There is no shortcut to substantially speed up the process of novice-to-expert style of grasping physics. We, physics teachers, are experts, but sometimes frustrated by small steps by which our students transform their novice reasoning to that of an expert. How can we enhance that transformation taking into account the fact that there are usually 30 students in a classroom? Comprehension before computation is one answer, and the second one is including different experiments (demonstrative ones and those carried out by students).
Why choose this course?
This course is a great choice for (physics) teachers who want to get:
- deeper knowledge about graphical approaches vs. more common equation approaches
- skills to implement and adapt new physics experiments into their teaching
- some insights into state-prepared (centralised) final exams as well as into teacher’s own test papers
- a broader picture of physics topics, their connections and historical development
Thoughts from our past participants and some impressions
Provisional timetable
| MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN | |
| Morning | Arrival | Session 1 | Session 3 | Session 4 | Session 5 | Session 6 | A |
| Afternoon | Welcome | Session 2 | Visit to Ljubljana | Optional modules | Free | Sharing best practice event | day |
| Evening | Free | International evening | Slovenian evening | Activities evening | Free | Reflection evening | trip |
You can get a more detailed timetable with the planned hours for your seminar upon request through the contact form.
Working sessions
SESSION 1:
Ready-to-Wear vs. Made-to-Measure (Introduction to the Course)
(Comprehension before computation: the case of kinematics. From graphs to equations of kinematics. Practical demonstration of experiments. What is a reasonable usage of computer based experiments?)
SESSION 2:
Encouraging Reflection in Students
(From WHY to HOW and from empirical finding to physics laws: the case of electricity. Practical demonstration of experiments. The structure of a test paper. The case of textbooks. Am I allowed to create my own textbook? What should be the essential difference between a standard textbook and mine?)
SESSION 3:
Experimental Day
(Presentation of the examples of good practice, various experiments for students of different levels, setting up an experiment, guiding the students, practical work.)
SESSION 4:
Gamification and Student Engagement
(How to motivate students to participate in a bit of extra work, in various extracurricular activities; physics safe-cracking competition, trying to open dome student-prepared safes.)
SESSION 5:
A Broad Picture: Astronomy
(How to introduce a broader picture of physics, instead of sets of unrelated phenomena? Case studies: from the pattern of the ripple tank to the atom and the universe; presentation of student projects and astronomical extra-curricular activities.)
SESSION 6:
Two Decades of the Slovenian External Exams
(What can we learn from the Slovenian final exams (matura) in physics between the period from 1995 to 2019?)
The team
Tine is a physics professor at Diocesean Classical Gymnasium (secondary school). He strongly emphasises the importance of experiments in the instruction of physics and he participated in the creation of the curricular implementation with over 300 experiments for students in 2 years.
Martin teaches physics at both primary and secondary school level at St. Stanislav's. He also organises several astronomics events (including star gazings), as he is a keen astronomer. He also leads the astronomical extracurricular activity and the preparations for the student competitions.
What is included in the course package?
- course contents and materials
- additional optional modules and good practice examples
- coffee and other refreshments throughout the course
- full-board accommodation
- rich social programme
- a series of networking opportunities
For more information, see other sections of the webiste.
One last summary
- 6 intensive working sessions in a smaller group
- approachable and hands-on teacher trainers
- 2 optional modules to personalise your course
- many opportunities for networking and exchange of good practice
- rich social programme
- full-board accommodation
Everything in the price of €1,300
A chance to get an Erasmus+ grant of around €2,000