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A NEW SYLLABUS has been introduced into the HSC from 2000.
It is now context-based, which means that specific themes are to be introduced as
a means of teaching the core disciplines of physics. For instance, the theme
of "Moving About" centred on means of transportation is to be used
to teach the basic concepts of force and motion and to relate these to
everyday experiences. The new syllabus provides a challenge to high school teachers,
who have to adjust their teaching approach and introduce material that may be
new to them without the benefit of a textbook to follow.
This was the challenge that the School of Physics undertook in November:
to introduce the teachers to the new preliminary component of the new
HSC syllabus, to discuss its implications, and to suggest ways of teaching it.
Joe Wolfe, Richard Newbury, John Storey and Michael Burton took up
the challenge by discussing the respective themes: "The World
Communicates" (i.e., waves), "Electricity in the Home" (electricity), "Moving About"
(forces) and "The Cosmic Engine" (astronomy).
We each took a different approach to the problem.
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In two hours each we tried
a mixture of lecture, demonstration, Powerpoint presentation and discussion.
The Internet is the biggest recent development in teaching
techniques, and we centred our talks around web-based lecture notes with direct links
to resources. This approach is about to become, if it not already, central to
our teaching methodology. We hope we succeeded in at least bringing the
high school physics teaching community and UNSW physicists together
while establishing a resource that can be used in the future. This resource can
be found on the web at: http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/hsc/
Now the real challenge of teaching the new syllabus begins. In 2000 we
will be back to tackle the HSC syllabus itself.
Michael Burton
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