We have combined resources from our very well received “advanced higher on a budget” and “advanced higher physics experiments” sessions to form a 2-day “Support for Practical Activities in Higher and Advanced Higher Physics” course. New experiments and techniques will also be added for 2024.
The course will be extremely beneficial to those new to teaching higher and advanced higher physics. All activities will be linked to the ‘mandatory content’ and ‘suggested activities’ as described in the SQA H & AH physics course specification documents. It will also be of interest to those with more experience teaching higher and advanced higher.
We will look at a wide selection of around forty experiments (many of which can be done cheaply, with very simple equipment) across the areas of rotational motion, waves and electromagnetism to include:
the compound pendulum, resonance, SHM, water stream experiment, capacitor and inductor experiments, air cell experiment, newton’s rings /air fringes experiment and magnetic field strength experiment.
During your two days at SSERC, there will be time to collect data from each experiment. We will provide a 140 page experiment guide, typical results, where to source suitable resources and where appropriate, spreadsheets for analysing the collected results as well as different ways to analyse the data. We will also look at some of the theory exemplified by each experiment.
Course Dates: 19th – 20th September 2024
Closing Date: 14th June 2024
Course Leader:
Norman Bethune
01383 626070
norman.bethune@sserc.scot
Overnight accommodation will be provided to those delegates who live over 50 miles from SSERC or if their commute would take over 90 minutes by public transport. Accommodation will be offered at a local hotel.
Course Aims
This course aims to support the delivery of Higher and Advanced Higher physics with a broad range of practical, low-cost, hands-on experiments that will support investigations and projects at these levels.
Selected AH outcomes
All of the approximately 30 experiments are linked to the relevant SQA mandatory content and/or suggested activities.
GTCS Outcomes
2.1.1/ 2.1.3 Experience of digital technologies to support learning and enhance teaching and learning.
2.1.3 Experience, in a physics context, the value of learning beyond curricular areas / subject boundaries.
3.1.1 Experience a range of resources and technologies to help plan and adapt learning and teaching.
3.1.1 Plan learning that is creative, sustainable and takes full account of the impact on resources.
3.2.1 Ensure that every learner has access to and are enabled to select from well-chosen/ designed resources including digital technologies.
The 2 day residential will be held at SSERC in Dunfermline. Our SSERC buildings are at 2 Pitreavie Court, Dunfermline, KY11 8UU. SSERC is a short (5-10 minutes) walk from Rosyth railway station and close to the end of the A823(M) spur off Junction 2 of the M90 motorway. Car journey times (approximately): Edinburgh – 30 min; Glasgow – 60 min; Aberdeen – 2.5 hours; Inverness – 3 hours.
