| Unit name | Physics Education 333 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHYS39332 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Dr. McKinley |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
120 credit points at Level 5 of single honours Physics or joint honours Physics programmes. |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Physics |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
This unit provides an opportunity for final year BSc students to gain experience of physics education through a teaching and mentoring scheme with science teachers in local schools. Each student will work for half a day each week from weeks 1 to 20. The class could be from key stage 2 to sixth form/year 13. Students will be selected for their commitment and suitability for working in schools. They will be given a range of responsibilities including assisting in classrooms and self-originated special projects. Students will undertake: an induction and skills training workshop; placement in a school; an initial visit to negotiate details of tutoring with teacher; a special project; ongoing collection of evidence and reviewing of experiences; summative reporting. In addition to providing a valuable learning experience, the scheme will put vital role models into schools and encourage students to consider careers in physics education.
Aims:
To help the student gain confidence in communicating their subject and develop strong organisational and interpersonal skills that will be of benefit to them in employment and in life. To enable the student to understand how to address the needs of individual pupils and devise and develop science projects and teaching methods appropriate to engage the relevant age group they are working with. To allow the student to act as an enthusiastic role-model for pupils interested in science and to offer them a positive experience of working with pupils and teachers.
On completion of this module, the student will have gained substantial experience of working in a challenging and unpredictable working environment. They will also have gained a broad understanding of many of the key aspects of teaching science in schools. The specific and transferable skills they will have attained include:
They will have gained experience of answering questions about Physics and will be able to assess and devise appropriate ways to communicate a difficult principle or concept. The student will develop their communication skills, both in a one-to-one situation and when speaking to an audience. The student will be able to use these skills to address some of the problems specific to science education such as the need to breakdown stereotypes of science and scientists that pupils may have.
There are no formal lectures associated with this course.
An initial one day of training will provide the student with an introduction to working with children and the level of science teaching they will be participating in. A competitive interview system will be used to match students with appropriate schools and a specific teacher in the local area. The matching with schools will be jointly arranged with UAS. The teacher will then act as a mentor and assessor to the student during the course. The teacher will offer guidance to the student during their weekly interaction, and through feedback and liaison with a Departmental tutor will individually determine the level of responsibility and pupil interaction to be expected of the student.
Student's end of unit report and portfolio of work (30%); teacher's end of course report (40%); a 20 minute presentation on their special project and the materials used (30%) The student will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate that they have achieved the learning objectives through a formative logbook (continuous assessment), a 4000-5000 word report at the end of the module, assessment from the supervising teacher, and an oral presentation. The overall outcomes will be moderated by a departmental panel and the Boards of Examiners to ensure equivalence of assessment across placements and with departmental based dissertations.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PHYS39332).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
