The Physics Teaching Podcast

Latest Podcasts

  • New to A-Level

    New to A-Level

    Ruth Cheesman returns to talk about her first few weeks of A-Level teaching.

    Below you can find Thomas’ PowerPoint that explains how to do the mass of a 1m ruler.

    Mass-of-a-1m-ruler.pptxDownload

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    Please share ideas or successes – or indeed questions by messaging us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/physicstp.bsky.social .  You can also message us via our website contact form on every page of the web site at  the.physicsteachingpodcast.com, or email using the address given in the podcast (if we remember). We are moving away from X but can be found there as @physicstp.

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  • Ways to teach… The Start of A-Level Physics (16+)

    Ways to teach… The Start of A-Level Physics (16+)

    Thomas and Robin return after an extended break, inspired by a Tweet from Ruth Cheesman, who joins us to ask for tips to get started with her A-level class this week (good luck Ruth!).

    We also welcome Sarah Dowd to help answer Ruth’s query, Sarah teaches at UNIS in New York and joins to share her practice in the first of two upcoming appearances (she’ll be back in a few weeks to talk ChatPhysics!)

    Thanks to all the contributors via Twitter who came up with some great tips which we’ve summarised below (although you really should listen because Sarah and Ruth are great).

    Assume they forgot – year 12s are just year 11s who have had 3 months to forget everything. Ask them to pick up a copy of the CGP book, Head Start to AS Physics. Sarah particularly liked its focus on the skills they should have ‘in the bag’ from GCSE.

    Practical focus – practical work gives them a chance to think, collaborate and develop ideas. An open-ended measurement task works well (see the links section for “How long’s a piece of string”). It also gives you a chance to re-discover your inner 6 year-old, says Sarah: “Why? Why? Why?…”

    Choose questions carefully. Problem-solving and question-answering are central, but be careful to tailor them at first as they develop their skills. Carefully look at past paper questions to ensure suitability, and set them going with Isaac Physics early. We don’t mention him in the podcast, but don’t forget The Science Doctor (aka Friend of the Podcast, Dr Pete Edmunds). See the links section!

    Lest we forget, technicians are heroes: Sarah reveals the list of professionals who saved her life through her career.

    Whatever subject you teach, there are some good principles to help any new 6th former settle in, so help them by coaching them in or teaching them study skills. For example developing a study plan and / or time management (8 hours for sleep, 8 hours for study, 8 hours for you!)

    A lot of discussion on developing note-taking skills: some favoured scaffolding, some favoured question-led notes. Scaffolding of notes varied, so try some strategies and see which work for your group. Sarah was a fan of booklets (try and leverage others’ efforts here – again, see Science Doctor in the links). Sarah recommends using the Visualiser and the Apple Notability App.

    Worked examples are important (I believe the young folk call it modelling) but as with questions, think carefully about what skills you are trying to develop.

    Try and remember a bit of Showbiz – the “awe and wonder”. Sarah wins here with a rooftop in NYC and a tank of Liqui Nitrogen.

    Thomas reminds us that progress is not linear in year 12: expect a hockey stick progress graph, and keep the expectations high. Sarah’s advice on how to deal with stroppy and upset students should be on a plaque in every classroom: you’ll have to listen to find out though…

    We’ll be back soon, and as always, we want to hear what you want to discuss… if you fancy guesting, even better.

    Links

     

    Join in!

    Please share ideas or successes – or indeed questions by messaging us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/physicstp.bsky.social .  You can also message us via our website contact form on every page of the web site at  the.physicsteachingpodcast.com, or email using the address given in the podcast (if we remember). We are moving away from X but can be found there as @physicstp.

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  • Ways to Teach… Space

    Ways to Teach… Space

    Space is a challenging subject to teach, so a good subject for the first “Ways to Teach…” of this academic year. 

    Thomas and Robin start with a look at some physics in the news. The proton is smaller than we thought!  About 5% smaller which will make it even harder to find one if you lose it, but let’s not be negative… 

    In other news, a new wonder-polymer promises transparency, strength and lightness all in one. Will it be as successful as graphene (which Robin made the mistake of questioning in front of an engineer). 

    And so to space. If there’s one message (and thanks to Dr David Boyce and others for this advice) try to use models, demos and activity to show what’s going on. It’s tempting to think you can’t do anything other than PowerPoint and YouTube for this topic, but whilst the odd video of cosmic phenomena can be great, you can make this subject live in the classroom. 

    So whether it’s “phases of the egg” or redshift on a balloon, try to get students involved in the subject. Living orreries, using beachballs to represent the sun and modelling the solar system’s scale with a beachball and a pea – all this and more is in our first “Ways to Teach…” of 2022. 

    Links to the resources we mention are listed below. 

    Join in!

    Please share ideas or successes – or indeed questions by messaging us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/physicstp.bsky.social .  You can also message us via our website contact form on every page of the web site at  the.physicsteachingpodcast.com, or email using the address given in the podcast (if we remember). We are moving away from X but can be found there as @physicstp.

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  • Girls in to Physics II

    Girls in to Physics II

    Thomas and Robin return after an extended break to talk A-level expectations, girls in physics and strategies for inclusion. 

    Thomas and Robin start with a chat about how to identify early on whether students are likely to succeed in A-level physics. We identify a number of strategies and challenges here… 

    • Whilst many students might choose physics as an A-level that they study for interest alone, most are looking to also achieve a grade that will allow them to progress. If a student is unlikely to achieve much better than a C it is only fair to have the conversation about what doors will be opened by that grade. 
    • Thomas and Robin both start with a maths test at the beginning of the year as the best indicator of a student’s potential in the subject. A poor performance in this test is not irrecoverable, but if the student also has low-level study skills, then this may be a sign that physics is too steep a challenge for them. 
    • Students who don’t have sufficient self-awareness to judge their performance and so just trust to hope are a difficult case, and a frank conversation with parents to manage expectations is best tackled early on. 

    We are lucky enough to be joined by Emeritus Professor Averil MacDonald who talks about how to make our classrooms more inclusive, for example using adjectives more often and giving physocs context in terms of careers and skills it gives you. Here’s a resource from SEPNet to give you some ideas. The IOP is also doing a lot to try and break down barriers. 

    As we carry on with the podcast we will be doing episodes every month or so, but would love to hear from you about you want to hear from us. And if you fancy coming on and talking about something with us, we would love to welcome you. 

    Join in!

    Please share ideas or successes – or indeed questions by messaging us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/physicstp.bsky.social .  You can also message us via our website contact form on every page of the web site at  the.physicsteachingpodcast.com, or email using the address given in the podcast (if we remember). We are moving away from X but can be found there as @physicstp.

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  • Big Classes, Small Classes and Thank Yous

    Big Classes, Small Classes and Thank Yous

    Thomas and Robin return for season 4, inexplicably without any awards for podcasting gold, but there are bigger mysteries in the world.  Not least, how does Thomas survive his DIY attempts?

    We start talking about BIG classes at A-level, and ways to get around a lack of equipment, but also address the other end of the size scale thanks to a question from “Thomas Young” (not that one) who has a rolled-together year 12/13 group of 3 students. Thomas and Robin make various logistic suggestions, but if you have any experience of this we’d love to hear from you: contact us below…

    We talk practice – i.e. becoming proficient through repeating techniques until they are 2nd nature. All very well but where do you find resources to help?? Well here’s some info…

    https://isaacphysics.org/

    https://sciencedoctor.school.blog/

    https://www.physicsandmathstutor.com/

    We are honoured to welcome Emeritus Professor Averil MacDonald who tells us about a thank you event that the IOP ran at the end of last year to say thank you to physics teachers. If you are interested in the logistics of an online conference that allows ofr networking and breakout rooms etc, see https://remo.co/conference/

    We reflect on how physics teachers LOVE getting together and talking physics teaching. If you want to find the latest events, head to TalkPhysics events section and you will see details of all the IOP events both online and in person.  Averil also mentions eventbrite as a good place to find international events, and don’t forget, you can tell us about an event and we will happily promote.

    We finish with some ways that we ‘start’ at the beginning of the year to save our and our students’ sanities – vocab tests, units and conversions are all useful foundations that won’t generate huge amounts of marking and will be a good foundation for the future.

    However you’ve started, we hope you are enjoying it and that you are still on top of things. If you don’t feel on top of things, don’t worry and a particular tip of the hat to all the NQTs listening / reading – let us know how you are getting on.

    Join in!

    Please share ideas or successes – or indeed questions by messaging us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/physicstp.bsky.social .  You can also message us via our website contact form on every page of the web site at  the.physicsteachingpodcast.com, or email using the address given in the podcast (if we remember). We are moving away from X but can be found there as @physicstp.

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  • Season 3 Finale!

    Season 3 Finale!

    Well, we made it. What. A. Year. Robin and Thomas hook up with Patrick Kaplo to hear about how he has been getting on in the North Eastern USA and, as usual, get somewhat distracted. Thomas nobly tries to steer the whimsical chat towards physics teaching with limited success.

    Patrick had to cancel his extraordinary trebuchet competition because of the pandemic (see video below) and has also been suffering under incredible heat. This leads to him crushing another of Thomas’ stereotypes about the USA and for Thomas to explain how he used his Physics teaching knowledge to save some money by investing in an inverter.

    Thomas thanks David Cotton (@newmanphysics on twitter) for a gift he sent of a vintage textbook of practicals and a tiny triple LED light demonstrator.

    We drift in to chatting about how relevant our Physics specs are to everyday life. Thomas asserts that he only used his knowledge of a vernier scale but Patrick quicly points out all the other ways. Robin is adamant (look away now CLEAPPS) that a basic knowledge of electricity is enough to do DIY electricity*.

    We then talk about the difficult year and Thomas reflects on his failures with Year 7 – making the same mistakes he made in his first years of teaching. We talk about what we are going to take forward from the pandemic and really hope that CPD will be better! No more drawing a “perfect teacher” or “perfect student”…

    Patrick and Robin both have a new start next year and Thomas is expecting a huge uptick in students at A-Level. We talk through the changes we’ll face. If you teach a huge class of A-Level students PLEASE get in touch and come on the podcast to tell us your strategies. Patrick has itchy feet and wants to avoid James de Winter’s “velvet lined rut”.

    Finally some thank yous, Thank you to everyone who has listened, we couldn’t do it without your support and kind words. Thank you to all the guests; so many wonderful people who have freely given their time. Thank you to Robin for being the brains of the operation, bringing some credibility and always doing the show notes (and nearly always on time). This is my least favourite task but I have muddled through ~ Thomas

    +And thank you Thomas for all the heavy lifting ~ Robin

    Patrick Kaplo’s trebuchet competition.

    *in the UK all DIY electrical work should be checked by a qualified electrician ?.

    Join in!

    Please share ideas or successes – or indeed questions by messaging us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/physicstp.bsky.social .  You can also message us via our website contact form on every page of the web site at  the.physicsteachingpodcast.com, or email using the address given in the podcast (if we remember). We are moving away from X but can be found there as @physicstp.

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  • We ❤️ the Vernier Scale

    We ❤️ the Vernier Scale

    Thomas has received a shiny new Travelling Microscope with a 0.01 mm precision vernier scale. There is only one thing he wants to talk about.

    First Thomas talks briefly avbout his 205 mile (329km) ride for Education Support (the only UK charity dedicated to the mental health and wellbeing of education staff in schools, colleges and universities). He’s raised over £1,300 so far, and the donation page is still open.

    We then thank Tim Browett for getting in touch. Tim is going to be our guest for Ways to teach… Space, so if you have any ideas please share them with us in the usual ways (@physicstp on twitter and a contact form on the web site).

    Then on to the vernier scale, which was invented in 1631 by Pierre Vernier and is a simple way of taking high precision measurements. Thomas describes how he introduces it in class by making a large 1 cm scale vernier that can measure mm. This was the way Thomas taught himself to use it when he was doing A-Level and he thinks nothing beats the experience of working it out with a large scale where you can see things happening in front of you.

    Links

    charlie and Thomas

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    Please share ideas or successes – or indeed questions by messaging us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/physicstp.bsky.social .  You can also message us via our website contact form on every page of the web site at  the.physicsteachingpodcast.com, or email using the address given in the podcast (if we remember). We are moving away from X but can be found there as @physicstp.

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  • (Why) We Love Physics (Teaching)

    100 not out! Thomas and Robin salute the balcony with a good old-fashioned ramble about what excites them about physics teaching, making the subject live if you’re not a specialist and the challenges of teaching science in a ‘post-truth’ world.

    Image
    Thomas — Robin

    We go round ALL the houses, and talk about where our love from physics comes from, but we’ve distilled out the most eclectic links list we have ever produced! Here it is…

    Links

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    Please share ideas or successes – or indeed questions by messaging us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/physicstp.bsky.social .  You can also message us via our website contact form on every page of the web site at  the.physicsteachingpodcast.com, or email using the address given in the podcast (if we remember). We are moving away from X but can be found there as @physicstp.

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  • Bad Movies for Good Lessons

    Bad Movies for Good Lessons

    We talk through bad movies to support good Physics Teaching. the aim is to talk through ones people suggest that are actually usable in lessons. As usual we get excited and make a few mistakes. Thomas is pretty sure that aeroplanes are made of aluminium, not steel and there were a few mentioned (Ant Man, Hulk) that we forgot to cover.

    Links are below.

    Sorry for the brief notes. Like you, we have a billion papers to mark for the TAGs/CAGs.

    Links

    Join in!

    Please share ideas or successes – or indeed questions by messaging us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/physicstp.bsky.social .  You can also message us via our website contact form on every page of the web site at  the.physicsteachingpodcast.com, or email using the address given in the podcast (if we remember). We are moving away from X but can be found there as @physicstp.

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  • Techognition

    Techognition

    We meet Paul Cook stellar technician, Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics and tireless promoter of professional recognition for technicians. Paul is the senior lead technician at Ark Burlington Danes Academy and lead technician for the Ark Academy network.

    He has worked as a senior/head technician for many years in various schools in Essex and across London covering all three sciences to A-level but with a specialism in physics.

    He is an Association for Science Education (ASE) technician committee member and registrant champion for the Science Council and was The Ogden Trust’s first technician fellow.

    Read more about his honorary fellowship here, or see his LinkedIn profile here.

    Paul’s advice is straightforward in getting the most out of your relationship with your technician colleague

    • talk to your colleague. Discuss how you can help each other. Your technician colleague will often have built up years of experience and your teaching can benefit from their expertise.
    • include your technician colleague in your planning. Involve them in your teaching: can they help you with demos? Can they help students overcome technical difficulties?
    • ensure CPD for technicians. It’s easy to focus CPD sessions on your teaching staff, but Paul stresses the importance of allowing technicians to build their expertise through practical, hands-on training.

    … and with CPD in mind, Technognition’s annual celebration and showcase for school science technicians is happening on June 11th (link below!). For those that don’t know, Techognition is an organisation that Paul is heavily involved with. It celebrates the work of school and FE college technicians and promotes their professional recognition.

    Thanks so much to Paul for dealing with some dodgy data links and persevering anyway.

    Links

    Join in!

    Please share ideas or successes – or indeed questions by messaging us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/physicstp.bsky.social .  You can also message us via our website contact form on every page of the web site at  the.physicsteachingpodcast.com, or email using the address given in the podcast (if we remember). We are moving away from X but can be found there as @physicstp.

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