Physics discussion

Does anyone have any ideas on how to help students who have reading difficulties pass Physics? Any suggestions for activities or resources?

Heh! I was about to reply, but realised this thread is two years old and hasn't been touched since. Is the topic still of interest?

Yes.....if you have something to contribute I will be reading it!

I'm also interested in students who believe that are deficient in math but are intellectually curious enough to want to study astronomy and other science topics. How to build their math confidence ?

Nigel

What level students are we talking about? High school? University? Physics major, non-physics major? I will claim no expertise, but I have had a few university undergraduate students with dyslexia, and I'm likely to encounter more if I stay on in academia.

In my case its university level, no-physics major (likely arts) who are dissuaded from studying science - physics in particular - because of math phobia.

How did the dislexic students fare ? Was that a significant obstacle in understanding or just problem solving ?

N

In fact, with the dyslexic students I have taught, their dyslexia really wasn't very noticeable to me. They are sometimes given a bit more time when sitting exams, and you will see some errors and/or stilted language in written assignments. As a general rule, dyslexic students at university level are very aware of their problem and work around it. I have yet to have a dyslexic student who writes sloppily. Those I have taught have been very careful writers. Slow, yes, but careful, because they need to be.

Some will choose to speak to the teacher about their dyslexia, and others will not. Those who do generally ask you not to be too harsh with occasional spelling mistakes and such. This can be important, especially if they really make an effort: you want to build self-confidence.

Dyslexic students may read slowly. Many physics classes do not require reading very vast amounts of text, compared with, say, many humanities subjects. However, it can be good to be aware of, and dyslexic students can sometimes get their literature as audio books. I do not remember if any of my students ever used that option.

Students deficient in maths is in a way a more difficult problem. I'd say that for non-physics majors, courses can be adapted such that they don't require terribly advanced maths. In the case of arts majors, I would even say that the real point of science courses is to build basic knowledge of scientific results and the scientific method. This could be done with rather elementary high-school maths.

For students studying physics more seriously I don't really see a way around having to be reasonably proficient in maths. In fact, those students I have had who have struggled most badly have been those who did not master basic mathematical techniques, such as algebraic manipulations and basic calculus.

For non-physics majors who need physics for more than just orientation, the problem could conceivably be dealt with by arranging "maths workshops" or similar opportunities to practice the relevant skills.