Edge/Catholic Partnership Physics BTEC Day 1 Training (19/03/10)

Practical ideas to introduce into new BTEC assignments for the new BTEC specification Sept 2010

12 delegates
100% of delegates said they thought the course was either 'good or very good' with 75% saying it was 'very good'

Some comments from the delegates:
"Extremely helpful day, its great to have the hard work done for us in terms of assignments, resources etc"
"It would be good for all science staff to experience this day as it was very motivating"
"Excellent, very informative"
"Informative, interesting and well presented"
"Speaker clear, good class discussions"
"Many resources that can be swiftly incorporated into new/existing BTEC schemes"

Delegates identified future inset needs:-
‘Further BTEC training for non-specialists’
‘Help teaching higher level Physics for non-specialists’
‘Technician based course to demonstrate more Physics practicals’
‘More practical ideas to use in the classroom’

Robert Green said:
"Excellent hands-on activities that we could evaluate as to their suitability for (a) pupils to carry out and (b) meeting the assessment criteria for BTec qulaifications"

Anuja jalota said:
"Feel very enthused about teaching the physics in BTEC with great relevance to everyday life that will inspire students."

Waverley AQA P2 Examination Results

Waverley School's triple science group, who are being taught Physics at the Physics Factory recently received their first set of module grades. The students sat their AQA Physics P2 examination in January 2010.

A FEW HEADLINES:
24% of grades either A or A*
34% of students achieved higher than their target grade

Well done to Waverley students and teachers for all your hard work and commitment!

Waverley students receive conditional offer to join the King Edward VI Five Ways Sixth Form

Well done to Ahmed Usman, Farah Hussein, Makhmood Obaid and Shah Noor who have all been given conditional offers to join King Edward VI Sixth Form in September 2010. All will be studying Physics at A Level. In a questionnaire given to the students before being taught at the Physics Factory three of the students said they had no intention of studying Physics at A Level.

Physics BTEC Training Day 2 Thurs 25th February 2010

'Practical ideas to introduce into new BTEC assignments for the new BTEC specification Sept 2010'

19 delegates
100% of delegates said they thought the course was either 'good or very good' with 89% saying it was 'very good'

Some comments from the delegates:
"Well researched and presented course – production of DVD of resources is very useful"
"Good use by the presenters of the knowledge and ideas of the delegates"
"Very useful day – some great ideas"
"Very informative and well delivered"
"Excellent and informative day"
"I will use the ideas shared now to engage my students"
"Another excellent day – fantastic resources to be used in school"
"Great background information for the non physics specialists"
"Excellent course – thank you"
"Lots of information and ideas – even for a seasoned Physicist"
"Thank you, looking forward to similar days for Chemistry and Biology"


Delegates identified future inset needs:-
‘Courses for non specialists’
‘Support with writing schemes of work’
‘A level training’
‘Possibility of presenters coming into school’

Oaks Collegiate EDEXCEL IAA Training - Teachers & Students

Head of Science Bournville School said:
"a great venue; good resources and a nice positive environment; really focused the minds of the students"

Teacher from Lordswood Boys’ School said:
"Pupils enjoyed working at the physics factory and completed their activities very well
The presenters catered for all pupil needs (using VAK) to access the higher grades"

Physics BTEC Day 1 Training Friday 5th February 2010

'practical ideas to introduce into new BTEC assignments for the new BTEC specification Sept 2010'

18 delegates
100% of delegates said they thought the course was either 'good or very good' with 94% saying it was 'very good'

Some comments from the delegates:
"Extremely well organised, excellent collaboration by the speakers and very good resources ..."
"Great day, excellent ideas and a lot to take away"
"An excellent day, I now have a bank of resources to take back to school and share with colleagues"
"Shopping list for equipment was an excellent idea"
"Very helpful course, with plenty of motivational activities"
"I will now modify my assignment briefs to incorporate the activities that I have learned today"
"An overall inspiring day and plethora of useful ideas and resources to take away and use"
"Engaging and interesting, relevant to current situation"
"I have left with a better understanding of BTEC as a whole not just in Physics"

Delegates identified future inset needs:-
'How to make the space part of Physics more hands on'
'More, more, more!'
'Use of data logging in Physics'
'Physics courses for non-specialists who want to teach A level Physics'

Jim Whittle's visit to the Physics Factory Wed 3rd February 2010

Swanshurst Year 10 Forces Lessons (2nd & 3rd February 2010)

The aim of these lessons was to support these high abilty Year 9 girls with their understanding of KS4 forces and to give their enthusiasm and confidence in Physics a boost.

SUMMARY OF COURSE EVALUATIONS
45 students attended
100% of students said they thought the lesson was either 'good or very good' with 58% saying it was 'very good'
96% of students said they would like to attend more lessons at the Physics Factory
27% of students said at the end of the lesson they would like to study Physics at A Level

A FEW STUDENT COMMENTS
"make the lesson a full day so we can learn more things and have more practicals"
"the Physics Factory changed my opinion about Physics and yes, I am good at it, I din't know how much I knew"
"I really enjoyed learning about Newton's third law of motion because it was and I learned a lot"
"I liked the activity with the fake snow as I thought it was amazing and extremely cool"
"I enjoyed all the activities especially the balloon one. It taught me a lot that I didn't know and reassured my previous knowledge"
"The lesson was very enjoyable and I don't think it could be improved! I'd like to spend more time here"
"I enjoyed going on the hoovercraft and launching the rocket as it was fun and exciting. I havn't done anything like this before it was very hands on"

Archbishop Ilsley Year 9 Physics Master Classes (14th and 21st Jan 2010)

The aim of these lessons was to enthuse some high ability students with Physics to encourage them to choose to study triple science in Year 10

STUDENT EVALUATIONS - SUMMARY

100% of students said they thought the lesson was either 'good or very good' with 65% saying it was 'very good'
100% of students said they would like to attend more lessons at the Physics Factory
81% of students said at the end of the lesson they would like to study Physics at A Level

A FEW STUDENT COMMENTS
"the lesson was great"
"all lessons should be fun and interesting like this, i want to do more practical work"
"the lesson was fun and interesting"
"i think doing practicals helps you learn more"
"i loved the singing table experiment"
"i would have liked the lesson to be longer"

Birmingham University Biology PGCE students course 22.01.2010

COURSE EVALUATIONS - SUMMARY
'Practical ideas to engage your students with Physics'

13 delegates
100% said the course was very good

Some comments from the delegates:
"Cleared up some of my misconceptions and gave me very good practical ideas. Very interesting"
"Made me interested in Physics again"
"Excellent content, lots of ideas that I would never have been aware of. Really engaging and presented well"
"So much fun"
"Explanation of concepts were really helpful"
"Really well explained theory with excellent practical demos and involvement. Very approachable presenter for questions"
"An excellent course, thoroughly enjoyed it with some excellent ideas for teaching"
"Definately enthused with Physics"
"Well structured, interesting and well presented"
"Well demonstrated, clear about what he wanted us to learn"
"Phil was very welcoming, approachable and successfully delivered the course in an interesting and presentable manner"
"I feel much more confident on how to teach some aspects of Physics that I would previously shy away from"

Delegates identified future inset needs:-
More ideas for practicals, sound,radio activity, electricity, energy resources and energy, transfer, forces and light.

Physics Factory: Anu Ohja class

Anu Ojha Director: National Space Centre

Anu Ojha is the Director of Education and Space Communications at the National Space Centre, Leicester.