Welcome to the sixth InThinking Physics 'Silent Podcast', written back and forth by Emma and Tim in a shared document. We welcome your suggestions for future topics: put your questions (whether timely or timeless) in the Comments.

Episode 5 was all about examination preparation and how best to support students as they review their understandings in the weeks building towards the examinations.  

Over the two years of the Diploma, not only do DP Physics teachers have to teach their subject, but they also need to draw out the links to the all the other core aspects of the diploma programme. This is a seriously big ask, so Tim asked Emma how she manages to achieve this over the two years!

Tim:

There’s a lot to think about when teaching in DP schools: Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essays, International-Mindedness, etc. How do you keep track of everything in the physics lab?

Emma:

Thank you for raising this. With 50% of my workload being teaching and 50% being academic leadership, I see this idea of ‘keeping track’ (or keeping on top) of everything from many angles. There can be few teachers in the world who believe their workload is decreasing over time, and few students who do not see the DP as somehow in competition with other priorities.

It's important, therefore, that we as teachers make these IB core elements a regular but proportionate aspect of our practice. To take those that you've mentioned in turn:

• I have a ‘Theory of Knowledge bell' that I ring when something related to the scope, methods and tools, perspectives or ethics of physics comes up in the lab. I'd like to think this happens at least weekly for each class, and occasionally we go ‘all in’ and spend a lesson prioritising these ideas rather than ‘getting through content’. I have written about an imaginary physics-related TOK Exhibition in the Pearson textbook, where I lifted objects from a British Science Museum exhibition about Stephen Hawking and connected them to some of the TOK prompts - and I encourage others to do likewise! And pretty much my favourite collaborative staff meeting of the year is when we meet as teachers to unveil and chat about the Essay titles; I challenge myself to come up with two or three physics examples for every natural sciences essay.
• For years (almost a decade!) of DP physics teaching, I would find myself saying “Great question. In fact, that would be a super EE idea!” every month or so with each class. I was proud of myself for remembering to connect our studies to the bigger picture and praising the curious student for showing interest beyond the course. The problem was that DP1 students didn't yet know the size and scale of an IA in physics, never mind an Extended Essay, so my well-intentioned enthusiasm inevitably dissipated into thin air. This year, at long last, I invested in my own EE enthusiasm in the cheapest way possible… by sticking an A3 sheet to the wall entitled “EE inspiration”. Not only does this serve as a ‘fridge’ where good ideas are kept fresh, but my slightly over-dramatic walk to the poster hopefully demonstrates some wonder and serendipity too.
• International-mindedness is something I've eased into over time. I used to think it meant pouncing on opportunities to highlight ‘non-British’ aspects of Subject Guide understandings (when I taught in London), and I don't think there was anything wrong with this. But now I'm more relaxed. I simply ask my students what they think - whether it's about language, prior understanding or case studies. I'm also creating more explicit group work opportunities with my DP1 class this year, which gives space and time for students to share their international perspectives (and allows me to provide richer feedback in shorter amounts of time!).

None of this is grand or radical. Hopefully, it shows that we can do our bit in authentic ways that might actually energise and streamline our work.

Tim:

To what extent do you feel pressured in your school to be responsible for the physics results as opposed to being collectively responsible for the Diploma results?

Emma:

Funnily enough, this is something I've been working on as Academic Programme Leader at my school! Of course, I think it's part and parcel of any profession that we as teachers should evaluate our practice and aim to learn and develop over time - and results are one component of this. IB teaching and learning are informed by assessment and I imagine every teacher wants to support their students in fulfilling their aspirations. 

However, I believe that individual subject teachers can sometimes overlook the Diploma overall. A Diploma pass is more important to the vast majority of students than a handful of good course results. Consequently, I've been trying as part of my role to identify subjects that can make the biggest difference (often Higher Level sciences and mathematics) to Diploma passes or university entrance and alerting all teachers to these - so that they aren't fighting for every 7 when a student really needs a 4 or 5 elsewhere.

I also think we need to be honest with ourselves. If we claim responsibility for the good years we probably also ought to take responsibility for the not-so-good. A level temperament allows us to support individuals as professionals without the risk of feeling unappreciated.

Tim

What is the impact of school administrators on how good a job teachers think they are doing?

Emma:

I haven't researched or consulted widely on this, so forgive me if my answer is a little naive. I think administrators have a handful of important roles to play in supporting ‘good teaching’ across a school:

1. To recruit the best applicants when there are teaching vacancies
2. To ask effective questions that allow these professionals to reflect on the quality of teaching and learning that they are responsible for
3. To provide facilities and professional development for shared aims, understanding and skills, so that everyone works together

Provided that teachers are punctual with the school-wide work that supports Diploma results (linking back to the previous question!), administrators can tread softly whilst making a quiet impact in the process.

Tim:

So what is good DP teaching?

Emma:

Taking full responsibility for explaining course understandings, monitoring student progress, developing students' skills, readying students for assessment, being a school-wide team player, and believing that teaching can make the world better and more peaceful.

Ha! That's all!