CPD videos for early career teachers
We have launched a library of short videos for early career teachers (ECTs). Focusing on physics pedagogy, the videos give practical suggestions on how to address some of the challenges ECTs might encounter in their first years of teaching physics.
New teachers have varying levels of access to support from experienced physics teachers during their early teaching careers, indeed some find they are the only specialist physics teacher in school. This library makes a common base of knowledge widely available to all physics ECTs. The aim is to help build competence and confidence early in a teacher’s career, qualities which we know are strongly linked to job satisfaction and teacher retention.
The most recent videos to be added address teaching practical physics and are written and presented by James de Winter, PGCE physics tutor and associate lecturer at the University of Cambridge. These videos, and the associated discussions with their mentors, have been highly anticipated by ECTs who have felt the lack of experience in teaching practical work during their training years.
Also popular with ECTs are the three videos which address how to approach teaching elements of maths in physics. The recordings more... The full library is available at spark.iop.org/ early-career-teaching-cpd-videos. Find out about the ECPL programme and IOP support for physics ECTs at iop.org/ecpl. The Great Science Teaching Survey Credit: IOP also highlight the importance of working with colleagues in the maths department to understand how certain mathematical concepts are taught in school.
True to the IOP’s commitment to inclusion and diversity, we have a set of videos covering the concepts of science capital, increasing participation in physics and how to ensure physics teaching is inclusive and relevant to students.
The library of videos is a key element of the Early Career Professional Learning programme which supports the IOP’s commitment to subject-specific CPD for ECTs. The programme, joint-funded with the Gatsby Foundation, is a pilot project investigating how best to add subject-specific support to the Early Career Framework.