1. Talk, Dinner and Catching Up. 6:00pm, Weds 7th Sept, Auburn Hotel
The Vicphysics Teachers’ Network invites physics teachers and others interested in physics education to gather in an informal setting for a series of dinners with a guest speaker. The guest speakers will address diverse topics touching on curriculum, pedagogy and the discipline itself.  Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in discussion and network with colleagues over dinner. 

The first occasion will be Wednesday, 7th Sept at the Auburn Hotel at 85 Auburn Rd, Hawthorn starting at 6:00pm.

The speaker will be Dr Victoria Millar from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne.

Topic: What is the role of physics education and how does that determine the elements of a physics curriculum?

This is particularly opportune with a revised study design to be implemented in 2023.

Dr Millar is a senior lecturer in the Graduate School of Education and has been at the University since 2011. Prior to that she taught Physics in schools in Victoria. Her research interests are in physics and science education, particularly science participation, curriculum and interdisciplinarity.

The cost is $40 ($35 for Vicphysics subscribers) and covers a main course and drinks.

For more details and to book click here.

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2. Articles from the journals of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) the Institute of Physics (IOP)
The AAPT occasionally offers a selection of articles that are open to all.  Current ones include:
a) Painting in Polarisation from the America Journal of Physics.  The article explores what can be done with a few strips of sticky tape and two polarisers. 
b) Using a smartphone camera to explore ray optics from AJP.  This paper shows how to use a smartphone camera as an optics lab at a wide range of levels.
c) Putting Potential at the core of teaching Electric Circuits from The Physics Teacher.  This article describes new curricular resources with accompanying computer simulations that put potential at the centre of circuit instruction. This new approach builds on students' everyday experiences and takes common student alternate perceptions into account.

The IOP journal. Physics Education, has a few articles in each monthly edition which are marked 'Open Access'.  If you go to this link and then click on 'Open Access' down the page on the left, you will see a long list sorted in chronological order..  Many of these have been mentioned in previous newsletters, including regular articles by Ann-Marie Pendrill on Amusement Park Physics.  A recent addition to the list is:
d) Additional unexpected benefits of rewarding students for effective problem solving strategies: Supporting gender equity in physics.  Findings suggest that awarding appropriate credit to the entire problem solving process, e.g. by giving credit for drawings and scratchwork, may support gender equity in physics. In particular, heavier reliance on open-ended questions on assessments, along with grading rubrics that are sensitive to the details of the problem-solving process, not only rewards the desired approaches to problem solving, but also supports gender equity since women are rewarded appropriately for their work.

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3. Special Relativity course for Teachers
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 will consist of 6 two hour sessions delivered weekly on Thursdays from 20th Oct to 24th November starting at 4:30pm.  They will be 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 will be presented by Theo Hughes, assisted by Colin Hopkins.
For more details and to book click here.

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4. Review of the Design of the Physics Exam: A Survey. 
As part of the introduction of the revised Physics Study Design, VCAA is undertaking a review of the design of the Physics exam paper.  As part of the review, VCAA is seeking the views of physics teachers through an online survey.  The closing date is next Monday 22nd August. The link will also be available to teachers on the VCAA Bulletin and will also be included in the Notice to Schools.
There are 11 questions, 5 of which are multiple choice. There is scope for additional comment. 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 is six (6) 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:

• Alkira Secondary College (closes 25th Aug)
• Mullauna Secondary College (closes 23rd Aug)
• Sunbury Downs Secondary College (closes 18th Aug)
• Officer Secondary College (closes 16th Aug)
• Cohuna Secondary College (closes 16th Aug)
• Viewbank College (closes 15th Aug)

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. 7. Events for Students
a) Online Physics Revision Lecture, Sunday, 11th September

The lecture will be presented by Sandor Kazi of Melbourne Girls' College and Paul Cuthbert of University High School.  The format will be the same as last year's lecture. The lecture will be presented as a Zoom webinar for which the students will need to book.  The cost stays at $25 per student.  Teachers making a group booking will need to provide the students' name and email addresses. Each student will be sent the Zoom link before the lecture. Teachers can also include themselves in the booking.  For more details and to book when the cost is finalised is here.

The structure of the program is that Sandor and Paul will each take it in turn to present a 45 min talk on an Area of Study with a 15 minute gap in between.  The program starts at 9:00am and runs until 1:45pm.

There will be course summaries available.  During the webinar there will be a panel behind the scenes answering the students' questions in the chat room.  The chat room comments will also be saved and forwarded to all participants.

b) Physics Gymnasium: Lectures for students - University of Melbourne
Formally known as the VCE lectures, while they do explore the current VCE curriculum, these lectures are open to students of all ages with a keen interest in Physics, as well as teachers and parents.

• Thursday, 18th August, 5:30pm. The photon: a wave or a particle? or both? Prof Harry Quiney
• Thursday, 1st September, 5:30pm.  The Future of Optics with Prof Ann Roberts

Check here for more details and to book. Recordings of previous lectures are now available.
These are Covid-safe events. The lectures will be delivered to a live audience in the School of Physics. The lectures will also be live streamed. The Zoom link will be sent two days before the lecture.

c)  Vicphysics Competitions

• Poster Competition for Unit 2 Practical Investigation   The Poster Competition is designed to award quality student work and to provide exemplars of quality investigations. Check this webpage.
• Physics Photo Contest For details click here
• Physics Video Contest For details click here.

d) Free AstroTours for Year 10 – 12 students

Swinburne's Hawthorn campus is offering free Astro Tours to school groups of students in Years 10 - 12.  The tours are hosted by a professional astronomer, students learn about astronomy using innovative virtual reality technologies developed by Swinburne's Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing.

Students will have the opportunity to ask questions, and discover the universe through movies, animations and simulations — all produced by the in-house team of astronomers, visualisation researchers, animators, artists and programmers.   Teachers are also invited to customise the AstroTour to suit the interests of their students. 

The session runs for 50 minutes and the venue can take 55 students. Click here for more details and to book.

e) New Scientist Festival of Ideas and Discoveries.  Weekend 8th and 9th October.  Online and On Demand
New Scientist is organising an event with over 50 speakers across four stages over two days.  The event can be viewed live (held during the day UK time) or viewed on demand for 12 months afterwards.
The four stages are: Universe, Mind and Body, Our Planet and Future, each with five 40 min presentations each day.
The Super Early Bird online price of 20 pounds gives you on demand to all talks for 12 months.

For more details of the speakers and to book click here.

f) Prof Brian Cox. Horizons: A 21st Century Space Odyssey, 7:30pm, 15th October
Venue: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Cost: Full time students $56
To Book: click here

8. Events for Teachers

a)  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.

b) 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) Magnets, magnets, magnets: we’ll need lots of them for a green economy
Annual sales of electric vehicles are expected to increase to 65 million electric vehicles by 2030 globally. What’s obvious is that each new electric vehicle will need at least one high-power electric motor. Almost all (about 85%) of these vehicles currently use motors with permanent magnet (PMs) as they are the most efficient (the record is 98.8%). A few use Alternating Current (AC) induction motors and generators, but they are 4–8% less efficient than PM motors, up to 60% heavier and up to 70% larger..
b) Physics ... is for Girls?
Sometimes history can be quite unexpected. A look to the past can quickly overturn an idea we might think of as having always been true. For instance, although the physics community now struggles with the perception that physics is a discipline for boys, not girls, that stereotype is only about a hundred years old. Once upon a time, physics—or natural philosophy, as it was called until the second half of the 19th century—was a girls’ subject.