This book presents the most up-to-date research contributions focusing on progress in the field of physics education. It provides researches and results that are based on the most relevant matters in physics teacher education and how these matters can be improved for the satisfaction of both teachers and learners. The work is the by-product of the collaboration between GIREP (the International Research Group on Physics Teaching) and the University of Malta. The contributing authors present close examinations of the following topics: ICT and multimedia in teacher education; experiments and laboratory work in teacher education; the role of quantum mechanics in teaching and learning physics; formal, non-formal and informal aspects of physics education at the primary level; strategies for pre-service physics teacher education at all levels; and in-service teacher professional learning strategies. The editors hope that many different stakeholders within scientific academia will find something of value in this compilation of the current most advanced ideas in physics education.
About the Author: Joan Borg Marks completed a postgraduate diploma in Educational Administration and Management (DEAM) (Melit), which motivated her interest in research on science education. She furthered her studies at the University of Loughborough, UK, graduating M.A. (Education Studies). She later read for a Ph.D. with the University of York, UK. Her research on mental modelling and concept development involved learners of different ability, including the gifted. Early in her career, she taught physics, chemistry, mathematics and general science at secondary and higher levels, in state and Church schools. She later joined the University of Malta (UM) and has lectured in physics at advanced and intermediate levels. She has presented her research in fora, both locally and abroad, while also participating in various teacher mobility programmes, lecturing to pre-service teachers at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Moreover, she has been the contact person for Malta in various EU-funded projects. She is presently affiliated with the Physics Department at UM
Pauline Galea spent 10 years teaching A-level physics. She then obtained her Ph.D. in Geophysics from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and, upon her return to Malta, taught various topics in Physics and Geophysics at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the Physics Department, University of Malta. In 2015, she was appointed first Head of the newly established Department of Geosciences, where she still lectures to this day. Throughout the past 25 years, she has been Coordinator for the Seismic Monitoring and Research Group and carried out research mainly in seismology and seismic hazard.
Suzanne Gatt is Member of the Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education, Faculty of Education, University of Malta. She started her career as Physics Teacher and Science Educator over 25 years ago and is currently Full Professor in the area of Primary Science and Environmental Education. Prof. Gatt has published internationally in the area of science education and has been Guest Speaker on promoting science and physics concepts among young children at a European Union Presidency conference in Prague. She has also been Co-content Editor of the Journal of Emergent Science for a number of years. She has also coordinated a 3.5 Million euro FP7 project called Pri-Sci-Net that promotes and trains primary teachers in inquiry-based learning in 14 European countries. She is a steady participant in European-funded projects related to science, particularly with respect to young children engaging with the physical world.
David Sands has a variety of professional interests in physics, including most recently research into the foundations of thermodynamics. However, his greatest passion is education, in particular promoting and developing a deep understanding of concepts among students as well as the critical thinking necessary to be able to use that knowledge. Effective teacher education in physics is an essential complement to this.
