the AP Physics 1 exam. \u00a0It\u2019s now late June, and the third edition is well over half done. \u00a0I have no doubt if I continued on this course, I could have the third edition completed in time for the book to hit the shelves in late August.<\/p>\n

The third edition, as currently being drafted, however, won\u2019t see the light of day. \u00a0\"garbage\"Since I started this revision effort, I haven\u2019t felt good about the work I\u2019ve been doing. \u00a0Though I do believe I am making a book that is more closely aligned to the AP Physics 1 exam, I\u2019m moving further and further away from the book I\u2019d want to use with my AP Physics 1 students. \u00a0Regardless of what the College Board is asking for on the AP Physics 1 exam, I want my students to be best prepared for their future endeavors, which may include AP Physics 2, AP Physics C, and their ongoing academic courses in the sciences. \u00a0That will, most assuredly, require strong physics numeracy skills. And it will require students to learn how to learn independently.<\/p>\n

Resolution<\/h2>\n

There is a place for physics modeling, for building understanding and for MANY of the ideals inherent in the AP Physics 1 curriculum. \u00a0But there\u2019s also a place for the traditional course and problem solving skills. \u00a0This debate doesn\u2019t have to be an either\/or proposition. \u00a0There\u2019s definitely room for a happy medium including aspects of both viewpoints. \u00a0Personally, however, I can\u2019t continue work on a third edition of the AP Physics 1 book when in my heart I strongly feel I\u2019m doing my students a disservice in their overall physics education and creating a lower-quality product, even if it means more one-star reviews and critiques that the book doesn\u2019t match the AP 1 exam. \u00a0Maybe someday I\u2019ll change my mind, but Friday afternoon I took all the changes to the third edition, zipped them up, copied them somewhere safe, and removed them from my computer.<\/p>\n

I strongly believe there will be a 3rd edition of the AP Physics 1 book. \u00a0I see TONS of opportunities for improvement. \u00a0But the work I\u2019ve been doing for the past six months to make the book more consistent with the AP 1 exam isn\u2019t really an improvement, it\u2019s an attempt to improve student scores\u00a0on a test I believe has\u00a0significant flaws, at the expense of other important skills. \u00a0If I\u2019m honest with myself and focus on doing what is truly best for my kids, I want to see them continue to use the book as an introduction to the essential concepts of AP Physics 1, including significant algebraic manipulation and problem solving, and leaving more time in the classroom for application and hands-on activities. \u00a0I still feel the book is a great tool for students preparing for the AP 1 exam, and I\u2019m going to keep significant numeric problem solving with basic concept application, and leave the deeper-dive and conceptual understanding questions for class time when the instructor is available to direct, guide, and differentiate as needed.<\/p>\n

Addendum<\/h3>\n

This is not meant as an attack on the AP Physics 1 Curriculum, the design committee, the test writers, or any others. \u00a0I am honored to work in a profession where so many are so passionate about\u00a0trying to do what\u2019s best for their students and the field itself. \u00a0Sometimes we disagree on the path forward, and that\u2019s OK. \u00a0And I could be wrong. \u00a0I often am. \u00a0I admire the effort and the vision so many have put into this work, and the feedback and support I\u2019ve received and continue to receive for this book, both in praise and in criticism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few years ago I put together a review\/guide book for the AP Physics 1 course the College Board recently released. \u00a0The project was started around 2009, but took several years to complete as the scope and direction of the Continue reading AP Physics 1 Essentials — The Mystery Third Edition<\/span>→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,113,14,216],"tags":[333,330,199],"class_list":["post-748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aplusphysics","category-college-board","category-physics-news","category-teaching","tag-ap-physics-1","tag-ap-physics-1-essentials","tag-book"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=748"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":756,"href":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748\/revisions\/756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aplusphysics.com\/flux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}