1. Just in Time PD each Thursday of Semester 1
Each Thursday, two teachers will share their plans for the week, starting 10 days ahead. The PD is for teachers teaching Unit 3 for the first time or seeking a refresher course. The sessions will be online and from the broadcast studio at John Monash Science School, so participants will be able to see demonstrations and other practical activities. The presenters will be Kathryn Grainger and Dr Penny Hale from John Monash Science School
The one hour sessions will start at 3:45pm with the last 15 mins for questions from participants. The first session is 6th March
Registration Fee: $60 with discounts available
Limitation: Due to the conditions placed on the use of the studio, this event is only for teachers from Government and Catholic schools.
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2. VCAA 2024 Reports on the November Exam and Scholl Audits
The report on the November exam was released last week, it is available on the VCAA website as a Word document. The report on the School Audits will be uploaded to the VCAA website shortly. The later report is expected to include a checklist to help teachers evaluate their draft SACs tasks.
Last year Vicphysics produced a SACs Checklist, which can be found here on the webpage for the PD on SACs held in June last year. Check below for this year's version, PD on SACs in March.
The Vicphysics Exam solutions have been updated with the average score for each question from the report. Common distracters in Section A have an explanatory note. The solutions are written for students when using the paper as revision, so the solutions are elaborate and now include suggested dot point answers to encourage students to use dot points themselves. The last page of the solutions is a set of additional questions based on the stems for many of the questions.
3. Teaching the PE Effect
For question 16g of the exam 93% of candidates received zero marks. This indicates that this aspect of the topic needs to be addressed. The question is included below.
In carrying out her investigation, Nicola initially used a green filter and produced a graph of photocurrent, I, in milliamperes, versus voltage V, in volts,
She then replaced the green filter with a blue filter, keeping the light output power of the blue light at the photocell exactly the same as the light output power of the green light.
g. Will the horizontal line NM on the graph ... indicate a photocurrent that is greater, the same as or lower than the green light? Justify your answer.
Some textbooks have graphs with the lines for green and blue light coincident, either without specifying the experimental arrangements or indicating the light sources have been adjusted to produce the same maximum photocurrent. There may even be past paper questions that have similar graphs.
However in this question, with the explicit statement that the power (joules/sec) at the photocell is unchanged, it must mean there are fewer photons of the higher energy blue light than the lower energy green light. This would result in a reduced maximum photocurrent.
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4. Out of Field PD: Special Relativity, Forces & Motion, Light & Sound
The Out of Field PD continues in 2025 starting in Term 2. The program starts with
Cost of each event: $265 per participant with discounts for teachers from Government schools ($55) and from schools with a low ICSEA rank.
To Book an event: Click on the link above.
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5. Great Ideas from Conference Conversations
One of the benefits of a conference is the chance to network and share ideas.
This Youtube channel by Dr Jorge S Diaz came up in discussion as an engaging and thorough exposition of the development of quantum mechanics, full of historical detail and insight into how ideas change. The material is suitable for teachers.
The section on the Dawn of Quantum Mechanics has 15 videos, each about 10 - 20 minutes. Dr Diaz narrate the videos supported by images and quotes. He has another series on the Physics of Nuclear Weapons with 11 videos.
Suggested by Sandor Kazi.
If you heard about other ideas worth sharing, please send us a line.
6. Events for Students
a) Study Skills Webinar: 29th April, 6pm - 7pm
Vicphysics is organising a Study Skills webinar for VCE physics students. It will be held on Tuesday, 29th April. It will be an online event from 6pm to 7pm.
The cost is $10.00 inc GST per person, which will also include access to prepared material.
There will be three presenters (details to follow), each speaking for 15 mins on one of the three topics below, followed by 15 mins of question time in breakout rooms for each topic.
- The Science of learning
- How the brain works
- Preparing for SACs and exams
Students can make individual bookings here. Credit card is required.
Schools can make group bookings here. Credit card and EFT are available.
Bookings close on Thursday, 24th April.
The Vicphysics website also has two web pages to assist students Advice on Revising Physics and Advice of Learning Physics.
b) Physics Days at Luna Park: Aerobatic displays, Dates and Cost and Synchrotron Tours
Aerobatics Update: Previously the ADF confirmed that there would be a PC21 aircraft on each of the five days. However a few days later the RAAF base at Sale advised that there would be up to three displays, with the days yet to be decided. We will keep you updated as more information comes to hand.
Check here for a description of the plane's manoeuvres, some aerobatic worksheets as well as websites on aerobatics.
The Synchrotron tours, see below, will be unaffected as it takes about 30 min to get from Luna Park to the Synchrotron along North Rd, however schools down for the 3:00pm tours should leave Luna Park about 2:20pm.
Bookings are open at Luna Park.
The cost is $35 per student with teachers free. Physics Days at Luna Park will be on from Monday, 3rd March to Friday, 7th, March
In the past, Luna Park invoiced the school after the event. Once the actual student numbers are known, they will now require a deposit of 30% to confirm the booking, which must be paid four weeks prior to the event. You can now seek your school's approval for the activity.
Flight Simulators: The RAAF flight simulators will again be there on each day.
Synchrotron Tours: As an add on and also a benefit to regional schools for whom the trip to Melbourne is a major commitment, the Australian Synchrotron is offering Synchrotron tours. Each tour runs for one hour and has a limit of 24 students. The tour is free, with ANSTO covering the cost for two days and Vicphysics the other two days. Tours are available from Monday to Thursday.
The 3pm tours for each day are now fully booked. There is now a second tour starting at 3:15pm on each day. Tentative bookings can be taken for the second tours. Confirmation of their availability from the Synchrotron will displayed on our website.
Note: The website, see link below, displays the number of spots still available.
Information on the day and worksheets as well as booking for a Tour can be found here
c) Girls in Physics Breakfasts in 2025
These are the dates and speaker details for breakfasts that have been organised. Bookings are now open for
- Bendigo, 20th March. Using Radiotherapy to Treat Skin Cancer with Emma Dyce and Natalie Clements, Medical Physicists with Genesis Care Bookings open.
- Mildura, 25th March. The Fascinating World of Solar Energy with Damaris Getanda from RayGen. Bookings open
- Ballarat, 27th March. Molecular Movies with X-ray lasers with A/Prof Nadia Zatsepin, Swinburne University Bookings open
- Wodonga, 8th May. Breath of Discovery: Nanotechnology a Disease Breathalyser with Renee Goreham, University of Newcastle Bookings open
- Monash University Date: TBC, Amelia Lui and Taïssa Danilovich, Monash University
- Traralgon, Early June.
- Geelong, 14th August. i) How important are powders? ii) Rethinking Waste: Engineering a Circular Future with Negin Amini and Sirjana Adhikari, Deakin University Bookings open
- Melbourne, 20th May, The AIP Women in Physics speaker is Dr Danielle Holmes (UNSW Sydney). She works in quantum computing. Bookings will open when details of her topic are available and flyers have been prepared.
Bookings
Change for 2025. This year the metropolitan events will start at 8:00am and the regional events will start at 8:30am.
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The “PHYSCON 2025 – Making a Quantum Leap,” was held on Friday, 21 February. Participants have on-going access to the resources of all workshops and to the recorded video presentations. These are being downloaded and edited this week.
If you were not able to attend but would like to also get access, you can register here.
The fee is $135 with discounts for Vicphysics members.
The program can be viewed here.
c) Astrophysics Scholarship Program for Vicphysics Members
The Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at Swinburne University is offering the Graduate Certificate of Science (Astronomy) — a fully online program designed to deepen your understanding of the universe while fitting seamlessly into your professional schedule.
As a physics teacher, this program is an excellent opportunity to broaden your knowledge and inspire your students with cutting-edge insights from the world of astronomy.
Scholarship Opportunity:
Swinburne University are excited to announce a 20% tuition scholarship exclusively for VicPhysics members, valued at $2,560, to support your studies. Simply enrol here and afterwards contact the course coordinator Dr Sara Webb (swebb@swin.edu.au) who will implement your scholarship. The remaining course fee is tax deductable as a self-education expense relates to your employment activities.
Course Structure ( do 4 of 5)
Full-time or part-time study options available.
Apply Now! Applications close 26th Feb
Take advantage of this unique opportunity to enhance your professional development and bring engaging, cutting-edge astronomy insights into your teaching.
For more information visit Swinburne Astronomy Online.
If you have chosen not to be a Vicphysics member, but just to only have access to resources, you can upgrade to membership by completing this form.
d) Beginning Physics Teachers' In-Service, Tues, 8th April
If you are teaching physics for the first time or returning to physics teaching., this workshop will be of value.
It will be on Tuesday, 8th April in the first week of the school holidays at John Monash Science School. Check here for details of the program and to register. The program has two regular features:
- practical activities demonstrated by experienced teachers and
- a presentation by Colin Hopkins on techniques for teaching and learning, which will complement his PHYSCON talks plus
- two other sessions from a list of four, based on the participants' preference when they register.
The cost is $60 with member discounts.
e) PD on SACs in March
Last year in June, Vicphysics ran a PD on SACs, partly in response to some schools' experience of the audit process, but mainly about the increased specificity in the descriptions of the four formats available for assessment tasks.
The event will be repeated this year, but earlier.
It is an online event, after school, over two Thursdays a week apart.
Dates: Thursdays 13th and 20th March
Times: 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Cost: None
To register and for more details. click here. The webpage also has resources from last year's PD
In the form we ask you for some information:
- In what format do you plan to do your first assessment task,
- If decided, the format for your other assessment tasks.
- Whether you can look after a breakout room and
- Whether you are happy to zoom/share your assessment task
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There are two schools seeking a physics teacher.
The Job Ads page on Vicphysics website is updated every weekend. The webpage also has a link on how schools can register a position and lodge a payment for this service.
- Rosehill Secondary College (closes 27th Feb)
- Swinburne Senior Secondary College (closes 6th March)
i) Vicphysics Membership and Access to the Teachers' Resources on the website.
Vicphysics has changed its membership structure, benefits and fees. Previously, a subscription to the website resources was separate from being a member of Vicphysics. Access to website resources is now being included as one of a number of member benefits.
Membership benefits include:
- access to teacher resources section of the website
- discounts to attend conferences, in-services, etc,
- certification for attending each PD event,
- PL certificate for committee meetings supplied at the end of the calendar year and
- voting rights.
Membership fees are: Individual: $60, Retired: $40, Student (tertiary): $40, School: $120.
Vicphysics also offers a Resources Access Only option without the discounts and other benefits listed above. The fees for this option are the same as above.
Existing subscribers currently receive discounts, which will cease when their subscription expires. At that point, subscribers will need to choose between the two options above for continued access to the Teacher resources.
We are looking forward to increasing the membership base of Vicphysics and to fostering member input into our extensive range of activities from Physics teaching professional learning such as our recent SAC PD events or the Physics Teachers Conference to supporting activities for students, such as the Luna Park Physics Days or photo and poster competitions.
You can join us here!
ii) 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.
Link here directly, or look out for it on our webpage where it can be found at the top right of our home page.
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 log in the usual way. If you are not a subscriber, you can register to 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 lodging a post.
We hope this Forum will become a valuable medium for exchanging ideas as we begin planning the new study design.
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Items selected from the bulletin of the Institute of Physics (UK).
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