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﻿﻿Cultivating an analytical and inquisitive mindset that enables students to interpret the world through a scientific lens

﻿﻿Develop an introductory but fundamental conceptual understanding of core physics principles

KS4 Programme of Study

﻿﻿Classical mechanics

﻿﻿Atoms and stars

﻿﻿Thermal physics

﻿﻿Waves and optics

﻿﻿Electricity and magnetism

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These are my current views in what a physics education should be:

emphasis on more hollistic approach to learning physics

there is a current emphasis on learning topics in sections without realising the correlation between topics, which can lead to students memorising facts rather than understanding how they can be related to one another

I think apart from the main content, there should be more emphasis on teaching:

real-world applications (providing more examples of physics in daily life such as with electrical appliances or vehicles)

ethical discussions/debates (e.g. nuclear sources, renewable energy, how can we achieve a net-zero carbon goal)

practicals/experimental work that puts students through the process of discovering, rather than affirming a known theorem

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Aims of physics education: Example of Astrophysics/Astronomy:

Overarching Question: What is “out there“ in the universe beyond our pale blue dot? -> Ask big questions, event if those cannot be fully answered or understood by 14-16 yo yet, they may spark interest, fascination and discussion.

Content: Earth (structure, location), Solar System (planets, moons, sun, asteroids, comets), Galaxy (eg: Hubble Classification, stars), Universe (black holes, supernova, etc.) -> Again with the aim of provoking thought: As evident form Reiss (2005), students overwhelmingly wish for more philosophical discussion in physics class, so lets provide a space for that. While students will not yet have the mathematical understanding to discuss black holes quantitatively, there is nothing stopping us form discussing them qualitatively. Although something like calculating Schwarzschild radius is by no means involving maths that is beyond yr 9 level. I firmly believe that such topics would resinate with students much more then learning the order of planets off by heart.

Practical Work: Some schools may have a hobby telescope that can be used. Here we can tie in discussions of how a telescope works as well for instance (discussions of light, reflections, magnification) -> Bring across the idea that different areas of science and physics work together, not independently (it takes understanding of reflection to be able to build a telescope which in turn ins needed to understand and observe planets, moons and stars). There can also be extensive work done with second hand data: NASA has a wide range of publicly available date that could be used to perform simple analyses (building on skills learned in compulsory computing class by plotting rudimentary relationships etc.)

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Give pupils a sense of how what they are learning can be applied to their life in some way

Nurture the curiosity of pupils, show the wonder of physics, foster engagement with what is being learnt

Show practically with a hands-on approach the way that the science works in real life

Develop a scientific way of thinking rather than just memorising content and regurgitation

Emphasise the importance of the future of science educators

(it’s all pointless if there’s no future, and no one considering a career in science education - no one left to teach - lack of teachers - poor quality educators?)

Proposed programme of study to meet these:

Concept-led topics, led with relevance rather than it coming at the end as an additional aspect

Encouraging questioning, led by practicals and exploration of the science practically. Education led by pupils asking “why”? Not a focus on just getting the formulas right.

Giving students opportunities to teach a summary of an area themselves, maybe something already learnt. Learning through having to explain themselves and encouraging future educators. (Addressing the reality of the downfall of the influx of physics teachers) and at the same time nurturing future physicists.

Assessments with opportunities for students to talk about an area of personal interest from a range of topics

Practical assessment? Presentations?

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Overarching principles.

Continue to supply formula sheet - doesn’t need to specify terms/units but should encompass any possible equation that the student should need to know for the exam. More of an emphasis on problem-solving (minimal ‘book work’ questions), have a spread of difficulties with the most challenging questions being harder than currently the case, in order to challenge the most able, without discouraging the majority of students.

Conceptual understanding over memorisation of formulae/methods - asking questions like “what is a gravitational field”/“what is electricity” and explaining in terms that students can understand. Use models, engage with intuition.

Introduce lab book practice + 6 assessed practicals over the course of e.g. 2 years of GCSE. Low weight, e.g. 15%/2.5% per practical so as not to stress out the students. Assess lab skills, lab book, write-up. Former two can be more informal, report doesn’t need to be long or time-consuming, just enough to motivate practical skills to a greater extent.

Slimming down the curriculum to cover fewer topics in more depth + less equation rote learning should generate more time for class debates - e.g. on ethical implications - and lessons on current uses of science/tech in society, and perhaps even very simple qualitative introductions to topics like black holes/space-time. Just because something isn’t examined doesn’t mean teachers don’t have a responsibility to dedicate the occasional lesson - if the topic is exciting enough and enthusiastically delivered, then hopefully many students will naturally engage and be inspired without asking “will this be on the exam?” etc. School should be about more than just what mark you achieve in a 2 hour paper at the end of the year (even though this is obviously important).

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I believe that the aims of Physics education should be to provided a well-rounded view of our world around us. It should incorporate lots of practical work to help students visualise and better understand the concepts they are learning.

I also believe there needs to be a bigger focus on the scientific method and developing scientific and mathematical skills over focussing on lots of content that just rewards memory over skill.

More focus on space physics. Currently, it only looks at 'the main features of the solar system.' I do not think this goes anywhere near far enough and loses out on teaching a lot of interesting content that would engage the students more than other topics perhaps.

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Content:

Different theories of atomic structure across time and the one that's most widely used

How the correct atomic structure was discovered (alpha, gold film experiment)

How the subatomic structure determines what element the atom will be, the effects of how the element will react/looks if the subatomic structure changed e.g. isotopes, ions

Radiation

Broad questions

What other phenomenon could atomic structure explain?

Applications

Reactivity of elements and visuals

Radiation dangers and how nuclear reactors work based on fission and fusion

Fusion being responsible for the Sun radiating heat and how planets stay stable

Practical work

Gold film experiment with alpha particles

How quickly radiation exposure increases with distance

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Aims of specifically physics education:

To go from 1 stick plus another stick = 2 sticks to as far as you can go fully understanding ideally before proceeding.

What would be in my KS4:

Extra classes for those who are intrested and fewer but longer question worth more marks. No foundation and higher/ double and tripple science splitting for the exam. Although i agree with sets. Better textbooks that start each topic from the fundamentals.

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I would say that one of the aim of physics education is to teach physics in such a way that most people would be willing/interested to engage in a casual conversation about physics.

There is also a need to raise the future generation of physicists with a necesarry skillset.

Give an accurate representation of what physics is.

Make people benefit from their physics education long after they stopped studying physics.

I would say that thinking as a physicist should be a much more important aspect of physics.

Topics

Forces in real life

Electricity, Magnetism and its uses

Optics, Telescopes and Space

Atomic Struction and Radioactivity

Matter and Thermodynamics

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Developing a strong scientific and mathematical skill set rather than focusing on memorising content.

Emphasising analytical thinking and problem solving skills.

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Content:
Electrostatics

Circuit symbols

Types of circuits (series, parallel)

Electricity circuit graphs (IV graph etc.)

Laws (Ohm’s law)
Circuit calculations (e.g. with different components)

Broad questions:

What is electricity actually?

Applications:

National grid

Energy and sustainability
- step up and down transformers

How electrical appliances work (e.g. toaster, lightbulb, chargers)

Practical work - heavy practical emphasis

Constructing circuits

Investigating/deconstructing electrical devices

Investigative project to develop/plan a device or circuit to solve an issue

Van der graph generator (but not every school will have)

Rod and cloth / balloon (electrostatics)

Electricity in our world
History of electricity

Cultural / social impacts

Coursework: looking at impact and role of electricity in our lives? Open ended question for students to answer