Canterbury Christ Church University: Physics Foundations

Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) aimed to develop a world leading scheme of work for Key Stage 3 which draws on research in conceptual change to ensure that students have a deep understanding of physics before they begin Key Stage 4. They sought to do this through upskilling teachers through the development and delivery of this project, and using teacher-researcher collaboration to develop teachers' subject knowledge and ability to engage pupils. Findings suggest that teacher-researcher collaboration offers a mode of teacher development which is of value to teachers and researchers both within and beyond London schools; the teachers within this project advanced their physics knowledge score from a mean of 6.11 to a mean of 8.41, and their pedagogic skill score from 5.67 to 12.08. Through the project upil efficacy increased slightly more in the trial group, but this was not statistically significant. The project hypothesised however that greater conceptual understanding may have impact and accelerate learning over the long-term.

I found the opportunity to read and discuss educational literature with researchers and other teachers a very valuable approach to CPD. It greatly enhanced my pedagogical understanding of chemistry teaching and increased my depth of knowledge of misconceptions in chemistry. Since completing the project, our Science Department have been working hard to increase the emphasis on teaching the 'language of chemistry' and to integrate a variety of strategies to promote active learning in our schemes of work for the new programme of study.

KS3 Physics Scheme