Comparison Of Senior School Physics Education Between China And Britain

It has been more than ten years since the implement of new curriculum reform in senior school of China. Though the set of curriculum, theories and concepts of teaching and textbooks have varied a lot since then, the degree of implement and depth of reform are far from expectation. It is required that every physics teacher keeps learning and updating their teaching theories and concepts. British education system is considered as one of the best education systems of the world. It is worth to analyze and study in detail. The GCE A level curriculum in Britain is the homologue of curriculum in senior school in China. In early 2014, GCE A level is redeveloped. Foreign stones may serve to polish domestic jade. Learning from the beneficial experiences is helpful for us to deepen education reform and achieve the best results.This paper compares the difference between physics education in Britain and in China.and studies the characteristics. Four aspects are involved from the view of a bilingual physics teacher in A level center. They are theories and concepts of curriculum, textbooks, evaluation and teaching practice. Physics in Britain focuses more on personal value of students. The textbooks, evaluation and teaching practice all weight much on the application of physics in social life and science development. Theories and concepts of curriculum of China focuses more on the process of physics learning. The systematization of physics knowledge is emphasized whereas the application is not. For evaluation, the exam question in Chinese Gaokao is complicated and difficult, lacking of sense of life. For class delivering, teachers believe students are the center of class and try to use different teaching methods like investigation but it is not enough. In practice, teachers are utilitarian and focus on teaching but not emphasize experiments.A few suggestions about the physics teaching in senior school have been raised based on the features. Firstly, it is suggested that a test about the practical skills should be added, showing the importance of experiments. Exam questions in Gaokao should be introduced in a more interesting and lively way. Secondly, the textbook should be close to real life. The application of knowledge is suggested to be high-lightened and difficulty be reduced. Thirdly, this paper suggests teachers to reference textbooks from foreign countries and use a lot of real life demonstrations and provide more opportunity for students experiments.There are about 200 A level centers in China. Chinese students who chosen A level should know the features the this curriculum to learn well. For the A level teaching in China, this paper suggests teacher to consider the situation of students, adjust the content of A level such as to add or remove some content. Experiments and English for physics are two important part for students to build a Chinese-English class.