Stacy Onman: Does college physics start at the high school level?
So that those who had not taken the course in high school can understand? Or does it just assume that you have already understand and know the fundamentals of high school physics and start off teaching you college level physics?
Answers and Views:
Answer by Rohan.
No, any introductory college course should teach that class like you have never had that subject before.
The college mentality is that you learned nothing from high school (sometimes called “college” physics), and that your course was nothing near anything that could be called rigorous with a straight face. I TA a freshmen level engineering course (which is a physics course essentially), all of us TAs teach the subject to every student assuming they are at the same level, that level being: a nonexistent level of understanding physics, and math (even algebra, trigonometry, etc.). Our students should know how to do simple things like solving systems of equations, be decent at geometry/trig, know how to integrate polynomials, but they never do. Given the crowd we get every year, do not worry about being “behind” if you have never taken physics before. I guarantee that you are not, no matter how much it seems like it. Freshmen who come into these courses might have a big head, but if only they could see what I see: no one knows *anything*. We teach it to you on a college level, there are no college level courses that teach you at the high school level. Those days are long past you, and that is a great thing! We do not assume you understand fundamentals, we assume you know nothing and are right nearly 100% of the time. Everyone is on an even playing field. I spend time during my classes “reteaching” my students algebra, calculus, geometry, etc. The course smoothly brings you up to speed (but once you get to full speed, it either stays at that pace or gets faster. Welcome to college). For instance, the first few weeks of class we teach students about elementary concepts like vectors, trigonometry, etc. We even have homework assignments at first that have almost nothing to do with physics, all they are, are mathematical exercises because students entering college do not have the competency required (no problem, that is what education is for). It will be very tolerable, do not be afraid to ask for help, we really want you to succeed adn help you. No matter how basic the question is or how far you are in the course, if you cannot understand something from whenever, please consult your TA. There is something of a line we have to respect, we see our students struggling, maybe one of them in particular, but to be so bold as to approach them and be very direct with an offer of help is not always possible and in sync with propriety and teaching etiquette. If you come to us, we would love to help, that is why we are there. And, I can say that as a TA, we want specifically our students to succeed (as well as everyone, but especially ours). We put a lot of effort into teaching, and if we cannot convey our lessons clearly enough, it would be great to have the opportunity to clarify to an individual student. Anyway, I am getting side tracked. The bottom line is that we do not assume anything, we know you do not understand it, we will not pretend like you understand it either for the sake of “getting further in the syllabus,” we teach it to students almost as if it is their first time ever seeing something like that in their life, move slowly (relative to college, it is still a fast pace), and teach everything from the ground up in a self-contained class. It should be no huge problem for you, it will be hard, but just work hard, get to know your TA, do not be afraid of asking for help, talk to other students, and do your best. Do not get discouraged if it starts off badly (which it probably will, physics courses tend to hit freshmen very hard), college is tough. You cannot start out good at everything, keep studying and at some point you will start to get good at it (hopefully within the same semester). Best luck and have fun (really)!
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