Fear of Physics

Over the last few decades, physics pedagogy has been improved through a variety of initiatives, such as teacher-student interactive engagement, the design of new laboratory procedures, and group work. An important area is the effect of student attitudes and anxieties on physics education. Due to fear, many intellectually able students are unable to obtain satisfactory results in physics. This book discusses reasons behind this fear and the remedies to counter it.

With several decades of experience studying the correlation between science attitudes and anxieties in various student populations, the authors discuss how preconceptions and misconceptions about physics often produce anxiety, and they frame this within the wider field of science anxiety. Topics covered include student attitudes, science anxiety, gender, nationality, mathematics anxiety, classroom pedagogy, laboratory pedagogy, group project pedagogy, pedagogies for different student populations, constructivism, social engagement, information technology and issues relevant to distance learning. The book expertly brings together these topics and explains their connections with attitudes and anxiety.

After reading this comprehensive text, physics educators will learn how to pay attention to attitudes and anxieties in their teaching. Physics education researchers will be able to assess how studies into attitudes can be broadened by connecting them with studies of science anxiety.