Can you teach physics to your grandmother?

Yes, if you can teach physics to your grandmother, than you have become a good teacher. And we need good teachers. Sadly, I heard some Singapore good physics teachers have left teaching to join the casinoes. Sad thing for the students.

One note about teaching physics - be informal!

One tip I would like to share with you all about teaching physics is:
Do not be serious, serious!
Use of informal language and even Singlish, Hokkien mixed with dose of jokes and humour help to convey the concepts across much much better.
That is also the reason why textbooks that "talk" informally with readers are so popular and expensive - they are user-friendly :)
Of course, once the students understood the concepts, they have to write it down formally. But that is secondary you see  ? 
And physics is not maths =- that one controverial thing I would share with you in a later post, it has got to do with the right brain - left brain thing(y), haha

Best physics assessment and guidebooks

These I regard the best:-

The best O level physics assessment: 1001MCQ by Tan Peng Yeon
The best A level physics assessment: Topical Worked Solutions by Phang Yu Hon

Combine Science physics

Personally I prefer to teach A level physics - lots of intellectual kicks. But guess what - teaching O level Combine Science physics is a totally different experience, and is equally rewarding.

I get to explain to the student foundational principles, how lightning and thunder works. Thats how many of us got interested in science and physics in the first place. Yes, no equations, but people can start to appreciate nature better by looking at the everyday things around them. THAT is the beginning of science!  ;)

Physics guide books, text books and assessment books

There are a lot of guide books, text books and assessbooks for O level and A level books in the market? Which are good? I will give a brief review in due course.

Exam season!

The exam season is coming. Tuitors will be busy. So it is always wise to book a tuitor early in the year and not wait until the last minute. Good physics tuitors are hard to find, especially at the last minute especially when their free slots are all taken up.

Rapid evolution of physics education in Singapore

As we speak, the physics education scene is changing very raidly in Singapore. Many schools no longer offer GCE O , A level physics, but have switched to IP program and IB program.
In my opinion, the IB program syllabus is the most well thought out. The syllabus is very well-developed and is linked to and based upon the TOK (Theory of Knowledge). It belongs to a general , modern , comprehensive and international framework. It is my hope that Singapore schools will all convert to use IB.
As for the IP programs, it is different for different school.From my observation of a particular brand of IP, it seem to be a strange hybrid of British and Ameican styles of physics. The IP programs in Singapore are not very mature yet, and students may have a hard time doing well in this sort of programs, and I myself find it quite a challenge to teach.
As for the good old GCE Cambridge, it suffers from being an old-fashioned syllabus. Though it is rigorous, it does not prepare the student well in today's modern world of science and technology, and in fact it is shielding the students from what is happening right now in the scientific and modern world. It is in the process of phasing out.

Student jumped from D7 to B4!

One of my students jumped from prelim D7 to O level B4. Now he can choose from a wide variety of polytechnics. So happy for him.