The graduate diploma in physics and education: A teacher training initiative

In Victoria, students intending to become physics teachers must choose to study physics in the final two years of high school, and then for at least two years at tertiary level. For those who have not taken this route there has been little access to the study of physics at a tertiary level and to a career in physics teaching. The Graduate Diploma in Physics and Education at La Trobe University offers graduates who have not studied physics as part of their undergraduate degree an opportunity to train as physics teachers.
Implementation of the diploma has entailed a re-examination of the content and teaching style of undergraduate physics. In this paper, the course structure as a whole will be outlined and the physics taught as part of the diploma described. The preliminary results of the on-going course evaluation will be presented.