Forces – making the invisible visible

By Carol Davenport

Forces are all around us.  They stop us falling through the floor, they make sure that we can walk around, and they keep the Earth circling the Sun.

Forces spectacles

But we can’t see them.  Forces are invisible.  As teachers we need to think of ways to make these invisible forces visible to the children we work with.  The Institute of Physics talks about putting on “forces spectacles”, and that is a useful metaphor for our role.  By using concrete examples we enable children to ‘see’ the forces around them.

In Key Stage 1 we can start by exploring forces through pushes and pulls.  Children can use plasticine to make models and then describe what forces they are applying.  A great story that we could use is that of The Three Little Pigs.  This Teachers TV programme  shows how it could be done. The teacher uses the ‘huff and the puff’ of the wolf to illustrate pushes, but also asks the children to make models of the wolf and helps them to talk about what they are doing in terms of pushes and pulls, pinches and twists.

At KS2 we can start to bring in the idea of forces causing a change in motion.  Pushing and pulling toys are a great context for this.  As children get older we can then begin to talk about a force causing a change in motion.

Picking up Jelly Cubes – Forces demonstration

Many of the forces that the children have been using up to this point are quite easy to ‘see’.  Pushes and pulls are obvious.  However, friction is a different matter, and children struggle to recognise the role of friction in everyday life.  One fun activity that we can do to help them ‘see’ friction, is a ‘jelly race’.  First of all the children pick up some little cubes of jelly out of a bowl using chopsticks. They can time how fast they can do this, which gives some practice in taking measurements for SC1.

Next, the jelly cubes are put back in the bowl and some vegetable oil is added.  Now the children try and pick up the little cubes of jelly again, and this time it is much harder. This activity also helps to address the misconception that friction is only present when an object is moving.  There is friction between the chopsticks and the jelly, even when the jelly isn’t moving.  When the jelly has oil on it there is very little frictional force, and it’s hard to keep hold of it (with or without chopsticks!). By comparing this with picking the jelly up we can help children ‘see’ the frictional forces – and what happens when they are not there.

Jelly and Oil…mmmmm!

These activities, and others like them, will help you, and your pupils, put on Forces spectacles to see the forces at work around us.

I will be running an optional workshop on forces at the Primary Science Annual Conference 2013 in York in July. I’d be delighted to hear your stories and thoughts on teaching forces to our KS1 and KS 2 pupils.

STEM Study Visits: Expedition Iceland

Guest Post from Sarah Holmes, Reepham High School and College and Daniel Sandiford from Bluecoat Academy in Nottingham.

Every year the network of Science Learning Centres run a STEM study visit to Iceland.  The aim is to provide participants with the opportunity to conduct a STEM subject field work project in a remote environment and experience a different approach to practical activities. The visit also provides experience of an area of the natural world which has recently been at the centre of a number of STEM relevant stories. From earthquakes to Mars training, Iceland is a destination that can bring STEM subjects to life in the classroom! The presentations below show off the wide variety of field projects teachers carry out on the expedition, as well as outlining their objectives and the impact it has for themselves and the schools they teach at.

Sarah Holmes, Reepham High School and College ( you can follow her on twitter @reephamphysics)

Daniel Sandiford from Bluecoat Academy in Nottingham.

If you have been to Iceland on one of our expeditions we’d love to hear and see how it went for you and what the impact has been.

There are a regular range of STEM Study Visits organised by the national network of Science Learning Centres. This STEM Study visit is supported by Research Councils UK.

Teaching Space and Science

By Lynda Homer, Primary Science Course Manager

There is something really inspiring about looking up at the stars on a clear, cold January night and feeling like a very small part of the Universe – and a very strong sense of wonder.  This has been highlighted by programmes such as the BBC’s popular Stargazing Live programme at the start of the month, with Professor Brian Cox and Dara O’Briain, which provoke curiosity about finding out about Space – in children and teachers alike.

Moon over Bayfordbury

Whatever the age of your pupils, from Early Years to post-16, space can provide a fascinating context for developing interest and enthusiasm for science, not just physics or astronomy. There are many opportunities for wonderful activities that will inspire pupils in chemistry and biology, as well as other subjects such as geography, and the national network of Science Learning Centres can help you find out about what is available for us to use in our schools.

At the Science Learning Centre East of England, we have a great interest in Astronomy, the University of Hertfordshire Observatory shares our site and hosted one of the many events linked to the BBC programmes.

If you would like to extend your knowledge and explore further strategies and resources for inspiring teaching and learning using space, then we have two courses running soon which could really bring it all to life in your classroom.

For primary teachers, there is Earth And Space (29 Jan 13), this will explore a range of hands on activities, models and web-based resources to provide inspiring ideas and increase confidence.

For secondary physics teachers, there is EEC12001 Astrophysics, Earth and Space (6 Feb 13). This is a course for KS4/Post 16 teachers and will link cutting edge research in astrophysics to the current curriculum so that you can bring the subject to life. It will include a visit to the University of Hertfordshire’s Observatory.

University of Hertfordshire Observatory

This course is funded by the Research Council UK and is from the Bringing Cutting Edge Science into the Classroom programme. It qualifies for an Impact Award of up to £150 per day. The course is running across the network of Science Learning Centres, including South East, London, East Midlands, South West and Yorkshire and the Humber. Details of dates and venues can be found here.

The National Science Learning Centre is running a course, with the European Space Education Resource Office in the UK (ESERO UK), on how to enrich the primary curriculum through space and astronomy on 12/13 February 2013. It is designed to refresh subject knowledge and give ideas on teaching tricky concepts through practical enquiry whilst looking at interesting ways of engaging children through the topic of space.

As part of the EU-funded “Discover the Cosmos” inquiry-based science education project, supported by ESERO UK, the National School’s Observatory and Faulkes Telescope Project will be running a free Astronomy-themed training workshop at the National Science Learning Centre on 8 Feb 2013.

When looking for resources for teaching space topics ESERO UK will give you many great ideas. The support offered to teachers includes:

• access to quality teaching and learning resources through the eLibrary and physical library at the National STEM Centre
• a network of space education ambassadors throughout the UK
• news items and blogs highlighting developments in space education
• high-quality training and events for teachers and lecturers

In the East Midlands, the National Space Academy works collaboratively and in partnership with the Science Learning Centre East Midlands and its excellent website shows the range of CPD opportunities on offer for teachers including details of Master Classes in STEM subjects and career’s events for pupils.

Incidentally, the Royal Mail has just issued a set of commemorative stamps to celebrate Britain’s contribution to space exploration featuring images from European Space Agency missions. This is the first set to feature a full complement of planetary images. Perhaps they could be used as a starter activity to spark discussion about the solar system with your class?

Other blog post relating to space you may be interested in are:

Esero UK highlights Stargazing Live as inspiration for STEM

Space and astronomy in the primary classroom

Astrology vs Astronomy

CERN Visit

by Chris Baker

Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire or CERN to be brief is the Mecca of physical sciences and it has been my pleasure as an interested chemist to escort hundreds of physics and science teachers on this pilgrimage. (by the way they try to play down the “Nucleaire” bit – something about the public associating the word nuclear with very bad things ). So, what is it like?

Well on the surface it is a bit like a cross between a university campus and a light industrial estate, spread-eagled across the Swiss/French border.

Large Hadron Collider courtesy of CERN

You can choose to eat in Restaurant 1 which is in Switzerland or Restaurant 2 which is in France and somewhere in between you can straddle the border if the mood takes you. You may wonder why I mentioned restaurants? Well it is in these restaurants where staff dine on refectory style tables where much scientific discussion goes on. Teachers have reported exciting conversations with scientists they sat next to at lunch although no one has claimed to have spoken to a Noble Prize Winner to date – but give it time. CERN prides itself on its openness and there is no restriction on taking photographs.

I will get on to the LHC (large Hadron Collider) later, but first it is worth remembering that CERN is not just world class in particle accelerators. It was where Tim Burners-Lee, a scientist at CERN, invented the World Wide Web as a means of sharing information for scientists around the world. You can visit Tim’s old office – an unassuming room in a dingy corridor now resplendent with brass plaque recording the historic event, and yes, you can get your photograph taken next to it! This helps to get across the message that CERN is a collaborative venture of scientists spread across the world who may work full time in Geneva or just visit to do occasional research and experiments.

CERN teachers’ programme

The teachers’ programme is mixed and varied. There is a practical activity – making a cloud chamber using aquarium tanks which one teacher improved on tremendously with an ingenious design using cheap seed propagators and and LED rope light. There are lectures which focus on academic particle physics – useful for teachers who are a little rusty in this area and great for snippets to teach how science works.

Rolf Lander, antimatter scientist and Head of Education at CERN, explains how historically models were developed and become accepted until someone disproves the model and new models are put forward. We had a good example of HSW (how science works) recently when the scientists in CERN found unusual results when they timed how long it took for neutrinos to travel from CERN to Italy. They appeared to travel faster than the speed of light and this made headlines in TV News and newspapers around the world. CERN scientists invited other scientists to investigate and try to replicate their data. The invitation did not last too long as CERN scientists discovered the reason for these anomalous results – a loose wire! Strangely this did not make the news to such an extent.

In the lecture on Medical Physics. Manjit Dosnajh helped to answer a key question that many people have about CERN i.e. what tangible benefits do taxpayers get from funding all these scientists. Manjit illustrated how work on Positron Emission Tomography (PET) carried out at CERN in 1977 led to hospital imagers which now run alongside CT and MRI scanners (often in combination) to provide information to treat cancers. A specialised version of a PET scanner has been developed which can detect small tumours missed by other scanners. This has proved very successful in the detection of breast cancers – and using the same technology as the LHC. This shows that technology developed at CERN is in use in our hospitals to increase survival rates from life threatening conditions

Physics in the movies

Rolf Lander provides an excellent lecture on the physics behind the film Angels and Demons. In the film 1g of antimatter is stolen from a laboratory in CERN and the plan is to use this to blow up the Vatican. In an entertaining lecture Rolf explains the physics behind the film and if it is really possible to create 0.5g of antimatter (enough to make a powerful bomb), just how long and how much electricity it would theoretically take. The cost by the way is: 1,000,000,000,000,000 euros with a delivery time of 1,000,000,000 years. Great stuff for teachers who can now legitimately intersperse physics lessons with clips from the Angels and Demons film. For the antimatter enthusiasts, CERN have produced a teaching module on antimatter.

The hunt for the Higgs Bosun

Data from CMS. courtesy of CERN

The highlight of the programme is a visit to CMS – Compact Muon Solonoid. CMS is just one of the LHC experiments but it was CMS that confirmed the existence of the Higgs Boson in 2012 and it was enthralling to hear how this was done. When I got home my painter and decorator asked about my last visit. He had heard of the Higgs Boson and was interested. “Can you see it?” he asked. Several cups of tea later I had managed to explain that the Higgs Boson was detected by analysing signals and that the detection instruments took the equivalent of 4,000 pictures a second. He was still none the wiser and it really brought home to me that to teach particle physics successfully, it helps if you have a physics background but more importantly that you have the models, analogies and experiences which enable you to help students with the associated complex abstract thinking. This is one of the greatest benefits of a visit to CERN.

Huge Electromagnets

So the highlight for the teachers was CMS or maybe it was the magnet testing facility where you can stand next to some of the biggest electromagnets in the world. When fully operational over 21,000 amps flow through five huge coils to produce a magnetic field of between 4 and 8 tesla. One teacher proudly demonstrated a magnetic field detecting app on his iphone. He planned to use this in the magnetic testing area. We were expecting a fried iphone but he reported it worked really well!

The magnet testing facility also houses a mock up of the particle accelerator tunnel. This is very useful as access to the tunnel during operations is forbidden for obvious reasons. The tunnel is roughly the width and height of a poly-tunnel greenhouse with enough room to ride a bike along the side which is the primary mode of transport (when not operational!).

CERN programme highlights

The highlights of the CERN programme for me did not come from CERN but from the follow up day at the National Science Learning Centre in York. The programme has some interesting inputs on nuclear fusion amongst others, but the real stars were the teachers and what they did with the ideas, materials and experiences picked up at CERN. They were “fired up” by their visit and the enthusiasm of the CERN scientists and had completed a myriad of activities and projects. Many of them had gone on to arrange a CERN visit for their students. Others had woven anecdotes, models and analogies into theoretical topics. Some had run whole school assemblies on CERN and some showed pictures of their students and projects in their local newspaper.

If you have not made your pilgrimage to CERN, 2013 could be a good year to start.

The National Science Learning Centre is running a study visit to CERN in February 2013.

If you have already been to CERN we’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences of the trip as well as how you have applied it back into the classroom.

What does the Stimulating Physics Network do?

by Rachel Eppy

The Stimulating Physics Network (SPN) is run in partnership with the Institute of Physics (IOP) and the Science Learning Centres. The project aims to improve the uptake of A level physics, through working with teachers and pupils in schools.

Stimulating Physics Network

The support of the Stimulating Physics Network is available through both the Partner School programme run by Teaching and Learning Coaches and through Global Support provided by our Physics Network Coordinators. Both arms of the project are fully funded for schools thanks to the Department for Education.  To access either of these routes please contact the External Liaison Officer for your region .

To give you a flavour of the types of activity undertaken through the Partner School programme, we wanted to share an extract of an article originally written for the North West SPN Newsletter, ‘A day in the life of a North West Teaching and Learning Coach’

Firstly, I’m visiting a school who have expressed an interest in being a partner school, and I’m meeting the head of science during period two. I explain the programme of support to her, and she is very enthusiastic about the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) on offer to teachers and the Ashfield Music Festival Enrichment activity. The school doesn’t currently have a physics specialist, and is really keen to sign up to the programme, I briefly speak to the head’s PA and leave the paperwork for the head teacher to sign.

It’s an unseasonably warm day as I head across the M62 to my next visit, which is to deliver a professional development session to a whole department on forces. They have the afternoon as their department time and I arrive early so I can set up some practical work with the technician.  The session lasts for almost 2 hours, and everyone is participating and enthusiastic.  …

Recently I have taken on additional responsibility for mentoring early career teachers; and this is my final visit of the day. I’m meeting an NQT, who is a physics specialist. This is our first mentoring session since she finished her PGCE and we discussed lesson planning, class arrangements and working with the school SENCO and support staff.   

In addition to the support of the Teaching and Learning Coach, the project also funds the support of Physics Network Coordinators around the country.  These Network Coordinators run workshop sessions and support local teachers too. Find out more about what is available locally to you on your regional page of the Stimulating Physics Network website.

We also run a range of physics related courses across the national network of Science Learning Centres.

Network courses at your regional Science Learning Centre

• Physics for Non-Specialists
• Practical Work in Physics
• Astrophysics
• Technicians Supporting A level Physics
• Getting to Grips with A level Physics

National residential courses

• Success in Teaching 11-16 Physics for Specialists
• Physics for Non Specialists

Latex, Lycra and Chocolate

By Stephen Burrowes

I don’t think it’s too contentious to state that children are naturally curious and if we can stimulate this curiosity then this makes the job of teaching science much easier and more rewarding. It is a pleasure to hear students volunteering the what if, how and why questions. The childlike rather than childish perspective can be so refreshing and it is a privilege to be part of a process where students end up leaving school to continue a lifelong interest in science whether this is as producers of science or consumers.

As a busy practitioner in the classroom it’s all too easy to get overwhelmed by the need to deliver specific examination focused subject knowledge. It is important that students are able to fulfil their potential in external examinations and by stimulating a child’s curiosity with intriguing phenomena or interesting materials you are providing the hook on which to hang the more prosaic examination focused science.

Three of my current favourite ‘hooks’ are electrolycra, latex and chocolate. The Science Enhancement Programme (SEP) has some suggestions for looking at the resistance of electrolycra in the classroom and it certainly makes a change from measuring the resistivity of copper wire. You can’t wear copper wire easily and it certainly isn’t as figure hugging. This splendid material always stimulates teachers on Practical Work in Physics and as a textile it also finds a place on Collaborative Learning in Science and Design & Technology.

I first used latex in the classroom as an introduction to polymers at KS4 and made rubber bands to demonstrate cross-linking. Of course rubber bands can also be used in the context of forces whether this is at KS2 or stress and strain in physics at KS5. With a little planning, latex can be used in many How Science Works contexts such as considering sustainability and natural resources or experimental design when it comes to measuring the extension of a rubber band. Latex often finds its way into my resources request for Introducing How Science Works.

The fact that it can be obtained from a plant makes it a truly flexible material and again SEP comes to the rescue of the busy teacher with “Fantastic Plastic.”

Whilst the Gene Wilder version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was a personal favourite when I was young, I also enjoyed the Royal Institution’s marvellous Christmas Lecture series which continued with Size Matters in 2010.

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) also has some interesting suggestions for things that can be done with chocolate in the classroom. I have also used chocolate in a course context in Enhancing Literacy in the Science Classroom in addition to just enjoying eating it!

I know from experience that students respond very positively to the activities I have briefly described and I hope to share my experiences with other latex, lycra and chocolate enthusiasts on a future Science Learning Centre West Midlands course.

Do you use chocolate in your lessons?  Tell us more….

Career progression for physics teachers through continuing professional development

By Katy Bloom

I am always being asked about the best way for physics teachers to progress their understanding of physics throughout their career.  In many cases this is from teachers for whom physics is not their specialist subject, but their school or college needs additional support in the physics curriculum.  We have also seen a rise in demand from specialist physics teachers seeking to deepen their physics knowledge and/or learn new strategies to teach physics more effectively

Physics Experiment. National Science Learning Centre

There are quite a few different options that a teacher can take to develop their professional expertise in the physics area. For those who want to become more confident teachers of physics, when it may have been many years since they undertook qualifications in physics, or it is outside their specialist knowledge, there is Physics for Non-specialists. This course looks in particular at the key principles needed to teach physics effectively along with the skills and strategies to uncover students’ misconceptions. This course was originally developed in collaboration with the Institute of Physics, using their ‘Supporting Physics Teaching’ materials, which are downloadable from their website. An external evaluation carried out on this course by the Education Department of the University of Leeds found that ‘evidence from two different assessment measures showed that pupils increased their knowledge of physics… as a result of teaching by the non-specialist teachers even after the first phase of the course’.^[1]

Following on from this course and for teachers who are more experienced and confident in teaching secondary physics, there is the Success in Teaching 11-16 Physics for Specialists. Participants will develop learning strategies to demonstrate how their pupils can learn physics by engaging with research (focusing on the ‘Girls into Physics’ research series by the Institute of Physics),  and how to apply it to their classroom practice, using a wide range of activities.  This course also includes an online component to extend and embed your continuing professional development.

There is a strong body of evidence[2] that shows that for continuing professional development to be effective it needs to be supported and take place over a substantial period of time.  The online component achieves this through allowing new ideas to be tried in the classroom, with the online support of the course tutor and course participants.  This support network becomes a hotbed of learning, reflecting and refining.

The third  piece of the physics progression jigsaw is the Inspiring Post-16 Physics course, aimed at teachers and lecturers who want to update their own knowledge and understanding of not only contemporary physics, but also to challenge the traditional practice of ‘lecturing’ styles to A level students. During this course teachers can work alongside research scientists, excellent physics teacher practitioners and examiners to practice new activities, approaches and experiments.

One of our success stories is a participant who came initially on the Physics for Non-specialists, graduated to Inspiring Post-16 Physics, and then deliberately made a move to a school so that she could teach AS and A2 level physics.

There is a strong evidence-base running through all our physics courses, so that participants can see the reasons why certain actions or strategies are taken. Action research also forms a key part of all three courses, with participants undertaking a ‘gap task’ in the time back in school between the two residential periods. During this time, they select a research question that they would like to investigate, and consider the impact that it has had on their teaching and their students’ learning. Teachers report back to us and each other on this impact, and find that this journey as a reflective practitioner has extended and deepened their practice as professionals.

You may also be interested in:

Masterclasses for A Level Physics

Active Approaches in A level Physics

Physics for Non – Specialists

Success in teaching 11-16 Physics for Specialists

Inspiring Post-16 Physics

Katy Bloom in our Physics for non Specialists video on YouTube

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[1] ENTHUSE Impact Report 0910

[2] (e.g. Joyce & Showers, 1988; Loucks-Horsley et al, 1998; Darling-Hammond & Youngs, 2002; Adey, 2004). Such research suggests that targeted professional development should be implemented over a long timescale, include in-class coaching and opportunities for teachers’ reflections on any change in classroom practice that they make.

A big collection of free materials to support triple science teachers (and more to come)

By James de Winter

In recent weeks you will probably have seen details and information about the various types of support and training that is available for those teaching triple science GCSEs.  To add to this support, I can offer a place to go for free resources and materials that have been developed and used by teachers across the country. You may be familiar with the National STEM Centre Website  and its wonderful eLibrary but did you know that there is also a community part of the site where you can now get lots of free materials produced, trialled and refined by teachers to support your teaching of the units across all three triple science subjects as well as a place to share ideas and discuss issues online?

My job as manager and moderator of the Triple Science Communities is to be as nice to you as possible, finding and sharing things that may make your lives easier as well as trying to answer any questions. To start things off, I have created three resource community groups, one for each of the science subjects and added a whole load of materials for teaching. These are a combination of activities and worksheets, lesson plans, slideshows, teacher notes as well as other things that I hope you will find useful.

Inside the three subject community groups I have created a separate topic for the main content areas in that subject that are covered in the triple science extension modules. Use the links below to have a look and a rummage around and see what is there, no need to even log in to browse. You’ll need to log in to the National STEM Centre  to download anything but it only takes a minute or two and it may save you much more than that in planning time. I could put links to each of the sections that are included but it’s a bit dull and if it is in your triple science course then there is a section there, I promise.

Physics 

Chemistry

Biology

I have just finished uploading several hundred files produced by teachers working on the previous specifications. Whilst a few things have changed in the recent course revisions, much of this is still relevant and worth a look. In the coming months these groups will expand with more content and we’d be delighted if you felt happy to uploaded your own files as well as commenting upon what is there. I do really value the views of those who will be using these resources on a daily basis. Also, feel free to contact me if you are looking for something that I might be able to track down and upload to the community, or indeed if you have any questions – my email is j.dewinter@slcs.ac.uk 

Whilst you are there, drop in and have a look at the Triple Science Eye Community group. This has a more science staff room feel and is a place for any questions. Whether you are a teacher, technician or head of department, chances are that if you have a problem relating to triple science, someone has solved it already. So have a read, make a post or answer someone else’s questions and I’ll try and reply a quickly as I can as well.

Finally if you are one of those people who are looking at the options for introducing triple science into your school you may also want to watch our triple science case study videos on YouTube.

Design and Technology Provides Safe Lift Off

by Michelle Evans at Science Learning Centre West Midlands

Flying is relevant to most of our lives, as ‘foreign’ holidays have become the norm. Yet it is often only when we are sat on a plane and ‘past the point of no return’ that we begin to wonder if it’s safe and even about the actual mechanics of how the tonnes of metal in which we are sat (not to mention our luggage) will actually get off the ground and safely deliver us to our sun-filled destination. Even within this consideration, we tend to think of the plane being essentially a

Hercules engine

chunk of metal and don’t really consider the enormous number of processes which have been undertaken to get to that one point. We don’t think about the time and effort and quality control procedures which go into the creation of a single hole in a tiny part of a blade which is crucial for the process of flying and to improve the efficacy of the engine as well as to reduce emissions.

However, at Rolls-Royce they spend a significant amount of time, effort (and money) ensuring that each tiny (and huge) element is completely fail-safe, efficient, light and effective. (I, for one, am rather pleased that they do!) What we may not realise is that this technology is as relevant to our teaching; certainly in Science and Design Technology; as it is to Rolls-Royce because we are working with and developing materials.

Materials science is a growing field with increasingly interesting discoveries and developments, Carbon Nanotubes, a relatively new discovery from the 1990s, are now present in both Design Technology and Science specifications where the structure and potential and current uses are required. ‘Smart’ materials are increasingly prevalent in society and therefore our teaching should be including and considering the uses of these developments within the field; the science behind these is really interesting and ground breaking, but the uses are now quite common; even including electro-conductive lycra (presumably for warm cycling shorts)!

Rolls-Royce Materials Masterclass course 2010

All manufacturing requires materials and it is important for the future to understand the level of research and development required in these processes. World leading manufacturer of jet engines; Rolls-Royce has significant experience with materials and continue to ‘push the boundaries’ in order to develop high quality, durable, light and safe components for their products. They are, after all, the reason that aeroplanes fly!

In order to capture this relevant and essential expertise, Rolls-Royce, the department of Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birmingham, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and the Science Learning Centre West Midlands have collaborated to develop a two day course which brings to life this fascinating ‘topic’.

The Materials Masterclass is designed to support curriculum delivery. It draws on the areas of materials science in which Rolls-Royce has significant experience and can demonstrate examples of applications and the University of Birmingham are able to provide ideas for use in the classroom as well as discussing the science and technology behind materials and their uses.

Materials Masterclass course

This course offers an extension to your personal knowledge in the field as well as resources and ideas to take back to the classroom. This two-day course is sponsored by Rolls-Royce and The Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers and supported by the Department of Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birmingham and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), the latter also offer free institutional membership to the Schools Affiliate Scheme for participants.

Go to the Science Learning Centre’s website for more information or to book your place on the Materials Masterclass

Physics for Non Specialists Video

Are you teaching secondary school science and looking for a range of effective teaching strategies, particularly to help with your physics lesson plans? This video from the National Science Learning Centre in York, focuses on science teachers who don’t specialise in teaching physics.  Participants on this physics for non specialists course undertake a residential continuing professional development period to improve their physics lesson plans through reviewing and updating effective teaching strategies for physics as well as their understanding and knowledge.  Science teachers will cover developing successful teaching strategies in physics  as well as a range of classroom management strategies. During the course there will be the opportunity to visit the National STEM Centre which houses a range of physics teaching resources.

Katy Bloom, Professional Development Leader at the National Science Learning Centre, discusses the issues facing schools teaching physics, in particular where non-specialist physics teachers are teaching the subject. Katy’s course, Physics for Non-Specialists, can assist to develop confidence, knowledge, understanding and anecdotes to successfully teach physics for 11-16 year olds.

You can find more information on the Science Learning Centre website for courses relating to Physics for Non Specialists.

The network of Science Learning Centres offers a range of continuing professional development physics training courses for all levels of the curriculum.