Sunday 7 December 2014

Wither year 12 physics?


Most of us who encounter a lot of first year students have noticed that their preparation in physics is changing, and this reflects shifts in emphasis at secondary school level. So, what do we want from year 12 physics? Given that it is not a pre-requisite subject for engineering, should it be taught at all?  *Gasp*

Ben Kelly writes:

I suppose of prime interest to me is the state of Physics education in public high schools.  We are constantly seeing a lower and lower level of ability and understanding in students coming into our courses.  Within NSW BOSTES it has been suggested that a generic STEM project unit (either replacing or supplementing), delivered by distance could replace many HSC  physics/chemistry units as finding staff willing to teach and being competent to teach are extremely difficult. Obviously that would be a huge change, both for physics graduates (as many go into physics teaching) and would no doubt have a huge impact on the quality of physics skills in graduating high school students. It would also have a significant impact on physics in 7-10, as most likely there would be no real Physics, as essentially no staff at a high school would have physics experience and as such students would be directed in to fields their teachers studied and are competent in. With the national curriculum being phased in, many schools are struggling to create resources in areas where they are struggling with new teachers or retrained teachers. I know some of the projects are out there to address some of these issues but I do worry that state boards left of field decisions might undermined some of these initiatives. I would also echo recent comments regarding students inability to apply maths, and how that is being taught both in schools and at universities. These issues are connected.  Here are some links: The reference report which provides some interesting figures and further context, student numbers etc, but it doesn’t provide figures on how qualified staff are, or how difficult it is to find staff to teach physics at any level in schools.http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/australian-curriculum/pdf_doc/senior-secondary-reference-report-science-2014-08.pdf  The Warren centre was seeking input and provides a bit more context to the report and review on Sciencehttp://thewarrencentre.org.au/chance-shape-science-taught-nsw/ There is no formal STEM PBL proposal yet, that I am aware of. They are still in the consultation phase I believe. However there is significant pressure to create a STEM unit like I have described for many reasons as it solves a lot of issues from the school/board side of things.


I’m not surprised that teaching physics as a separate subject is being questioned. It appears that, as a discipline, we struggle to make a clear and compelling case to society that physics is an essential, central part of our culture. I see parallels with Latin and Greek in the 1960’s.

 There may be a way to use distance learning resources to improve the quality of physics and applied maths at all levels (including primary schools), but I agree it needs to be handled carefully to avoid losing something precious.


Tuesday 2 December 2014

Special issue of IJ-ISME next year on Assessing in Labs


Stephanie Beames has provided information (here is a dropbox link to the pdf)  about......
.... a special issue on IJ-ISME next year on Assessing in Labs which Madeleine from ChemNet and Stefan Huth and I [Steph] are guest editing.
You may also like to look at the work of www.ChemNet.edu.au and www.IMSITE.edu.au to see what others are doing in the sector…


Venue for AIP PEG meeting at AIP Congress 2014



Many thanks to Paul Francis and Judith Pollard for helping organise this.
I’ve booked room AD Hope G30 for Wednesday 10 December from 12:30 to 1:15 pm for the PEG meeting.

Paul
Prof. Paul Francis Astrophysicist Mt Stromlo Observatory, and the Physics Education Centre 
College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Building 38a, Tel 02 6125 2824 or 8031 
The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200 Australia paul.francis@anu.edu.au
http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~pfrancis/ CRICOS Provider #00120C

Do you teach first year physics? Discussion group mooted..

Chris Creagh has suggested that those of us who teach first year physics get together and compare notes- which is an awesome idea. The first names that come to mind:

Chris Creagh (Murdoch)
David Hoxley (La Trobe)
John Holdsworth (Newcastle)
Theo Hughes (Monash)
Roger Rasool (Melbourne)
Julius Orwa (Deakin)
John O'Byrne (USyd)

Helen Johnston Helen Johnston (USyd)


This list is not exhaustive, and reflects my hunches about who handles the large first semester physics classes at the respective institutions. Who have I missed? Once I have a list, I'll start emailing.

By the way, Chris is a very interesting and innovative educator- her talk at the ACSME discipline day was fantastic (I'll try and post it).

Chris' digital presence:


Web pages:
Work-It-Out Home page: www.workitoutts.com/

Monday 1 December 2014

List of Women in physics programs?

Hi Folks,

 is anyone involved in a program to increase the participation of women in the physics community? I know of a few based in Victoria, and the AIP Women in Physics program, but I'm sure there must be more.

Some discussion has been stimulated by this article

PhD scholarships in Education at Curtin University


 Yay! PhD scholarships in education. Thanks to Mario Zadnik for drawing this to our attention.

Dropbox link to pdf version

Faculty of Science and Engineering, Curtin University
Call for Applications for:
PhD Scholarships in Science and Engineering Education (2 positions)
November 2014
Two PhD scholarships (covering both academic fees and living stipend), funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery grant, are available for the holders to conduct research in a project that investigates the nature of learning in Science and Engineering laboratory activities. The final practical objective of the project is an assessment of the level to which student learning in a physical laboratory setting can be replicated in remote/online laboratories. In this regard, the project is strongly aligned with the contemporary and future delivery of degree programs in Science and Engineering in the rapidly developing era of online, remote-access, education.
Upon PhD graduation, the scholars would be ideally placed to commence a career in the field of Science and Engineering Education having been supervised by, and received training from, a project team that comprises a mix of internationally leading researchers and nationally leading educators.
The research methods to be deployed in the project potentially include laboratory observations, surveys, data gathering, analysis and interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data, synthesis of findings to arrive at evidenced understanding, and design of potential online educational delivery mechanisms
Candidates for these PhD scholarships are expected to:
• Hold a laboratory-based undergraduate degree in a technical field (e.g. Chemistry, Physics, Engineering) at a high level (honours) of academic achievement;
• Have an interest in education and/or training as demonstrated by extra-curricular activities;
• Demonstrate an aptitude for research through their analytical skills and creative thinking;
• Be able to work in a team setting and take responsibility for their individual tasks;
• Be experienced in the use of digital technology and software packages;
• Possess excellent spoken and written communications skills that may be evidenced, for example, through their undergraduate thesis/project work and presentations given; and
• Practise well-developed time- and self-management skills with strong personal discipline and drive in their work.
For more detail or informal discussion of the research project and/or your suitability, please contact: Associate Professor Mauro Mocerino, E-mail: M.Mocerino@curtin.edu.au ; Tel. +61-8-9266-3125
Applications can be made online by visiting: http://futurestudents.curtin.edu.au/postgraduates/ When making an application, please mention this specific project and having communicated with Associate Professor Mauro Mocerino or another (by name) of the project team members.
Applications can be made from December 1st 2014 and will remain open until the positions are filled.

Scholarship for a Physics Education-based Masters by research


Post updated with link to pdf here.


A domestic post-graduate research scholarship is available in the School of Engineering and Information Technology at The University of New South Wales Canberra, for a Masters by Research Candidate to undertake the project.

Project Title: Investigating the origins of students’ alternative models of forces.

Supervisors: Dr Kate Wilson and Dr Tim Turner

Project Details:
Students entering university have a wide variety of conceptual frameworks and mental models of forces. Students can be very resistant to changing these conceptual frameworks.

The aim of this project is to investigate the range of alternative mental models of forces held by students at UNSW Canberra, and how these models were developed by the students. The project will also investigate how these models change through instruction or other influences. The UNSW Canberra context is interesting because of the spread of students from all Australian states.

The project will require collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data.
The successful applicant, subject to admission, will be awarded a SEIT Masters by Research Scholarship with an annual tax-free stipend of $27,049. The successful applicant would be expected to be available to commence their studies in Session 1, 2015.

UNSW Australia (the University of New South Wales) is one of Australia’s leading research and teaching universities. The Canberra campus of the University of New South Wales is located at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA). UNSW Canberra is less than five kilometres from the city centre and has a comprehensive library and state-of-the-art computing facilities. It is a pleasant and collegial place to work and study, and staff and students have access to ADFA facilities including free parking, gym and swimming pool.

For further information, please contact:
Dr. Kate Wilson
Phone: +61 2 6268 8172
School of Engineering and Information Technology

The University of New South Wales (Canberra)

AIP PEG once-every-two-years meeting at AIP congress


the Australian Institute of Physics Education Group (the AIP PEG) will be holding its once-every-two-years meeting at AIP congress in Canberra  on Wednesday 10 December from 12:30 to 1:15 pm.

The Venue and Agenda will be circulated over the next few days. We will be electing PEG office bearers and discussing the future role and direction of the group;  but please let me know what you would like discussed.

There will also be some informal gatherings during the week-a full schedule of these with venues and times will be posted to the PEN blog (http://aipeg.blogspot.com.au/). All welcome.


I'm particularly interested to hear from people who can't make it to congress, or are not usually involved in the PEG. Email me your thoughts…..

cheers,

David Hoxley

PEG Convenor