Learning Physics: Intelligence, Effort, Motivation Name ______
1) You will improve the most in a sport if you spend your time
a) playing the game b) repeating specific physical skills
c) practising skills that you find challenging d) practising skills that you can’t do
How does this relate to you and physics?
C: Study by choosing tasks that are challenging but not impossible.
Playing (A) is the most fun (high motivation) but is not the most efficient way to improve.
Repeating skills (B) feels satisfying (good motivation) and helps maintain skills, but not to improve.
Practising skills that you find challenging (C) is more effort but also where you get better. The challenges should not be so hard (D) that you can’t do them. That will just discourage you.
Further reading:
You can increase your intelligence: 5 ways to maximize your cognitive potential. Andrea Kuszewski, 2011, You need to Seek Novelty, Challenge Yourself, Think Creativity, Do things the hard way, Network http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2011/03/07/you-can-increase-your-intelligence-5-ways-to-maximize-your-cognitive-potential/
2) A musician will improve the most by practising
a) half an hour, six times a week b) one hour, six times a week
c) four hours, twice a week d) eight hours once a week
How does this relate to you and physics?
B: Practising for more time is better, less time spread out can be more effective. B > C > D, but it is not clear where A would be.
Study 1/2 hour each day or one hour every other day.
There will be a quiz in the first ten minutes of each class.
Further reading:
The Making of an Expert, Ericsson 2007 Becoming an expert is a result of lots of deliberate practise – not natural skill. http://hbr.org/2007/07/the-making-of-an-expert/ar/1
3) You and your friends have decided to learn to speak Icelandic. The one that learns the fastest
a) practises speaking the most b) already speaks two languages
c) practises listening comprehension the most d) is most gifted at languages
How does this relate to you and physics?
B: Your success depends deeply on what skills and knowledge you already have. Learning a second language is much harder than learning a third. Once you are fluent in three languages, every additional language is almost trivial.
You will need to study harder if your grade-11 math or physics mark was below 75%. Don’t drop this course, even if it isn’t required and your mark is much lower than your other courses.
The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is used by most medical schools in North America. It measures applicants’ ability in problem solving and critical thinking and scientific knowledge.
Biomedical Engineering / 10.9 / 10.7 / 9.6 / 1005
Physics / 11.1 / 10.3 / 9.6 / 207
Electrical Engineering / 10.9 / 10.5 / 9.4 / 195
Economics / 10.4 / 10.5 / 9.7 / 566
Neuroscience / 9.9 / 10.6 / 9.5 / 1066
Mathematics / 10.3 / 10.1 / 9.6 / 374
English / 9.4 / 9.9 / 10.3 / 434
Biochemistry / 9.9 / 10.3 / 9.1 / 2594
Chemistry / 9.8 / 9.9 / 9.0 / 2091
Microbiology / 9.0 / 9.9 / 8.7 / 775
Psychology / 8.8 / 9.4 / 9.1 / 2421
Biology / 8.7 / 9.5 / 8.7 / 12705
Pre-Medical / 8.3 / 9.0 / 8.4 / 663
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is used by thousands of universities and institutions around the world for graduate programs like an MBA. It measures analytical writing, problem-solving abilities, data analysis, logic, and critical thinking.
Undergraduate Major / Mean Score / Number of ApplicantsPhysics / 614 / 820
Mathematics / 605 / 2533
Engineering / 595 / 29365
Economics / 586 / 21889
Computer Science / 580 / 8129
Chemistry / 573 / 1416
Biological Science / 569 / 4011
Political Science / 563 / 4872
Humanities / 547 / 12432
Business/Commerce / 530 / 137395
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is used in the United States, Canada, and several other countries. It measures skills such as reading comprehension, analytical thinking, and logical reasoning.
Physics / 161.5 / 180
Mathematics / 159.7 / 336
Economics / 157.4 / 3047
Electrical Engineering / 156.3 / 546
Mechanical Engineering / 156.0 / 427
Chemistry / 155.7 / 355
English / 154.7 / 5120
Biology / 154.5 / 1055
Computer Science / 154.0 / 682
Political Science / 153.0 / 14964
Psychology / 152.5 / 4355
Pre-Law / 148.3 / 1078
Criminal Justice / 145.5 / 3306
4) You and your friends decide that you want to make the badminton team in the spring, so in the fall you go to badminton club. While you are there you should spend this time playing with
a) each other b) beginners
c) better players d) the best players
How does this relate to studying physics?
C; This is just like question number 1. If you know the answer, don’t spend time on it. Recognize and work on what you have trouble with. Recognize what kinds of practising helps. Should you study the website material before or after the class? Should you do physics the day of the class or the day before? Should you work on your own or with others first?
5) The best predictor for how well someone will do in grade 12 physics is their mark in grade 11 physics. Therefore you should
a) do your best and accept that you can’t change who you are
b) look for university programs whose mark cut-offs are not too high
c) change how you study
d) change how much you study
C and D: Choices A and B are vague and defeatist. They reflect a fixed mindset and the results will confirm what they already believe. There are limits, but most students are nowhere near them.
Further reading:
You Can Grow Your Intelligence, The growth in neural connections is visible! http://www.isacs.org/misc_files/Brain%20Article.pdf
Implicit Theories of Intelligence, Blackwell and Dweck 2007. Math marks improved dramatically when seventh grade students learnt that intelligence can be grown. http://www.stanforduniversity.info/dept/psychology/cgi-bin/drupalm/system/files/Implicit%2520Theories%2520of%2520Intelligence%2520Predict%2520Achievement%2520Across%2520an%2520Adolescent%2520Transition.pdf
Learn what techniques help you learn and apply them.
6) Rank these activities in order of how well they will help you learn physics.
a) reading the textbook b) highlighting the textbook c) rereading the textbook
d) listening to a lecture on-line e) listening to a lecture in person
f) reading notes g) making notes h) copying notes
Of the first three, only reading the textbook is significantly useful. It is most useful just before or after a class on the topic. It is most effective if the reading is broken up with self-testing and making notes. Highlighting and re-reading just makes you think that you have studied.
Listening to a lecture on-line is better than live, because you can skip over the parts you know, pause it to make notes and have it repeat a part that you didn’t catch. It can be like reading the textbook. The Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/ has been very useful to students for math and some aspects of biology and chemistry.
Making notes is a way of consolidating what you have learnt. It requires you to pu your understanding in a new format. This adds neural connections. Re-reading and copying are useless.
Further Reading:
What Works, What Doesn’t, C. Johnson 2013 Self-testing and spreading out study sessions work. Underlining and rereading are ineffective. http://tguilfoyle.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/file/view/What_works,_What_doesn't.pdf
What are ways that you can test yourself?
Make flash cards to memorize terms. Try progressively harder textbook problems. Answer the questions in class and at home before hearing the answer.
Other active-learning strategies are to explain things to a friend and question their explanations to you. Translate knowledge form one form to another; written words, spoken words, diagrams, equations, graphs, models and everyday examples.
7) Rank these activities in order of how well they will help you learn physics.
a) jog for 30 minutes a day b) take up a new sport/hobby c) get a job
d) get regular sleep each night e) learn a new language e) play a new video game
Regular sleep is the most important. It is where your brain consolidates the connections and memory. A lack of sleep on a Friday night can reduce the learning as far back as Wednesday! A lack of sleep prevents new learning if you are sleepy in class.
Jogging or any physical activity is next most important. It helps you sleep better and it wakes you up. Walk briskly to school, skip rope etc.
Any new learning (job, video game, sport, hobby, language) improves your ability to learn. However, sometimes jobs and almost always video games take up too much time.
8) Many students become really good at activities that no adult made them learn.
a) What are some examples that you know of among your friends? Yourself?
Video games, hooping, ukulele,
b) How much time did you/they invest in this activity?
c) What motivated them/you to put in this effort?
d) How can you increase your motivation to learn physics?