Thursday, 29 September 2016

Rough-as-guts first pass at notes from ACSME discipline day

General comments
Should we regard physics as the “liberal arts”of science? Would that help or hinder our students’s employability?


Who Employs your physics graduates?

Existing surveys:
Australian graduate destination survey; incomplete, self-selection bias
UK IoP survey- excellent, very complete.
University Alumni associations, particularly Go8
Need to use Networking
ADFA@UNSW knows where all their graduates go b/c military. (Most ADFA go into engineering.)
Safety
Sensing/Sensor networks
Big Data
Marketing (Loreal example-numbers specialist on marketing team)
Scientific instrument sales
Consulting
Business Analyst in local government
UNSW open day pamphlet- “Our graduates get jobs in the following industries….”
Animation/game design
Big Data (e.g. traffic analysis)

2008 UQ Graduate destination survey
Complete cohorts more useful than all cohorts
Use linkedIn/social media to stalk
BoM/ABS, Teaching


What do you tell parents at open Day?

“I’m not aware of any unemployed graduates in physics. Blinkers may apply”

Would you ‘Let”your children do physics?


Anything modelling- especuially ability to switch between different models e.g. at different elngthscales.
Knowing that there may be more than one contributing factor- so not thinking the problem will be solved by just one thing.


Doomsday scenario- you’re sacked. How get a job?

Do a gred cert in editingà publishing job

Management consulting X2 (BCG)

Go off-grid and live on savings

Train Driver

Safety (Radiation, Laser)
 Start a business in the secondary school sector (particularly regional) consulting/ontracting to schools, e.g. professional development, motivation. (X3)


Write textbooks (although poor royalties)
Write worksheets (Teachers Pay Teachers)
Create web presence: Physics Girl, Venitsium

Masters of Actuaryship

Secondary school teaching X2
TAFE teaching


Editing/rewriting thesis/research articles


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Hoxley
Lecturer
Department of Chemistry and Physics
La Trobe University



We had a great discussion about the agenda- you can see the raw whiteboards here:


They will be transcribed and summarised in due course.


For the record, the previous discipline days are also being summarised:

2015 (Curtin): SoLT (Jasmina)
Journal article draft (IJISME)

2014 (UTS): Flipping (Theo, Chris) 
AIP PEG white paper

2013 (Uni of Canberra): Accred/standards/TLOs (John)
AIP PEG white paper

cheers,

David.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Hoxley
Lecturer
Department of Chemistry and Physics
La Trobe University


Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Agenda for discipline day 2016 at UQ

Hi Folks,

the gathering will be relatively informal, with a simple agenda:


  1. WIL and employability in Physics degrees; past and future
  2. Report of outcomes of previous ACSME discipline days
  3. Advance call for nominations for Chair of AIP PEG (to be decided at AIP congress)

Here are a few questions to think about before tomorrow. Please feel free to email me any responses (d.hoxley@latrobe.edu.au) and to invite anyone you think appropriate to do the same.




  • Do you have complete records of where your physics students go after they graduate?
    • Can we pool this information nationally to get a picture of employment outcomes?
    • Has this already been done?
  • We talk in general terms about how employable our students-what evidence do we have?
    • What do you tell Parents at open day?
  • If you had to get a new job outside the University sector tomorrow, where would you apply?


Look forward to seeing you there.

--David.



Wednesday, 14 September 2016

ACSME discipline Day

Australian Institute of Physics Education Group

Discipline network meeting

To be held in conjunction with the 2016 Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (ACSME)
At the University of Queensland on Friday, 30 September, from 11.00am – 12.30pm, followed by light lunch

The meeting will be held in building 24 (Social Sciences) room 24-328

It is free to attend and all physics teaching colleagues are welcome. Please feel free to circulate this invitation.

Further information about the ACSME conference and venue map are attached, and online at:

Please rsvp to d.hoxley@latrobe.edu.au for catering purposes

See AIPEG blog at http://aipeg.blogspot.com.au


Wednesday, 20 July 2016

Australian Council of Deans of Science Teaching and Learning conference

Just about to go to ACDS T&L conference- go to one of these if you can. Most Associate Deans of Teaching and learning- smart, dedicated, experienced people.

Monday, 8 February 2016

SAGE: Athena SWAN for australia

https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/gender-equity

http://www.ecu.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan/

Saturday, 16 January 2016

Advice to a first year student interested in a career in astrophysics



As first year co-ordinator, I get quite a few emails like the below. Am I doing it right?

Hi David. I would like to pursue a career in astrophysics and have enrolled in PHY1AST. I have enrolled in math subjects such as MAT1ICA, MAT1NLA and MAT1CDE. Are there any other maths subjects I need to enrol in or are recommended?


Hi Slartibartfast,


You don’t need any special maths to do PHY1AST, but you will need lots in order to pursue an astrophysics career. So yes, all the ones you have listed will be useful.

I very much recommend any of these excellent moocs:


Here is a reddit AMA done by the driving forces, Paul Francis and Brian  Schmidt:

https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/3u3ijv/askscience_ama_series_we_are_brian_schmidt_and/



In general, the more maths you do at first year, the better- but don't do more than you feel comfortable with. Depth not breadth, and all that. :-)

Best wishes,

........

Friday, 18 December 2015

ACDS first year teaching conference: science co-ordinators unite and cast aside your chains!

Hi Folks,


Most of you know the incomparable Liz Johnson and her work with the Australian Council of the Deans of ScienceTeaching and Learning group. Liz is leading a precipitation/coagulation/crosslinking of first year science and mathematics educators,  to articulate common issues and help guide the Deans in speaking with one voice regarding first year teaching and learning. In a nutshell, this is a wonderful chance to fix the pressing problems many of us would love to fix.

This flyer describes two workshops the ACDS  T&L mob are organising- please consider if you are able to come, If you would like to come, but have no funds, let me know. No promises, but we would like to gauge interest.

This is also  the inaugural message of the first year physics network we agreed to get going at the last AIP congress. I will be sharing the admin load with Chris Creagh, who will be providing much of the clear thinking (as you know, Chris is ace). Please forward this email to anyone who you think should get it- the more interested people involved, the better.

As usual, please email me directly with any issues. 

Cheers,

David.

David Hoxley
Lecturer
First Year Co-ordinator
Department of Physics
La Trobe University



Sunday, 29 November 2015

The University of Queensland is recruiting a Physics learning designer

Message from Margaret Wegener:

I’m hoping that you can circulate/publish this job ad (attached) to the Physics Education Group. It’s for a learning designer with physics-y knowledge, in a project that some colleagues and I got institutional funding for.
 And if you know anyone who might be a suitable applicant, please pass it on. Regards,
Margaret.

Dr Margaret Wegener

PHYS1171 & PHYS3900 Course Co-ordinator
Physics Tutor Co-ordinator

Lecturer
Physics,
The University of Queensland, 4072,
Australia.
Office: Room 428, Physics Annexe
Phone: +61 7 3365 1244











Position Vacant - Learning Designer
Area: School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland
Salary: $72,045 p.a.
Work Type: Full Time/Part Time – Fixed Term
Location: St Lucia, Brisbane

The School of Mathematics and Physics
The School of Mathematics and Physics is a dynamic School within the Faculty of Science
at The University of Queensland. We are committed to excellence in learning, discovery
and engagement. The School's disciplines of mathematics, statistics and physics are
internationally recognised and members of its academic staff are leaders in their
respective fields. The School is also home to four ARC Centres of Excellence and
numerous other research groups.
Presently the School has approximately 100 academic staff. Undergraduate programs
offered include Bachelor of Science to honours level as well as double degrees, with
postgraduate coursework and research degrees also offered. Some 120 students are
presently enrolled in the School’s research higher degree program.
Information about the Faculty and the School may be accessed on the Faculty’s web site
at https://www.smp.uq.edu.au/

The role

The successful appointee will work on a University of Queensland Technology-Enhanced
Learning project to develop dynamic, interactive simulations to enhance student
learning. The project team aims to transform student learning experiences in
undergraduate physics and mathematics courses using open source online tools to
enhance preparation for in-class active learning. The role will involve supporting project
staff by developing relevant on-line simulations as well as creating and testing
associated teaching material.
The person
Applicants should possess qualifications in a relevant discipline such as mathematics,
physics, engineering or similar preferably with experience in tutoring/teaching at
university/school level. You should be comfortable with web-based technologies including
programming experience. A background in Javascript/HTML5/CSS would be
advantageous as would experience in the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Remuneration
This is a full-time or part-time, fixed term appointment for one year at HEW Level 6. The
remuneration package will be $72,045 p.a., plus employer superannuation contributions
of up to 17% (total package will be $84,293 p.a.).
Enquiries
To discuss this role please contact A/Prof Tim McIntyre on +61 7 3365 3423 or
t.mcintyre@uq.edu.au.
Applications should be sent to
A/Prof Tim McIntyre
School of Mathematics and Physics
The University of Queensland
Brisbane 4072
or e-mailed to
A/Prof Tim McIntyre t.mcintyre@uq.edu.au
Applications close Monday 14 December, 5pm




DUTY STATEMENT

Primary Purpose of Position
The learning designer will develop advanced web-based simulations supporting a number
of courses across mathematics and physics. This will include writing relevant code,
testing the simulation and making updates based on feedback from staff and students.
As well, the position will involve developing relevant teaching material including a
description of each simulation, activities to perform using each simulation and
assessment items.

Duties
Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to
Simulation development
• Develop computer code in an agreed computer language to simulate mathematics
and/or physics principles for use by students
• Adapt or update existing computer-based simulations in consultation with
academic staff
• Test existing computer-based simulations to evaluate their effectiveness for use
as part of the project
• In consultation with academic staff, develop appropriate teaching material to
support on-line computer simulations

Organisational Relationships
The position will report to the project team leader, A/Prof Tim McIntyre.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Essential
• A university degree in Mathematics, Physics, Engineering or similar
• High level computer competency including experience with web-based
technologies including programming
• A proven ability to work independently and meet timelines
• Excellent interpersonal skills (including written and verbal communication)

Desirable
• Experience with programming in Javascript/HTML5/CSS
• Tutoring/teaching experience at school or university level
• Familiarity with scholarship of teaching and learning

The University of Queensland is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion

Monday, 12 October 2015

Dead tree and Online Quizzes: Better together?




HatTip to the awesome David Wilson (Chem, La Trobe):

I thought you might be interested in the following content published on the ACS Web Editions Platform:
 Pencil–Paper Learning Should Be Combined with Online Homework Software David B. Smithrud and Allan R. Pinhas J. Chem. Educ., Article ASAP
DOI: 10.1021/ed500594g
Publication Date (Web): October 12, 2015 Copyright © 2015, American Chemical Society http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed500594g 


Sunday, 11 October 2015

Differences between physics discipline research and physics education research.......

NatureJournals: How scientists fool themselves – and how they can stop

Humans are remarkably good at self-deception. But growing concern about reproducibility is driving many researchers to seek ways to fight their own worst instincts.

Nature | 07 October 2015 | 10.1038/526182a


http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/526182a


Physics education for the Home Schooled

The home schooling community is growing. Many parents have good reasons for not sending their kids to school- for example, when they have a chronic, serious illness:

 Missing School | Keeping Seriously Sick Kids Connected

In other cases, they may simply live too far away:
School of the Air
http://www.assoa.nt.edu.au/



Home Education Association (HEA) 
http://www.hea.edu.au/

More controversially, some parents whose kids have Autism spectrum disorders choose to home school. 

http://www.amaze.org.au/uploads/2013/12/Amaze-Info-Sheet-Schooling-Options-for-Children-with-ASD-rev-Dec-2013.pdf


How do homeschooled kids go with learning phyiscs? For example, how could they do experiments? Is this something the AIP should be supporting? 

Let me know your thoughts.

Recent articles about the 'leaky STEM pipeline'


"​Star Wars​"​ posters and cheesy T.V. shows can do real-world damage.






The Atlantic: Thin Ice: Stereotype Threat and Black College Students - 


Thursday, 1 October 2015

Leadership booklets

 PPhillipsKPA  are a management consultancy which specializes in education and training. They made an interesting presentation at the Australian Council of the Deans of Science Teaching and Learning Conference, and have a range of publications about leadership in teaching and learning and research which may be very useful for academics trying to balance everything.

ETMST - are you involved?

Hi Folks,

there is a well-funded push from the chief scientist to get academics of Education and Science to work together to help better prepare science teachers to hit the classroom running. The umbrella Acronym is ETMST, and the Victorian node is ReMSTEP . There is a lot of interesting activity linking scientists, schools,  and pre-service teachers.

If you are looking for support and ideas for your educational projects, have a look and consider how you might involve pre-service teachers- especially  if you are at one of the funded universities (La Trobe, Melbourne, Deakin or Monash in Victoria). The ETMST link above will put you in touch with the equivalents in your state.




Curriculum mapping tools

There are a number of curriculum mapping tools being made so that people can check that their  Learning Outcomes are actually assessed. Here are a few that I found-has anyone got any more ?

National Academic Standards Statement for agriculture curriculum mapping tool

Deakin Nutritional Sciences curriculum mapping tool


Curtin Tools for comprehensive course review



Consider publishing in IJISME......

If you are not sure where to publish your educational story, then IJISME might be the go. There are regular special issues, and the editing team is friendly and supportive (including the awesome Stephanie Beames). The latest special issue is 'The link between tertiary science and employability'.

Wednesday, 30 September 2015

UNSW physics of everyday things online unit- awesome!

UNSW has created an online unit where students do experiments at home. It looks...aswesome. It's organised by theme, and each theme has instructional movies, featuring the powerhouse director of first year teaching at UNSW physics, Elizabeth Angstmann


All the instructional movies are available online for everyone- nice.





Tuesday, 29 September 2015

ACSME Discipline Day 2015: Is credit for feedback a smart move? Discuss......

[Edit: updated to include link to sadler paper]

Hi folks,

We are an intimate gathering this year, so I propose that we keep proceedings informal but focussed. If anyone has any agenda items they would like to discuss, please email me, text me or pull me aside at the conference. I humbly offer the following as a discussion point:

Credit for formative assessment: a path to mediocrity?

Assessment in our physics units usually consists of formative assessment where students apply their new knowledge (e.g. problem sets) and summative assessment where they can demonstrate their level of proficiency (e.g. an exam). Many university science courses (e.g. at La Trobe) adopt the principles of constructive alignment [1], where the course assessment is driven by the learning outcomes. In this model, everything the students are required to do should be assessed so that feedback can be given and signals sent about the relative importance of different elements.

While assigning credit to formative assessment does focus the learning design and enforce timely feedback, it also provides an opportunity for students to accumulate marks ‘along the way’. It can be difficult to set an appropriate marking scheme that rewards students for effort and makes allowances for the journey towards mastery and yet provides solid feedback about what standards are ultimately acceptable. This can lead to the situation where students get, say, 60% throughout the unit, only to fail because of poor performance on the final exam. It also becomes possible for students to compensate for poor summative performance by accumulating formative marks; they pass the unit, but have not at any stage demonstrated mastery of the material.

Royce Sadler has written about the subtleties of feedback [2,3], and warns that students may not be able to access feedback for improvement in the ways we assume. He spoke to the Australian Council of the Deans of Science at their annual Teaching and Learning conference this year, and provoked the attendees by proposing that formative feedback be decoupled from the final grade in a unit.

What do you think?

I will lead/moderate a discussion on this topic, and see if we can arrive at a set of conclusions that we can disseminate to the rest of the Physics Education Network. So, please try to read the attached, and come with a position!

See you there.

Cheers,

David.





Sunday, 30 August 2015

Errors and Uncertainties, and Statistics in general

As part of the new VCE study design, I've been discussing how we teach high school students to handle errors and uncertainties, in particular terminology like:
random vs systematic
errors vs uncertainties

And, how many significant figures are we allowed to quote errors to?