Professional Focus Paper
Course: Physics
1.
Level: National 3
Who is this paper for and what is its purpose?
This paper is for teachers and other staff who provide learning, teaching and support as learners work towards
Physics National 3. Its purpose is to stimulate professional reflection and dialogue and highlight important features
of learning which are enhanced or different from previous arrangements at this SCQF level.
2.
What’s new and what are the implications for learning and teaching?
Physics National 3 consists of three units: Waves and Radiation, Dynamics and Space, Electricity and Energy.
National 3, 4, 5 Physics have the same unit titles. To achieve Physics National 3, learners must pass all three
required units. The course is awarded on a pass/fail basis within centres. Unlike National 4 and 5, there is no
course assessment and no Added Value Unit at National 3.
Much of the course content will be familiar to centres currently delivering Physics at Access 3 level. However, the
content has been reviewed and updated and includes new assessment methods and increased opportunities for
personalisation and choice. National 3 provides learners with the opportunity to develop and apply skills and
increase their depth of knowledge and understanding.
The key areas for this course are:











energy sources
electricity
energy transfer
wave properties
light
colour
optical instruments
electromagnetic radiation
sound
forces
solar system.
Refer to N3-N5 Physics Course Comparisons document published by SQA for further information
PHYSICS
What are the key aspects of Physics National 3?
Progression from the broad general education
This qualification has been designed to articulate with the broad general education (BGE). Learners who have
completed Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes may find this a suitable basis for doing this
course. This course may be suitable for those wishing to study physics for the first time. Staff will find it useful to
refer to the Physics Progression Framework, as they plan learning that builds on the BGE with progress into
National 3.
Hierarchy of units
National 3 is presented at SCQF level 3. From National 3 onwards, the hierarchical nature of the units allows for
flexible learning and teaching, and enables learners to be given recognition for their best achievement. Learners
may gain unit awards at more than one level, based on their level of skills and knowledge and understanding of the
key areas of physics. The degree of choice within the units ensures that learners are not required to repeat content
from one level to the next. This approach allows for depth, challenge and progression and encourages all learners
to aim high.
Fewer, broader outcomes
There is no mandatory content at National 3; rather there are key areas of knowledge and understanding that
learners should experience. This gives practitioners the opportunity to determine the interests of their learners and
provide contexts chosen locally in consideration of the needs and future pathways of the learners. Partnerships
with local employers and colleges give the opportunity for learners to tie in their learning with positive destinations.
What are the key features of learning in Physics National 3?
Physics National 3 gives learners the opportunity to explore and address challenging scientific issues, helping them
to become scientifically literate citizens capable of making informed decisions. Learners have more scope for
choice and greater opportunities to investigate the impact and implications of their findings.
A blend of classroom approaches should include: hands-on practical tasks; experimental work; open-ended
investigations; plenary discussions and direct interactive teaching. As with all of the national qualifications in
Physics, there is a strong emphasis on skills. Science skills are fundamentally important to the technology rich
society learners are living in. The progression of skills from the BGE should be apparent, coherent and appropriate
to the learner.
The gender issue has been highlighted in the Sciences 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report as an aspect for
development in Physics and Biology. Teachers should reflect on their practice, pedagogies and the contexts they
use to ensure learners do not see any gender barriers to their participation in the course. Providing opportunities
for increased personalisation and choice will ensure all learners, irrespective of gender, will find the course equally
motivating, challenging and enjoyable.
Learning journeys which provide for personalisation and choice should be built in at all stages, taking account of
individual learner progress, how the candidate learns and the contexts that each finds particularly interesting. The
key area of electromagnetic radiation within the Waves and Radiation Unit lends itself to the learner focusing on an
application of electromagnetic radiation in medicine to suit their prior learning and interests and allows for
development of health and wellbeing. The learner could explore risks associated with this application, comparing
dose equivalents for different radiations and consider the management of these risks. The opportunities to
communicate findings should develop skills relating to literacy and numeracy.
PHYSICS
Effective partnerships have an important role to play. As well as drawing on relevant expertise among staff in other
curriculum areas, links with employers developed independently or through organisations such as STEMNET, add
to the relevance and challenge of learning. These links can also promote an understanding of potential careers,
occupations, and ways of learning and future training pathways.
Learning should develop high-quality scientific inquiry and investigation skills, building on skills developed within
the BGE. This should involve scientific inquiry, which includes finding associations and investigating models in reallife and relevant contexts. The key area of Energy Transfer affords practitioners an ideal opportunity for this.
Learners can complete their own learning journeys through investigating various factors to reduce domestic heat
loss.
Learning and teaching should embed literacy at an appropriate level. It is important that learners are able to create
and discover physics learning through a range of media. The skills developed will include selecting, summarising,
inferring and using scientific vocabulary correctly in context. These experiences can involve working independently
or collaboratively to evaluate sources, for example, considering the credibility and value of the sources, reliability of
information and techniques used to influence opinion, including persuasion and bias, and then to provide feedback
on the information they and all stakeholders in the classroom present. Learners should be encouraged to engage in
informed debate on physics-related ethical issues and to develop skills in persuading, evaluating and expressing
opinions based on scientific evidence.
Well-planned approaches to learning in physics enable learners to develop numeracy skills, including applying and
developing skills in: understanding the practical importance of accuracy and reliability; making choices about how
to record and display data in a clear way from an extended range of tables, charts, diagrams and graphs;
interpreting data contained in a range of formats; evaluating and interpreting raw data, and data from tables and
graphs, from their own work or other sources; and commenting on observed relationships within the data, and the
extent to which that interpretation is realistic.
National 3 Physics provides many rich contexts in which to exemplify and develop health & wellbeing. The
numerous practical activities and investigations provide excellent opportunities to teach and develop the skills of
working with others, leadership skills and physical coordination and movement. Learners can also learn to stay
safe and manage risks, for instance, in the safe use of electricity in the home.
Links with a range of curriculum areas such as other sciences, mathematics and social studies and technologies
are essential to help learners apply and make connections in their learning. Revisiting learning in different contexts
helps to ensure their skills are reinforced and transferrable.
PHYSICS
3.
Qualification information
The SQA website provides you with the following documents:







Assessment Overview
Course Specification
Unit Specification
Support Notes
Course Assessment Specification
Unit Assessment Support Packages
Physics Progression Framework
Further information about this qualification is available from the SQA website:
http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/48604.html
4.
What other materials are available on the Education Scotland website?
 NQ Glow Portal – Physics
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/subjects/physics/index.asp1
 CfE Briefing 15: Sciences for all
 Sciences Principles and Practices
 Sciences 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report
 Concept development in the Sciences
5.
Reflective questions
How will you plan for progression in learning and teaching, building on the BGE, to meet the needs of learners?
How will you promote enthusiasm for chemistry through relevant, inspiring and engaging contexts?
How can you ensure that learners can access opportunities to apply their learning in different curriculum areas?
How will you ensure that learners develop and apply skills in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing?
How will you ensure that learners have opportunities to encounter a broad and challenging range of data and
sources of evidence?
How will you ensure a balanced overall blend of approaches in the classroom?
1
Please copy and paste this URL (web address) into your browser. (Glow log-in required.)
T +44 (0)141 282 5000 E enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk W www.educationscotland.gov.uk
Education Scotland, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA
© Crown copyright, 2012
You may re-use this information (excluding images and logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence providing that it is reproduced
accurately and not in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the document title specified.
To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence or e-mail: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.