[Catalist] Physics Education at the 23rd AIP Congress
Leon Harris
leon at quoll.com
Sat Jun 2 15:46:36 AEST 2018
Thanks Roy, you are very kind.
For teachers, we need to modify the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum
physics here to something like: "Shut up and keep marking !".
Alas, I fear the kind of change is too hard for our kind of society
under these conditions.
These things act against us:
1) 3 year election cycle - can't do long-term planning.
2) Collapse of the public service as a "check and balance" that could
provide the long-term view that is missing in 1)
3) Rise of the client-server model in the educational context.
Customer(student/parent) happiness does not necessarily map onto system
success. This is particularly clear when the goal of parent and system
don't align (ie one wants the maximum grade(benefit) for their child and
the other wants the fairest and most accurate measurement of the child's
ability that will give a suitable benefit to that child). Don't blame
the parents - hey I seek to rort the system to my child's benefit too!
Just be mindful of the conflict and don't pander to the parent.
4) Shift to exam focus rather than mastery focus. Continually refining
the teaching strategy to fit the instrument that assesses its success
means pruning away of "deep mastery". We don't teach reasoning, logic,
or problem solving, we teach NAPLAN and ATAR. As generations of teachers
come through this system, their knowledge and skill base becomes
whittled away, and we will continue to sink ever lower (Unless we are
able to sell our folly to our competitors as best practice! ).
So yeah,
shut up and keep marking.
Above all, enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful weather, it is still
affordable on a scientists salary!
Cheers,
Leon
On 2/06/2018 12:07 PM, Roy Skinner wrote:
>
> Wise words Leon – as always!
>
> You could apply your reasoning to becoming a teacher of physics. I
> think in 20 odd years here I have only had 2 of my students go into
> teaching physics.
>
> Much better to become a footy player!
>
> Roy
>
> *From:*Catalist [mailto:catalist-bounces at lists.stawa.net] *On Behalf
> Of *Leon Harris
> *Sent:* Saturday, 2 June 2018 11:56 AM
> *To:* Catalist <catalist at lists.stawa.net>
> *Subject:* Re: [Catalist] Physics Education at the 23rd AIP Congress
>
> Hi Roy,
> I'd be suspicious that your students answer may just be an excuse.
> Plenty in religious sector do physics, around where I live more than
> in the state sector (data from 5 years ago).
> There are plenty of bright kids in state schools who dodge physics due
> to lack of need and stress-avoidance. Why would you do it if there is
> no reward for it?
>
> My experience in the religious sector was that kids tended not to do
> much out of hours. To most of my scienc-ey kids, a 51% grade in RE was
> a 1% waste of effort, and only necessary to avoid the 49% waste of
> effort that a 49% grade was! Quite an instructive little lesson there
> in measurement uncertainties (aka, try harder, unless your measurement
> scale is very fine!).
>
> The big, unspoken, yet-to-be-courageously-acknowledged elephant in the
> room is that there are few rewards for high performance in STEM. Real
> estate and finance are far more lucrative. Bankers get bucks,
> scientists get soft contracts until they are 35, and then they get
> desperate and get into teaching or real estate. This needs to be
> fixed, as that kind of human capital takes decades to create, and the
> "burn it up and throw it away" approach to the profession that
> Australia has is very poor at utilising our talent base. Anyone
> recently taught a postdoc molecular biologist doing a dip Ed? I seem
> to recall that the retention rate "in their chosen field" for most
> scientists is somewhere south of 10%, a decade out of graduating with
> a higher degree.
>
> Second big idea: We need to move away from a "game-able" education
> system. We need to shift the culture: the exam isn't the goal, it is
> an instrument by which we measure knowledge gain. Until we do, with
> the apparent stakes so high for a 17 year old, they will play it.
> Wouldn't you, if your future depends on it? It is up to us (the
> educational professionals) to engineer the system - we should modify
> to set culture, not just take the culture imposed by the lowest common
> denominator of society. That will take years of work, persuasion,
> media and politics. I may not see it in my time.
>
> Look at subject choice and career from the perspective of the person
> entering it:
>
> 1) Do I need this subject for this career?
> 2) Can I have a decent life, with time for love, recreation,
> experiences if I choose this career?
> 3) Will I be secure, be able to have a house?
> 4) Will I be happy and fulfilled?
> 5) Will there be time for other things in my life?
>
> Summary: If you want to increase the number of people doing something,
> you need to examine their motivation system and then align your
> offerings to that. Motivation drives choices and decisions!
> Cheers,
> Leon
>
>
>
> On 2/06/2018 10:14 AM, Roy Skinner wrote:
>
> Maybe I am opening another can of annelids here but on the subject
> of fewer students taking physics I would like to offer an anecdote.
>
> One of the girls I teach after school who is studying chemistry
> and is very bright was asked why she wasn’t doing physics.
>
> She replied that she went to a Catholic school and had to study RE
> as a compulsory extra subject on top of the others. The extra
> subject would put a strain on her she said.
>
> Is this unfair pressure on students in Catholic schools?
>
> What do the teachers in Catholic schools think?
>
> Roy
>
> *From:*Catalist [mailto:catalist-bounces at lists.stawa.net] *On
> Behalf Of *John Clarke
> *Sent:* Friday, 1 June 2018 12:19 PM
> *To:* catalist at lists.stawa.net <mailto:catalist at lists.stawa.net>
> *Subject:* [Catalist] Physics Education at the 23rd AIP Congress
>
> Hi All,
>
> The AIP Conference is in Perth at the end of the year at UWA.
> There will be a couple of days for Physics teachers / educators.
> The Call for Papers is open for another few days. Details below.
>
> John
>
> *Physics Education at the 23rd AIP Congress *
>
> A shout out to passionate Physics Teachers and Educators, we would
> love to hear from you at the Congress!
>
> The 23rd AIP Congress
> <https://aip.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d4d211b98df0adf8a3692fe2&id=bd03c08549&e=ed9a1b6c19>**will
> take place in beautiful Perth on the leafy campus of the
> University of Western Australia, from 9-13 December, 2018. Call
> for Abstracts
> <https://aip.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d4d211b98df0adf8a3692fe2&id=3542fb4b60&e=ed9a1b6c19> are
> open now *until 15 June 2018.*
>
> Join us for a High Tea event at the Congress with the Keynote
> speaker Prof Chandralekha Singh (University of Pittsburgh, USA),
> for a PEG keynote entitled “ How to strengthen physics by making
> it inclusive” The High Tea will be held at the University Club,
> UWA
> <https://aip.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d4d211b98df0adf8a3692fe2&id=1f849d7d63&e=ed9a1b6c19> (date:
> TBD, but will be held during the PEG streams of the congress).
> Image removed by sender.
> https://gallery.mailchimp.com/6d4d211b98df0adf8a3692fe2/images/56b1154b-06c7-45c8-91ea-947384f61edd.jpg
>
> We have kick-started planning for plenty of activities at the
> congress. Help us spread the word amongst Physics educators of all
> levels that this congress is for them! We are also planning to
> run professional development sessions for school science teachers.
> And of course, make sure to submit your own abstract for a
> presentation! Abstract submission is open *until 15 June 2018.*
>
> If you have any new ideas/suggestions please feel free to contact
> your PEG team. If you have a suggestion for a invited speaker,
> please let us know.
>
> **
>
>
> *Contact us*
>
> Do you have any ideas or news you would like to share in our
> newsletter? Contact us!
>
> Chair: Maria Parappilly
> <mailto:maria.parappilly at flinders.edu.au?subject=for%20PEG%20Newsletter> (Flinders)
>
> Deputy Chair: Jasmina Lazendic-Galloway
> <mailto:jasmina.lg at monash.edu?subject=for%20PEG%20Newsletter> (Monash)
> Officer for Special Projects: John Daicopoulos
> <mailto:john.daicopoulos at jcu.edu.au?subject=for%20PEG%20Newsletter> (JCU)
>
> Information about your state representatives can be found here
> <https://aip.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6d4d211b98df0adf8a3692fe2&id=06244b4656&e=ed9a1b6c19>.
>
>
> *John Clarke*
>
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>
> *STA**WA*
>
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>
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> *PO Box *7310 Karawara WA 6152
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