Apr 06 2010
developing resources for the new higher physics course
I’ve been working with a small group of physics teachers enlisted by LTS to help shape the resources required to support the new Higher Physics qualification being developed by SQA. So far we’ve been discussing and prioritising the CPD issues raised at the SQA meetings held around the country in December.
There is a lot to think about as the proposed new content will be unfamiliar to many teachers. I for one have a very limited understanding of astrophysics and just enough knowledge of particle physics to get me through the small section in the current advanced higher course. This means we need to think about resources for teachers as well as pupils.
One thought is that we may go for a solution that mirrors the new National Qualifications site for History, with multimedia resources alongside more conventional text-based support.
Another interesting aspect is the introduction of a practical half-unit called Researching Physics. This will take the form of an investigation around a theme, with an interesting example that looks at ultra-violet radiation and skin cancer. (The science of earthquakes has been suggested as an alternative topic.)
The meetings were held at SSERC and this has allowed us to try out ideas for the researching physics topic and consider new approaches to content with which we are already familiar. SSERC’s Gregor Steele did a great job in developing activities to challenging our thinking. Here are some photos I took during the practical sessions.
| Investigating the effectiveness of different suncream “factors” at blocking uv. |  |
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Measuring the irradiance of a uv light source. |
| Demonstrating particle physics experiments using a Teltron tube |  |
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Using a coil and magnet as a vibration sensor. |
| Recording the induced voltage using Audacity |  |
We also looked at the ways in which changing mass might affect the motion of a toy (lots of things going on here – weight, centre of mass, friction and simple harmonic motion all playing a role in determining the motion of the wooden woodpecker)
and learned how to use tracker.jar to analyse projectile motion.
So far, it looks like my role is likely to involve the creation of digital resources for the new higher. It could be a busy summer…
