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

Session

AIP PEG: High School and Engagement

PEG

10 Dec 2026, 14:00

Belinda Hutchinson Building (The University of Sydney )

Conveners

AIP PEG: High School and Engagement

• Tom Dixon (UNSW)

323. Redesigning physics problem-solving through cognitive taxonomies: from high school to first-year university

Chris Bormann (NSW Department of Education)

10/12/2026, 14:00

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Invited talk

Physics problem solving is central to teaching and assessment, yet many students learn to succeed by recognising familiar question types and manipulating equations, without developing the conceptual understanding, strategic thinking and transferrable reasoning expected of expert physicists. Research in physics education highlights that expert problem-solving requires more than ‘plug-and-chug’:...

152. Developing Quantum Thinking in School Education

Anastasia Lonshakova (The University of Western Australia)

10/12/2026, 14:30

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

The quantum concepts behind modern quantum technologies are rarely introduced before senior high school. The quantum reality of the probabilistic nature of photons and all microscopic processes conflicts with the Newtonian concepts common in early education. As a result, most people remain unaware of the powerful understanding provided by quantum physics. Here we describe a classroom approach...

304. Corridors of Curiosity: Physics-Inspired Jewellery and Metalwork As Pathways to Engagement

Margaret Wegener

10/12/2026, 14:45

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

Informal learning and outreach has been approached via an exhibition of 30 pieces of physics-inspired jewellery, tableware and decorative objects. Displayed in a public university physics setting, these unexpected objects attract attention. They invite curiosity and conversation in ways that conventional communications from physicists often don’t. Each piece starts with a spark - a relic of an...

612. Learning through Play: Designing and Simulating Space Missions Using Kerbal Space Program

Sam Tuttle (Adelaide University)

10/12/2026, 15:00

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

Simulations offer an accessible and visual way for learners to engage with concepts and ideas that are complex or difficult to visualise. Spaceflight lends itself well to simulation, as the construction, behaviour, and dynamics of spacecraft cannot be readily reproduced in a classroom or physical laboratory setting. Spaceflight simulations allow learners to assemble and launch vehicles with...

61. The dog that didn't bark: the case of invisible physics curriculum

Daniel Schumayer (The University of Sydney)

10/12/2026, 15:15

AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Contributed Oral

What happens when the curriculum is quietly written by the examiner? This presentation was born from a pilot study involving high school physics teachers in New Zealand, and found a disquieting pattern: that national assessment structures can shape —and constrain— what teachers choose to teach, sometimes at the direct expense of foundational understanding.

In interviews conducted as part of...