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Advancing Physics evaluated
Jon Ogborn
Institute of Education, University of London, UK
Abstract
The first phase of an evaluation of the new AS/A-level course Advancing
Physics, sponsored by the Institute of Physics, is now complete. It shows
that the course has achieved very high satisfaction ratings from teachers of
the course, and that a majority of these teachers see it as achieving its main
aims. The first phase of the evaluation was designed to pinpoint aspects of
Advancing Physics that offer scope for improvement. Two such aspects have
been identified: course planning and use of the CD-ROM material, and
arrangements for coursework in the examination.
Development of a new A-level course:
Advancing Physics
In 1997 the Institute of Physics set up an initiative
in post-16 physics which led to the publication in
2000 and 2001 of a new A-level physics course,
Advancing Physics (Ogborn and Whitehouse
2000, 2001, Lawrence and Whitehouse 2000,
2001). The Institute of Physics invested some £1m
in this initiative, because it was concerned by the
fall in numbers of students taking A-level physics,
and because it saw the need to anticipate changes in
the structure of A-level courses finally introduced
by Government in 2000 (‘Curriculum 2000’). The
Institute of Physics sought in this way to help reinvigorate the teaching of A-level Physics, and to
make it appeal to a broader range of students, not
least girls.
Design of Advancing Physics
The thinking behind the new course has been
described elsewhere (Ogborn 1999, 2001) and
full information is available at http://advancing
physics.iop.org/, where a full report of the evaluation discussed in this paper can also be found.
Here I shall just outline the main features of the
design of the course.
One core principle of the design is variety.
To appeal to a broader range of students it is
necessary to appeal to a wide range of interests,
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PHYSICS EDUCATION
38 (4)
from those students with very pragmatic interests
in how everyday things work, to those who like the
intellectual depth, even the intellectual challenge,
that physics can offer. Others are drawn in by
history and social context, from debate about the
nature of light to the importance of the metre
to the French Revolution. Many want to know
what value physics might have for them in their
careers and personal life. For these reasons,
Advancing Physics is designed to look at physics
from different points of view, with varied kinds of
emphasis.
A second core principle is choice, responsibility and commitment. Students aged 16 to 19
are busy inventing themselves as adults. They discover new interests through trying new things for
themselves. And the route to commitment is giving them choices and responsibilities. For this
reason the new course offers a variety of kinds
of choice to students, particularly through coursework (for example, choosing a material and making a presentation about it). Choice is also provided through examination questions asking students to discuss their own examples of some important physical principles (for example, superposition).
A third main principle is to make the course
content and its delivery fully up-to-date. To
many, this means particle physics and astronomy.
But there are much simpler and equally essential
0031-9120/03/040330+06$30.00
© 2003 IOP Publishing Ltd
Advancing Physics evaluated
new areas of physics that have often been
neglected. Chief amongst them is the information
and communication revolution, introducing new
concepts of visualization and digital imaging, and
all aspects of digital communication. ‘Bandwidth’
is the latest valuable commodity given to the world
by physicists and engineers. Being up-to-date also
meant finding ways to introduce the peculiarities
of the quantum world, as early as possible in the
course.
Being up-to-date in delivery meant exploiting
the possibilities of CD-ROMs (and for the future,
of the web). That made an opportunity to rethink
the nature and role of a textbook. No longer need
a textbook be encyclopaedic, scaring off many
a student by its bulk and density. Instead, the
Advancing Physics textbooks are built around the
idea of narrative: of telling physics as a set of
stories about how the world and artefacts in it
work, how these were discovered or made, and
in what social and historical context. This is not
just a concern to be attractive to students: it is also
a concern for a physics course that is cultivated,
worth a person’s while to study. In addition, the
books are very visual, recognizing the growing
importance of visual modes of communication.
Finally, key to the whole enterprise is teacher
support and INSET. This has been provided by
the Awarding Body OCR and by the Institute of
Physics, through meetings, websites and teacher
networks meeting face-to-face and through e-mail.
Any teacher faces formidable challenges in taking
on a new course, and they need all the practical
help and confidence building that they can get.
Evaluation of Advancing Physics
After piloting from 1999, the Advancing Physics
AS course began being taught on a national scale
in 2000, followed by the A2 course in 2001. By
summer 2002 the first A-level students graduated,
and it was time to begin evaluating the course.
In a first phase of the evaluation, questionnaires went in April 2002 from the Institute of
Physics to schools and colleges using Advancing
Physics, to sound out teachers’ opinions. The
aim of this first phase was to see whether
Advancing Physics deserved continuing support,
and if so to identify areas where there might be
scope for improvement. 138 schools or colleges
responded. They contained 380 teachers teaching
Advancing Physics, 218 of whom responded to an
July 2003
individual teacher questionnaire. These centres
are broadly a statistically fair sample of those
adopting Advancing Physics.
Satisfaction with Advancing Physics
materials and support
The individual teacher questionnaire asked teachers to indicate their satisfaction or dissatisfaction
with various aspects of the Advancing Physics
course, materials and infrastructure. Results are
shown in figure 1.
Specification, course materials and
student interest
Satisfaction with the specification, course materials and student interest is very high, with over 80%
being very or reasonably satisfied. Here the CDROMs come out very well indeed, with the highest proportion very satisfied with them. However,
they do also attract a substantial body of detailed
critical comment in a later part of the questionnaire. The picture here is overwhelmingly positive, especially in view of the novel nature of the
textbook and CD-ROM package. Very few omitted to answer.
Examination and coursework
Satisfaction with the examination and its outcomes
is very high, with about 90% of responses being
positive. However, the coursework element of
the examination, whilst viewed positively by a
majority (66%) is regarded as not fully satisfactory
by a substantial minority. Again, this is reflected
in written comments.
INSET and support
Satisfaction with the INSET and support provided
by the Institute of Physics is very high indeed
amongst those who responded. However, it must
be significant that about 20% of teachers omitted
to give a response about INSET and support. This
could be because an important minority of the
teachers responding had not experienced INSET
or support.
Overall approval of Advancing Physics
Teachers were asked whether, if the choice were
theirs alone, they would want to continue with
Advancing Physics. 85% said they would.
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331
J Ogborn
100%
80%
omit
Very dissatisfied
Somewhat dissatisfied
Reasonably satisfied
Very satisfied
60%
40%
20%
IoP Support
IoP INSET
OCR Support
OCR INSET
Coursework
Examination
outcomes
Examination
Student interest
CD-ROMs
Textbook
OCR Specification
0%
Figure 1. Responses to questions about satisfaction with the course.
Improving transition and retention, and
broadening access
One aim of Advancing Physics was to ease the
transition from GCSE to A-level, and to reduce
the number of students who get into difficulties
and thus improve retention rates. Another aim was
to attract, and be accessible to, a broader range of
types of student.
Just over half of the heads of department
saw signs that the first aim was being achieved.
Slightly more saw signs of achieving the second
aim. A substantial number of ‘don’t know’
responses is to be expected, because it is early
days, and the judgment is in part subjective.
However, in the event only about a fifth to a quarter
of respondents felt unable to give a view.
Numbers taking Advancing Physics,
and gender ratio
Another sign that the aims of Advancing Physics
are being achieved would be increased numbers
taking AS and A2 Physics, as compared with
previous years. Figure 2 shows the numbers (in
the schools responding) studying AS Advancing
Physics in 2000–1 and in 2001–2, and the numbers
continuing to A2 Advancing Physics in 2001–2.
For comparison it also shows the numbers who
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PHYSICS EDUCATION
took A-level Physics in the three two-year periods
ending in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Figure 2 shows that in these schools AS
participation was up by 55% on the average of
the previous three years’ A-level participation,
and up by 43% on the highest and most recent
year. This is substantially larger than the 33%
increase one might expect if students take about
four AS subjects in place of three A-levels and if
physics maintains its previous ‘share’ in the new
system (the fear was always that it would lose).
It is notable that certain centres experienced very
substantial increases in numbers (the largest was
300%).
In the centres responding, about 70% of
students taking Advancing Physics AS continued
to A2. Numbers taking Advancing Physics A2 are
up by about 11% on the average of the previous
three years, but only by 3% on the best and most
recent year.
Gender balance is hard to shift. Advancing
Physics may have made things slightly better, with
19% females in previous A-levels, rising to about
21–22% for Advancing Physics.
Overall, then, the message seems to be that
Advancing Physics is succeeding in its aim to
increase the numbers of students experiencing
July 2003
Advancing Physics evaluated
other A2
other AS
AP A2
AP AS
former A-level
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
A-level A-level A-level
A2
1999
2000
2001
2001-2
AS
2000-1
AS
2001-2
Figure 2. Numbers taking A-level, AS and A2 in
schools that responded to the questionnaire. (Note that
two of the centres began Advancing Physics only in
2001–2 and two centres ran Advancing Physics in
parallel with other AS and A2 specifications, thus
accounting for the small numbers of students shown
taking other specifications.)
some physics at this level, and may be helping
to encourage the participation of girls.
Areas for improvement
The questionnaire to teachers included several free
response questions:
• For you, what are the two most positive
aspects of Advancing Physics?
• For you, what are the two most negative
aspects of Advancing Physics?
• What is your own personal appraisal of the
successes and failures of Advancing Physics,
as you experienced them?
• Please suggest any areas in which you see
room for further improvement in Advancing
Physics.
As expected, these questions gave teachers a
variety of opportunities to identify strengths and
weaknesses of Advancing Physics.
Positive aspects
The main positive aspects to emerge are:
• Course content: novel, modern, up-todate, fresh, fun, challenging, interesting to
students, relevant with useful applications.
July 2003
• Text: new, fresh, interesting, graphic, well
tailored to course, clear structure and layout.
• CD-ROM and resources: good quantity and
variety of resources; ready-prepared material
including questions; use of ICT, delivering
good teaching aids.
• Appeal to students: interesting and stimulating; AS attractive for students wanting some
science at A-level; students like independence
and choice they get.
• Coursework: students get a lot out of it; well
varied; key communication skills developed.
• Examination: straightforward, good pass
rates, student-friendly, good for weak
students too; good novel aspects.
• Teaching: encourages variety of teaching
styles; allows different ways of teaching;
course is flexible and adaptable; interesting
to teach; course structure varied and wellordered.
• Support: good support from IOP, OCR and
e-mail network; regional groups helpful and
productive.
Particular areas for improvement
Two concerns emerge rather clearly:
• The clarity and definiteness of the course, and
the time and effort needed to plan it. This
is linked to problems of using materials and
advice on CD-ROMs.
• Amount and complexity of coursework and
the difficulties of marking it.
Clarity and definiteness of course: time and
effort needed to plan course
By design, Advancing Physics provides teachers
with a wide range of choice of resources and
approaches. It offers a flexible and adaptable range
of resources, intended to cover the needs of a wide
variety of schools. There is a substantial body
of critical comment about the problems of making
these choices and of arriving at a course tailored for
one’s own circumstances. Many say how difficult
it is to select from the wealth of material and
pin down essentials. However, some note how
these difficulties diminish rapidly with time and
experience: ‘First year involved a lot of planning
but now it is set up, it is great.’
At the centre of these concerns is the nature
and structure of the CD-ROMs for teachers and
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J Ogborn
students. The tasks of navigating the CDs, and of
finding and reviewing material on them, prove to
be formidable for many. Notice, however, that the
CDs got very high satisfaction ratings indeed (see
above).
Work is now in hand, in phase 2 of the
evaluation, to talk to teachers to understand these
problems better, and to look for possible action to
remedy them.
Coursework and course load
There is a good deal of critical comment on the
coursework load for teachers and students. Some
consider three pieces of coursework at AS to be too
much. Some teachers find the work of coursework
assessment burdensome and worrying.
It is clear that coursework, especially at AS, is
a real issue, where there is scope for improvement.
Work is also in hand in phase 2 of the evaluation
to understand the issues here in more detail, and
to test out ideas for possible improvement. It
needs to be remembered that coursework is also
a valued source of independence and involvement
of students.
Conclusions
Advancing Physics has been very well received,
and there is evidence that it can make physics more
accessible to a wider range of kinds of students.
There are indications that it can increase total
numbers and can have some favourable impact on
the participation of girls. It is clear that the course
deserves continuing support, particularly through
INSET and regional meetings for teachers.
Two areas emerge that are being investigated
in phase 2, with a view to identifying possible
improvements:
• Course planning and use of the CD-ROMs.
• Coursework and course load.
Acknowledgments
Thanks are due to Dr Bob Fairbrother for
undertaking the coding and first analysis of the
questionnaire data. We thank Professor Hazel
Francis for her professional advice in the design
and conduct of the evaluation.
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PHYSICS EDUCATION
Table 1. Copies of the Advancing Physics materials
sold up to August 2002.
AS Student text
AS Student network CD-ROM
AS Student single user CD-ROM
AS Teacher single user CD-ROM
AS Teacher network CD-ROM
17748
4835a
10330
1677
100
A2 Student text
A2 Student network CD-ROM
A2 Student single user CD-ROM
A2 Teacher single user CD-ROM
A2 Teacher network CD-ROM
11066
320a
7020
1299
98
a
For the AS Student network CD-ROM the figure
given is CDs sold plus users licensed. For A2 the
corresponding figure is just CDs sold.
Appendix. Examination and sales data
Copies of the Advancing Physics materials sold up
to August 2002 are shown in table 1.
The new AS/A2 system was introduced
in September 2000, with the first candidates
completing the AS course in Summer 2001 and
the A2 course in Summer 2002.
Numbers
of candidates entering for the AS and A2
qualifications, with percentages passing, and
obtaining grade A, are shown in tables 2–5.
• OCR (B) is Advancing Physics (AP)
• Edexcel (B) is Salters Horners Physics (SHP)
Table 2. Results for Summer 2001 AS.
Awarding body
Entry
% pass
% grade A
OCR (B) AP
OCR (A)
Edexcel (B) SHP
Edexcel (A)
AQA (A)
AQA (B)
Total
6322
6059
2267
6226
6556
3321
30801
93.2
86.1
83.9
84.7
85.3
82.1
24.9
19.7
19.8
25.9
24.9
21.2
Table 3. Results for January 2002 AS.
Awarding body
Entry
% pass
% grade A
OCR (B) AP
OCR (A)
Edexcel (B) SHP
Edexcel (A)
AQA (A)
AQA (B)
Total
411
476
130
721
423
247
2408
92.9
94.2
94.6
91.5
92.0
89.5
20.4
17.4
10.8
25.0
22.5
23.9
July 2003
Advancing Physics evaluated
Table 4. Results for Summer 2002 AS.
Awarding body
Entry
% pass
% grade A
OCR (B) AP
OCR (A)
Edexcel (B) SHP
Edexcel (A)
AQA (A)
AQA (B)
Total
7317
7099
2952
8170
7389
3593
36520
90.1
84.1
82.8
83.5
84.0
80.6
24.7
20.0
20.5
25.1
24.0
19.7
Table 5. Results for Summer 2002 A2.
Awarding body
Entry
% pass
% grade A
OCR (B) AP
OCR (A)
Edexcel (B) SHP
Edexcel (A)
AQA (A)
AQA (B)
Total
5891
6136
2015
7186
5882
2813
29923
96.6
93.8
90.3
91.1
94.8
91.7
29.1
23.7
22.5
27.2
28.2
24.4
Received 18 December 2002, in final form 25 February 2003
PII: S0031-9120(03)57595-5
July 2003
References
Lawrence I and Whitehouse M 2000 (eds) CD-ROM
Advancing Physics AS 2000 (Bristol: Institute of
Physics Publishing)
Lawrence I and Whitehouse M 2001 (eds) CD-ROM
Advancing Physics A2 2001 (Bristol: Institute of
Physics Publishing)
Ogborn J 1999 New hope for physics education Phys.
World 12 (October) 29–32
Ogborn J 2001 Changing the curriculum in physics
Physics Teacher Education Beyond 2000, Proc.
XVIII GIREP Conf., Barcelona, 27 August–
1 September 2000 (Paris: Elsevier) pp 45–8
Ogborn J and Whitehouse M 2000 (eds) Advancing
Physics AS (Bristol: Institute of Physics
Publishing)
Ogborn J and Whitehouse M 2001 (eds) Advancing
Physics A2 (Bristol: Institute of Physics
Publishing)
Jon Ogborn directed the Institute of
Physics post-16 Initiative, which
produced the Advancing Physics course.
He was previously Professor of Science
Education at the Institute of Education,
University of London (now emeritus
professor). With Paul Black, he also
co-directed the development of the
original Nuffield Advanced Physics
course.
PHYSICS EDUCATION
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