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

Session

AIP PEG: Astronomy and HS-Level Curriculum

PEG

10 Dec 2026, 16:30

Belinda Hutchinson Building (The University of Sydney )

Conveners

AIP PEG: Astronomy and HS-Level Curriculum

• Amy Geddes (University of New South Wales)

390. Astronomy in undergraduate programs: Stand-alone or part of a Physics degree

Helen Johnston (University of Sydney)

10/12/2026, 16:30

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Invited talk

Historically, most professional astronomers started with an undergraduate degree in physics, followed by a PhD on research in astronomy. However, gradually, due to student demand for a specialist astronomy degree, standalone astronomy degrees have sprung up. So the question arises: as a department, should we in Physics be teaching a stand-alone astronomy major? What should such degrees look...

649. Next‑Generation Digital Resources for Inquiry‑Based Astronomy Education: Reimagining HR Diagram and Hubble–Redshift Laboratory Activities Through Custom Digital Tools

Clare Kenyon (Monash University)

10/12/2026, 17:00

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

Digital simulations are central to modern astronomy education, yet many tools used in undergraduate laboratories no longer meet contemporary pedagogical or technical standards. We present two newly developed, bespoke simulation environments designed to support foundational astronomy practicals: the Hertzsprung–Russell (HR) diagram activity and the Hubble–Redshift distance relation...

603. What first‑year students really think about cosmic scale: Diagnosing novice conceptions of cosmic scale in a first‑year astronomy breadth cohort

Clare Kenyon (Monash University)

10/12/2026, 17:15

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

Understanding how non major undergraduates conceptualise astronomical sizes and distances is critical for effective introductory teaching. We report a pre instruction diagnostic survey (n = 220) from a first year, first semester breadth astronomy unit. The instrument used a scale model framing (1 cm “blueberry” Earth) to elicit numeric estimates for Moon, Sun, Proxima Centauri, Milky Way,...

572. Lessons from SCALE K-12: Building a workforce for emerging industries

10/12/2026, 17:30

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

Long-term declines in school physics participation, flatlining enrolments in university physics degrees and significant gender gaps all signal that we need new solutions if we’re going to meet Australia’s projected need for 150,000 engineers by 2036.

But Australia is not the only country facing this problem.

In the US, the need for a future workforce is also urgent. For example, the...

158. Real-Life Science Practices: Astronomy and Physics Labs with Interactive Jupyter Notebooks

Dr Roslyn Forecast (The University of Melbourne)

10/12/2026, 17:45

AIP | Astronomy (ASTRO)

Contributed Oral

For decades, students have been asking, “What is the purpose of this experiment?”[1] Lab classes have traditionally been used to reinforce lecture content, but recent studies show that labs with the goal of teaching experimental practices and scientific thinking are more effective.[2]

To this end, we describe a project at The University of Melbourne to modernise astronomy and physics lab...

60. Newton lost. Aristotle never left.

Daniel Schumayer (The University of Sydney)

10/12/2026, 18:00

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

Every physics teacher knows the frustration: students sit through careful instruction on Newton's laws, yet persistently return to the same intuitive errors. A ball thrown upward "still has the throwing force inside it." A heavier truck "pushes harder" on a smaller car in a collision. For decades, these mistakes were treated as noise, unhelpful distractions on the path to correct Newtonian...