How Can Teachers Help Students Overcome Their Fear Of Physics?

If physics is giving your students a hard time, here’s a look at some apps that are sure to keep students engaged and learning…

Many students may think, “Physics is difficult and confusing.” That’s right, it is! There are so many branches and so many theories of physics that many find it overwhelmingly hard to figure out different representations such as experiments, formulas and calculations, graphs, and conceptual explanations at the same time.

While we agree that physics is one of the most difficult subjects for students to learn, and an incredibly difficult one for teachers to teach and keep students interested, Android developers are hard at work in trying to bring us some great education apps that can give us a hand with this troublesome subject.

Armed with tools such as tablets (iPad, Kindle Fire, among others), educators now can gain access to a wide array of teaching weapons, especially in areas like physics or general mathematics. With tools for a variety of ages, the following list of physics apps will help students solidify their basics and teachers diversify their instructional and assessment tool kit:

1. Isaac Newton’s Gravity HD

Isaac Newton’s Gravity HD offers a creative challenge with its physics-based brain teasers. The trial version of the game has a great puzzle creator and offers up to 7 free levels to challenge students. Students can sharpen their wits with Isaac Newton himself, who is there to provide hints. The app also allows students to download additional levels or create new levels to challenge friends.

Teachers may find that the problem solving and creativity involved in these tasks serves as the best demonstration of student retention of their knowledge.

Features:

• Mind bending, brilliant puzzles
• Create difficulty levels with the level editor
• Challenge friends to solve your custom created levels
• Over 700 community levels available for download

2. Simple Rockets

Simple Rockets focuses on the principles of orbital physics and Astro dynamics by allowing students to build rockets and airplanes, test them with realistic physics and see how they fly. Users can blast off into space and also explore the solar system with this app. Students already interested in rockets and space will find this app fascinating, while also learning about physics principles and what it takes to be a rocket scientist.

Educators can make their teaching more powerful by incorporating this app into classroom teaching. This app helps transform abstract ideas into concrete, hands-on learning experience, all while capturing student attention.

Features:

• Build your own rockets
• Explore the solar system
• Realistic rocket and orbital physics
• Seamlessly fly to other planets

3. Monster Physics

Using a personally designed monster avatar, this app allows young scientists to play with the laws of physics as they build contraptions and complete challenges. Students get to choose from 50 missions that let them solve  problems such as how to get their monster avatar through an obstacle course or feed it. In the build section of the app, users can create their own imaginative inventions and then test them out. The learn section for help allows students to refer to difficult concepts and definitions.

Teachers can tap into student’s curiosity and enhance their problem solving skills with this creative app.

Features:

• Users can create their own monster avatar
• Design and operate your own inventions
• Solve 50 missions
• Build contraptions with 68 different parts
• Learn common physics terms
• Create up to six player profiles
• Enjoy fun sound effects and music

4. The Fluid Ether

Students can learn about the physics of fluid motion through this creative animated physics simulator, and answer questions like – Why does water swirl when you try to push it? Why do ocean currents lead to gyres? What happens when two jets slam into each other? Users can create beautiful interlacing fluid patterns in this game as they navigate handcrafted levels. The app also includes a level editor, for users to make their own levels to share with others.

This app helps teach students about the physics of fluid motion. Students can answer questions like – Why does water swirl when you try to push it? Why do ocean currents lead to gyres? What happens when two jets slam into each other?

Features:

• Deeper learning through ‘challenge’ levels, which helps users to reflect on their learning and test understanding
• Level editors to customize the game
• Data collection system and teacher interface

5. Bobo Explores Light

Bobo, the app’s friendly robot companion, introduces users to 21 light-related topics, like lasers, reflection, refraction, photosynthesis, bioluminescence, and the human eye. In each section, readers can engage in hands-on experimentation to build a deeper understanding of science concepts. Supplementary videos, articles, animations and trivia add to the student’s knowledge base.

Features:

• Over 100 pages of exciting, interactive content
• 21 in-depth topics
• Friendly robot companion Bobo
• Interactive 3D holograms
• Hands-on experiments and fully-functional gadgets
• Supplementary videos, articles, animations and trivia

Like this article for teachers?

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