FREE professional development
Improving subject knowledge and confidence for teaching KS3/KS4 physics.
Published: 15 September 2022
“The delivery of the SKPT course has been brilliant – the in-person sessions and all the support online has been thought-provoking and enabled me to reflect on my current practice and to approach improvement head-on.”
Last term, Ogden Trust physics coaches delivered the forces module for the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching (SKPT) CPD programme. More than 50 teachers without a physics specialism completed the module, developing their KS3 and KS4 physics subject knowledge, pedagogy and classroom confidence.
Booking is now open for the SKPT waves and SKPT electricity modules which will be delivered in October. SKPT is a FREE blended learning professional development programme for teachers teaching KS3 and KS4 physics without physics specialism; each module takes up to 20 hours to complete over an eight-week period and is led by a subject specialist.
The course includes face-to-face practical sessions and mathematical problem solving at the start and end of each module; conceptual challenges and pedagogical reflections are built into the online learning. The course requires approximately one hour of independent learning each week and schools receive a bursary to help cover teacher cover costs once the course is completed.
“This 8-week physics course has been incredibly helpful to me (particularly as an ECT), further solidifying my current knowledge on physics concepts… Having a qualified physics teacher go through topics and explain in ways that help learners truly understand has been invaluable to me.”
“Teachers play a vital part in stimulating an appreciation of physics in their students,” says Head of Teacher Support, Charley Phillips. “Teaching out of specialism is increasingly common in KS3 and KS4 physics, and can be a daunting prospect. Many teachers find that subject knowledge courses, such as SKPT, can help to improve their confidence and enjoyment of teaching physics.
“Confident and engaging delivery of physics in the classroom will help to inspire and enable young learners to understand how the world works and how they can contribute to it,” adds Charley.
The SKPT programme comprises six modules – electricity, waves, matter & space, energy, atomic physics and forces. Teachers can build their professional portfolio completing the modules they need to develop their subject knowledge and teaching practice.
The opening face-to-face sessions for electricity are being held in London, York and Birmingham
- STEM Learning Centre, York: 14 October
- IOP London: 13 & 14 October
- Birmingham University: 18 October
Waves will be delivered at schools across England:
- London: 3 October
- Suffolk; Plymouth: 4 October
- Oxford: 6 October
- Staffordshire; Bristol; Preston; Lincoln; Newcastle: 11 October
- Nottingham; Peterborough: 13 October
- Birmingham: 14 October
- Wigan: 17 October
- Kent; York: 19 October
- Hampshire; Sheffield: 20 October
- Surrey: 21 October
Find out more about the content covered and book your FREE place now.
Book your FREE place for ELECTRICITY
Book your FREE place for WAVES
“I feel I have developed my practice and feel much more confident, especially in my previously weaker areas such as the physics practicals and teaching the mathematics equations.”