Or – let’s admit it – just have a bit of fun yourself?

Then you must check this out: The University of Colorado at Boulder has a developed a variety of award winning simulations for all grade levels and subjects. The Physics Education Technology (PheT) project . . . → Read More: Cool Physics Simulations for Teaching!]]> Would you like to teach your students with cool physics simulations on the computer ?!

Or – let’s admit it – just have a bit of fun yourself?

Then you must check this out:
The University of Colorado at Boulder has a developed a variety of award winning simulations for
all grade levels and subjects.
The Physics Education Technology (PheT) project provides fun, interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena for free. Their approach enables students to make connections between real-life phenomena and the underlying science, deepening their understanding and appreciation of the physical world.

PhET simulations animate what is invisible to the eye through the use of graphics and intuitive controls. In order to further encourage quantitative exploration, the simulations also offer measurement instruments including rulers, stop-watches, voltmeters and thermometers. As the user manipulates these interactive tools, responses are immediately animated thus effectively illustrating cause-and-effect relationships.

To ensure educational effectiveness and usability, The PhET team  extensively tests and evaluates all the simulations.

All PhET simulations are freely available from the PhET website and are easy to use and incorpate into the classroom.  Studies has shown that the simulations are more effective for students’ conceptual understanding than real lab experiments!

What’s more, the simulations come with instructions for teachers on how to use them for teaching. Teachers can add their own ideas on how to use the simulations, which are then published by the site.  As well, the simulations have been translated from English into a great number of world languages – and if they are not yet translated into your native language, you can help with translation too.

I personally tried and had fun with the Energy Skate Park. In this simulation a skateboarder roller-skates across a  platform. You can change the shape of the platform by pulling and dragging its handle points. Moreover you can add new segments to the platform and transform it into a complicated  roller-coaster, limited only by your imagination. There are also a variety of skaters  to choose from (the PheT skater weighs 70 kg, the funny Buldog skater only 20 kg). You can place the platform on the Earth – or choose the moon for a reduced gravity. And, you can even add friction.

This simulation intends to explain the conservation of mechanical energy concept using kinetic and gravitational potential energy, and is appropriate for middle school pupils. The simulation allows the user to plot various energy forms (kinetic, potential, thermal) as a function of time and position. For example, you can see that potential energy is maximum when the skater is at the highest point. When you add friction, you see that mechanical energy is transformed into thermal energy.

Try it now! Click Here.

According to these data (click the figure to zoom) , the two categories in which teachers feel their training is lacking ( about 1/3 of them think so) are: 1) Use of computers in physics . . . → Read More: Teachers Demographics]]> It is interesting to take a look on some statistical data on physics teaching, as surveyed by the American Institute of Physics.

According to these data (click the figure to zoom) , the two categories in which teachers feel their training is lacking ( about 1/3 of them think so) are:
1) Use of computers in physics instructions and labs,
2) Recent developments in physics.

To some extent, this is not completely surprising.  Most of the training involves equipping prospective teachers with the basic physics knowledge that they would need to teach. Indeed, most teachers feel that they are at least adequately prepared, or even very well prepared for teaching, as far as their basic physics knowledge is concerned. On the other hand, use of computers is a more recent technology that is perhaps(?) not yet integrated in all schools. Still, I find it a bit surprising that even by 2008, 32%  of teachers  feel they are not adequately prepared to teaching with computers. There is some improvement though, compared to 37% who felt so in 2004.

Following recent developments in physics is clearly something that depends either on individual teachers inclination and effort to do so or on continuous training. But continuous training courses, are probably mostly dedicated  to enhancing existing teaching skills or presenting some new pedagogical  tools or methods. I think more should be done to help teachers to follow new research in physics. It should be easier today with all the information available on the internet!  Physics is not simply a static body of knowledge but  a journey of mankind towards understanding the world in which we live. Following hot recent research news and discoveries can be very exciting and motivating for both teachers and their students.

The next bit of statistics is Teacher Demographic and Academic Backgrounds 1987-2005 (the survey is of high-school teachers):

What trends can we see here, over 18 years of surevy?

1) The percentage of female physics teachers has increased from 23% in 1987 to 30% in 2005. This is a good thing but not enough. We need to have a more gender balanced teacher population in general, and in particular  if we wish to encourage more girls to choose physics based careers.

2) There is very little change in the degree level  distribution over the years, although there is some increase in (the over whole small) number of teachers with PhD degrees.

3) Now this surprises me: in 1987, only 26% of physics teachers had actually ANY physics degree. In 2005, the situation improved a little, yet still only 33% of high-school physics teachers have any physics degree!

The 33% percent figure  seems really shocking to me, given we are talking about high school teachers, not elementary school, and I see many  physics education websites call this phenomena a ‘crisis’. However,   till  now, I was not aware that this situation is so long-lived and actually somewhat improved compared to 23 years ago.  A very long crisis indeed!

July 26, 2010, ITHACA, by Jane Park from www.weny.com:

Physics teachers from across the country are at Cornell this week to bolster their science knowledge. It’s part of the Cornell Institute for Physics Teachers (CIPT), which is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, in an effort to get . . . → Read More: In the News]]> I found some interesting news today:

July 26, 2010, ITHACA, by Jane Park from www.weny.com:

Physics teachers from across the country are at Cornell this week to bolster their science knowledge.
It’s part of the Cornell Institute for Physics Teachers (CIPT), which is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, in an effort to get more high school kids interested in physics so they can pursue STEM careers, jobs in science, technology, engineering and math.
More importantly, these teachers say there’s a great need for them to get top quality training and stay current.
They call it a brain drain: students graduate from universities and take their talent outside of their state or country. It’s hurting America’s economy, its teachers and the students.
67%  of physics teachers have no certification or no degree in physics, said Dr. Julie Nucci, CIPT director.
Today there’s an urgent need for scientists and engineers who can compete on a global scale.
If you look at the scope of international comparisons as far as where our education is, we are not at the forefront anymore, said Rachel Melogno, a physics teacher at the International Polytechnic High School in Pomona, Calif.
Teachers participating in CIPT will develop relevant lab lessons, learn about new technologies and re-invent their courses. On Monday they ate a solar-cooked lunch and reviewed labs on Newton’s laws.
Teachers hope to take their excitement back home and inspire their students to pursue science careers to solve the country’s problems like the energy crisis.
If they become scientists, then hopefully they can solve some of these problems, because it’s a huge problem,said Angela Jensvold, an AP physics instructor at Diamond Bar High School, in Diamond Bar, Calif.
Funding for the Cornell Institute for Physics Teachers ends in 2011. Right now, Nucci says she’s trying to find donors to continue it.

source: www.weny.com

In the USA, according to PhysTech:  “The National Academies’ report Rising Above the Gathering Storm states that the most consistent and powerful predictor of student achievement in science and mathematics is a teacher who is fully certified and has at . . . → Read More: The Shortage of Physics Teachers]]> These days there seems to be a world-wide acute shortage of physics teachers.

In the USA, according to PhysTech:  “The National Academies’ report Rising Above the Gathering Storm states that the most consistent and powerful predictor of student achievement in science and mathematics is a teacher who is fully certified and has at least a bachelor’s degree in the content area; however, two thirds of today’s high school physics teachers did not major in physics, and over 90% of middle school physical science students are taught by teachers without a physical science major or certification. The American Association for Employment in Education consistently lists high school physics as one of the fields with the most severe teacher shortages. ”

In the UK, Member of Parliament Nicholas Dakin has filed two weeks ago  the following motion, supported so far by  24 MP’s:

“That this House expresses its concern at the lack of specialist physics teachers and the consequent drastic drop in the number of entrants to physics A-level; recognises the threat this poses to UK physics and engineering and therefore to the UK economy; and calls for greater incentives to attract physics graduates into teaching in order to create access to high-quality physics teaching for every child.”

And The Daily Mirror warns: ” A long-term shortage of maths, physics and chemistry teachers will leave Britain lagging behind the rest of the world, scientists fear.”

In Australia, ABC News reported:  “In what is likely to be worrying news for many parents, a study of South Australian science teachers has found that only about half of those teaching physics are qualified to do so.”

What are the reasons for this situation and what can we do to resolve the problem? Vincent Landon, reporting on  a more general teacher shortage in Swiss schools,  points the finger towards what he calls the three S’s:  Salary, Status and  Subordination: the pay is not that great , teachers don’t get much respect any more these days, and they face increasing problems of discipline in the classroom.

While pay levels for teachers vary between different countries,  recruitment efforts of physics teachers has to compete with financially rewarding career options open to physics graduates in the high-tech, software, and finance industries. Also, physics is a challenging subject requiring strong mathematical skills, and so perhaps people interested in a science education career choose to enter it through a specialization in a softer discipline such as a general science degree or, or  biology.

What do you think are the reasons for this worrying trend, and how can we resolve it? Could recruitment efforts alone solve the problem?

 The university offers a K-12 teaching . . . → Read More: The University of Colorado at Boulder Science Teaching Program]]> Suppose you decided you are interested in studying towards a physics or science degree, and perhaps consider a teaching career. But where to study? From time to time I will review aspects of science teaching certification programs at leading institutes. Today we will look at the University of Colorado at Boulder “STEM-Colorado”  program.  

 The university offers a K-12 teaching certification program in combination with a bachelor’s degree in science, math or engineering.  The university runs two unique programs for recruiting and training talented K-12 science teachers: the Learning Assistant (LA) program and the CU-Teach program.

Learning Assistant program

Wih the Learning Assistant program, interested undergraduate students have the opportunity to facilitate small-group interaction in about two dozen science courses, such as “Introductory Astronomy” or “Physics of Everyday life” . The  LA’s are paid a modest stipend ($1,500/semester) to work 10 hours per week in various aspects of course transformation. and form a  pool from which CU-Boulder recruits new K-12 teachers.

The LAs experience consists of  encouraging collaboration among college learning teams by assessing student understanding and asking guiding questions.  Every week,  the LAs meet with a faculty instructor guidance. and support In addition, LAs from all departments attend a special Mathematics and Science Education seminar where they reflect on their own teaching and learning and make connections to relevant education literature. LAs who decide to pursue a K-12 teaching license are eligible for a $6,000 $ to 10,000 scholarships.  Watch the video to get an impression of the LA program:

CU Teach

CU Teach is a new teacher education program of the School of Education. It is a unique collaborative program between the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education.   It focuses on middle and high school math and science teaching through a four-year undergraduate program that leads to a degree in a mathematics or sciences major and a secondary mathematics or sciences Colorado teaching license. The program starts with an introductory  STEP1  (EDUC2020) course – a  1-credit hour “career exploration” course offering the opportunity to try out teaching fun science experiments with local elementary students. This course can be used to ‘test the water’ of K12 science teaching – commitement to the full 4-year program is not required at this initial stage.

Finally, a few personal words. I did my post-doc in physics at CU-Boulder, and while I’ve not been involved at all with the science teaching program, I heard good things about the Physics department staff involved with it,  such as Prof. Noah Finkelstein.  Apparently this guy has a very interesting Bio – including studying at Yale and Princeton, working for Ford Aerospace, and teaching at a high school. Sounds like a good mixture of a bright academic record, “real-world” industry experience, and hands on educational experience. So, I believe  people interested in studying physics combined with K-12 teaching certificate would find very good teachers and mentors at CU.

For further information:

CU-Teach

Andy says:  “Science has got such a . . . → Read More: Andy’s passion]]> Andy Smith is a secondary school physics teacher in Liverpool. His teaching style is very dynamic reflecting his passion for physics, for his students, and perhaps also his old love of drama lessons. In 2005 Andy won the teaching award for best secondary teacher in the north west of England.

Andy says:  “Science has got such a bad perception across the world, all women with beards and boring men with pipes. I want pupils to understand that science is a bit more exciting; it’s not just sitting in the classroom doing big hard sums – science is everywhere.”.

Andy’s teaching approach led his students to attain a record success in the national exams. Let’s hear what are some of the tips that he gives for effective teaching:

• There is no point in doing anything at all in school unless you give it your best

• If you find it boring, the pupils will too. Even if you’re teaching something that you think is pretty uninteresting, if you make the effort and try to produce a good lesson around it, then things will be okay. If pupils see you have made the effort, then they’ll normally meet you half way.

• If you let one thing go in a lesson that you don’t want to happen, then this sends a signal to the other pupils that you’re happy for them to do it

• You are the closest thing your class has to a parent in school, they have to trust you and know that you are going to always be there for them. Remember that you can make or break a pupil’s heart by the way you support them.

• A starter can be the best way to get a class settled and ready to listen

• Make sure pupils know why you’re doing something and where you’re going with it. Too many pupils don’t know why they are there and what they are working towards

• A plenary is the best way to check what pupils have (or haven’t!) learned from the lesson
• One last effort may be the difference between a grade at a GCSE.

Watch a video of Andy’s teaching his class!

Actually, let’s begin  with the second question. The answer is clear: . . . → Read More: The Job Market]]> Teaching K-12 physics  can be immensely rewarding. But before choosing any career path it is a good idea to find out two real world things. First, what are the average salaries in the profession? Second, is there demand for new hires or is the market saturated?

Actually, let’s begin  with the second question. The answer is clear: the American Association for Employment in Education consistently lists high school physics as one of the fields with the most severe teacher shortages. Each year, U.S. schools hire about 1200 new physics teachers, but only about 400 of these have a physics degree! – because of the lack of qualified candidates. So, there is a strong demand for teachers with a specialized physics training.

What about salaries? Let us look at the survey data of  available from iHire . The survey contains data collected from 1910 physics teachers candidates in secondary education:

The average annual pay is $ 40,000 , with a broad range which reflects both the rise of salary with experience and geographical differences.  The average starting salary for a physics teacher is 35,000$, while the most experienced teachers earn an average salary of  $ 52,000.

iHire also provide a state-by-state data. For example, in Massachusetts the average starting salary is  35,000$, but there is a steep rise with experience – the most experienced teachers earn $ 62,400 on average.