1. PHYSCON 2023: Victorian Physics Teachers' Conference: 24th February, 2023.
Vicphysics Teachers' Network will be presenting PHYSCON 2023 with the support of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Swinburne University of Technology. PHYSCON 2023 will be held at their Hawthorn Campus in Burwood Rd on Friday, 24th February.
The conference will be a hybrid conference offering both face to face and on-line sessions.
The Conference website is now live and registrations are open.
The conference program includes:
- Live-streamed keynote addresses,
- 3 sessions with over 40 workshops in person and online,
- Access to exhibitors
- Round table activities on course planning of Units 3 & 4 for 2024,
- Networking lunch,
- In-depth review of the 2022 VCE Physics exam, with Andrew Hansen, the Chief Assessor
- VCAA presentation by Maria James, Science Curriculum Manager,
- Laboratory tours of cutting-edge facilities and visits to the Virtual Reality theatre,
- Saturday morning Excursion Tasters and Peter MacCallum Medical Physics In-Service.
Conference fees:
| Type |
Early Bird |
After 18th Dec |
| In Person |
$300 |
$330 |
| Online |
$240 |
$270 |
Discounts:
- Individual Vicphysics Subscribers: $50
- Student and Retiree Subscribers: $100
- School Vicphysics subscribers: $10
For information about the workshops on offer, please click the link above or download a pdf of the conference program here.
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2. Vicphysics Website: Preparing for 2023 Some resources
Rhe webpages for the Unit 1 Areas of Study have been updated to reflect the course starting next year. There is still some fine-tuning to do.
A request: These webpages need more examples of assessment tasks. If you have any tasks you would like to share, can you please send them to Vicphysics. Contributions will be gratefully acknowledged on the website, if you wish.
Work on the Unit 2 Areas of Study, including all the options will start at the end of October.
Some resources to consider for next year:
- A US Physics teacher, Helen Reynolds has a Google drive of activities with the heading GIFT and GLASS (Good Ideas for Teaching Physics) and Games (online), Labs and Simulation Spreadsheets). GLASS is a spreadsheet with a few worksheets. One worksheet of Simulations and Animations has over 1000 rows with column headings of Topic, Title, What to do, Site (e.g PhET) Rating and Year level. Another worksheet on videos has 380 rows with similar column headings including the URL. GIFT is also another spreadsheet with a few worksheets. The worksheet on 'Using toys' has 534 rows with column headings such as Topic, Title, Overview, What you do and How you do it, What you say, Equipment, Risk, etc. The range of material available is overwhelming.
- Interactive Video Vignettes are designed as ungraded web-based assignments. They combine online video with video analysis as well as interactivity. Each online vignette addresses a learning difficulty. Most of them take about 10 minutes to complete. There are six on motion covering Newton's Laws, circular motion and projectile motion. The 'Bullet Block' featuring Derek Miller is especially recommended. There are three on Electrostatics and are more appropriate for Years 9 and 10. The videos can be used as homework exercises or in a flipped classroom model. More vignettes are under development. There is also a Vignette Studio to help you make your own.
- European Space Agency videos: Mission 1: Newton in Space, Mission 2: Body space (physiology and weightlessness), Mission 3: Space matters (Properties of matter), Mission 4: Space Robotics . The videos are 10 years old.
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3. Data for a gravitational problem: Cataclysmic binary star has shortest orbital period
This article in Physics World about the observation includes data that can be used to generate some problems on gravitation. The binary star consists of a white dwarf and a sun-like 'donor' star. The orbital period is currently 51 minutes. The article gives their masses in solar masses and their separation in solar radii. The article also includes a link to the original paper in Nature, which has the full table of data values including the individual radii, the orbital period to nine sig figs and the rate at which the period is decreasing, 0.20 x 10^-12 seconds per second. The table also includes a value for the radial velocity of the donor, which in astronomical terms means its velocity towards or away from the earth,
4. The Big Misconception about Electricity
Last year Derek Muller produced a video for his Veritasium channel that generated controversy in some quarters. He discussed a thought experiment. Imagine a DC circuit with a battery, a switch, a globe and very long wires, so that wire from the switch went out half a light-second before coming back to the globe. Another wire from the globe went out half a light-second in the other direction before coming back to the battery. The outgoing and returning wires were 1 metre apart. See diagram.
The question is: How long after the switch is closed does the globe light up? Derek provides five possible answers: A: 0.5 s, B: 1 s, C: 2 s, D: 1/c s or E: none of the above. The correct answer is D. The explanation is that electrical energy is transferred by electric and magnetic fields around a wire, not the electrons in the wire. The fields generated as the switch is closed travel across to the globe, 1 metre away, and the globe begins to light up. These fields travel at the speed of light so the time taken = 1 metre / speed of light = 1/c seconds.
His video has useful supporting material and there have been a number of Youtube videos that elaborate his explanation. These are:
5. Seeking a Physics teacher? Seeking a new position?
The Vicphysics Teachers' Network has a Job Ads page to assist schools in finding a physics teacher.
There are nine (9) schools are seeking a physics teacher: The Vicphysics webpage above has a link to the Government schools jobs website. The following Gov't Schools are seeking a physics teacher
- Cranbourne Secondary College (closes 7th Nov)
- Sale College (closes 7th Nov)
- University High School (closes 3rd Nov)
- Canterbury Girls Secondary College (closes 3rd Nov)
- Greater Shepparton Secondary College (closes 3rd Nov)
- Virtual School Victoria (closes 2nd Nov)
- Camberwell High School (closes 1st Nov)
- Melbourne High School (closes 1st Nov) (2 positions)
- Upwey High School (closes 3rd Nov)
The webpage is updated every weekend. The webpage also has a link on how schools can register a position and lodge a payment for this service.
i) Vicphysics Forum: Tips and Questions for the Physics Teaching Community
The Vicphysics Teachers’ Network has set up an online Forum for teachers to raise issues, seek ideas, offer suggestions, etc. The link is on the top line of our website’s home page: https://www.vicphysics.org/ We hope it will be an opportunity for mutual professional development.
The forum is open to all teachers. If you are a subscriber you can login in the usual way. If you are not a subscriber you can register to just use the forum at ‘My Account’. Given the purposes of this Forum, we ask that you use your real name when generating a topic or a lodging a post.
Currently there are six categories for the topics:
- I’m looking for help with ...: For that hard to assign question
- Curriculum matters: To post questions about designing a course, interpreting dot points, ordering the Areas of Study, and depth of coverage.
- Teaching strategies: To post questions about tackling misconceptions, engaging students, finding resources, etc.
- Practical Activities: To post about all things practical: what activities can be considered a prac, sharing equipment, generating topics for practical investigations and developing rubrics.
- Assessing students: To post questions and tips on monitoring students’ learning and giving efficient feedback as well as designing assessment tasks that vary in style and cover a range of skills.
- Exams and Revision: To post tips and questions about techniques for revising the subject, managing practice papers, the use of two page summary and reading time.
Generating a Topic
- Click on the category in which you want to place your topic.
- Enter a short title for your topic (max 80 characters)
- In the next box write your topic.
- Be sure to include some topic tags to help those searching for topics.
- Click the box at the bottom if you want to receive an email when someone replies.
- Finally click 'Submit'.
We hope this Forum will become a valuable medium for the exchange of ideas as we begin planning for the new study design.
ii) Subscriptions: Subscriptions will last for a year from the day payment is received. Both individual and school subscriptions are available.
iii) Tutor Listing Service: The website has a Tutor Listing Service. There are now four tutors listed. If you tutor and wish to add your name to the list, please check the website.
7. Events for Students
a) Science Delivery Roadshow 21st Nov - 2nd Dec
Melbourne University students travel to schools in low SES and regional areas to deliver exciting workshops to inspire students to follow a career in STEM.
To register and for more details click here
b) Physics Days at Luna Park. 2023 Dates: Monday, 6th March and then Wednesday, 8th to Friday, 10th March
There was a prior booking for the Tuesday 7th, hence the different dates for next year. To make a booking with Luna Park, click here. You can make a tentative booking this year with indicative numbers. Once your timetable for next year is confirmed, please advise Luna Park if there is a change of date or if there is a change in the number of students coming. This should be done at least two weeks before the event.
Luna Park tallies your number of students on the day and then invoices the school accordingly. An aerobatic display has been requested, but this is not confirmed until about February next year.
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8. Events for Teachers and Lab Techs
a) Units 1 and 2 Course Planning Day: 21st November. Monash Tech School and Online
The Vicphysics Teachers’ Network is holding a one-day hybrid in-service to assist teachers with their planning of Units 1 and 2 of new VCE Physics Study Design, which commences in 2023.
Date: Monday, 21st November
Venue: Monash Tech School, Clayton Campus, Monash University and online.
The program will include:
- Putting the Unit 1 energy theme to work: elaboration, classroom strategies and resources to effectively combine old and new content with Dr Barbara McKinnon.
- Small Group Discussion on planning Unit 1 with a focus on the teaching order of the Areas of Study, amount of class time for each and possible trimming of the content to fit the semester
- Managing Multiple Options with Jane Coyle including assessment and the new dot points on ‘Communicating physics’
- Content Briefing: Supporting inclusion of Indigenous science in VCE Physics, Emma Barnett, VSSEC
- Assessment Tasks and logbooks A presentation by Maria James, VCAA Science Manager, followed by small group discussion on what to consider when choosing your assessment tasks for 2023.
All these sessions will be available on-line.
Cost: On site at Monash Tech School: $65 for subscribers, $75 for others, Lunch is provided. On-line: $40 for subscribers, $50 for others.
To Register: Go to Vicphysics website
b) Special Relativity course for Teachers Fully Booked, but repeated in Term 2 2023
As part of its program of PD support for Out-of-Field teachers, Vicphysics is running a course on Special Relativity during Term 4 this year, it consists of 6 two hour sessions delivered weekly on Thursdays from 20th Oct to 24th November starting at 4:30pm. They are delivered on line. The intensive module steps you through the key concepts and skills to successfully teach the relevant content in VCE Physics.
Why participate:
- Deepen your understanding of key concepts in special relativity
- Engage in key simulations and activities that you can directly deploy in your classroom
- Unpack typical student misconceptions and learn best practice pedagogy for combating them
- Improve your ability to differentiate curriculum and assessment student achievement
- Access materials to support your classroom practice prepared by experienced teachers and science education academics associated with the Vicphysics Teachers' Network
- Become part of a network like-minded teachers who are striving to improve their practice
Cost $240 per participant. A discount is available for teachers from low ICSEA schools.
The module is being presented by Theo Hughes, assisted by Colin Hopkins.
For more details click here. To go on the waiting list for the repeat in Term 2 next year, please email Vicphysics
c) Lab Techs' Workshops on Years 7 - 10 Physics, 1st Dec, Camberwell Grammar School
The program of workshops for Lab Techs returns. It will be on Thursday, 1st December and held again at Camberwell Grammar School. The program includes:
- Learning new skills
- Setting up demonstrations
- Quick Tests on Equipment to see it is working or not plus a few hints on fixing stuff with Harvey Edwards from Principles and Practice
- Electronic data methods with Doug Bail from Ciderhouse, and
- Laboratory management hints
The cost is $70 and includes lunch.
For more information and to book click here.
d) International Conference for Physics Education (ICPE 2022) 5th - 9th December
This year's conference will be an online conference based in Australia, Singapore and Indonesia, which mean it will be held in our time zone.
It is an event for physics teachers both secondary and tertiary, teacher educators and teaching researchers. As an online conference, the registration fee is quite low, $60 and $50 early bird. Currently the program features many speakers including Dr Derek Muller with details of workshops to come.
The conference proceedings will be available prior to the event so that you can decide which lectures and workshops to attend that fit around your working day. Local academics are on the planning committee so there will be sessions relevant to Australian Physics Curricula.
For more details and to register, click here.
9. Physics News from the Web
Items selected from the bulletin of the Institute of Physics (UK).
Each item below includes the introductory paragraphs and a web link to the rest of the article.
a) Cosmic muons probe the interior of tropical cyclones.
Cosmic muons have been used to image structures deep within tropical storms, according to an international team of researchers. Led by Hiroyuki Tanaka at the University of Tokyo, the team used a network of muon detectors to identify differences in air density within several typhoons. Through further improvements, their approach could provide important information for early warning systems for severe storms.
Muography measures the attenuation and uses that information to create an image of the intervening structure. So far, the technique has been used to image the interior of an Egyptian pyramid and monitor water depth in Tokyo Bay.
b) A tour of the frontiers of printing
If you thought innovation in the world of printing was a thing of the past, think again.
c) The great Martian catastrophe and how Kepler fixed it
An article from the Vault of Physics Today. This article from 2011 by Owen Grigerich describes how Tycho Brahe had devised a method of measuring the distance of closest approach of Mars to Earth as a means to test the Ptolemaic and Copernican systems. It also describes the modifications he needed to make to his method because of atmospheric refraction effects. But it was Kepler who solved the problem by using a physics approach, rather than a geometric approach.
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