Isaac Physics symposium

Earlier this month, secondary school teachers from across the country gathered for the annual two-day Isaac Physics – soon to be known as Isaac Science – Teacher Symposium at the University of Cambridge. The event was held in the new state-of-the-art Ray Dolby Centre, home to Cambridge’s famous Cavendish Laboratory and the Department of Physics.

The symposium aimed to do three things: to showcase the support and resources Isaac can offer teachers and students; to bring together a mutually supportive community of teachers; and to equip teachers with practical tools to integrate Isaac into their teaching plans, helping them start the academic year with lessons and homework ready to go.

“I have gone from an Isaac Science novice to feeling confident with the resources and enthused to apply them in school. I have loved meeting new science teachers to network with and had real fun both days expanding my skills.”

Seventy-nine schools and two ITE providers (university) were represented at the event and of the 83 teachers attending, around 50 per cent were at the symposium for the first time. Many were looking to boost their confidence with physics or improve their use of the Isaac platform. For many, the chance to meet other teachers facing similar challenges was especially valuable, particularly for those who find they are the sole or lead physics teachers in their school despite not having a specialist qualification or recent experience in the subject.

“The issues identified by teachers at the symposium are all too familiar across the network of schools and teachers that we work with,” says Clare Harvey, Chief Executive of The Ogden Trust. “We have a longstanding relationship with Isaac Physics and were pleased to continue our support for this event which provides more valuable resources and development for teachers of physics.”

“The course has been great – just knowing that there is so much support available for me as a teacher new to teaching A-level physics has been brilliant. It’s given me lots of ways on how I can refresh my subject knowledge and improve my confidence in teaching physics at A-level.”

Across the two days, teachers were able to get to grips with Isaac resources, develop their physics problem-solving skills, and plan lessons and homework; there was even an opportunity to get hands-on in the teaching labs and test out experiments they can deliver with their students. These included learning about forces by stretching sweets, studying accelerated motion from the film of a falling [stuffed toy] penguin, and a bonus demonstration of schlieren photography, looking at airflow around a candle.

As well as physics content, there were also subject-specific sessions for teachers in chemistry, biology, maths and further maths. Teachers also got a first look at the new Isaac Science platform, launching this summer, and were introduced to helpful new features such as new dashboards, navigation and the ability to switch between teacher and student view.

In the evening, the group had the chance to unwind and connect over a formal dinner at Corpus Christi College, where special awards were presented to celebrate the achievements and contributions of individual teachers over the past year. Teachers left enthused and equipped to face the new academic year with confidence and a supportive community around them.

The latest teacher survey shows that teacher who use Isaac save an average of 5.5 hours per week, an enormous benefit for teachers whose time and energy is often over-stretched.

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