Physics Education:
Making it Better (?)
Peter Main
Director, Education and Science
Teacher Update, University of Sussex
23 March 2013
peter.main@iop.org, www.iop.org
Plan

Emerging from the gloom: some statistics

Standards and Assessments

Curriculum

Widening Participation

Summary
EMERGING FROM THE
GLOOM
SOME STATISTICS
When I arrived at the Institute in 2002
 The was no such thing as a physics
teacher – only science teachers
 We needed ~ 700 new physics teachers a
year to stop numbers falling further and
were getting 300 – 400
 A-level numbers had fallen from ~ 55,000
in the mid-eighties to ~ 27,000
 The number of universities offering a
physics degree had fallen from 72 to 46
 ….and everyone was very miserable
The Good News!

Government set separate targets for
physics chemistry and biology teachers

IOP marketing campaign and government
and IOP offer ITT Scholarships

Record ITT entries for last 3 years

5 departments (re-)introducing new
physics degrees

University entrants rocketing

A-level numbers recovering well
HE Statistics: Gathering Statistics
Acceptances to first degrees for males & females in physics 1990-2011
(source PCAS + UCCA 90-93 & UCAS 94-11).
Note: gap relates to the end of the binary divide
5000
4500
Number of acceptances
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Year
A-levels: Statistics
Physics Teachers

In 2011, IOP identified a shortage of > 4000
specialist teachers (out of 10000 - 11000)

Estimated ~1000 recruits a year for 15 years to
restore parity with chemistry and biology
(average was ~ 400 a year)

Managed to persuade government to introduce
Physics with Maths as a teaching route

Now beginning to reach required levels and
with 50% of entrants with “good degrees”
Future?

School Direct
 Government seems very keen….
 …but huge issues

Expert Teachers
 Keeping good teachers in classroom
 “Expert Teacher” status
 Career route via external developmental
activity
STANDARDS
and
ASSESSMENTS
Grade Severity of A-levels
2011 question
Explain what is meant by work done [1]
A car is travelling along a road that has a uniform downhill gradient as
shown
The car has a mass 850kg. The angle of the road is 7.5o.
Calculate the component of the weight of the car down the slope (units
given) [2]
The car travels at a constant speed of 25 m s-1 and the driver applies the
brakes to stop the car. The constant force resisting the motion is 4600N
(i) Show that the deceleration of the car is 4.1ms-1 (equation given)
(ii) Calculate the distance the car travels from when the brakes are applied to
when the car comes to rest [2] (equation and units given)
(iii) Calculate the loss in KE of the car (equation and units given) [2]
(iv) The work done by the resisting force (units given) [1]
(v) Explain why the two quantities in (iii) and (iv) are not equal [1]
1986 question
A model electric train of mass 1kg runs on a level track at a steady
speed of 0.4ms-1. The resistance to forward motion is 4N.
(i) What is the magnitude of the forward force exerted by the engine [1]
(ii) Calculate the power required to maintain this speed [2]
(iii) Calculate the current required to produce this power from a 12V
battery [2]
(iv) Calculate the extra power required when this train climbs a slope
of 1 in 20 (see diagram) at the same steady speed. [3]
Comparison

In 1986 no formulae or units given

Much less structured in 1986: final part
more demanding

In 1986 synthesis of electricity and
mechanics
O-levels and A-levels

Up to late 1980s, Physics O-level was optional
(numbers increasing year by year)

A-levels numbers ~ 50,000 (cf ~30,000 today)

At age ~16, pupils spent about 12.5% of their time on
Physics, if they did it

When GCSEs and double science came in, pupils
spent about 6.7% of their time doing physics (then
there was HSW…)
A-levels: Mathematics

Mind the Gap report on the degree to which
physics and engineering students are prepared
mathematically for their courses

Followed up with a seminar involving DfE, Ofqual
and all awarding bodies

SCORE report Mathematics in Science: awarding
bodies not even assessing the mathematics they
have in the specifications
A-levels: Mind the Gap (IOP 2011)
A-levels: Ofqual Review

“I am troubled by reports from learned bodies
such as the Institute of Physics.”
Letter from Michael Gove to Ofqual, April 2012

“We will want to be sure that respected university
departments and learned societies support the
content defined for each new A level.”
Letter from Glenys Stacey (CEO Ofqual) to Michael Gove
Adding it all up
 Physics is the “hardest” A-level
 Physics A-level is much easier than it
used to be….
 ….when there were 60+% more people
taking it
 Big step from GCSE to A-level
 Universities feel there is not enough
maths in physics A-level
one hell of a mess
HE Statistics: destinations of A-level students

85% of those with A-level physics also had
A-level maths or FM

~97% of students with A-level physics go
to university, most to do STEM(M) subjects

Only ~10% of Physics A-level students
choose to follow a physics degree
(around 25%-30% go to engineering)

46% of physics entrants had >480 UCAS
points (math 40%, chem 30%, bio 21%, EE
14%)
A-level Assessment: the Proposals

Mr Gove asked Russell Group to advise on A-levels

They have reluctantly agreed for the “facilitating subjects”,
including physics

But they have told us that they want no part to play in
assessment

Therefore, it is likely current “race to the bottom” will continue
with awarding bodies unchecked.

Also decoupled AS-levels from A-levels (whatever that means)
A-level Assessment: what the IOP would like
 National Subject Committees
 Convened by independent body (learned
society where appropriate)
 No commercial interest in process
 Involves academics, teachers and
employers
 Sets criteria for content
 Sets criteria for assessment
 Plays a role in monitoring assessment
GCSE Assessment: the proposals
 “ More challenging” GCSEs
 Totally opaque process for setting criteria –
no real consultation
 For EBAC, students must take 3 sciences out
of 4 (now includes Computer Science) and
pass 2. (i.e. can drop a core science after KS3)
 New school accountability proposals at KS4
 “Super 8” replaces 5 GCSEs at A* to C
 Super 8 has English, maths + best 3 EBAC
subjects + best 3 others
 Calculated on a value-added basis
GCSE Assessment: the Future

With the majority of schools not following the
National Curriculum, it is vital we get the KS4
exams right.

Ideally, the GCSEs could also be in national
subject committees

We must protect laboratory work

Why do we need more than one awarding body?
(as opposed to more than one specification)

CURRICULUM
What do we want from a physics curriculum?
 Needs to be coherent with what goes
before and what comes after

Needs to be coherent with other subjects

Needs to give everyone an authentic feel
of what physics is (including lab work)

Needs to challenge and excite (or is that
the teachers?)
Definitions (Concise Oxford Dictionary)

Biology
 Study of living organisms

Chemistry
 Study of the elements, the compounds they
form and the reactions they undergo.

Physics
 Science dealing with the properties and
interactions of matter and energy (!)
My definition of physics

…a way of thinking, a reductionist view of the world
where phenomena can be understood in terms of a
relatively small number of physical laws and limited
only by the complexity of a system or phenomena.

Consequences:





This reductionist definition purposely removes
reference to content.
It distinguishes the physicist from the engineer.
The process develops critical thinking skills.
The process requires mathematical manipulations.
The process also requires careful measurement and
instrumentation.
The “Big Ideas” of Physics
 Reductionism.
 Causality
 Universality
 Mathematical modelling
 Conservation
 Equilibrium
 Differences cause change
 Dissipation and irreversibility.
 Symmetry and broken symmetry.
Thinking Like a Physicist










critical thinking and scepticism
deep understanding
seeking consistency
quantitative understanding
developing models of systems
simplifying situations to their core elements
Approximation. Limiting cases etc.
isolating phenomena to test experimentally
refining models through the sequence of experiment ->
model -> prediction -> test;
accepting explanations that are beyond ‘common sense’.
Making the curriculum better

Can we bring some of these ideas into the teaching of
physics in schools?

SCORE (us, the RSC, SB, ASE and Royal Society) have
published guidelines on how to make good science
GCSEs: see www.iop.org/guidelines

Guidelines include suggestions on practical work

See also article in Physics World, April 2013
WIDENING
PARTICPATION
Areas of Concern

Two Major Issues
 Girls in Physics
 Socio-economic background

Also
 Ethnicity – project in West London school
– large increase in A-level numbers
 STEM Disability Committee
Raising Aspirations in Physics

Working with a school in the NE

Already identified many issues:
 Lack of parental knowledge of the “system”
 Lack of parental knowledge of what jobs there are
 Students lack confidence and can be intimidated by
many interventions
 Basic literacy and numeracy
 No physics department in Newcastle University
Girls in Physics
A-level subjects for female students 2012
A-level subjects for male students 2012
1
English
63838
1
Mathematics
51413
2
Psychology
41308
2
Biology
27410
3
Biology
35664
3
Physics
27148
4
Art and Design subjects
34523
4
Chemistry
25974
5
Mathematics
34301
5
English
25800
6
History
26491
6
History
25161
7
Sociology
23514
8
Chemistry
23260
14
Physical Education
11030
15
Design and Technology
9807
15
French
8593
16
Mathematics Further
9251
16
Economics
8037
17
Political Studies
8669
17
Law
7994
18
Sociology
7843
18
Physics
7361
19
Religious Studies
7298
19
Design and Technology
7298
20
ICT
6804
20
Political Studies
6591
24
Spanish
4871
24
Drama
4763
25
ICT
4284
25
Other modern languages
4020
26
Mathematics Further
3972
26
French
3918
27
Music
27
Computing
3512
3790
36
Irish
203
36
Irish
101
It’s Different for Girls
An exploration of data from the National Pupil Data-base

Looking at progression to A-level physics
from different types of school at KS4.

Assuming that pupils’ experience of KS4
will be a critical factor in choice of A
levels.

Are there patterns in the type of school
where pupils’ sat their GCSEs and
progression on to A-level physics?
Girls in Physics: what we would like to happen

Ofsted to help schools take their Public
Sector Diversity Duty seriously

Benchmarking against national figures in
stereotyped subjects (physics, MFL etc.)

A move away from the “tried and
Inadequate” exercises (role models,
special workshops etc.) to new projects
Girls in Physics: new ideas

Benchmarking and Ofsted

Contacting Heads and governors in schools guilty of
worst stereotyping and offering resources to combat
gender stereotyping.

“Priming”: convincing girls they are good at the subject

Girls taking responsibility: Physics is a Feminist Issue

Whole school work with all teachers
SUMMARY

Physics is actually in better health than
for decades – golden opportunity to
make it even stronger

Assessment regimes in school like a
house with “opportunities for the DIY
expert” – it is not fit for purpose

There are once-in-a-generation
opportunities if we can grasp them
Points to Discuss
 Standards
 National Subject Committees and
assessment
 Transition to HE
 Safeguarding laboratory work
 Dealing with awarding bodies
 School accountability
 “Expert Teachers”
 How to include the “big ideas of physics”
 Girls in Physics measures
Thank You!
Professor Peter Main
Director, Education and Science
SEPnet Teacher Update
University of Sussex
23 March 2013
peter.main@iop.org, www.iop.org