Tell me more about yourself
I graduated from National University of Singapore (Faculty of Engineering)
with good Honours. Academic achievements include Top Student (‘O’ Level) and
Dean’s List Recipient(Top 5%). I decided to switch from engineering to
teaching as I am a strong advocator of building a strong foundation in
education. I believe that education can make a difference and I want to
make this positive difference to my students. I have been teaching Physics
in Raffles Junior College (now Raffles Institution) in
Singapore for about 6 years. In June 2010, I left RJC to devote my time to The Physics Cafe.
What is your motivation behind teaching?
Teaching Physics is more challenging than studying the subject itself. It’s not easy
to be a good Physics teacher. Physics is an abstract subject which requires
understanding and application.
In my lesson, my goal is not so much as to cover a lot and to make the students
chew on a lot of equations. But my goal is to uncover several basic things that
they will remember for the rest of their life. Even if they never need physics
anymore, I want them to see the beauty of physics. I want them to love physics.
Have your students performed well in the past examinations?
I developed a new strategy of studying and scoring in college examinations that I did not know of when I was in college.
In my lessons, I teach this strategy, the Logical Problem Solving Strategy, to my students.
With this strategy, 8 out of 10 of my students (JC and tuition) scored a well deserving A for their examination.
96% of the students scored either an A or B in the 2008 GCE A-level Examinations.
100% of the IB students scored the maximum of grade 7 in the final year examinations.
In the 2009 GCE A-level Examinations,
- 95% of my RJC students scored A.
- 31 out of 44 non-RJC students (average of 70%) scored A as compared to national average of 43%.
- 100% of the IB students scored the maximum of grade 7 in the final year examinations.
Results of 2010 GCE A level will be released in March 2011.
Can you share your style of teaching and how can you help the students?
Many students complained that their teachers were lousy, and that the lecture notes lacked details.
Ironically, there were also others that complained about the notes being too comprehensive.
There were many complaints about the exam papers being too difficult and others about it being too easy.
Some students felt like they tried too hard to solve a simple question.
There are things in life you may not find delightful, but the least you could do is to accept them.
Regarding teachers, it is true that some are better than others.
That's the way life is. Regarding the notes, different students have different preferences as to what
kind of notes they hope to receive. The solution to this is to customize and write your own notes.
There are two parts to my lesson – concepts explanation and problem solving. I prefer to first go over the
physics concepts and give numerical examples to support the concepts -- in a way that illustrates how to solve the
problem -- and I further support the concept with live demonstration, because seeing is believing. I try to make you
see through the dumb equations and admittedly my methods are sometimes somewhat different from the other teachers.
I try to inspire you and at times I try to make you wonder and think. And I want to keep it this way.
The second part of my lesson is problem solving. I think that concepts explanation and problem solving are complementary.
The difference between the two is that I will take 80% of the responsibility to ensure that you understand the concepts,
but you must take 80% of the responsibility to master problem solving. How do you do it? You must digest the extra questions
that I will be giving you. It's very important that you make homework part of your culture, that you study the solutions.
Believe me, they are truly excellent solutions, not cookie-cut and dry. They give you a lot of background. If you digest
those solutions, then the concepts will sink in.
How do you know if you are improving? How do you know if you are on the right track? I will test you! You will have a
30 minutes short test after every 3 to 4 topics. You will soon realise that for all the hard work you and your teachers put
in, you have only 30 minutes to perform. You will learn how to perform under stress, under exam conditions. Most importantly,
I will make sure you improve. When I give my test review, I will highlight the concepts. You will discover your weakness
and improve. Eventually you will realise that every problem I have given you is extremely simple. Conceptually, they were
not so simple. But from a math point of view, they are trivial. I have made it sound so easy, but when you are trying to do
it, it’s going to be crazy. However you are not alone. The initial phase is always difficult, but the path will get smoother
gradually, sooner than you can realise.
What is your motivation for setting up the Physics Café?
My main objective of setting up the Physics Café is to share a strategy which I have developed from my experience both as a
student and as an educator. I have named this strategy the Logical Problem Solving Strategy or LPS in short.
Through this website, I will reveal the secret on how to solve questions the way they are set. In addition I will also share
my strategy to adopt a logical approach to solving Physics questions. An overview of every chapter will be shared in this website.
I will consider myself successful if all my JC and tuition students score an A or a B in the final examination.
I am confident that this is attainable if each and every one of them believes in the complement of tuition/college lessons and
independent self-study. The rule of thumb is:
"For every 1 hour lesson he attends, he should spend 1 hour at home for self study."
I believe that this is reasonable since the teachers spend at least 6 hours to prepare for an hour of lecture.
How did you develop the recipe of Logical Problem Solving?
"I remember the visual image of every page of my notes (about 30 pages
for the whole ‘A’ Level Physics syllabus. Since then, all examinations are ‘
Open-Book’ to me. Imagine me flipping pages of my summarized notes in my head!
Yes! That’s what I do."
Mr Sim (Physics Tutor)
read more
How did you develop the recipe of Logical Problem Solving?
As a student, I had always written my own personal notes. After I first started my
teaching career, I was pleasantly surprised by how the 10 years old Physics notes I
wrote when I was a junior college student contributed to helping my students
understand the key concepts in Physics.
Firstly, there is definitely a need to summarize the lecture notes (which make up
at least 2-3 thick ring files). Have you ever encountered a situation when a few
examinations fall on the same day? Though you may have completed your revision,
you will still need another 2-3 hours to glance through the notes, to reassure
yourself that you are able to recall all that you have learnt. This empowers you
to walk into the examination hall confidently. For a quick last minute glance, you
need your own personal notes (a maximum of 3 pages per topic).
Secondly, I always feel it’s easier to read and remember my own handwriting,
as opposed to the lecturer’s. (Yes! I know they are type-written). Not all may agree
with me on this, but I am a visual person. I do not like memorising individual
equations and definitions. Instead I remember the visual image of every page of
my notes (about 30 pages for the whole ‘A’ Level Physics syllabus. Since then,
all examinations are ‘Open-Book’ to me. Imagine me flipping pages of my summarized
notes in my head! Yes! That’s what I do.
Can you guide me in writing my own notes?
The notes we are going to prepare should be organized in a way to help you
at a time when you need it most and that’s during the examinations!"
Mr Sim (Physics Tutor)
read more
Can you guide me in writing my own notes?
Sure! Firstly, I have to convince you that if your notes are NOT organized,
then the contents in your brain are most probably NOT organized as well! That’s
logical. If I ask you to list out the 6 assumptions for Kinetic Theory of Gases,
you may be able to randomly give me 4 or 5 of them. You will need a bit more
time to give me the last remaining one. If you understand and remember all the
6 assumptions in order, you create a system. You will be able to list all of
them in the exact sequence almost immediately.
Let me now invite you on a journey – a journey that will enlighten you to
study with strategy from today onwards. It took me YEARS to figure out and
fine tune this strategy. With my experience as a student and an educator,
coupled with many years of research, testing, and refining, I have finally
devised the LPS which I will share with you on this site. Hopefully you can
use it to get better results.
I will first explain the principles behind LPS. I am aware that many of
your teachers have already been advising you to write your own notes. Good
advice is almost always ignored, but that is not going to stop me from giving
it. Before you become cynical about this, let me assure you that this notes I
am referring to is going to be constructed in a very unique way. We must first
agree on a common objective. The notes we are going to prepare should be organized
in a way to help you at a time when you need it most and that’s during the
examinations!
How are your notes going to help a student do well in the examinations?
"... when you practise, you will be able to understand the types of questions
that will be asked. ....experiment with different approaches to solve the same
question... the most efficient and effective approach. That’s learning. Through
the entire process, you will better understand the concepts involved. In other words,
you will discover a ‘system’ to solve questions of different concepts. You will write
your own notes, formulate your own ‘system’ "
Mr Sim (Physics Tutor)
read more
How are your notes going to help a student do well in the examinations?
Let’s compare between the 2 scenarios;
Student A reads a question slowly and carefully. He may re-read it again, especially if the
question is long or if the question is not phrased in the same way as the usual Ten Year Series
questions. He then spends his time analyzing the context and data from the question, before he
goes ahead to solve it.
Student B has his own personalized notes for the different topics. He has grouped all topics
into 5 main sections as illustrated above. He will first glance through the question, and within
3 seconds, he should be able to tell the section, followed by the topic, followed by the concept
tested in the question. It may sound impossible to you but it’s not! All these will be second
nature to the student, and within the next 5 seconds, he will be writing down the first few
steps of the LPS. In this way, student B is looking for the key data which he knows SHOULD be
given to him in the question. (one quick way is to just search for the units) Comparing this
with student A who is looking at the data and figuring out what he should do with these data.
These 2 approaches are very different. While student A is still reading the question, student
B would have already written down the first few steps relating to the concept being tested.
But both may still end up getting the correct answer?
That’s true but student B will be much faster. He will have more confidence. And more importantly,
his approach reduces the risk of mental block (due to exam stress). The reason is simple: student
B has a SYSTEM, while student A does not.
Are you encouraging students to just follow a set of procedures instead of using a
more intuitive approach to solve questions?
"You are not going to practise during the exam itself! In the exam, you are required
to show what you have learnt and how you can apply what you have learnt. It’s obvious,
the exam takes a maximum of 3 hours, but you are going to take 20 months to learn and
master the content."
Mr Sim (Physics Tutor)
read more
Are you encouraging students to just follow a set of procedures instead of using a
more intuitive approach to solve questions?
Not true! Why do teachers encourage students to practise and practise? The
principle is that when you practise, you will be able to understand the types
of questions that will be asked. From practice, you can experiment with different
approaches (intuitive) to solve the same question. And from there, you will be
able to know which is the most efficient and effective approach. That’s learning.
You learn because you practise and from the practice, you are able to analyse.
Through the entire process, you will better understand the concepts involved.
In other words, you will discover a ‘system’ to solve questions of different
concepts. You will write your own notes, formulate your own ‘system’ or
‘strategy’ and even read your notes aloud. All of this is going to help
because you are using your different senses as you write, as you look
and as you read aloud. Different parts of your brain are involved, and
learning will become more effective.
And you know what? All these are done before the examinations! You are
not going to practise during the exam itself! In the exam, you are required
to show what you have learnt and how you can apply what you have learnt.
It’s obvious, the exam takes a maximum of 3 hours, but you are going to
take 20 months to learn and master the content.
My strategy is very straight forward. You make full use of the 20 months
to understand concepts and better your understanding by practising questions.
Come up with your own notes and then you will have a system! The 3 hours in
the exam is better spent applying what you have learnt than asking questions
like ‘what if the question asks for…’ or ‘will this other method work?"
Does that mean that anyone who has your notes will be able to score an A in 'A' level?
"An ‘A’ grade student behaves differently. He looks at your system, understands the principle
behind the system, tests the system on different questions, and fine-tunes the system to cover
a wider scope of questions. He will first accept and then improve."
Mr Sim (Physics Tutor)
read more
Does that mean that anyone who has your notes will be able to score an A in 'A' level?
Sorry but no. Understanding is still the core business here. A student who plainly memorises
the system and follows step 1 to 5 will not improve significantly. Yes, he should be able to
pass since he is simply recognizing the concept being tested in the question and then following
a set of procedures to reach the final answer. But this will not help improve his cognitive and
analytical ability.
An ‘A’ grade student behaves differently. He looks at your system, understands the principle
behind the system, tests the system on different questions, and fine-tunes the system to cover
a wider scope of questions. He will first accept and then improve. How do you know when you are
ready? When your own notes are more precious than any other notes or text book, that’s when you
know you are ready.
Assuming a student has written his own notes, will there be a possibility that there will
be an unfamiliar question which he cannot answer in the examinations?
"It may be abstract but definitely not unfamiliar unless it is out of the syllabus. When this
happens, it’s actually a SIGNAL for him to SKIP the question first."
Mr Sim (Physics Tutor)
read more
Assuming a student has written his own notes, will there be a possibility that there will
be an unfamiliar question which he cannot answer in the examinations?
Unfamilar? If the student has already understood the concepts and come up with an individualized
LPS approach to answer all the different conceptual questions, the question should not be unfamiliar.
It may be abstract but definitely not unfamiliar unless it is out of the syllabus. When this happens,
it’s actually a SIGNAL for him to SKIP the question first. No, it’s not that he cannot solve the
question, it’s simply because he needs time to analyse and understand the question. If you recall
what I said, examination time is not the best time for you to do that. You should only do that after
you have completed all the other questions.
I feel that the main problem for a student is the initial part, prior to writing his own notes.
What if he does not even understand the concepts in the topic?
"Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
With a SYSTEM, you can now do the impossible."
Mr Sim (Physics Tutor)
read more
I feel that the main problem for a student is the initial part, prior to writing his own notes.
What if he does not even understand the concepts in the topic?
I had the same problem too! But I have overcome this and no longer see this as a problem! It’s
always challenging to understand a new concept. That’s why we read it many times over and over
again, hoping that by the 10th time, we will be able to fully comprehend it. May I suggest an
alternative method?
"Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
This is a quote from Francis of Assisi.
You will be able to know what’s necessary by attempting your tutorial questions. Yes you should
do it even when you are not sure of the concept. What’s important at this stage is that you need to
know what you need to know.
Knowing what’s necessary will make it possible for you to write your notes.
In summary, that’s what I will do.
- Glance through the lecture notes and text book. (At this stage, I am not worried if I cannot
comprehend some of the concepts)
- Try out the tutorial questions (preferably when you have some worked solutions)
- Read the lecture notes and text book again. (At this stage, you are mentally classifying the
topic into the 2-3 concepts involved.
- Write your NOTES!
- Do the tutorial questions again using your system, fine-tune the system if necessary.
With a SYSTEM, you can now do the impossible.
Can we use LPS in other ‘A’ Level subjects besides Physics?
"To come up with a system requires time, experience and most importantly, deeper understanding of the
concepts in the subject. It’s not easy, but it’s going to be useful.
Mr Sim (Physics Tutor)
read more
Can we use LPS in other ‘A’ Level subjects besides Physics?
Certainly! I assume you have understood the principle behind LPS from the earlier write-up in
this section. You will probably realise that LPS can be applied to all other subjects, such as
Mathematics, Economics and any other subjects in IB or IP. This is because LPS is built upon
your understanding of the 2 to 3 key concepts in each chapter, followed by an analytical
classification of the different kind of questions that can be asked to test these concepts.
I only specialize in Physics; hence I cannot give you an accurate LPS in the other subjects.
To come up with one requires time, experience and most importantly, deeper understanding
of the concepts in the subject. It’s not easy, but it’s going to be useful.
