Post-16 update

Abstract

As a teacher of physics it is very easy to become preoccupied with particulars of courses, or topics or even single concepts. Concerned with imminent student audiences and desired learning outcomes, the daily challenge is to summon satisfactory teaching approaches and resources for the job at hand. For the conscientious teacher, assessment outcomes may too often seem a judgment on our own efforts rather than those of our students. From time to time we may step back and think bigger, for example while planning a recruitment event, or while away from work on holiday. We may be successful locally. But why, at a time when books and television documentaries popularizing science have a large following, has physics education been facing declining numbers? Many recognize that physics has an essential contribution to make to the training of science or engineering specialists, but we know that it is also important for the skilled worker, the informed citizen and, in fact, for anyone trying to make sense of the world. So what are the best ways forward for post-16 physics? To make any impact on the bigger picture requires organization, thinking and meeting time among people in diverse roles: teachers and curriculum managers; university lecturers; employers and professional bodies; unitary awarding bodies; regulatory and funding agencies; and even Government. For the past few years, the Institute of Physics post-16 Initiative has created an unrivalled opportunity to address the wider issues. Its Shaping the Future booklets series was designed to stimulate informed discussion and debate, by providing background information and analysis. Taken together, the booklets should help all those concerned with physics education to understand where we are now, and why. Literally dozens of people have contributed to a review and analysis of physics education. Each booklet is a 48-page smorgasbord in A4 landscape format, containing many examples of good practice, basic but sometimes hard-to-come-by information, insightful and occasionally witty comment and illustration. The fifth booklet, published in April this year, rounds off the series so far. For those who have not yet seen them, here are the questions that the booklets have explored: Making Physics Connect (editor: Peter Campbell). How can physics courses connect better with the learner and with other human activities and areas of knowledge? Physics in Mathematical Mood (editor: Simon Carson). How can we teach physics in an appropriately mathematical way, conveying the beauty and power of mathematical reasoning to students? Physics in Vocational Courses (editor: Ken Gadd). In the new National Qualifications Framework, what role should physics play in the `general vocational' and `vocational' pathways? The Study of Matter (editor: Claire Davis). What aspects of a wide and interdisciplinary subject should be included in courses at advanced level, and how can these best be taught? Revitalising Physics Education (editor: Andrew Morris). What can we learn from histories of physics and of education, or from curriculum development projects of the last thirty years? What can be said about teaching and learning physics beyond qualifications, or learned from international developments in physics education?These booklets should find their way into every physics department in the UK. They will be of immediate practical use in schools or colleges, informing teaching while also providing stimulus material for discussion among physics teachers. (The latter would rightly be called in-service training.) Student teachers will find them a good guide covering new terrain. Lecturers at higher education level will gain valuable insight into changes affecting their undergraduate intake. And the physics advisory committee of every Awarding Body will surely want to discuss issues raised in the booklets. The main message overall is that, to meet tomorrow's challenges, the many parties involved in physics education must work together for common goals. In the coming year I hope that the Institute of Physics itself will organize discussion meetings among participants representing a full cross section of interests. The Institute of course already works closely with other associations speaking for science and for science education; inasmuch as they explore issues affecting science education broadly, the booklets may present new opportunities for cooperation. Last but not least, it is important that we influence government bodies regulating and funding education. Copies of the booklets can be downloaded as PDF files from the Web at post16.iop.org/shaping/ or purchased (at £5.50 per title, or £22 for all five titles, including p&p) from Ingrid Ebeyer at the Institute (ingrid.ebeyer@iop.org).