Learning to teach physics – Online

Abstract

The University of Canberra Schools of Teacher Education and of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering have established a new Graduate Certificate in Physics Education. The course has been designed to meet the needs of the NSW Department of Education and Training (DET) and provides an integrated combination of physics content knowledge, laboratory skills and pedagogic theory, specific to the teaching of physics, which will enable science educators to teach physics at secondary level to year 12 and take a leadership role at the school level in the planning and delivery of Preliminary and HSC Physics courses. The course is to target established science teachers with science degrees and teaching qualifications. These teachers will be sourced from anywhere in NSW and consequently the course will be delivered online. All teachers taking the course are fully funded by the NSW DET. Enrolments for 2002 are 32 with the prospect of a similar number for 2003. Designing such a course is a significant responsibility, as it could influence how physics will be taught in over 60 schools in NSW in the immediate future. In this poster we will discuss the intended objectives and content of the course, our philosophy behind the course content as well as the technicalities of how the course will be presented online.