Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching CPD: Sarah (tutor)
Sarah Grady teaches physics at Deanery CE High School in Wigan; she is also a tutor on our Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching (SKPT) course – a fully funded blended learning CPD programme for teachers teaching KS3 and KS4 physics out of specialism.
I absolutely love delivering SKPT. It’s a joy to have a group of teachers who want to embrace the subject and get stuck into the course. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to nurture our teachers of physics and I think the SKPT courses have an immense value.
The face-to-face sessions allow teachers to have hands-on experience setting up and carrying out practicals in a safe environment; they can make their mistakes and discuss misconceptions before taking it back to the classroom. The past participants love the fact that the online platform stays open for them, so they can go back to the information just before they are teaching that topic for an information refresh.
Personally, I think that SKPT shows teachers that physics isn’t scary! I try to make the course a ‘safe space’, where any questions/comments can be said with no judgement. It’s quite funny – at the beginning of the first session for a topic, the room is usually silent, and everyone looks terrified. The only people talking are the ones who are returning teachers coming back for another module. By the end of the first face-to-face day, the room is full of chat and laughter.
SKPT participant gather after their Atomic Physics session.
Teachers respond to each other and share so much more than just physics. For lots of them, they are the only physics teacher in their school and have no one to bounce ideas around with. This course gives them the reassurance and confidence that they are doing things right. The face-to-face sessions allow teachers from a range of schools, with pupils from a range of backgrounds, to interact with each other and to share ideas and good practice.
Participants gain so much subject knowledge from the course, but they also lose that ‘fear’ of physics. They begin to see physics as accessible to all and relevant to everyday life. I have seen participants go from being terrified at the prospect of teaching physics to really enjoying it!
I have had one participant complete all six modules with me and I have seen her flourish. Her knowledge and confidence with her physics has astounded me. She was brilliant to have in the sessions as she was great at generating discussion and bringing her ideas to the groups. She has gone on to successfully apply for Ogden Trust early career mentoring, so hopefully she will be teaching A-level physics and running her own physics department in the near future!
Sarah Grady
Deanery CE High School, Wigan
(September 2024)