Conveners
Physics Education: Physics Education
- Helen Georgiou
Einstein-First is an Australian initiative with a decade-long history. Its mission is to modernise school science curricula by embedding Einsteinian physics—relativity, quantum mechanics, and their technological applications—into core science education. The revolutionary physics of the 20th century is almost entirely absent from schools, reserved for the small minority who study physics in...
As has been recently pointed out by Pagnoni et al. [[1]], care is required in applying the Heisenberg uncertainty relations. This care has sometimes been insufficiently realised in pedagogical settings. A case in point is the hydrogen atom. Here the singularity of the Coulomb potential causes difficulties in utilising the uncertainty relations. Clarification of this point is expected to...
Although students are expected to begin fourth-year atomic physics with a strong understanding of quantum mechanics (QM) developed in second and third year, it has been identified that students often struggle to link theoretical QM concepts with real-world atomic phenomena and applications.
We have developed a series of computational workbooks that are self-directed, interactive and have been...
Teaching physics is rapidly shifting from rote memorization to emphasizing conceptual understanding, constructing knowledge through lecture demonstrations and experiments, and applying that knowledge in hands-on situations. The desire for such change has been long expressed by major physics organizations, including the American Institute of Physics, the Australian Institute of Physics, and the...
Mechanics problems (including advanced problems in rigid body dynamics) provide a basis for research projects which are attractive to high-achieving undergraduate students. These projects require students to draw on their knowledge from multiple areas, including mathematics, programming, and physics, and also require visualisation of the complex motion of extended objects. This integrated...
Australia faces a significant shortage of qualified high school physics teachers, with over 1 in 5 reportedly teaching “out-of-field”. This scarcity negatively impacts student choices and success, contributing to a broader skilled worker shortage. There is also substantial demand for individuals with physics skills to support the Australian Government’s investment in nuclear technology and to...
