James de Winter taught science in secondary schools for eight years. Although no longer in the classroom on a daily basis, he still considers himself to be physics teacher, and now spends most of his working life supporting the teaching of physics. He works at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, running the Secondary Physics PGCE initial teacher education course as well as teaching on the Primary PGCE and MEd Courses. He also runs training courses for in-service teachers, who tend mainly to be biologists, where the need for support with physics seems greatest. Recently he has noticed that there is a world outside physics and has been looking for ways to incorporate a love of natural history into physics teaching. His most recent project is one using birdsong and sonograms to teach about sound, frequency and pitch as well as wider observational and data handling skills. His teaching pack aimed at primary and secondary aged children, with associated notes (and sounds) is available at www.physicsandbirdsong.co.uk.
de Winter, James
