@stuartphysics
Science and Physics education stuff plus a bit of bike sport and veg. Education and Workforce Manager at Institute of Physics Scotland and Honorary Fellow at University of Stirling Centre for Research into Curriculum Making. Comments all own.
Some thoughts about the physics curriculum and its assessment in Scotland with some observations and questions about standards and how this impacts on things like subject choice. Can we address some of these longstanding issues in the Curriculum Improvement Cycle?
www.enlighten.scot/lessons-lear...
Many that tried have seen the error in their ways. NZ where the 'balanced reading' movement started revised their curriculum last year and even the Welsh Government has just last week produced guidance that there should be 'Explicit and structured teaching of phonics' www.gov.wales/statement-in...
Unfortunately there are still mixed messages coming from different people involved in the CIC. Some people need to go back and read the Case for Change and Technical Framework documents that started the whole process off (which of course assumes they read them and understood them in the first place)
A blog post for @enlightenscot.bsky.social about the physics curriculum and its assessment. @drewburrett.bsky.social @physicsdrew.bsky.social @andrewkbailey13.bsky.social @colinmcgill.bsky.social @mrdissent.bsky.social @mrdegsy.bsky.social @brucenextlevel.bsky.social @lynnej0nes.bsky.social
A blog post for @enlightenscot.bsky.social about the physics curriculum and its assessment. @drewburrett.bsky.social @physicsdrew.bsky.social @andrewkbailey13.bsky.social @colinmcgill.bsky.social @mrdissent.bsky.social @mrdegsy.bsky.social @brucenextlevel.bsky.social @lynnej0nes.bsky.social
Some thoughts about the physics curriculum and its assessment in Scotland with some observations and questions about standards and how this impacts on things like subject choice. Can we address some of these longstanding issues in the Curriculum Improvement Cycle?
www.enlighten.scot/lessons-lear...
Some in instructional design underestimate just how much foundational knowledge is necessary for true creativity.
You cannot be creative with information you do not have.
theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/05/30/b...
Do schools kill creativity?β
Itβs a seductive story. But creativity isnβt a free-floating spark waiting to be protected from schooling. It grows from knowledge, constraint, revision and judgement. Far from killing creativity, schools breathe life into it.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
This image features an announcement for the IOP Awards 2026, highlighting the "Teacher of Physics Award." It includes a circular photo of MarΓa Murphy, the 2025 awardee, on a white background. Text mentions that nominations are open at iop.org/awards.
Know a physics teacher in the UK and Ireland that deserves to be recognised and celebrated? Nominate them for the Teacher of Physics Award! In 2025, Mariea Murphy from Ireland was recognised for 32 years of passionate advocacy for physics.
Nominate by 15 March.
https://bit.ly/3Ncy0e1
Photograph of the Duke of Wellington statue with obligatory cone on head on Glasgow hotel bedroom wall above bed.
Staying overnight in Glasgow in a hotel in the Merchant Quarter. The room is decorated appropriately. #trafficcone
π΄σ §σ ’σ ·σ ¬σ ³σ ΏA significant shift in Welsh education policy this week.
After resisting for 20 years, the Welsh government now says systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) should be a key part of teaching children to read & pupils should not be guided to guess words from pictures or context.
A graphic with a white background and golden radial lines emanating from the top and bottom. The text reads: "IOP Awards 2026 Apprentice Award."
Do you know an apprentice making a difference in a physics-powered business? Nowβs the time to recognise their achievements.
β‘οΈ Start your nomination today:
https://www.iop.org/about/awards/technical-skills-awards/apprentice-award
π
Nominations close 27 March.
#IOPAwards26
PRIMARY TEACHERS! This "disappearing rainbow" works because of the way light is refracted and totally internally reflected - the same phenomena at play in the making of a real rainbow. It's a demonstration you can use to explore / explain rainbows to your students. More in the link below.
The image is a promotional graphic for "The Science Teaching Survey 2026" featuring logos of several organizations: Royal Society of Chemistry, The Royal Society, Royal Society of Biology, IOP Institute of Physics, and ASE Association for Science Education. The design includes a colourful, abstract map of the UK. The text asks, "What's missing in science education? Tell us what you need."
π The Science Teaching Survey 2026 is open! If you work in education, you know the challenges better than anyone β so we want to hear directly from you.
Take 15 minutes to complete the survey. Your answers will tell us what to focus on & shape our support β‘οΈ https://rsc.li/3OpK7oC #ChemSky #EduSky
π #PedagooGhlaschu returns! Tagging #Pedagoo pals @drewburrett.bsky.social @womenedscotland.bsky.social @cathtrac.bsky.social @jminelly27.bsky.social @stuartphysics.bsky.social @ccouser.bsky.social @catmac705.bsky.social @paulinemurray08.bsky.social @charlainesi.bsky.social Spread the word π³π¦ππ
A good discussion of curriculum development processes by @dylanpkane.bsky.social, and what we can learn from the successes and failures of Zig Engelmann. Since a talk at GIREP2017 I am increasingly frustrated at the lack of empirically-based approaches fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/what-educa...
Elegant gold lines fan out from the top and bottom. The text reads, "IOP Awards 2026 Teachers of Physics Awards" in the center.
Great physics teacher donβt just deliver lessons β they ignite curiosity, build confidence & shape the scientists, engineers & innovators of tomorrow.
Know a secondary-level physics teacher who should be celebrated? Nominate them for the Teacher of Physics Award by 8 March.
https://bit.ly/3Ncy0e1
A geometric design with red, purple, blue, green, and teal triangles. "IOP Institute of Physics" and "Join us!" are written in bold text in the center.
Want to work at the IOP? We're recruiting for three roles!
People Officer
Applications close 18 Feb
π https://bit.ly/4aw3P9D
Brand & Marketing Assistant - Scholarship
Application close 19 Feb
π https://bit.ly/4qwlbsG
Brand & Marketing Assistant
Applications close 25 Feb
π https://bit.ly/4aoPzzg
Ariane 6 infographic showing how it can be configured on the launch pad
What does versatility mean for Ariane 6? π€ΉββοΈ
Ariane 6 can be configured in many ways on the launch pad, it is modular by design.
Ariane 6 can have either 2 or 4 boosters, each providing 3500 kN of thrust. The fairing comes in two sizes can house multiple satellites in several configurations.
If we were to pay for and consume high quality protein such as the grass fed lamb, beef and venison produced by UK hill farmers on land not suitable for other purposes rather than intensivly reared and corn fed animals we would also ensure the landscapes many value are also well looked after.
I think the enactment of a well-constructed knowledge-based curriculum should always include lots of conversations (teacher-pupil, pupil-pupil, and teacher-teacher), that is a central part of effective enactment.
I do not think there is a clear dividing line between knowledge and understanding but that improved understanding comes by developing well sequenced and connected knowledge. Therefore understanding is most likely to be achieved through the enactment of a well designed knowledge-based curriculum.
The ASE Scotland Conference is back at Kinross High School in May and we are looking for proposals for presentations.
Technician, 1β° teacher, 2β° teacher or other involvement with STEMed & are interested in presenting please complete the short form
www.ase.org.uk/2026-ase-sco...
Here is a brilliant article - an extremely comprehensive and critical review of literature about the concept of agency in education - authored by our fabulous and very talented PhD student, Sophie Cathcart, supported by her doctoral superviusors.
doi.org/10.1002/rev3...
Since @didau.bsky.social has got back into doing more public writing in recent months his Substack has been a rich seam of good stuff, often sticking a pin in the balloon of ill-informed dogma that still surrounds much of education orthodoxy.
Good stuff from David Didau on the guff teachers are told to do - despite a zero evidence base and no positive impact on pupils.
@didau.bsky.social
daviddidau.substack.com/p/the-costs-...
I am sure good Ed-tech used well by teachers and staff well supported to integrate this into their ways of working can have benefits but this is rarely the case. I cannot help but think that if the funding had been invested in teachers and traditional approaches gains would have been much greater.
Less than advertised United States, average test scores* of fourth-grade students, 2019 plotted against Students' in-classroom computer use
βIn major assessments for maths, science and reading from 2011 to 2019, greater in-school computer use for learning correlates with lower scores. In contrast, students in classes with rare or no computer use at all typically score highestβ
Blistering piece on ed tech in @economist.com.
βAlthough ed-tech companies tout huge learning gains, independent research has made clear that technology rarely boosts learning in schoolsβand often impairs it.β
economist.com/united-state...
