Stimulating Physics

CPD conference

This free conference, now in its third year, is for anyone who provides support, CPD or training for teachers of physics. Our aim is to bring together and work with this community to strengthen the support available to new, existing and non-specialist teachers of physics.

"Simply the most thought-provoking few days of my career" - 2010 delegate.

The conference will include discussions, practical workshops, site visits, a conference dinner and keynote talks from leading thinkers in physics education. It will also be an opportunity to meet the education team at the Institute and learn about our current activities and resources.

For more information contact Eliza Selley.

CPD Conference

Delegates are able to choose to attend all three days of the conference, single days or a selection of days. This conference is free to attend, but delegates are expected to organise their own accommodation.

The programme for last year's conference (2011) is listed below.

Thursday

 

 

Friday

 

 

Saturday

Delegates will have a choice of workshops to include

• What Happens Next? A teaching strategy to get students of all ages talking. -
  The workshop gives a series of easily demonstrated experiments, all with slightly unusual outcomes, each one presenting opportunity for discussion. These experiments are sometimes referred to as discrepant events: the scientifically slightly unexpected. Younger children can be presented with simple ‘either/or’ experiments whereas older children can be offered more complicated situations that require deeper understanding. The strategy has been used successfully with students aged 5-18, and in training sessions for teachers.
• Teaching Electricity: the SPT resources and the rope-loop model - Participants will explore the use of the rope-loop model in teaching electricity, learn to navigate the electronic Supporting Physics Teaching (SPT) resources, and think about energy in a simple electrical circuit. With an introduction and assistance from Elvis the Duck...
• Using SPT resources to develop the teaching and learning of balanced forces and motion - What are the challenges faced in understanding the idea of balanced forces and steady motion? How can the teaching and learning challenges be met? We look at some aspects of the SPT materials that Teaching and Learning Coaches from the North West have found helpful whilst planning and teaching workshops on this topic. We end the session with a fun practical competition to assess how well you can balance your forces.
• Supporting Physics Teaching: Earth and Space - Many adults cannot give a good explanation of ‘Night and Day’ or ‘the Seasons’ so it is no surprise that children struggle. This session will use the IOP's 'Supporting Physics Teaching' materials to help uncover the teachers’ and pupils’ misconceptions, using pupil responses and a range of demonstrations/practical activities.
• Energy and power: a coherent framework for teachers of 14-16 year old children
• Great Ideas from the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme, with Gerry Blake and Helen Pollard

Info for delegates

Hotels

Hotels are available near to the Institute of Physics.

Presentations

Presentations and resources from the conference will be available through the dedicated TalkPhysics group. You will need to be a member of TalkPhysics to access these files.

Walking Tours

Enquiring Minds: Physicists in London - This walk will show you many sites associated with the most important figures in the history of British science. You will see the house that Isaac Newton lived in and the church he worshipped at, and hear about his friend Edmond Halley and his foe Robert Hooke. You will see the impressive statue of Michael Faraday overlooking the river, and hear about the rivalry between him and his mentor Humphry Davy. You will see the magnificent architecture of two former homes of the Royal Society, as well as its current home, and hear about its history. You will see the house that Benjamin Franklin lived in, and you will see the Royal Institution, where Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday and Thomas Young all worked. The walk starts at Somerset House on Strand, ends at the Royal Institution on Albemarle Street and takes about two hours. You will be able to visit the Faraday Museum at the Royal Institution after the walk.

Ten Things You Didn't Know About Science - Did you know that Marie Stopes was a career palaeobotanist and that Humphry Davy’s experiments with nitrous oxide led to a new recreational drug for the upper classes? On this walk you will hear about some of the greater and lesser known scientific figures of the last three hundred years and see the places where they lived and worked. You will see the home of the scientist who invented the concertina and the workplace of the man who invented the World War 2 test for night blindness (it involved a latrine pit!). This area of London has a rich medical heritage with Harley Street at its centre and so in addition to hearing about how medical science has developed you will also see buildings of architectural and scientific import, including the Royal College of Physicians and the King’s Fund. This walk is packed with facts and anecdotes. It starts from the Institute of Physics in Portland Place and finishes in Cavendish Square, just off Oxford Street, and takes about one-and-a-half hours. It is a short walk from Cavendish Square to the Royal Institution for those who wish to visit the Faraday Museum after the walk.

 

Speakers' Biographies

Professor Justin Dillion FLS

Justin Dillon is professor of science and environmental education and Head of the Science and Technology Education Group at King’s College London. After studying for a degree in chemistry he trained as a teacher at Chelsea College and taught in six inner London schools until 1989 when he joined King’s. Professor Dillon’s PhD examined the management of science teacher professional development. He is currently directing King’s involvement in three EU-funded projects looking at: interests and recruitment in science; developing exhibitions in museums and science centres aimed at promoting women in science and technology , and inquiry-based science education in botanic gardens. Professor Dillon is one of the co-directors of the ESRC Targeted Initiative in Science and Mathematics Education (TISME). He is a Chartered Scientist and a Fellow of the The Linnean Society of London. Professor Dillon is co-editor of the International Journal of Science Education and in 2007 was elected President of the European Science Education Research Association for a four-year term. He is a trustee of the London Wildlife Trust and was Chair of its Council for 8 years. He is also a trustee of Sustainable and Environmental Education and Secretary of Bankside Open Spaces Trust. His latest co-edited book, The Professional Knowledge Base of Science Teachers, has been published by Springer in March.

Professor Dylan Wiliam

Dylan Wiliam is Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at Institute of Education, University of London.
After a first degree in mathematics and physics, and one year teaching in a private school, he taught in inner-city schools for seven years, during which time he earned further degrees in mathematics and mathematics education. In 1984 he joined Chelsea College, University of London, which later became part of King's College London. During this time he worked on developing innovative assessment schemes in mathematics before taking over the leadership of the mathematics teacher education program at King’s. Between 1989 and 1991 he was the Academic Coordinator of the Consortium for Assessment and Testing in Schools, which developed a variety of statutory and non-statutory assessments for the national curriculum of England and Wales.
After his return to King’s, he completed his PhD, addressing some of the technical issues thrown up by the adoption of a system of age-independent criterion-referenced levels of attainment in the national curriculum of England and Wales. From 1996 to 2001 he was the Dean and Head of the School of Education at King’s College London, and from 2001 to 2003, he served as Assistant Principal of the College. In 2003 he moved to the USA, as Senior Research Director at the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ. In 2006 he returned to the UK as Deputy Director of the Institute of Education, University of London. In 2010 he stood down as Deputy Director to spend more time on research and teaching. His recent work has focused on the use of assessment to support learning  (sometimes called formative assessment). He was the co-author, with Paul Black of a major review of the research evidence on formative assessment published in 1998 and has subsequently worked with many groups of teachers, in both the UK and the USA, on developing formative assessment practices.

Professor Mary Ratcliffe

After completing a chemistry degree in Manchester, Mary taught in several comprehensive schools in East Anglia, taking posts of responsibility and being involved in regional curriculum development. Following a move to the University of Southampton, she gained extensive experience in supporting and leading initial teacher education, professional development and research. Mary’s research and development interests focus on effective teaching and assessment practice, particularly that related to scientific literacy. Research projects have included evaluations of: Twenty First Century Science GCSE, innovative professional development and assessment of ‘ideas-about-science’. She was part of the ESRC-funded Evidence-based Practice in Science Education network (with colleagues from the universities of York, Leeds and King's College, London). Mary has published very widely for national and international audiences, including many research publications, textbooks and curriculum materials. Mary has been Chair of the Association for Science Education. Before joining the National Science Learning Centre in 2009,Mary was Executive Director of the Science Learning Centre South East and Head of the School of Education at the University of Southampton.

Register

• Registration for the 2012 conference will be available shortly