Tag Archives: physics

CfE, Community Resilience, Sciences, Senior Phase

Humans are about to populate another planet and you could be part of it

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fuselab logo

We’re looking for participants for the 2015 Fuselab Go tour, an out-of-this-world experience where you’ll help plan the future of an as yet uninhabited world!

If you’re aged 15–18, this is your chance to learn about innovation and creativity and build the skills, networks and confidence that will help you thrive in a fast moving future.

WHAT IS FUSELAB?

Fuselab is an innovation and creativity bootcamp run by Edinburgh International Science Festival. Now looking to recruit the next group of pioneers, so if you’re aged 15-18 this is your chance to get involved!

Fuselab Go is an exciting new touring version of the original programme which was launched back in July 2013. It has been designed to take a fresh, fast and fun Fuselab learning experience to locations across Scotland in summer 2015.

This is your opportunity to think bigger than ever before on a completely blank canvas, developing out-of-this-world solutions to real world problems.

You’ll discover new approaches to challenges through workshops, skills sessions, talks and games that will encourage you to respond both individually and as a group, seeking out relevant skills among your colleagues and collaborating to design, prototype and test your ideas.

Check out the Fuseab website to discover more about the project –

sciencefestival.co.uk/fuselab

WHAT OUR FIRST PIONEERS THOUGHT ABOUT FUSELAB…

‘I have taken away from Fuselab an even bigger love of the sciences than Ialready had (…I didn’t know that was possible!)’

‘It really pushed me as an engineer and really made me work hard’

‘I loved every minute of it!’

2015 TOUR SCHEDULE AND INFORMATION

Fuselab Go is visiting a host of exciting venues across Scotland in summer 2015. There are 10 sessions in all, each session lasts for two days, happening in 6 cities. Check out the list below to see when the tour is coming to

a location near you:

Edinburgh – 6/7, 8/9 and 11/12 June

Greenock – 15/16 June

Inverness – 18/19 June

Aberdeen – 22/23 and 25/26 June

Dundee – 29/30 June

Glasgow – 4/5 and 6/7 July

You will be expected to make your own travel arrangements to attend each day, but Fuselab is completely free of charge and you will be provided with lunch and refreshments.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications are open now! For your chance to be part of this exciting project, simply read the terms and conditions to ensure you’re eligible to apply and then complete the short application form available online at sciencefestival.co.uk/fuselab

.

You will receive an automated response when we receive your application and successful applicants will be contacted by email by the end of May 2015.

If you have any queries about your application you can contact Fuselab on fuselab@scifest.co.uk but please be aware that due to the high number of applications we are dealing with it may take a few working days for us to respond.

CfE, Sciences

Solar Eclipse 2015

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solar eclipse logoras logo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 20th March 2015, for the first time in 16 years , we are due for a solar eclipse. It will be partial throughout the UK, and the further north you are, the more of the Sun will be in eclipse. The eclipse will start at about 08.30 and end at 10.30. With Leeds an example, you can see what it will look like observed from the Earth.

The Royal Astronomical Society have produced a resource, which can be found here. It contains information on how to safely, and cheaply, observe a solar eclipse. It also explains more about what solar eclipses are, and what you should expect to see.

BBC Stargazing Live programmes have been scheduled to coincide with the eclipse, this year. Running from the 18-20 March, the programme is again hosted by comedian Dara O’Briain and Professor Brian Cox. You can also access resources for running your own star parties from the BBC website.

So what happens if it’s cloudy? Well, it will still get dark, even if you can’t view the Sun, and you can always view a past eclipse online to see what you would be missing.

National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

A nucleus of talent

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First Minister meets Higgs Prize for Physics winners.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced the newest winners of the Higgs Prize for Physics, congratulating them on their success.

The prize is named after Scottish-based Nobel Physics Prize winner Professor Peter Higgs, whose work in the field has had a significant impact on modern day particle physics, and rewards pupils who show a particular aptitude for the subject.

Ms Sturgeon and Education Secretary Angela Constance met Professor Higgs himself and the four winners in the First Minister’s office on Thursday 29th January.

The winners are:

• Eilidh Birse – a former pupil at Boclair Academy in Bearsden who is now studying medicine at the University of St Andrews
• Julie Lynch – a former pupil at St Ninian’s High School in Giffnock who is now studying Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Glasgow and is continuing to take Physics as a third subject
• Stuart McGibbon – a fellow former pupil at St Ninian’s High School in Giffnock, now currently studying Physics at the University of Glasgow
• Raheem Beg – a former pupil at Perth High School who is currently studying mathematics at the University of Dundee

As part of the Scottish Government funded prize, they will travel to the internationally renowned CERN research facility in Switzerland in July to attend lectures and seminars on physics as part of the summer school programme, as well as talking to Scottish researchers about their work at the facility and their careers in physics.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

“Scotland has a wonderful history of scientific discovery and it’s encouraging to see that tradition continue through today’s pupils and students who continue to be passionate and excited to take on the scientific challenges that remain unexplained.

“Science is hugely important to Scotland in the modern era and the achievements of Professor Higgs – a man whose work is internationally renowned – are of course inspiring for any budding scientist. This year, the International Year of Light, also celebrates the incredible legacy of another Scottish physicist, James Clerk Maxwell, whose theories underpin the technology at the heart of almost all communications equipment we take for granted today.

“We are absolutely determined to support pupils to excel and remove any barriers that might prevent them from realising their full potential. This prize is the perfect example of hard work opening up life-changing opportunities. Today’s four winners Eilidh, Julie, Stuart and Raheem now have the opportunity to go to the fantastic CERN research facility in Switzerland to listen and learn from some of the brightest minds of our generation. We are offering them the chance to be the very best they can be – the vast knowledge and experience they will have access to is an opportunity that many across the world will envy.

“I’m therefore delighted to award a prize in Professor Higg’s name to these exceptionally hard working and talented youngsters.”

Professor Higgs said:

“Everyone in life has people that they admire and strive to be like – my own inspiration was Paul Dirac, a man who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1933 – and I’m honoured that an award in my name is used as inspiration to the younger generation of physicists.

“I congratulate Eilidh, Julie, Stuart and Raheem on winning this prize and I am sure they will have an amazing time at CERN where they will learn from the very best. I hope these four promising young talents go on to became esteemed in their own right.”

Background

Pictures of the First Minister meeting Professor Higgs and the prize winners will be available here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/firstministerofscotland

The prize is awarded on merit, to the highest performing male and female Advanced Higher Physics candidates from a publicly-funded school.

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Instellar – CfE Higher Physics Resources

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Instellar – CfE Higher Physics Resources

An Education pack has been created by the makers of Interstellar that helps teachers with some of the topics covered in the film. In discussion with Professor Martin Hendry from Glasgow University it became clear that this deals directly with some core topics of the new revised Physics Higher.

This guide to be available on the Glasgow Science Centre website at: http://www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/online/astronomy-activities.html. Or from the Sciences Glow site in the Higher Our Dynamic Universe folder.
Additionally Martin has written a great blog post about the film here: http://www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/science/the-science-of-interstellar.html

CfE, Primary, Sciences, Senior Phase, Skills

Engaging with Scottish schools to promote STEM

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Engaging with Scottish schools to promote STEM
10am to 3:30pm, 2nd February 2015
Venue: Deans Community High School, Livingston

The Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce states in its report that ‘a focus on sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics (STEM) should sit at the heart of the development of Scotland’s young workforce’ and calls for long-term partnerships to be established between schools, colleges and employers to bring about significant change.
Similarly, higher education institutions and research groups are looking for ways to engage effectively with school communities to encourage learners to develop STEM skills and pursue further study in these areas.
There are many activities taking place nationally and schools are already engaging with a variety of partner organisations and institutions to enhance the learning and teaching of STEM within Curriculum for Excellence and to develop the employability skills of learners. However, more needs to be done to coordinate efforts and scale up successful approaches to bring about the transformative change that is required.
The purpose of this event is to:
• Share interesting and thought-provoking models of school partnerships with industry, higher education and colleges
• Create a forum for discussion regarding effective partnership working with schools to support learning and teaching in STEM areas
• Outline the national actions that are being developed by national bodies to address the recommendations from the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce.
Audience: This event is aimed at key decision makers or a nominated substitute (persons with interest in STEM School engagement) in local authorities, professional bodies, colleges, higher education, research and industry.
Programme: The event will include a stimulating mix of keynote presentations, workshops and discussion. Further details regarding speakers and workshops will be provided in due course.
To register: This is a free event. Please email STS@SSERC.org.uk to book a place. It is advisable to book early as places are limited. When booking, please remember to send details of any special dietary or access requirements.
For further information please contact Scott Bryce at scott.bryce@sserc.org.uk.

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Updated N5 and Higher Resources guides for Biology, Chemistry, Human Biology and Physics

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The highly popular Resource guides for N5 and Higher have been updated with the latest SQA information and new links.

Two versions are available on the Sciences Glow 365 site http://bit.ly/glowsciences

Got some good links to share? Then post using the edit online feature on the editable resource guide.

Or use the pdf version for Education Scotland’s latest update.

These guides can also be found on the NQ Course Materials portal at the following links

Higher Biology
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/subjects/b/nqresource_tcm4829573.asp

Higher Human Biology
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/subjects/h/nqresource_tcm4844711.asp

N5 Biology
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/subjects/b/nqresource_tcm4838382.asp

Higher Chemistry
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/subjects/c/nqresource_tcm4844708.asp

N5 Chemistry
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/subjects/c/nqresource_tcm4838371.asp

Higher Physics
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/subjects/p/nqresource_tcm4843582.asp

N5 Physics
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/subjects/p/nqresource_tcm4838378.asp

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Glow TV’s Watch Again Service for Higher Physics

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On Monday 3rd November, at Ardrossan Academy, Professor Martin Hendry, Head of the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow, gave a talk on the astronomy and cosmology content in the CfE Higher Physics course.

The talk can be seen on GlowTV’s watch again service by following this link.

https://meet.glowscotland.org.uk/p9u46a3qkp6/

Mathematics, Sciences, Senior Phase, Technologies

STEM @ university contacts

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As part of the Scottish Universities Deans of Science and Engineering education groups work to support Scottish Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education in schools many Universities in Scotland have recently set up a single e-mail address for teachers who have STEM related enquiries. It is not expected that the person receiving the initial e-mail at the University will always give a direct response but it would be expected that they ensure a response is made from a related department within the University or to direct you to the appropriate contact within the University.
University of Aberdeen – STEM@abdn.ac.uk
University of Abertay – STEM@abertay.ac.uk
University of Dundee – STEM@dundee.ac.uk
Glasgow Caledonian University – STEM@gcu.ac.uk
University of the Highlands and Islands – STEM@uhi.ac.uk
University of Glasgow – STEM@glasgow.ac.uk
University of Edinburgh – STEM@ed.ac.uk

For a brief overview of STEM study options within each University please refer to the following brief document. (Please always refer pupils to University prospectus and websites as this document may not always be up to date).
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Wg-EaXb-X30TUkT5y1Ok7bm-ll-38zXgF4NsLJ1jgeg/edit?usp=sharing
Please feel free to share this information with other colleagues in STEM departments.’

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Updated N4/5 Physics support materials from Aberdeen City Council

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Many thanks to Aberdeen City Council for sharing even more resources to support Physics learning and teaching at National 4 and 5. These materials have been posted on the NQ Course Materials Portal and can be found using this link.

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/subjects/p/nqresource_tcm4817069.asp

Staff are encouraged to draw on these materials, and existing materials, to develop their own programmes of learning which are appropriate to the needs of each individual school.

The materials include National 4 and National 5 teacher guide and a complete set of problems and answers for:
•Electricity and energy
•Waves and radiation
•Dynamics and space.

These resources will soon be shared through the Sciences Glow 365 site http://bit.ly/glowsciences
Do you have something to share? Contact grant.mcallister@educationscotland.gov.uk for further details on ways to share.

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Particle Physics in Higher and Advanced Higher – CPD

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Particle Physics features in the new Higher and Advanced Higher courses.
For those who would like to brush up on your knowledge of this topic, a Glowmeet will be run on November 6th a 4 pm (“doors open” 3:30 pm) featuring Dr Aidan Robson of Glasgow University. Aidan will cover the theory for the new courses and will then answer questions from participants.

If you would like to join the Glowmeet, please let us know by emailing sts@sserc.org.uk with your Glow username and your school email address.
This is the first of a series of Glowmeets covering new Senior Phase topics. It is the result of a partnership between Education Scotland, SSERC, STEMNET and SUPA

CfE, Sciences, Uncategorised

Ultimate STEM Challenge

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Ultimate STEM Challenge

Brought to you by BP, the Science Museum and STEMNET

The Ultimate STEM Challenge is a brand new competition brought to you by BP, the Science Museum and STEMNET.

We are asking teams of two to four students aged 11 to 14 from across the UK to put their Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths skills to the test and win some fantastic prizes, including an invitation to a celebratory event at the Science Museum in London, £500 for their school and Science Museum goodies.

Take part in the Ultimate STEM Challenge

CfE, Sciences, Senior Phase

Updated and editable N5 resource guides for Sciences

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Shared in the N5 folders of the GLOW 365 Sciences site, http://bit.ly/glowsciences , two versions of the updated National 5 Resources Guide for #NQChemistry, #NQBiology and #NQPhysics. Both contain all the amendments to the National 5 Course and Unit Support notes from SQA in June. One is a static pdf version, commissioned by our writers, the second is a word version editable online, for all of us to share our best links and support each other in providing the best learning and teaching for the N5 sciences.

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

National Museums Scotland launch Secondary Schools Renewable Energy Programme

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National Museums Scotland have launched a programme of Challenge Days for pupils undertaking their National Qualifications in Physics, based on the topic of renewable energy.

The days have been created by National Museums Scotland, working with experts from the energy industry. They will provide pupils with the opportunity to meet and interact with real-life scientists and engineers, plus hear from a keynote speaker about their career path and experiences. Working in groups, pupils will solve challenges around four types of renewable energy: hydro, wind, marine and solar power.

Throughout the day, each group will take part in two challenges and then feed back their findings. Industry experts then choose one winning group. Each pupil receives a certificate for taking part, and the winning group receives a prize for their school and themselves.

The Challenge Days are at National Museum of Rural Life on Thursday 23, Friday 24 & Monday 27 October 2014. Those at National Museum of Scotland are on Monday 3 & Monday 17 November 2014.

There are also two twilight CPD sessions for teachers being held on 1 October at National Museum of Rural Life and 2 October at National Museum of Scotland.

Get Energised is made possible by the generous support of the ScottishPower Foundation and all sessions are free, but spaces are limited. To book a place contact schools@nms.ac.uk or phone 0131 247 4041

More information available on www.nms.ac.uk/getenergised

Professional Learning, Sciences

Behaviour management strategies for the Science classroom

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Behaviour management strategies for the Science classroom

Managing classroom or laboratory behaviour can be one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. Join the National Science Learning Centre this autumn for a free, high quality, five week online continuing professional development course to help you improve students’ behaviour.
Watch the video and register

CfE, Sciences, Skills

Future Learn – Basic Science: Understanding Experiments

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Basic Science: Understanding Experiments

This practical, hands-on course is aimed at school aged learners to help them start thinking like a scientist by carrying out experiments at home and making scientific observations.

They will carry out simple experiments to extract the DNA from fruit or vegetables, observe osmosis in action and bake a potato to destruction! They’ll also investigate how different liquids behave when frozen and how much water an everyday food item contains.

As they carry out these experiments they will develop important science-based skills including observation, record-keeping, data analysis and how to control an experiment. After examining their results, they will share them with other learners and discuss their findings.

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Higher Sciences Evidence Spreadsheets

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Posted on the NQ Higher Sciences website Higher evidence recording spread sheets for Higher Biology, Higher Chemistry, Higher Human Biology and Higher Physics. Similar to the spreadsheets shared to record the evidence for nationals, these are bespoke to each Higher. They can accessed at
Biology http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/highersciences/biology/learningandteaching/resources.asp
Chemistry http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/highersciences/chemistry/learningandteaching/resources.asp
Human
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/highersciences/humanbiology/learningandteaching/resources.asp
Physics
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/highersciences/physics/guide/resources.asp

Many thanks to John Watson of Campbeltown Grammar and to the SQA for their help and support in producing these.

CfE, Sciences, Senior Phase

I’m a scientist get me out of here! – Upcoming events

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I’m a Scientist will return this November (10th–21st) with both themed and general zones. We’ll send out an email to teachers in early September asking if they would like to take part.

Teachers sign up to take part before 22nd September at: imascientist.org.uk/teachers

Our next three events…
• Autumn: 10th–21st November 2014
• Spring: 9th–20th March 2015
• Summer: 15th–26th June 2015
I’m an Engineer returns in March next year.

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Education Scotland NQ Sciences Resources

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Welcome back to the new session from Education Scotland,
A reminder of where you can find resources and some new additions.
The NQ Higher Sciences Site was created for the introduction of the revised Highers and has a number of teacher and learner resources including animations commissioned for the new content.

The NQ course materials Glow portal contains materials created by Education Scotland including Introductions and Learning Journeys for the CfE Highers as well as resources shared by local authorities for N3 level through to Advanced Higher.

The Sciences Glow 365 site, created in January this year provides a single national site for teachers to share resources. Its where to find materials produced by the Cross Authority writing groups, as well as the latest resources produced by Education Scotland.

Recent additions include N5 resources guides for Biology, Chemistry and Physics. These guides, similar to those created for Higher, maps useful resources to key areas within the SQA’s course and unit support notes. Guides can be found in the appropriate subject folder.

Also created are evidence recording spread sheets for Higher Biology, Higher Chemistry, Higher Environmental Studies, Higher Human Biology and Higher Physics. Similar to the spreadsheets shared to record the evidence for nationals, these are bespoke to each Higher. They can accessed from the Higher folder for each subject. To download, click on the three dots on the right of the title, then click on the second set of three dots and click on download a copy. Many thanks to John Watson of Campbeltown Grammar and to the SQA for their help and support in producing these.
Use the hashtags for more updates into your Glow newsfeed or set alerts for these updates to appear in your Glow inbox.

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Higher Sciences Evidence Spreadsheets

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Posted on the Sciences Glow 365 site, Higher evidence recording spread sheets for Higher Biology, Higher Chemistry, Higher Environmental Studies, Higher Human Biology and Higher Physics. Similar to the spreadsheets shared to record the evidence for nationals, these are bespoke to each Higher. They can accessed from the Higher folder for each subject. To download, click on the three dots on the right of the title, then click on the second set of three dots and click on download a copy. Many thanks to John Watson of Campbeltown Grammar and to the SQA for their help and support in producing these. For more updates, delivered to your Glow newsfeed, for the subjects and levels you’re interested in click on the hashtags in the newsfeed and click on follow.​

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

National 5 Sciences Resource Guides

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Education Scotland’s Sciences have posted resources guides for Biology, Chemistry and Physics on the Sciences Glow 365 site. These guides, similar to those created for Higher, maps useful resources to key areas within the SQA’s course and unit support notes. Guides can be found in the appropriate subject folder. Use the hashtags for more updates into your Glow newsfeed or set alerts for these updates to appear in your glow inbox. These guides are part of the increasing number of resources found on the NQ Higher Sciences Site , the NQ course materials Glow portal and the Sciences Glow 365 site

Sciences, Technologies

Successful launch for UK space missions

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On 8th July, a Soyuz rocket successfully launched two UK built cubesats: UKube-1 and TechDemoSat-1.

Cubesats are small satellites – normally about the size of a fridge – packed with scientific instruments.

UKube-1 is the UK Space Agency’s first cubesat mission. It is a collaboration between the UK Space Agency, industry and academia. The instruments on board include the first GPS device aimed at measuring plasmaspheric space weather; a camera that will take images of the Earth and test the effect of radiation on space hardware; an experiment to demonstrate the feasibility of using cosmic radiation to improve the security of communications satellites and flight test lower cost electronic systems; and FUNcube 2 – an educational project designed to engage and inspire school pupils.

The FUNcube payload consists of a tiny radio transmitter for science education and a materials science experiment from which school students can receive data which can be compared to results obtained from similar reference experiments in the classroom.

TechDemoSat (TDS-1) will carry no less than eight payloads plus a mixture of heritage and new product development systems from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. This satellite includes a cosmic ray detector built by students at Simon Langton Grammar School, in Kent. LUCID, The Langton Ultimate Cosmic ray Intensity Detector, was developed by the students at the school after a trip to CERN. The LUCID experiment is part of a wider project called CERN@school, a programme that aims to bring the excitement of CERN into the classroom, and encourage the future generation of scientists

CfE, Early Years, Sciences, Senior Phase, Uncategorised

What issue should science solve next? Ask the Longitude Prize challenge champions.

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Water. Paralysis. Food. Flight. Dementia. Antibiotics. Which challenge should science solve next?

In 1714 the UK Government offered £20,000 to the person who could solve the Longitude problem. In 2014 the prize fund has increased to £10,000,000 and the public get to decide what challenge needs to be solved.

I’m a Scientist get me out of here are giving the public the chance to ask before they vote with our Longitude Prize Zone. Until Wednesday June 25th anyone can quiz their champions to help decide which challenge to vote for, at:longitude.imascientist.org.uk

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase, Uncategorised

Physics resources for N4 and N5 from Aberdeen City Council

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Many thanks to Aberdeen City Council for sharing resources.
These materials are provided to support staff who are delivering programmes of learning in Physics National 4 and National 5. Staff are encouraged to draw on these materials, and existing materials, to develop their own programmes of learning which are appropriate to the needs of each individual school.

The materials include National 4 and National 5 teacher guide and a complete set of problems and answers for:
•Electricity and energy
•Waves and radiation.

They are available in the NQ Sciences Glow Portal.

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/subjects/p/nqresource_tcm4817069.asp

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Higher Sciences Cross Authority Writing Group

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Following the NQ Sciences events which took place in Hampden Stadium in December 2013, Education Scotland, in partnership with the SQA, organised cross authority writing workshops for NQ sciences qualifications. Faculty Heads and Principal Teachers from 30 local authorities have attended and worked collaboratively to co-develop materials for priority areas identified required support at the Hampden events.
These events have been hugely successful; at the first event hosted at SSERC materials for the National 5 Assignment, National 4 Added Value Unit were produced along with a bank of open ended questions.
The first Higher event allowed practitioners to evaluate Education Scotland materials and to generate and share further support materials. The second event at SSERC allowed delegates to choose practical activities appropriate for the new Highers and practice these as well as gain some content training from our partners at SSERC. Over 500 resources was shared through the GLOW 365 sciences platform.
The third Higher Cross-Authority Writing Workshop took place on Tuesday 27th May.
The purpose of the day was to provide practitioners with the opportunity to complete the materials they are developing for the Higher Sciences qualifications and professional learning events with updates from industry and further education professionals of the applications and theory of new content areas. Colleagues from HMI, SQA, learned societies, STEMnet ambassadors and research institutes join the group. Presentations included careers in life sciences venture capital, the Higgs Boson, Antioxidants in food and Stem Cell research. Speakers then worked with teachers to produce professional learning materials, teacher and pupil resources and assignment materials.
The feedback from the events was very positive with those attending keen for the model of cross-authority collaboration to be extended to include preparation for the new Advanced Higher courses, review best practice in National 3,4 and 5 courses and to quality assure materials share through the GLOW 365 sciences platform.

Assessment, CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase, Supporting Learners

Higher Physics Resources Guide

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This is part of a series of Higher Resources guides linking Mandatory Course key areas to useful learning and teaching resources.

The pages show the Mandatory Course key areas table from the SQA Higher Physics Course and Unit Support Notes with an additional column containing hyperlinks to videos, animations and other resources. Content new to the course from the Higher Still Higher has been highlighted in green to further assist practitioners.

Updates will appear on GLOW 365

Higher Physics Resources Guide

CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Particle Physics Masterclass, 17th June 2014

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On behalf of Dr Aidan Robson FInstP,

Reader in Physics,

The University of Glasgow

Dear colleagues,

As part of “Elementary – CERN and Scotland”, http://cernandscotland.tumblr.com,

I’m pleased to invite you and your current 5th-year students to this year’s schools Particle Physics Masterclass, which will be held on Tuesday 17th June 2014 at Glasgow University.

This one-day introduction to fundamental particles and forces will be led by experts working at CERN and will convey some of the excitement of front-line research in a rapidly-developing field, with talks and hands-on sessions in particle detection and analysis of real collider data.

The masterclass will take place on Tuesday 17th June 2014 from 10am to 3.30pm, with registration from 9.30am, in the Kelvin Building at the University of Glasgow. It is intended for students who are just finishing 5th year; ideally for those continuing to Advanced Higher. There is no charge, and lunch will be provided. However, participation is by advance booking only and numbers are limited.

Please consult your pupils and if they would like to attend, email a list of their names to masterclass@physics.gla.ac.uk and indicate whether you would like to accompany them. The masterclass is normally oversubscribed, so I will try to make a fair allocation to schools on 9th May or shortly thereafter. Note that I’m unlikely to be able to fulfil requests for groups of more than about 10 per school.

We all look forward to seeing some of you here on 17th June.

Best wishes,

Aidan Robson

Assessment, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

N5 Physics past paper booklets

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Education Scotland and SQA have identified questions from Standard Grade Credit and Intermediate 2 papers from the last three years and matched them to Key Areas in the N5 Physics Curriculum.

This resource has been produced in response to the requests from practitioners who attended the National Qualifications Sciences events at Hampden Stadium in December 2013 which Education Scotland organised in partnership with the SQA.

The questions in this resource relate to National 5 Physics and have been taken from the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Standard Grade and Intermediate 2 Past Papers.

Booklets of past papers and answers have been collated for the three units for teachers and students to use as part of their revision programme for the N5 exam.

Physics-N5-Past-Paper-Questions-Dynamics-and-Space

Physics-N5-Past-Paper-Questions-Energy-and-Electricity

Physics-N5-Past-Paper-Questions-Waves-and-Radiation

Assessment, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Free Online Study Resources for N4/5 Physics

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Flash Learning is pleased to announce free online access to Virtual National 4 Physics and Virtual National 5 Physics until July 2014.

Our software to support National 4 and 5 Physics has been very well received and is now in use in approximately two thirds of Scottish schools. We have developed an enhanced version of the material and this is available online at www.eflashlearning.co.uk

All Scottish pupils (and teachers) are invited to register online. Click on the Join Now button and you will be asked to supply a username, password and email address.

This online, enhanced version of the software includes topic quizzes and progress checks. There is also a forum (one for each course) and this will be available for a trial period . Please note that the website uses advanced web design technology and is best viewed with a modern web browser.

Pupils need to provide an email address when they register and we undertake not to do anything with this, other than to send one mail in August, inviting them to subscribe to the next physics course they may be taking.

Assessment, CfE, National Qualifications, Sciences, Senior Phase

Route Maps through Assessment in the Sciences

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Route maps through assessment

The Minister for Learning, Dr Alasdair Allan, recently put in place a package of support to help secondary schools to deliver the new National Qualifications. This support included new route maps through assessment and these have now been published on the Education Scotland website. Developed by Education Scotland, in partnership with the SQA, these provide a sequenced list of main messages and links for National 4 and National 5 Sciences.