Discussions about physics, demonstrations, spontaneous singing and funny quips. These are the happenings of the AP Physics 1 classroom this school year. From alumnus to teacher, Gavin Kramar shares his passion for physics with students in the same building that he learned about physics.
Kramar initially started out as a student at this school where he was always interested in math and science, especially chemistry at first. He started out teaching at Wheaton for three years, taught in Boston charter schools and did academic advising at Harvard. This is his sixth year teaching, although it is first year at this school. He is now working with people that used to be his teacher. “Now I’m collaborating with someone who used to be like my instructor, now we’re like working together,” Kramar said.
Kramar did research internships and found that it wasn’t something he was too interested in so he wanted to pursue education. He got his master’s degree in education at University of Maryland and got a year long internship at Blair. Kramar enjoys the challenge of teaching these difficult concepts to students in his AP Physics classroom. He likes working with other passionate educators and the social interaction of the job. “I like that it’s a lot of social interaction,” Kramar said.
When Kramar was a student here, he performed in theater. Performing is an aspect that he incorporates in his day-to-day teaching because sometimes he will break out into spontaneous singing. This unpredictability helps to keep students focused, engaged and entertained while learning. He also makes quippy jokes in between explaining complex physics problems. “Teaching is performance, in a way, you’re in front of a crowd and keep them engaged,” Kramar said.
Students like the way Kramar teaches his classes. He gives time in class to work on physics problems and ask questions when you need help. Students feel confident for the impending AP exam come May of next year. “The days when he lets us do work on our own are helpful for me because I can try to figure it out on my own and ask any questions I have. He is always giving us tips on what we might see on the AP exam to make sure that we are ready,” junior Nate Dates said.
Kramar also performs demos in class to further explain these difficult concepts to students, which is helpful in understanding. “I feel confident for tests because I know that I was able to complete all the assignments like labs and worksheets and the tests should essentially be a combination of those things,” junior Alex Okun said.
Kramar has garnered admiration from students already in his first year at the school and makes learning physics concepts easier for his students and boosts their confidence. Students find this kind of teaching helpful, especially when there is a major AP exam at the end of the school year. “When I see him before test days, he always tells me it’s not gonna be that bad,” Dates said.
