(Vegan) Black Dal Makhani
My favourite dal is the Sylheti-Bangladeshi one I grew up with, and one which is usually sold in Indian restaurants as “tarka dal”. I’d never tried “dal makhani” (a traditional… Read more (Vegan) Black Dal Makhani →
Balancing Santa Christmas Card
One of the most popular “makes” from Mr Shaha’s Marvellous Machines is the Balancing Bird, and for Christmas, Emily Robertson, the book’s wonderful illustrator, has produced this “Balancing Santa” template… Read more Balancing Santa Christmas Card →
The Joy of Making
This is the introduction to my new book, Mr Shaha’s Marvellous Machines I was born in a little village in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Back in 1973, there was no electricity or… Read more The Joy of Making →
Pop. Sci book or Textbook?
I recently read a “popular science” book on a topic that I felt I needed to learn more about. The book was well-written, ideas were clearly explained, and I finished… Read more Pop. Sci book or Textbook? →
How to read a vernier scale
I’ve found the videos below useful for showing my students how to read a vernier scale: Click here for a worksheet to practise reading these scales. Click here for online practice questions
Standard Form and Prefixes
It’s important that A-level Physics students can handle numbers in standard form and use prefixes with units. Below are some resources students can use to help them revise these skills: Video on how to convert numbers into / from standard form: Click here for online questions to practise converting to and from standard form. Video on how to use prefixes with units: Click here for practise questions using prefixes.
Introductory A-level Physics Practical?
I’ve just started teaching my second lot of year 12 students the new (AQA) Physics A-level. I believe the move from coursework / assessed practicals in the form of EMPAs etc. is… Read more Introductory A-level Physics Practical? →
Why teach when you can tutor?
There have been a spate of articles recently about the “crisis” in teacher recruitment. Such pieces cite a number of factors which might be responsible, but one that stood out to me was the suggestion that there is a “trend for middle-aged teachers to become private tutors” which is “stripping the profession of experienced people”. I’m not sure whether this is true – I’ve not seen any data on it, but the TES recently provided an example of this phenomenon in an article by a “successful history teacher” explaining why he was leaving the… Read more Why teach when you can tutor? →
Simple Circular Motion Demonstrations
Circular motion can be a tough topic to teach because some aspects of it are counterintuitive. This is a really simple and elegant way to get across some of the key ideas needed to grasp the physics of what’s going on when an object moves in uniform circular motion. The film was shot and edited by Ed Prosser. The Ogden Trust kindly helped with equipment costs and David Sang advised on the script. One you’ve demonstrated that the velocity of an object in uniform circular motion is at a tangent… Read more Simple Circular Motion Demonstrations →