“A concise summary of [the last 100 years of science] is that atoms and molecules are 85% of physics, 100% of chemistry and 90% of modern molecular biology,” says Nobel Prize winner Leon Lederman, and, he contends, there is an urgent need to revise secondary science curriculum to reflect this reality. What is needed is a “Physics First” curriculum, which involves switching the secondary science sequence from biology-chemistry-physics to physics-chemistry-biology.
But simply changing the order is not enough. Most PCB curricula offer a simplified traditional physics course followed by standard chemistry and biology courses. For the new sequence to benefit learning, the basic physics of atoms and molecules needs to be introduced early so that chemistry can take advantage of these concepts. Similarly, biology needs to leverage student understanding of atomic-scale physics and chemistry to address key introductory molecular biology concepts.
Every teacher or administrator with whom we have communicated about these reforms has complained about the lack of appropriate curriculum materials addressing the science of atoms and molecules. Textbook publishers are eyeing the market, but the development of three new coordinated texts is expensive, so they are waiting. It is likely that many schools are dissuaded from implementing secondary science reform by the lack of appropriate materials.
The Molecular Workbench models of the atomic world can provide the missing content, allowing students to experience an otherwise inaccessible world and build mental models that can be used to understand and predict macroscopic phenomena. Student explorations of these models can lead to a good understanding of connections between atomic-scale events and those events that they can observe at the macroscopic scale.
There are hundreds of models that can be accessed at http://mw.concord.org. Tested units based on these can be found at http://molo.concord.org. Over the next year, we plan to adapt these to provide the content that will make Physics First far more effective.
Do you have experience with Physics First? Are you considering it? Do you think these models can help?
