A Look into Honors Physics with Mr. Holmes

This article was part of a series by the Board of Student Academic Support Services (SASS) that interviewed OHS teachers about the classes they teach. We hope these articles will be a useful resource for students who are selecting courses for following years.

SASS: What is your favorite thing about teaching Honors Physics?

Mr. Holmes: The best thing about teaching this course is the discussion section. I love hearing ideas and seeing problem solving, especially when there are disagreements, misconceptions, or mistakes from which we can learn. A close second place is the lab portion - the lab reports are really fun to read.

SASS: What challenges students the most in Honors Physics? How would you recommend that students overcome these challenges? 

Mr. Holmes: This is a hard course and it is probably the hardest of the three honors-level science courses. There are a lot of challenging aspects and I think the nature of the difficulty varies from student to student. The concepts are themselves hard to master, the math can be intimidating, especially for those with less math experience, and the overall workload is tough for some. Most of the big challenges can be addressed to some degree by starting assignments early, asking questions, coming to office hours, and being connected to tutors and classmates.

SASS: What types of students do well in Honors Physics?

Mr. Holmes: Taking good notes and coming to office hours are two excellent habits. Working through example problems in the textbook is another great practice and, in general, being able to use the textbook as a learning tool is a critical skill that helps in this class and many others. Dr. Halley has a lot of great things to say about building up the skill of learning successfully from a textbook.

I should also mention the broad age range of students taking the class - in a typical year, we have students in grades 8-12. Given this big range, there's definitely a correlation between age and success in the course and the same goes for math experience. But every year there are students of all ages who succeed. If you're a young student taking the course, one big thing to watch out for is time management. If you run into trouble, definitely address this with your instructor, your parents, and the school support staff. And, of course, anyone who wants more info for making the decision to take the course should talk to their academic adviser.

SASS: What does the average workload for each week look like?

Mr. Holmes: The course is mostly broken into two-week modules. Each module contains some assigned reading/viewing, a homework assignment, a lab assignment, and a small quiz.

SASS: How do you recommend that students prepare for exams in Honors Physics?

Mr. Holmes: The best preparation is ongoing preparation throughout the semester, making sure that you've mastered each topic before we move on. Beyond that, reviewing homework, quizzes, and learning objectives is a great idea. For many topics, there are common themes in problems within that particular topic and it's great to be aware of these and be able to solve typical problems with ease. Also, be sure to study the formula sheet so that you understand what each variable represents and what each formula is used for.

SASS: How is the participation grade for Honors Physics determined?

Mr. Holmes: There are some assignments, mostly quizzes on the reading / lectures, that count towards participation, but the grade is mainly determined by keeping track of students coming on camera to say something or putting work on the board. I'd like to offer a special commendation to my students from this year - they are really enthusiastic and involved participants and they make the class a tremendous pleasure to teach.

SASS: What materials do students use in the course (textbooks, lectures, online resources, etc.)?

Mr. Holmes: We use a textbook as well as lectures and online resources. The textbook is the main source of content for most of the year but there are a few weeks in the spring semester where we focus more on other resources.

SASS: Are students expected to be on camera for the entire class?

Mr. Holmes: This varies according to the individual instructor preference but historically we haven't had students do this for this class. I should say though that I think both approaches are valid. The one-video approach that we tend to use is nice for focusing attention on the speaker, whereas having everyone on camera seems to lower the barrier for verbal participation.

SASS: Have you had any experiences with students in Honors Physics that could encourage those who think they cannot learn physics to take the class?

Mr. Holmes: Yes! I've definitely had students who didn't consider themselves "math / science people" take Honors Physics and be very successful.

SASS: What about physics interests so many students?

Mr. Holmes: I think it varies from student to student. Some are more interested in the Big Explanations, whereas others like the math / problem-solving aspects, and others are more keen on experimentation.