Stuart Farmer

Congratulations to students in Scotland who picked up their physics qualifications today. The results show that more young people in Scotland are taking on the challenge of physics - with entries increasing at National 5 and Higher levels.

Read more here: www.iop.org/about/news/h...

If AI is being used extensively in office jobs, then should we be letting students use AI in the classroom?

No - here's why.

With reference to 3 papers that show what you do in a job isn't the template for what you do in the classroom.

substack.nomoremarking.com/p/education-...

Another great resource you are making available to support other teachers along their professional learning journey. Thanks.

Cogsci Book Summaries Here is a reading list of 65 books about cognitive science and its application to the classroom. 2. Here are my summaries of a selection of these books. For each book there is a pdf of my summary a…

My book summaries are now in one place! Yay! Together with the cogsci reading list of 63 books!

And which books, or series, would it be useful to do next?

itsalearningcurve.education/cogsci-book-...

#iteachphysics
#cogscisci

Not all wrong answers are equal. I used to think students just needed the right information to fix misconceptions but then I read the work of Michelene Chi🧵⬇️

Physics teaching resources Spreadsheets of resources Both searchable by topic, grade level, course, with suggestions about how to set them up, what to learn… (a warning may come up – this is new, I’m workin…

A benefit of having my website is that there is a place to put everything.

My physics resources are here, and I will gradually upload the things on my laptop and the things in my brain that could be of use to this section.

itsalearningcurve.education/physics-teac...

#iteachphysics

Research-informed improvement in Scottish education? Anyone reading this and already familiar with my previous series of four blogs from last August or from the recommendations I made in my PhD thesis (Farmer, 2024a) will know I would like to see tea…

It has been almost a year since I last posted a StuartPhysics blog. It is quite a long one musing over several interrelated topics about education improvement in Scotland, and how we can ensure important developments are research-informed by good-quality data. stuartphysics.co.uk/2025/08/03/r...

Zarco, Miller and Loca have all likely done their stock some good

The merits and dangers of subject knowledge What Dr Fox (or Ken Robinson) teaches us about the importance of teachers' subject knowledge

Just because they’re funny doesn’t mean they’re right. The Dr Fox Effect shows we mistake charisma for clarity. The more you know, the harder it is to see what novices don’t. That’s the Curse of Knowledge. Know your subject and how it’s learned.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

FIM Grand Prix World Championship Decisions of the Grand Prix Commission The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Paul Duparc (FIM), Hervé Poncharal (IRTA), Biense Bierma (MSMA) and Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman) in the presence of Jorge Viegas (FIM President), Mike Webb (IRTA, Secretary of the Meeting), Carlos Ezpeleta (Dorna), Corrado Cecchinelli (Director of Technology), Paul King (FIM CCR Director) and Dominique Hebrard (FIM CTI Technical Manager), in meetings held earlier in 2025, made the following decisions: EFFECTIVE SEASON 2027 Fuel specification – MotoGP Class From 2027, fuel in all Grand Prix classes will be 100% non-fossil. It has now been agreed that the 100% non-fossil nature of these fuels will be assessed via the C14 test. The C14 test comprises measuring the fraction of C14, which is the shorter-lived carbon isotope missing in fossil substances due to its decay over a long time, over total carbon, and comparing it to the standard levels found in the atmosphere. In the case of 2027 MotoGP fuels, these figures should be the same minus a tolerance, meaning the C14 content of the fuel sample shall be the measured to be same as the atmosphere, ruling out the possibility of the fuel being of fossil origin. MotoGP fuels will therefore no longer be obtained by means of crude oil refinement and they may in principle be: •either bio-fuels i.e. fuels obtained from bio sources •e-fuels obtained by direct atmosphere CO2-capturing The combustion of non-fossil fuels releases the same amount of carbon that has before been captured. MotoGP took a major step in this direction in 2024 by mandating that fuels contain at least 40% non-fossil content. This transition will now continue with a fully mandated shift to 100% non-fossil fuels by 2027, marking a significant departure from current fuels, which are predominantly derived from crude oil refinement.

MotoGP confirms that from 2027, only fuels from renewable sources will be permitted. Fuel testing will be based on C14 isotope count, which has to be equal to the C14 count in the atmosphere.

Original plan was self certification, which has been dropped.

Image of Professor Michele Dougherty CBE.

Congratulations to IOP President-elect Professor Michele Dougherty CBE on being appointed Astronomer Royal. 👏 Professor Dougherty succeeds IOP Honorary Fellow Lord Martin Rees who has held this prestigious role for an extraordinary 30 years.

🔗 Read the full statement: www.iop.org/about/news/i...

As we mark 100 years of quantum, Professor Sir Peter Knight, Chair of National Physical Laboratory (NPL)’s Quantum Metrology Institute, looks ahead to what’s next for quantum computing.

Learn more about #IYQ2025 and find out how you can get involved: iop.org/quantum

US military transports being flying into Aberdeen many times over the last several days. How much luggage does he need?

Link gives 'page not found'

NEW POST: A lot of the evidence on smartphones and kids is correlational but what does that mean for parents and schools? carlhendrick.substack.com/p/banning-ph...

Image of Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell with text 'Applications open for the Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund Panel'.

Could you help shape a more inclusive future for physics? We're looking for four new members to join the Panel for the Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund.

📅 Applications close 11 August
🔗 www.iop.org/physics-comm...

Mimi's Tiny Adventure - Launch Day! Join us for a tiny adventure!

🌞 Join us next week for the launch of our new summer exhibition, Mimi’s Tiny Adventure! Step into the fascinating world of tiny physics through hands-on experiments, creative arts and crafts, and inspiring chats with real physicists.

📅 Tuesday 29 July
🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mimis-tiny...

Two C-17 Globemaster III US military transport planes just buzzed my house and landed at Aberdeen airport, and I saw one take off the other day. Unwelcome chaos and global warming for an unnecessary imminent visitor I fear.

UK Space Agency CEO Dr Paul Bate with Anne Crean and Louis Barson from the Institute of Physics at the UK Space Conference.

Group of five professionals analysing holographic data projections in a meeting, with the logo of the Institute of Physics and text reading "Space Tech for Growth - Driving Physics-Powered Impact in Traditional Sectors" displayed below.

At #UKSC2025, our CEO Paul Bate joined Anne Crean & Louis Barson from the @instituteofphysics.bsky.social for the launch of the IOP's Space Tech for Growth report, which reveals how physicists are at the forefront of innovation in the UK space sector 🛰️

Read the report 👉 www.iop.org/about/news/s...

That is not what came to my mind. Something slightly earlier in the process.

Oddly shaped potato.

Not something you will find in the supermarket veg isle. Home grown tatties 😂

Absolutely fascinating piece about the cluster of underlying beliefs that make people hold onto education myths.

Beyond Neuromyths: Why Teachers Still Embrace Ideas That Don't Work A new study surveying over 3,000 Spanish teachers, offers the most comprehensive picture yet of educational misconceptions in the wild.

*NEW POST* The Enduring Persistence of Neuromyths in Education
A new study surveying over 3,000 Spanish teachers provides one of the most detailed snapshots to date.
Fantastic work from @juanfernandez.bsky.social @ferreromar.bsky.social and colleagues

open.substack.com/pub/carlhend...

Most of the original TeachMeet instigators will have moved on from being teachers for a variety of reasons, but there will be more current teachers involved with Pedagoo

If you are a teacher in Scotland please consider participating in @educ-everything.bsky.social’s PhD study into activist teachers. It is important to explore and understand how teachers display agency and activism in a system that can promote compliance and small c conservatism.

CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS

Seeking #activist teachers who are also qualified, fully registered & working in #Scotland schools. This is for my @unistrathclyde.bsky.social PhD exploring their experiences of #professionallearning & #activism.

Grateful for your support!
forms.office.com/e/cjNE3UkNyY

If there ever was, there can no longer be any doubt that the proactive and systematic destruction of scientific and educational infrastructure, and the promotion and, indeed, generation of ignorance is a core component of Trumpian politics.

🔬✨ What if quantum mechanics could help diagnose cancer more accurately?

Meet Dr Emma Pearce from the @uofglasgow.bsky.social as she explains that quantum mechanics is transforming how we diagnose cancer - making invisible details visible using ordinary cameras.

The Jangle Fallacy: Why Different Words Don’t Always Mean Different Ideas How educational research creates unnecessary divisions through terminological confusion

The Jangle Fallacy: Same Idea, Different Name carlhendrick.substack.com/p/the-jangle...

(PDF) Science teachers' lack of understanding of the nature of science: does it matter? Part 1 PDF | Science appears to be coming under increasing pressure in parts of society and the media, with an increase of ‘fake news’ and less regard for... | Find, read and cite all the research you need o...

It was only when I was forced to think about such issues that I realised that I really didn't know that I didn't know previously. I wrote about my experience in www.researchgate.net/publication/...