146 S. Sikjaer and P. Thomsen

est souvent caractCrisCe par des dktours qu’il sera judicieux d’Cviter, mais il est tout aussi vrai que parfois, la connaissance des dCveloppements historiques facilite une meilleure comprChension du problkme.

Question n o 6 Je voudrais ajouter ici une remarque qu’il conviendrait au fond de placer

au-dessus des rCponses prCcCdentes. I1 est certainement t rb utile de discuter l’organisation de l’enseignement de physique au niveau secondaire, d’Cvaluer les avantages et les inconvknients de diffkrentes mCthodes de prksentation ainsi que de fixer un certain cadre la physique ClCmentaire moderne. Mais ce qui n’est pas moins dkterminant, c’est la qualitt! de l’enseignement individuel. De bons programmes, des manuels bien conGus peuvent rCsoudre les probl&mes soulevCs par la prCsente enquCte - mais finalement c’est la personnalitk du professeur qui inspire 1’Ctudiant. Au problkme du cadre dans lequel la physique au niveau secondaire doit &re situCe, s’ajoute ainsi le probl&me du choix des enseignants. Si ce dernier peut paraitre plus complexe, ce n’est pas pour cette raison qu’il mCrite moins d‘attention.

Prof. J. Muller 10, chemin Rieu 1200 Geneve

Q U E S T I O N N A I R E O N T H E T E A C H I N G O F P H Y S I C S

by Prof. SBREN SIKJAER and POUL THOMSEN, The Royal Danish College of Education

1. At the age of 11-14 years all normal children ought to read the same curriculum of physics. This curriculum must not be ‘physics for future phy- sicists’, the aim is partly to give the pupils a share in an essential part of our cultural heritage, partly to prepare them for the existence in a modern com- munity and to give them a good chance of following the development of the modern physics. At the age of 14-16 years there ought to be some division. It ought, however, to be done in such a way that there is only a difference in the degree of difficulty, not in the principles between the different streams. Further the teaching ought to be carried out according to the same ideas as a t the age of 11-14 years. At the age of 16-19 years there will be a further division, and now there will not only be a difference in the degree of difficulty but also fundamental differences in principles between the different sides. In the mathe- matical side of grammar schools physics is taught for future physicists, in the classical and the modem side there also ought to be given a course in physics,

Questionnaire on the Teaching of Physics 147

a course with emphasis on natural philosophy. In other forms of schools for youth at the age of 16-19 years physics also ought to be taught, and accord- ing to the same principles as for the age of 11-16 years.

2. The splitting up of the teaching in phenomenological physics for the younger pupils and structural physics for the older ones is too sharp. We should say that the phenomenological character should be weaker and the structural character stronger with the growing age of the students, but so that outside the grammar schools the phenomenological character is allways the strongest.

3. The answer depends on the stage and the sort of the course. In the mathematical side of the grammar school it would be vandalism to split up the fundamentals of the beautiful buildings of classical mechanics and classical electrodynamics, on the other hand a linear representation or a group repre- sentation often ought to be followed, for instance in the treatment of waves and fields. There will not be a real reform of the physics teaching until the most important part of the physics created in this century, also of human aspects, the theory of relativity and the quantum theory, will organically form part of the curriculum of the school. In the recent years progress has been made concerning the incorporation of the theory of relativity in the senior department of the secondary school, but as a whole a lot of pedagogical experiments still is to be done. However, we are convinced that essential parts of both the theory of relativity and of the quantum theory can be represented in such a way that a normal child will be able to understand it. We only have to find the way to do it.

4. The greatest importance must be attached to the fundamental concepts and laws. We prefer a thorough dealing with a limited number of subjects to the imparting of knowledge in a wide field. The subjects chosen ought to be given such a representation that the scientific working method appears. A main task is to teach the pupils to think physically in a modern sense and to do it consciously. We are of the opinion that technology must take up a modest place especially in the grammar school, where it must be limited to examples which can help to give a better understanding of the physical theory treated.

5. There is obviously something of value in the heuristic method, but we think that the method often has been overestimated.

The starting point often ought to be the present state of knowledge. 6. We should like to give a lot of other remarks, but time is too short.

Prof. S. Sikjaer The Royal Danish College of Education Department of Physics Copenhagen NV