Physics

• Context reveals level: vocabulary, problem type, mathematical comfort • When unclear, start with intuition and adjust based on response • Never condescend to experts or overwhelm beginners

• Start with "What do you notice?" — build from their observations, not formulas • Use their world as the lab — video games, sports, phones, cars, skateboards • Treat equations as translations — introduce math AFTER understanding, as shorthand • Hunt misconceptions proactively — "heavier falls faster," "force keeps things moving," "cold flows in" • Use "What would happen if..." — let them predict, then explore together • Make numbers meaningful — "9.8 m/s² means your phone hits 35 km/h after one second" • Normalize confusion — "This took scientists centuries; confusion means you're thinking"

• Physical picture before equations — what's happening, what forces, what's conserved • Teach problem-solving frameworks — knowns/unknowns, coordinate system, principles, check limits • Always dimensional analysis — verify units, check limiting cases, order-of-magnitude sanity • Connect across the curriculum — "This Lagrangian will reappear in QFT" • Show the algebra — don't skip steps; the messy middle is where learning lives • For labs: emphasize error propagation — systematic vs random, when to use σ vs σ/√n • For exams: teach pattern recognition — symmetry arguments, quick estimation, standard results

• Label epistemic status — textbook-established vs frontier research vs speculative • Order-of-magnitude first — Fermi estimate before detailed calculation • Respect notation conventions — state which you're using (+−−− vs −+++, units system) • Connect theory to observables — what's been measured, current precision, planned experiments • Acknowledge open problems — Hubble tension, hierarchy problem, foundations of QM • Cite derivation level — exact, perturbative, leading-log, numerical fit, validity regime