Physics – not what you thought

When you think of physics class, you certainly don’t picture an exhilarated classroom engaged in healthy competition – and certainly not watching animated videos to illustrate scientific principles. But that’s exactly what it looks like at Afeka.

Dr. Vladislav Roitberg of Afeka’s physics department believes that innovative pedagogy is the key to better learning and deeper assimilation of classroom subject matter. Among his various activities, Dr. Roitberg is also an amateur animator – which is how his students often get to depart from the standard 2D theory of physics classes and watch physical laws and principles being illustrated through animated videos of his own making.

“A lecturer can draw a certain model on the board,” he says. “It will take a long time, and in the end the success of the explanation will also depend on the student's powers of imagination.” To make his explanations more efficient, Dr. Roitberg creates brief 30-second videos that illustrate physical principles, such as a pulley. “Within the brief timeframe of a lesson, the lecturer has to communicate knowledge to the students, but knowledge takes up memory. Students are so busy memorizing that they have no time left to understand and internalize. When I show them a video and explain it, this frees up time and the insights come faster.”

But Dr. Roitberg goes beyond animated videos in order to make physics teaching more accessible and innovative. “Our classroom operates in an exercise-combined lecture model, meaning that throughout the lesson the entire class takes part in ungraded online quizzes which are displayed on the board,” he explains.

According to him, the students have taken to this unique learning method and asked to enrich the lessons with more online quizzes. “In this kind of quiz, an exercise shown on the board is shared on everyone’s personal computers. They can solve equations, run tests, and practice physics in a process that’s both individual and collaborative. There’s a sense of competition and learning, and the energy is very high. Solving problems becomes a positive challenge to them, rather than a chore.”

As a leading institution for educating engineers, Afeka College believes that teaching methods must be constantly adapted to both appeal to students and provide them with knowledge. A new pedagogy that cultivates natural curiosity is the key to a rich scholastic experience.”