Programme

Wednesday 1 July

Keynote Lecture:

Dark Matter Detection - Dr Patrick Knights

Mining the Invisible: Searching for Dark Matter in North Yorkshire and beyond. Dr Patrick Knights is Assistant Professor in the Particle Physics group at the University of Birmingham. He is an expert in direct dark matter detection techniques, ultra-radiopure methods, detector instrumentation, and experiment simulation. Patrick completed his PhD jointly at the Universite Paris-Saclay and University of Birmingham. More recently, he was awarded the Institute of Physics, Astroparticle Physics Early Career 2023 Prize.

Workshops:

Five simple physics questions teachers couldn’t answer: what we've learned - Alan Denton

During lockdown Alan had the chance to talk to over 200 non-specialist physics teachers, and he asked all of them the same five simple-sounding questions from the topic of forces for 11-16 year-olds. The results came back… and the average score was about 2!

Given that these misconceptions are prevalent, what should we do now? Are there some simple ways we can adapt our teaching of forces to help address these? What does it say about the importance and requirements for continuing professional development?

So, you’re welcome to come along just to test your forces physics knowledge, to discuss why these misconceptions are so common, and of course, find out what Alan thinks the ‘right’ answers are.

Practical Ideas for Teaching Electromagnetism - Dan Cottle

This workshop will be hands on and practical looking at interactive and engaging ways of teaching electromagietism including the motor effect, generators, electromagnetic induction and transformers.

Concept development and dealing with misconceptions in post 16 physics - David Farley

This session will explore common misconceptions in post 16 physics with simple demonstrations and explanations to help guide students thinking towards the correct concept development. Participants will see a fast-paced session with key demonstrations / software / simulations / and paper exercises aimed at concept development rather than practical skills. They will leave with several classroom ideas ready to put into practice. The session is not interactive as such, but participants will be encouraged to ask questions and exchange ideas as the session progresses.

Supporting Non-Specialist Colleagues - Ian Horsewell

Most physics specialists will be sharing the curriculum with colleagues who have varying levels of experience and confidence with physics topics. We'll explore effective ways of supporting them so that students get a more consistent experience, with a focus on the trickiest topics.

Supporting International Physics Teachers - Eleanor Wylie

A large proportion of trainee physics teachers are now coming from overseas and bringing with them a wealth of experience and subject expertise. However, there can be challenges adjusting to life in a different country, and teaching in a different classroom culture. In this session we’ll be discussing our guidance for international trainees and the schools where they work which aims to reduce barriers and help overseas teachers thrive in our schools.

TBC - Jo Pellarau

TBC

Thursday 2 July

Keynote Lecture:

What's the Point of Physics? - Mark Whalley

When a student asks ""why are we doing this?"", do we have a good answer? This talk uses Hooke's Law as a jumping-off point to challenge the habit of justifying curriculum content through career relevance — an argument that simply doesn't hold up when only 1 in 10 students goes on to study physics post-16. Instead, it makes the case for two more honest justifications: the transferable scientific skills that topics like Hooke's Law naturally develop, and the role of science education in preparing young people to think critically in a complex world. There's also a third reason, often overlooked — that some things are just worth knowing because they're fascinating. Teachers will leave with a prompt to reflect on their own curricular justifications and why getting this right might matter more than we think.

Workshops:

Maths in GCSE Physics - Liz Nourshargh

This session is designed for non-specialist teachers and focuses on the key mathematical skills students need to succeed in GCSE Science. We will explore common difficulties students experience with maths in scientific contexts, with a particular emphasis on proportional reasoning. The session will also introduce the balancing method for solving physics equations, alongside practical strategies such as using formula triangles and the “substitute first” approach. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how to support students’ mathematical confidence and accuracy in Science lessons.

Inclusive Physics Teaching: practical workshop - Eleanor Wylie

In this workshop we’ll be bringing to life the IOP’s Top Tips for Inclusive Science Teaching through simple, engaging, low tech experiments. We’ll be linking the physics to students lives and to jobs, and be discovering how baked beans can help to introduce specific heat capacity.

Thermal Physics: Keeping Your Cool When Things Heat Up - Alan Denton

The topic of thermal physics can look easy - if you heat something up, it gets hotter - but there’s more to it than that, and we know there are multiple challenges for students around the practicals, the language and the calculations.

In this session we’ll look at how we can make the required practical more impactful, and how we can differentiate it to suit a range of students. We’ll also look pick apart the term the ‘internal energy’, see why it confuses so many students, and look at how can we present it in a way that can build understanding.

Alan refuses to teach thermal physics without doing at least one magic trick - so be prepared to join in with some elementary mentalism.

Hands-On Forces & Motion for GCSE and A-Level Physics (make and take) - Neal Gupta

This practical, interactive workshop explores the core ideas of forces and motion at both GCSE and A-Level. Designed for teachers seeking to strengthen both subject knowledge and classroom practice, the session combines clear explanations with a wide range of practical activities. Delegates will build two simple “make-and-take” pieces of equipment that can be taken back to school. In addition, participants will experience several other demonstrations and experiments that can be run in the classroom with minimal cost and preparation. Throughout the workshop, we will show how these activities can be used to develop students’ understanding and to enhance working scientifically skills.

Physics Stories - Mike Melling

Every physics teacher has in their teacher toolkit a selection of stories that they use to engage, enliven and enthuse pupils. Many of these have just picked up over the years and are given as anecdotes. This session brings together many of these stories in one place:

How did Robert Hooke use The Monument to the Great Fire of London as a telescope?
Why was Captain Cook chosen to captain The Endeavour and what did this have to do with measuring the distance to the sun?
What did Isaac Newton really mean by ""Standing On The Shoulders of Giants""?
Was there really a planet called ""Vulcan""?
Why is John Dalton's shrivelled up eyeball in a science museum in Manchester?

Each of the stories in the talk are presented as single slide power-point slides so that they can easily be dropped into a lesson. There is a huge number of stories that could be used and I will cover a wide variety that can be taken away and used straight away in lessons.

About Mike - I have taught for 35 years and spent about 28 of them being a Head of Department. I recently stepped down from Head of Science and now work with The IoP, The Ogden Trust, Physics Partners and STEM Learning to provide cpd to teachers within schools to help them develop their practice.

Teaching Waves With a Practical Emphasis - Paul Hammond

Move beyond the familiar ripple tank and tuning forks! In this engaging session, Paul Hammond will showcase ten inventive, classroom-ready demonstrations — using everything from electric toothbrushes to Gratnells trays — designed to bring wave phenomena to life and deepen students’ conceptual understanding.

The Earth and Its Local Neighbourhood - David Farley

This session is a ‘make and take’ workshop looking at ways to teach the basics and avoid misconceptions about our planet and its local neighbourhood. The session will look at ways to teach day & night, the seasons, phases of the moon and the solar system. Participants will assemble models that help in the teaching of these ideas that they can take away with them at the end of the session.

Beginners Electricity - Ian Horsewell

Teaching electricity can be tricky - challenging concepts, unreliable equipment and Ohm's Law - even before we think about kids electrocuting each other. We'll explore simple ways to get over the ideas and make lessons run smoothly, no matter what your school has in the cupboard.