Parent/Community Example Highlighting Tools for Helping Students Succeed with Math in Physics

Patterns Physics is a physics-first pathway aligned to Algebra 1 rather than higher-level math courses like a traditional junior-year physics class, so it is designed to be accessible for 9th graders. The writing team worked for several years with high school math teachers to ensure the course supports students not only in learning physics, but also in strengthening their math skills and achievement. In addition, the mathematical calculations in Patterns Physics are supported by several student-friendly tools, including Desmos, which helps students make visual and conceptual connections to math ideas. To see how this works in practice, you can explore a sample mini-lesson in which students begin by making a rough guess about packing coins into a circle, collect data from a few smaller circles, graph the data to identify a pattern, and then use that pattern to make a scientific prediction about the much larger circle they started with. With tools and lessons like these, Patterns Physics makes math more interesting and meaningful, which helps many students better understand it and see its relevance.

By Bradford Hill