Often, teachers of remedial classes look at honors teachers with envy. Honors teachers don't have to deal with discipline problems or apathy, they remark. The students want to learn, they say. It must be so easy! Well, that was what I thought before I began teaching Honors Physics.
In truth, teaching gifted learners comes with its own set of challenges. These students may be naturally more curious and motivated to learn, but those traits come with a need to be mentally stimulated as well. If you can't keep these students motivated, they may start tuning you out. The following are some tips and methods I use to keep my honors students invested and engaged during class.
Expand Their Horizons
I didn't learn about any contemporary science until I took advanced physics classes in college, and I suspect that many teachers have had the same experience. The high school science curriculum barely touches scientific discoveries of the last century. Although students need to learn and understand the core of a subject before tackling something much more advanced, we shouldn't totally ignore current science either.
I stay connected to the science community by reading current scientific articles online and even following physics updates by Twitter users such as @DoTryThisAtHome and @PhysicsWorld. When I see something I believe my students would like, I add it to a list of interesting links that they can access online. I always announce that something has been added and tell them a bit about it. Most of these stories have only a loose connection to what we are covering. Some don't have any relevance at all. But they are new, interesting, and fun. These news stories open a door to a world of science that usually remains shut to my students.
I also allow a great deal of leeway when we have discussions during class. Encouraging my students to be curious and allowing them to go off topic gives them incentive to explore ideas, make connections to other disciplines, and increase their amazement about science. Often, they use these conversations to try to stump me. I know quite a bit, but obviously, I don't know everything. Don't be afraid to admit that you don't know the answer but will find out. I can do a quick Internet search while they are working and get back to them almost immediately.
All of these projects and extensions offer science enrichment that the students may not see anywhere else. It would be wonderful if students were motivated solely by their love of science and their curiosity about the world around them, but in reality, all students, especially gifted students, are driven by the grades they receive.
As a teacher, resist the urge (or the request) to attach a grade to everything. I do assign grades to my students' projects because I expect them to spend time thinking, researching, creating, and presenting. I assign grades to their classwork because it's part of the curriculum and it's difficult. But because I give them so many opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge throughout the year, I deny any request for extra credit. No, they may not do an extra project, an extra paper, or extra research for credit; However, I'm always willing to discuss and answer questions that pique their interest.
Stimulate Creativity
Teachers carry out an important balancing act as they determine how much time to devote to any one topic before the inevitable high-stakes test arrives at the end of the year. There always seems to be too much curriculum and too little time in a given year. How are we supposed to cover all of the material and also have time for the fun stuff?
To address this challenge, I have my students do one project per quarter that has a creative component. Some students are delighted and some groan at the prospect of such a project, but I sweeten the deal by counting it as a test grade. After all, I'm forcing them to apply what they've learned and then present it to the class. All of my projects are open-ended enough that students can focus on something that interests them.
My favorite project so far was modeled directly after the What If? feature of the web comic xkcd.com, in which the author takes reader-submitted hypothetical questions and answers them using physics. I had my students come up with their own questions and then research the answers. The results were certainly entertaining. We found the answers to some of life's most pressing questions: Does lightning produce enough electricity to power the Earth? How much chicken soup could we make if we used all the world's chickens (and how long would it take to heat all that water)? How fast would you fly sideways, depending on location, if the Earth suddenly stopped rotating?
Raise Your Expectations, and Then Raise Them Higher
Honors Physics, like any honors class, is going to contain difficult material. Even if students are interested, the fastest way to lose them is to make the class too difficult too fast. A few students may be prepared for this type of onslaught, but the vast majority will be overwhelmed and could give up prematurely. Gifted students need time to hone their skills, too! Start slowly, and raise the level of difficulty as time goes on.
I start by teaching my students the process I would like them to follow to solve problems. It's called the picture, information, equation, solve (PIES) method, and I make sure this approach will work for every problem all year. Then I repeat that process in every class. They must draw a labeled picture or diagram, write down their given information, write out a full algebraic equation, and then plug in numbers to find an answer. They can see how it works for easy problems and extend it to anything they encounter. I expect my students to struggle with the first jump in degree of difficulty—and they continue to struggle when faced with more challenging material—but I promise them that they can solve any problem if they follow PIES.
How do I keep them working hard in the face of ever-increasing complexity? I have a few tricks to keep them motivated. First, I always give them the answers along with their assignments, and I post detailed solutions online. They know immediately whether they are heading in the right direction and can check their work if they get stuck. This has the added benefit of allowing students to move at their own pace. Second, I have grading policies aimed at assuaging the students' fears of receiving bad grades as they attempt to master more difficult material.
I design my tests, which are a large percentage of their grades, to be slightly easier than quizzes. Students also have the option to retake quizzes to improve their grades. They get a few cracks at the high-level material, which gives them more time to improve. This way, the students are challenged by the quizzes and end up being overprepared for the tests, which count more toward their final grades.