Acceleration and thermal energy are physics concepts that can be applied to stock car racing. Jon Feingersh/The Image Bank via Getty ImagesAmerica has a physics problem.
Research shows that access to physics education varies based on race, gender, sexuality and disability. Physics courses are usually standard offerings in suburban high schools, but at urban and rural schools that isn’t the case.
Even in places where physics is taught, the lessons rarely highlight how physics can be applied to students’ everyday lives.
This approach can hamper students’ desire to learn. In my work as a physics education researcher, I’ve encountered lessons centered on the rote memorization of formulas. This method fails to encourage critical thinking, constraining students’ ability to creatively solve problems.
Teachers sometimes believe that if a student can’t grasp a physics concept, it’s the student’s problem. Instructors oftentimes don’t try to present the materials in a way that could help students