Developing and implementing an Einsteinian science curriculum from years 3–10: B. Teacher upskilling: response to training and teacher’s classroom experience

Abstract Recent years have seen a growing interest in modernizing school science curricula to reflect the discoveries in physics since 1900, especially with the recent broad recognition of the importance of quantum physics in the modern world. Much effort has been expended in the development of appropriate teaching instruments for teaching Einsteinian physics in schools, but less effort on the crucial topic of teacher professional development. Successful curriculum innovation requires teacher professional development. This paper reports an analysis of teacher professional development for practising primary and secondary teachers who were upskilled as part of a process for implementing an 8-year Einsteinian curriculum across 38 primary and secondary schools in Australia. Most participants had little prior knowledge of Einsteinian physics. Using self-assessment through questionnaires and interviews, combined with classroom validation, we show that three different professional development programs led to high levels of content knowledge and confidence to teach Einsteinian physics in classes from Year 3 to Year 10. The analysis presented supports our conclusion that it is feasible to upskill teachers from diverse backgrounds in Einsteinian physics and break the cycle that has inhibited the modernisation of school curricula.