26th Australian Institute of Physics Congress and the Australian and New Zealand Conference on Optics and Photonics

Session

AIP PEG; Curriculum Design

PEG

10 Dec 2026, 11:00

Belinda Hutchinson Building (The University of Sydney )

Conveners

AIP PEG; Curriculum Design

• Hongbin Song (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen)

731. Teaching Numerical Methods in Undergraduate Physics Degrees: Insights from Across Australian Universities

Dr Amy Geddes (University of New South Wales)

10/12/2026, 11:00

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Invited talk

Numerical methods and computational modelling underpin much of modern physics research and is integral to industry roles. Not only are strong computational skills appealing to prospective employers, but the Australian Institute of Physics (AIP) accreditation of physics degrees require that graduates demonstrate competency in mathematical problem solving and coding. However, unlike other core...

232. Tracking Computational Skills Across Undergraduate Physics Curriculum

Teresa Dalle Nogare (University of Sydney)

10/12/2026, 11:30

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

Computational skills are a core component of modern physics education, underpinning the use of computers for simulations, data analysis, and interpretation of complex physical systems.
As physics graduates are expected to work with complex data and computational models, undergraduate curricula must provide a logical progression of computational skills that enables students to move from basic...

104. Our School’s Journey towards a more Integrated Physics Curriculum

Elizabeth Angstmann (University of New South Wales)

10/12/2026, 11:45

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

Universities across Australia face shared educational challenges: declining student attendance since COVID, increasing pressure to design secure assessment in the age of large language models (LLMs), and students struggling with numerical skills. We do not claim to have solved these problems; rather, we see the AIP Congress as an opportunity to share our evolving approach and seek feedback...

238. To Griffiths or not to Griffiths: How Electromagnetism is taught in Higher Year Physics Courses

Dr Amy Geddes (University of New South Wales), Elizabeth Angstmann (University of New South Wales), Prof. John Debs (The Australian National University), Prof. Maria Parappilly (Flinders University), Dr Mohammad Rafat (University of Sydney)

10/12/2026, 12:00

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

Higher-year physics students widely regard electromagnetism as one of the most conceptually and mathematically demanding areas of the undergraduate curriculum. It is typically taught at a high level of abstraction, with concepts developed mathematically before being connected to physical examples. To succeed, students must move fluently between multiple representations, including integral and...

76. Learning Physics with Multiple External Representations: A Synthesis of Three Classroom Studies

Andreas Lichtenberger (ETH Zurich)

10/12/2026, 12:15

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

Multiple external representations (MERs) are widely used for concept learning in physics education. The concreteness fading (CF) framework posits that instruction should start with more concrete representations and proceed stepwise to more idealised ones. While supported in mathematics, evidence in physics remains mixed.
Across three experimental classroom studies in advanced upper secondary...